[HTSkywalker]

In my opinion the Clear have better bass extension which is way more visceral and dynamic than the Ananda and the Arya.

The Clear vs Arya is dynamic vs Planars and it all comes to personal taste, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[Ichos]

Bass is bass and it is headphones technology agnostic.
The question is if it is extended , dynamic and with equal loudness to the rest of the spectrum.

 

[hmscott]

official price for the brand new is $700 and you can get it from amazon direct from Hifiman.

When did it drop "everywhere" to $699? Last I looked it was $999 everywhere with open-box or used as the only cheaper deal available.

I was happily surprised when I got the sale newsletter from Headphones.com and looked around for an open-box Ananda, and then realized that the Hifiman Ananda *New* was $699!

I am very excited to get the Ananda and HE6SE next week...and the new cables and pads in the following weeks

I'm hoping the Topping D90 MQA + A90 / Xduoo TA-20 on balanced 4.4mm will tide me over until I find another AMP solution.

I'm thinking of using the Hifiman HE Adapter with a tube amp long term, but maybe an Emotiva A-100 jumpered for high output from the headphone jack is the least expensive since I already have a Tube/SS Hybrid with the TA-20.

I looks like I can use the same headphone cables I am planning to get with the HE6SE on the Ananda?

GUcraftsman 6N OCC copper SW01 elear AT D7200 D5200 D9200 t1 t5p 2nd AK T5P HE1000SE HE6SE ANANDA Arya Headphone upgrade Cable|Earphone Accessories| - AliExpress

GUcraftsman 6n silver For Beyerdynamic T1 2nd elear STELLIA Elegia AT D5200 D7200 D9200 ANANDA Arya Headphone upgrade Cable|Earphone Accessories| - AliExpress

Back to reading a bunch of posts, so I can figure out whether I should get OCC Copper or Silver Plated wiring in the Ananda / HE6SE cables.

@Crankyrat - Happy to hear that your Hidizs S8 can drive the Ananda, I've also used the Hidizs S9 to drive Beyerdynamic 600 ohm headphones, those tiny DAC/AMPs really can delivery power

 

[HTSkywalker]

When did it drop "everywhere" to $699? Last I looked it was $999 everywhere with open-box or used as the only cheaper deal available.

I was happily surprised when I got the sale newsletter from Headphones.com and looked around for an open-box Ananda, and then realized that the Hifiman Ananda *New* was $699!

I am very excited to get the Ananda and HE6SE next week...and the new cables and pads in the following weeks

I'm hoping the Topping D90 MQA + A90 / Xduoo TA-20 on balanced 4.4mm will tide me over until I find another AMP solution.

I'm thinking of using the Hifiman HE Adapter with a tube amp long term, but maybe an Emotiva A-100 jumpered for high output from the headphone jack is the least expensive since I already have a Tube/SS Hybrid with the TA-20.

I looks like I can use the same headphone cables I am planning to get with the HE6SE on the Ananda?

GUcraftsman 6N OCC copper SW01 elear AT D7200 D5200 D9200 t1 t5p 2nd AK T5P HE1000SE HE6SE ANANDA Arya Headphone upgrade Cable|Earphone Accessories| - AliExpress

GUcraftsman 6n silver For Beyerdynamic T1 2nd elear STELLIA Elegia AT D5200 D7200 D9200 ANANDA Arya Headphone upgrade Cable|Earphone Accessories| - AliExpress

Back to reading a bunch of posts

Glad you are going with the Ananda, you won't regret your purchase, If I were you I would wait till I receive it and try it with TA-20 and stock cable before shelling more money on a cable or amp.
A good amp would be a Violectric or Lake People anything from the g-109 or V90 upward according to your budget and as a cable upgrade:
https://corpsecable.com/products/co...-4-4mm-trrrs-5ft?_pos=10&_sid=e8eb64204&_ss=r
or as Balanced option:
https://corpsecable.com/products/co...elex-4-pin-xlr-1?_pos=12&_sid=e8eb64204&_ss=r
Let us know how's the mating with the TA-20 stock tubes as am also planning to try a Hybrid amp since I already have a Violectric SS.

 

[hmscott]

I agree 100% that the stock cable for the Ananda is trash, so common among HFM cans.

The only HFM made in the last 10 years that I know that prefers silver or SPC cable is the HEX v2.

I think the Anada is better with OFC. It's not as bad as the HEK v1, HE-5LE with silver, but it still IMO give the treble an extra edge that it already has.

I agree. I had a silver dragon cable for my LCD 2, and it worked great for that HP. But the Ananda, definitely not. Copper is best.

