[Zhangmikoto]

I’m more concerned with 3-5 years out when the battery dies. A 1200 dollar headphone should be a longer term investment.

Exactly. Sending it back might be a solution, but that would be really inconvenient.

 

[froes]

I had an eye on the Audeze Mobius, that has some nice features including MC support and head tracking, but needs the battery urgently, what prevented me from buying it.

Can the Ananda BT work completely passive?
A user exchangeable battery pack is also a wished feature. The headphone doesn't need to be water resistant.

 

[ra990]

Anyone have an update on these? Last I had heard they were supposed to be out by April.

 

[forestitalia]

It seems there is not even pre-order option.

 

[VandyMan]

They were supposed to be released at the end of March. Hifiman has not given a new date (or said anything about the delay). I'm no longer planning to order them as soon as they are released, as the delays make me suspect technical issues.

 

[ra990]

Any update? Losing hope...

 

[bidn]

Hi there, the batteries are not user replaceable.

April

Dear TeamHIFIMAN,

I think it is great that you are going for a daring open-back BT design: this is missing in the BT headphone market,
and one of the strengths of your headphones is their great soundstage, it would be a pity to miss this.
I have long been hoping for such a kind of headphone, for using while moving in my home,
or for using at work (I have my own closed room, no shared open space at my work).

I think it is good the product is delayed, so now that it will not arrive on the market as scheduled anyway,
please take time to consider and implement the following -- better additional, long delays (even one year...) for a great and successful product than a commercial flop.


1. Things which should be absolutely changed

1.1 Lack of user replaceable batteries

Most cheap "normally"-priced BT headphones have user replaceable batteries.
Not having user replaceable batteries for BT headphones like the BT Ananda which would be four times more expensive than the currently expensive BT headphones is dead wrong IMO,
I think that most people would tell you that it would lead to a flop.
Please, IMHO you absolutely need to take time to change this, making the batteries user replaceable (better a little more weight if necessary)
I fully agree with the following:

I’m more concerned with 3-5 years out when the battery dies. A 1200 dollar headphone should be a longer term investment.

1.2 Lack of LDAC

What would be the point of such expensive high-end headphones if you can 't use the CD-like quality one can get with LDAC?
Huawei's HWA Audio Codec (LDHC) might be great and hopefully better than LDAC, but unlike LDAC it is not yet part of the latest Android versions with their huge consumer base,
and the current trade war against Huawei does not give any hope of seeing it quickly integrated in Android, if ever.

Hi there, just to let you know that if you use the HIFIMAN app as found in the Play Store it will enable the use of hi-res Bluetooth. So you are not limited only to Huawei phones as long as you use our app. Using a phone with built in LDHC such as a Huawei phone, any app will allow its use.

But most people like only one app and not the other apps. I want to use the app I like and not be deprived from this choice.
The market opportunities for super expensive BT headphones may be already quite small so by constraining users to use only your app you are taking the risk of turning off most potential customers.
Besides there is another risk coming from the current conjuncture: who knows if your app would be banned just because it uses Huawei's technology (the HWA Audio Codec LDHC), given the witch-hunt against any company dealing with Huawei,
Huawei being presently doomed to be banned from Android within short time.

So IMHO you absolutely need to change this and provide LDAC support out of the box right at the beginning when launching the BT Ananda.


2. Very important things you may have already done, and if not, then you should really do

2.1 Treble peak

Many audiophiles have reported hearing an annoying treble peak with the Ananda.
One advantage of a BT headphones it that they have DSP inside, so please use the internal DSP to flatten the frequency response curve
and remove the treble peak.
I unfortunately didn't like so much (and didn 't buy) the wired Ananda when auditioning it, but if the Ananda BT improve the FR, I would be very happy to buy it.

