[kernel8888]

to reply to those who want impressions, and to expand on my last post to make sure im not coming off the wrong way- life is getting busy, my priorities are changing and while I love this hobby, the time and money spent on something that is becoming somewhat of a burden has led me to search for a way out.

The only way out for me is to find something that is the best combination of frequency response and presentation, comfort, ease to drive, and relatively reasonable price so that I can be satisfied whenever I need to scratch the itch, and know that im not missing out on something.

The ananda checks all of those boxes, and in terms of sound alone they are as good as it could get for my preference without REALLY starting to split hairs. they are kind of in between my hd800s and my he1k v1. They are actually very similar to my hd800s. one of the biggest differences is the soundstage is presented a bit differently, and vocals seem a bit closer on the hd800 and a bit more distant on the ananda, but not REALLY distant. they are really very close. maybe even closer than the he1k and ananda in some ways.

but I haven't spent too much time really agonizing over comparing, because they are honestly all on the same level in my opinion. another diff is when things get loud, the hd800s has a little bit of glare come out that the ananda doesn't have a problem with.

don't have the k712 anymore but id wager that its going to be even more forward in the upper mids and lower treble, really similar to the he560 in that regard. I did LOVE the k712, if I had to pick 2 sub $500 cans, it would be the he-400i and the k712 pro for sure. they are like right up there with the totl stuff with a few little quirks, but still more than competent.

so, ill be selling my hd800s and he1k if anyone is interested!

 

[bagwell359]

to reply to those who want impressions, and to expand on my last post to make sure im not coming off the wrong way- life is getting busy, my priorities are changing and while I love this hobby, the time and money spent on something that is becoming somewhat of a burden has led me to search for a way out.

The only way out for me is to find something that is the best combination of frequency response and presentation, comfort, ease to drive, and relatively reasonable price so that I can be satisfied whenever I need to scratch the itch, and know that im not missing out on something.

The ananda checks all of those boxes, and in terms of sound alone they are as good as it could get for my preference without REALLY starting to split hairs. they are kind of in between my hd800s and my he1k v1. They are actually very similar to my hd800s. one of the biggest differences is the soundstage is presented a bit differently, and vocals seem a bit closer on the hd800 and a bit more distant on the ananda, but not REALLY distant. they are really very close. maybe even closer than the he1k and ananda in some ways.

but I haven't spent too much time really agonizing over comparing, because they are honestly all on the same level in my opinion. another diff is when things get loud, the hd800s has a little bit of glare come out that the ananda doesn't have a problem with.

don't have the k712 anymore but id wager that its going to be even more forward in the upper mids and lower treble, really similar to the he560 in that regard. I did LOVE the k712, if I had to pick 2 sub $500 cans, it would be the he-400i and the k712 pro for sure. they are like right up there with the totl stuff with a few little quirks, but still more than competent.

so, ill be selling my hd800s and he1k if anyone is interested!

Thanks. That's a bit scary for me. HD-800 are accurate as hell, but I find them icy and non-emotive. I'd love to hear more comparisons between the Ananda and earlier HFM cans before the 560, such as the 500.

 

[kernel8888]

yea I think that icy-ness comes from that glare in the treble, but I find the mids pretty warm and musical, and the bass is punchy and has decent rumble, just not an abundance of it. they aren't musical in a warm bassy way, but they are in a tight, punchy, energetic way and I find them very enjoyable.

 

[LaCuffia]

I have the Emotiva A100 too...is that what you use for the Ananda? Good pairing?

 

[imz14u2nv]

There is a saying in combat sports “Everyone has a Game Plan until they get punched in the face”
Well, I had a plan, I was going to plug my new Ananda’s up to my 160gb iPod Classic and let them Burn In until my New Balanced Cable arrives which should be in a day or two. Well, that was the plan, so just to check volume levels and Comfort (compared to the HEX V2 that I got to put on very briefly in the past), While they were burning in, I placed the Ananda’s on my head.

What a silly mistake, I really wanted to go through the process before making any comments at all.

What I heard coming through the Ananda’s was incredible, I smiled and said to myself, this sounds amazing, I think I have found my Near Perfect HeadSpeaker. I’m not just saying that because it sounds cute or I think that is what people want to hear, I can only speak for my ears, we all hear things a little differently and have varying taste and preferences.

Of course I then took the Ananda’s off of the iPod and Connected them to my FiiO X7 Mark Ⅱ and started listening to some Hi-Res DSD’s both Stereo and Binaural+
I ended up listening for hours….Completely unexpected, it was that good.

I've left them playing away for the last 12 hours, not sure if there will be any changes from burn in though.

This was all done with the stock cable, No, I’m not into which cables sound best, I ordered a Balanced Cable for the Ananda’s since my DAP sounds better out of the Balanced output.

Honestly, I’m not sure how they can improve anymore, but I will find out if there is anything that will change.