Thanks that what I needed to know before ordering cables for the Ananda / HE6SE, OCC Copper it is

The links above for Copper and Silver versions are 8 core, that same vendor makes and sells a 16 core Silver cable for the HD660s - do you think Silver would help the "Dark" HD660s, or would it be too much? Maybe a mix of 4 core OCC Copper + 4 core Silver?:

GUCraftsman 2.5/4.4mm Balance 16 core silver 4Pin XLR hd600 hd650 hd660s - AliExpress

Glad you are going with the Ananda, you won't regret your purchase, If I were you I would wait till I receive it and try it with TA-20 and stock cable before shelling more money on a cable or amp.
A good amp would be a Violectric or Lake People anything from the g-109 or V90 upward according to your budget and as a cable upgrade:
https://corpsecable.com/products/co...-4-4mm-trrrs-5ft?_pos=10&_sid=e8eb64204&_ss=r
or as Balanced option:
https://corpsecable.com/products/co...elex-4-pin-xlr-1?_pos=12&_sid=e8eb64204&_ss=r
Let us know how's the mating with the TA-20 stock tubes as am also planning to try a Hybrid amp since I already have a Violectric SS.

I have already been rolling tubes for a few weeks on the TA-20, my Sennheiser HD580cs really woke up with the PSVANE 12AU7-T MkII's, JJ Electronic ECC802s Gold Pins, and to a lesser extent the JJ Electronic ECC82 Gold Pins.

The stock tubes sound great too!, you could easily enjoy the TA-20 with them. The tube manufacturer isn't known for sure, as only "China 12AU7" is printed in Red Ink on the stock generic tubes.

After a little research it looks like they were made by Shuguang Tubes - and near their tube manufacturing facility was a fire that worried the city, and Shuguang Tubes was asked to move their tube manufacturing out of the populated area - that was last year, hopefully Shuguang Tubes will open in their new facility in 2021.

We can still purchase Shuguang tubes, especially the top end Shuguang Natural Sound series, and the Shuguang Treasure Series. They are on my list, but I've only been testing for a few weeks.

I've been driving SE headphones, like Beyerdynamics DT990 / DT880 600 ohm, DT770 16 ohm, and several others, only the Sendyaudio Aiva's have 4.4mm balanced cables. They sound great on the A90 / TA-20, but I can tell more power supply umph could deliver the slam I know they can deliver.

That's why the slew of new balanced capable headphones, the A90 puts out more power on the balanced outputs. Fortunately, all the great headphone sales coincided with my search.

A Sennheiser HD660s was ordered first, it was the first after the HD598cs revelation -> tubes sound great, even when the final amp is SS as with the TA-20.

I've had a running tube rolling session with a few people there with TA-20's:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-headphone-amplifier-review.10118/post-610912

I'll report back after I've had a few sessions with the Ananda's

 

[1-MiC]

Ananda’s have a new friend. A less detailed, but more exciting friend. I was able to listen to music while the baby and my wife were napping, with confidence I wasn’t disturbing them from the other room.
The Ananda’s leak soo much sound and with their lack of dynamics I tend to turn them up a little louder. The X00’s seem to be a good solution to this problem.
The Amanda’s are better and do deliver good bass when it’s asked for, but they certainly aren’t as fun as the ebonies.

 

[SilverEars]

Ananda’s have a new friend. A less detailed, but more exciting friend. I was able to listen to music while the baby and my wife were napping, with confidence I wasn’t disturbing them from the other room.
The Ananda’s leak soo much sound and with their lack of dynamics I tend to turn them up a little louder. The X00’s seem to be a good solution to this problem.
The Amanda’s are better and do deliver good bass when it’s asked for, but they certainly aren’t as fun as the ebonies.

You chose the right X00, the ebony. Enjoy the sub-bass emphasis. It's fun. If you enjoy hip-hop or other types of bass, it's enjoyable. Double bass jazz is great due to the way it resonates acoustically. Check out Nicki Parrott's double bass performances.

 

[Palfim]

I've recently joined the Ananda club since last week , my observations so far :

Vs HD660S/HD650 : Unlike the sennheisers I can run the Ananda without any eq at all . It's the first pair (including IEMs) which from scratch sounds perfectly tuned to my tastes (which more or less are on the Harman "neutral" side ).
Except when I'm in the mood for some EDM or dubstep then I'll just add in a 6db bass shelf on my peq.
I've actually testet the bass capabilities further ...with eq there is alot of room to get huge bass out of these cans , enough to make your head rumble in absolute Subbass bliss.
Just like the bass, the mids and treble sound more defined , faster , more detailed than the sennys. The tonality is way brighter and less relaxed then the warmer sennheisers, so if you are used to them , expect some fatigue in the beginning.
With the Hd660s I had to use the AutoEQ settings to make them barable for me , these turned them into a completely new set of headphones , including proper Bass and Subbass , way brighter and clearer, too .
Before that they just sounded muffled to me, like listening through a pillow.
Only reason I upgraded is because I gave these to my mum , in my family some older folks ONLY listen to "German-quality" sennheisers, not to any "cheap Chinese knock-off crap" haha ! For me right now it's chi-fi all the way.

So without the need for eq I can actually drive them off my note 8 smartphone (1V output max). The exynos version 3,5mm out was measured with good thd and noisefloor numbers somewhere else. Quite satisfied using them this way, but at home I'm using them with my balanced amp to get some more out of them.
So Hifiman's claim is actually true, unless you need serious headroom for modifications or eq, an averege smartphone is enough to get alot out of these planars ! Pitty there wasn't a transport Box included , but for travel I just stick to my IEMs I guess.