2.2 Carrying case - pouch

Unlike desktop headphones, BT headphones are meant to be carried and come always with a protective case which should be solid enough.
They shouldn't be super-bulky and too heavy like the big, squared hard plastic boxes Audeze provide with the LCD-X, etc, but practical like the cases Focal provides with the Clear, Elegia and Stellia).
IMHO this would be the more imperative for a BT Ananda that:
- The BT Ananda would be so much more expensive than the currently most expensive BT headphones
- IMO the elongated form of the Ananda makes them more vulnerable and fragile than most headphones with "conventional" shapes.

2.3 Enough clamping force

Unlike desktop headphones, BT headphone are meant to be used wireless to allow moving around,
i.e. the clamping force of the headband should be strong enough to maintain the headphones in a stable manner on the head while walking, bowing down, etc., i.e. they should remain immobile, they should not move relatively to the head and above all not start falling off when one bows down.


Also I think you should be the more careful about all those things I mentioned above that your company could unfortunately also become penalized in a future round of tariff mass-sanctions
(I hope of course not, but anything seems possible nowadays, things which noone would have fathomed before).

Sorry for mentioning all these points, but it should be better to think about them and find solutions beforehand, so as to obtain a successful product,
which would be great for you and for us customers.

I wish your company all the best and hope that someday you will break through with a great, audiophile BT headphones,
bidn

 

[forestitalia]

Dear TeamHIFIMAN,
please hire Mr. bidn now.

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

Hi there, as they have not launched yet some of the items you mention are being tweaked and given that I know what will be coming, I think its safe to say you ought to be be pretty happy with them once they hit retail.

Mark

 

[bidn]

Hi there, as they have not launched yet some of the items you mention are being tweaked and given that I know what will be coming, I think its safe to say you ought to be be pretty happy with them once they hit retail.
Mark

Thank you very much, Mark & TeamHiFiMAN, for your quick reply and these great news! Great to hear you have not given up ( I was fearing this) and are working on improving the product.

BTW, there is something I forgot to mention:

[additional] point 2.4 : passive mode

It would be great if the headphones could also be used in wired, passive mode because this would still allow to use these expensive headphones in the following circumstances:
- when the batteries are empty
- when the batteries are dead and the customer has not yet ordered or received a replacement.

Dear TeamHiFiMAN, could you also take this point (2.4) into consideration?

Someone mentioned on the first page of this tread that he had ordered the Audeze Mobius as an alternative. From my side I purchased the Mobius in 2018 but I, being demanding, am unfortunately not satisfied with them: for me the Mobius don't have enough resolution, detail level from what I would expect from "audiophile" headphones.

After buying so many disappointing BT headphones for several years (or using not so practical solutions like Radsone's Earstudio BT receiver = need to use a small cable and to fix a small device somewhere), I am putting a lot of hopes on the BT Ananda, hoping that at last a company succeeds in delivering truly audiophile headphones.

Best wishes for perfecting the BT Ananda and making it a success,
bidn

 

[Sonic Defender]

Agree with all of the recommendations. For sure I would never spend this kind of money on a BT headphone without user replaceable batteries and ability to operate passively. Those are minimal requirements, not extra features. Will be following this carefully. I have been saying for years now that cables are going to go extinct and that we would see true, critical listening, full on at home wireless headphones begin to take over. Is this the start? Time will tell.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hi there, as they have not launched yet some of the items you mention are being tweaked and given that I know what will be coming, I think its safe to say you ought to be be pretty happy with them once they hit retail.

Mark

Woah, this is nice

I'm also more and more curiuous about this one, it is a really daring move to make a high-end BT Headphone, I'm especially curious how it will turn out, knowing how amazing Arya and Sundara are for their price

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

Always happy to hear feedback on products (even if they haven't launched yet

Mark

 

[Soundizer]

Is it available now. I understand includes added support for codec AAC support so am interested.

 

[Soundizer]

How does it compare the Beyerdynamic HOME?

Just looking for best BT headphone with AAC. Not interested in the NC nonsense.