These really are Good and I mean Very, Very Good, I would say Great, but I know, nothing is perfect and I’m in a similar situation as @ kernel8888, I can finally enjoy my music anywhere as it is good enough that the search and collecting can take a back seat to Enjoying!!!

The only thing I can say is that if there are headphones that sound better, That can be driven from my portable gear, I don’t want to know about them, because these sound so good to me, if there is something better, they are worth whatever the price is because I think this is the best $1K I have ever spent.

 

[bagwell359]

^ highly interesting. thanks

 

[TWerk]

I’m just gonna call it now- after a week of comparing and listening, about 5 years of continuous buying and selling, and listening to 10+ high end over ear headphones, ananda is THE ONE.

That’s not a light statement, I’ve thought I’ve gotten close, but this ones the real deal and best balance and combination of factors that are important to me.

Many have come close, but this is the one. I’m out boys, mark my words.

Unless it dies on me. Please don’t die on me.

Happy for you dude! Enjoy them, you deserve it. It makes it all the more worthwhile when you've tried everything, cause you know you at that point you have found something special.

That's what it's all about, enjoying the music!

From my personal experience, Hifiman makes some of the best sounding headphones, period.

 

[LaCuffia]

Is the arc of the headband wider than that of the HEX v2? I don’t have a big head but I found the headband on the X quite constricting where it meets the top of the pads.

 

[Paddy]

to reply to those who want impressions, and to expand on my last post to make sure im not coming off the wrong way- life is getting busy, my priorities are changing and while I love this hobby, the time and money spent on something that is becoming somewhat of a burden has led me to search for a way out.

The only way out for me is to find something that is the best combination of frequency response and presentation, comfort, ease to drive, and relatively reasonable price so that I can be satisfied whenever I need to scratch the itch, and know that im not missing out on something.

The ananda checks all of those boxes, and in terms of sound alone they are as good as it could get for my preference without REALLY starting to split hairs. they are kind of in between my hd800s and my he1k v1. They are actually very similar to my hd800s. one of the biggest differences is the soundstage is presented a bit differently, and vocals seem a bit closer on the hd800 and a bit more distant on the ananda, but not REALLY distant. they are really very close. maybe even closer than the he1k and ananda in some ways.

but I haven't spent too much time really agonizing over comparing, because they are honestly all on the same level in my opinion. another diff is when things get loud, the hd800s has a little bit of glare come out that the ananda doesn't have a problem with.

don't have the k712 anymore but id wager that its going to be even more forward in the upper mids and lower treble, really similar to the he560 in that regard. I did LOVE the k712, if I had to pick 2 sub $500 cans, it would be the he-400i and the k712 pro for sure. they are like right up there with the totl stuff with a few little quirks, but still more than competent.

so, ill be selling my hd800s and he1k if anyone is interested!

How much you selling them for. Would you ship to NZ? Cheers

 

[chesterchan]

Im really interested in getting a pair of ananda’s, im just afraid of the driver failures or quality control problems, so far everyone who has bought it has theirs working well and good?

 

[thecrow]

Im really interested in getting a pair of ananda’s, im just afraid of the driver failures or quality control problems, so far everyone who has bought it has theirs working well and good?

I’m not in the job of defending companies for driver or other wuality control failures but hifiman feedback for fixing issues (including he560 headband issues at adorama) has been overall very good from what I’ve read.

Touch wood as my anandas are arriving monday - and i should be able to pair them with a notne silver draug by the end of the week as I’m due to receive a cable for my elears and i hope there’s no trickiness re the 3.5 mm connectors (eg they have to be longer)

 

[knopi]

life is getting busy, my priorities are changing and while I love this hobby, the time and money spent on something that is becoming somewhat of a burden has led me to search for a way out.

The only way out for me is to find something that is the best combination of frequency response and presentation, comfort, ease to drive, and relatively reasonable price so that I can be satisfied whenever I need to scratch the itch, and know that im not missing out on something...

Nicely written I am on the same boat.

 

[chesterchan]

I’m not in the job of defending companies for driver or other wuality control failures but hifiman feedback for fixing issues (including he560 headband issues at adorama) has been overall very good from what I’ve read.

Touch wood as my anandas are arriving monday - and i should be able to pair them with a notne silver draug by the end of the week as I’m due to receive a cable for my elears and i hope there’s no trickiness re the 3.5 mm connectors (eg they have to be longer)

I couldnt wait and just bought the ananda through the hifiman store, hopefully its best suited to my taste as I really love the he560. Hope all goes well for me n you both

 

[i20bot]

Is the arc of the headband wider than that of the HEX v2? I don’t have a big head but I found the headband on the X quite constricting where it meets the top of the pads.

Yeah, it's taller and further away from the pad.

 

[iliketowrap19]

How would these compare to the HE-500's and HE-6. I own the 500's and considering buying another HE-6 when I find them for a decent price. My only issue with HE-6 is how much effort it takes to bring out the best in them... As a student living in a residence hall/small apartment, the required setup of heavy Speaker amps making the HE-6 somewhat troublesome...