Pitty I can't compare them to any other planars, but it's safe to say I'm quite addicted to them .

Do you guys think a sundara or he400i might have been enough to get a similar nice planar- experience? Over at the ASR forum some guys are suggesting they sound almost the same, but specswise they are totally different, I mean look at that driver size! Can't imagine they are only marginally better than the cheapest planars, I mean they cost ALOT more ! I know of diminishing returns but all I can say is I'm hugely enjoying the Ananda.

 

[ahmonge]

Do you guys think a sundara or he400i might have been enough to get a similar nice planar- experience

When I was demoing both last autumn looking for classical music headphones, Sundara sounded to me less treble refined, with less microdetail an a bit off timbre for orchestral strings. Bass didn't extend as well as with the Anandas. Although the price difference was huge (350€ to 800€), I found it worthwhile.

 

[haasaaroni]

Still not sure which headphones to get. Ananda, Clear, Aeolus... Damn, all these nice choices.

I own both the Ananda and the Aeolus now, and yeah they're completely different animals! They're also the only two I've been using for the last week...sorry Sennheisers! I've also demoed the Clears and used to own the Elex, and have since decided the Focal sound wasn't for me. Too bright and aggressive sounding...at least the Elex was. I just wasn't wowed by the Clears in any way when I tried them.

Also totall agree with @HTSkywalker, if the Clears are within your sight (and you can EQ), the Arya sounds like an absolute beast!

I will say, though, that after having gotten the Aeolus all my other cans sound weak and thin...the Aeolus are just such amazing phones, espeically with the Universe Perf Suede pads. The Arya should have the edge in detail (as the Ananda do), imaging, and soundstage, but the Aeolus wins in pure enjoyment, punch, and natural timbre. Nothing harsh in their sound at all either.

I still go to the Ananda for movies and orchestral music, but the Aeolus are simply a dream.

 

[Queen6]

Ananda & R2R2000

Brothers in arms

Q-6

 

[1-MiC]

I own both the Ananda and the Aeolus now, and yeah they're completely different animals! They're also the only two I've been using for the last week...sorry Sennheisers! I've also demoed the Clears and used to own the Elex, and have since decided the Focal sound wasn't for me. Too bright and aggressive sounding...at least the Elex was. I just wasn't wowed by the Clears in any way when I tried them.

Also totall agree with @HTSkywalker, if the Clears are within your sight (and you can EQ), the Arya sounds like an absolute beast!

I will say, though, that after having gotten the Aeolus all my other cans sound weak and thin...the Aeolus are just such amazing phones, espeically with the Universe Perf Suede pads. The Arya should have the edge in detail (as the Ananda do), imaging, and soundstage, but the Aeolus wins in pure enjoyment, punch, and natural timbre. Nothing harsh in their sound at all either.

I still go to the Ananda for movies and orchestral music, but the Aeolus are simply a dream.

How would you say the sub-bass compares on those 2 cans? Everyone mentions the Aeolus is more mid bass focused, and the Anandas are constantly mentioned as bass-light.

Clearly I have the Ebonies for sub bass, but ZMF will probably be my upgrade path, either Aeolus for Open back or Atticus for closed back, down the line.

 

[haasaaroni]

How would you say the sub-bass compares on those 2 cans? Everyone mentions the Aeolus is more mid bass focused, and the Anandas are constantly mentioned as bass-light.

Clearly I have the Ebonies for sub bass, but ZMF will probably be my upgrade path, either Aeolus for Open back or Atticus for closed back, down the line.

Honestly I don't listen to a ton of music with noticable sub bass, but I don't hear any lack in sub bass from the Aeolus, for my purposes. Yeah, the mid bass is where the bass peaks, but it doesn't get in the way of the lower frequencies at all. Compared to the Ananda, it might even have more, since the Ananda's FR is sort of a straight line to the left, while the Aeolus has a very large arch peaking much higher than the Ananda before rolling off. The Ananda has more of that planar detail and texture down low, but the Aeolus wins on impact.

From what people say, the Auteur is the more sub-bass focused headphone though, as is the Eikon. I still LOVE the Atticus personally...waiting to save up enough money for one of those down the line as well. It sounds different enough from the Aeolus that it would make a great companion to it. A little rougher, edgier, punchier, more lively from what I remember.

 

[Hamlap]

I will say, though, that after having gotten the Aeolus all my other cans sound weak and thin...the Aeolus are just such amazing phones, espeically with the Universe Perf Suede pads. The Arya should have the edge in detail (as the Ananda do), imaging, and soundstage, but the Aeolus wins in pure enjoyment, punch, and natural timbre. Nothing harsh in their sound at all either.

I still go to the Ananda for movies and orchestral music, but the Aeolus are simply a dream.

This wins it for me!

 

[haasaaroni]

This wins it for me!

Also consider the other way around: putting on the Aeolus after the Ananda is like adjusting your eyes to a very dark, crowded room. I had that experience last night and felt like I needed to mention it

Again they’re just so, so different. Like, do you prefer going to small nightclubs or attending large outdoor concerts with ample social distancing? It’s a lot like that. Good luck!