[Ichos]

Or get both!

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Try some dekoni nuggets and see if that helps keep them higher up.

I saw a post somewhere else where they used them as well, worked well for them (may have even been here I saw it haha)

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

thats true . they are the more tonally correct of the two at any price really. but you do miss alot of the quality planar qualities that i think outweigh the great tone of the 6 series. add some tubes though and its close.

I've found it incredibly difficult to listen to my HD650 since I received my Dan Clark Aeon Open X from Drop. Even on my Darkvoice, they just sound so much thinner. That's prompted me to sell the Darkvoice, HD650 and my Amiron Home, and get the Ananda (to go with my Nighthawk and the Aeon Open X).

I adored my Amiron, but again it's so hard to listen to them when you've got that upgrade sitting next to them. Just need to resist anymore upgrades! I ruin my collection for myself.

 

[bagwell359]

Adorama sold HE-5se, HE-6se1, HE-560 v2, HE-560 v3 - and perhaps others. I bought the 5se and 6se1 from them. The 5se was awful sonically IMO but it worked, the se1 was/is quite good with a nasty dip at 1720 Hz. Some others mentioned that the v2 and v3 of the 560 sounded poorly, assumed to be the build quality - by the factory, not Adorama.

Ananda is the best can for its price IMO. It's flaws are:

1. bass impact lacking (clarity, speed fine),
2. it also is slightly weighed towards the treble,
3. and most maddingly: with very well recorded music ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Krall, Cuts 1, 3, 5, 6 "Come Away With ME" - Norah Jones, "Too Rich For My Blood" - Patricia Barber, cuts 8-10 "Talking Book" Stevie Wonder, any Doug Sax - Sheffield Labs product. - All in Hi-Res or vinyl on a SoTA type set-up --- the Ananda sounds flat in terms of depth, detail retrieval (overtones threadbare). Also overall the body of the music comes off as thin. If you grew up with digital, SS, and electronic amplified music you may not notice.

I find the HE-6 6 screw, HE-6sev1, heavily modified HE-500, Arya, HEX v2, HD-600 on BHC w/ speedball amp to all produce music in more satisfying terms than the Ananda. Nothing is perfect.

 

[SilverEars]

Adorama sold HE-5se, HE-6se1, HE-560 v2, HE-560 v3 - and perhaps others. I bought the 5se and 6se1 from them. The 5se was awful sonically IMO but it worked, the se1 was/is quite good with a nasty dip at 1720 Hz. Some others mentioned that the v2 and v3 of the 560 sounded poorly, assumed to be the build quality - by the factory, not Adorama.

Ananda is the best can for its price IMO. It's flaws are:

1. bass impact lacking (clarity, speed fine),
2. it also is slightly weighed towards the treble,
3. and most maddingly: with very well recorded music ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Krall, Cuts 1, 3, 5, 6 "Come Away With ME" - Norah Jones, "Too Rich For My Blood" - Patricia Barber, cuts 8-10 "Talking Book" Stevie Wonder, any Doug Sax - Sheffield Labs product. - All in Hi-Res or vinyl on a SoTA type set-up --- the Ananda sounds flat in terms of depth, detail retrieval (overtones threadbare). Also overall the body of the music comes off as thin. If you grew up with digital, SS, and electronic amplified music you may not notice.

I find the HE-6 6 screw, HE-6sev1, heavily modified HE-500, Arya, HEX v2, HD-600 on BHC w/ speedball amp to all produce music in more satisfying terms than the Ananda. Nothing is perfect.

I realized multi-bit Yggy helps the HE-6 (6-screw) treble immensely, as Yggy isn't a hard/sharp treble like most cheap Sigma-Delta DACs. Yggy basically tames the treble just enough IMO, and it actually works well for HD800 as well. I heard 4-screw has greater treble? I don't see how that could be an improvment?

 

[bagwell359]

I realized multi-bit Yggy helps the HE-6 (6-screw) treble immensely, as Yggy isn't a hard/sharp treble like most cheap Sigma-Delta DACs. Yggy basically tames the treble just enough IMO, and it actually works well for HD800 as well. I heard 4-screw has greater treble? I don't see how that could be an improvment?

Hey... I saw a graph on the 4 screw and I can't imagine that treble would ever be neutral, never mind mellow. I think the specially treated ones might be fine, but stock looks like a nasty German can - treble first and last.

 

[sebek]

Try some dekoni nuggets and see if that helps keep them higher up.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try them, where can I order them from Europe?

 

[DJ LP]

Hi guys, i am thinking about purchasing an Ananda.

I would like to know about the QC of the Hifiman produtcs. I've heard the Sundara had a lot of defective units. Is it true with the Ananda too?
Also, is the Ananda easy to drive? Can i, for example, purchase a Hidizs S9 and be ok with it?

I have owned an assortment of HiFiMan products, DAPs and headphones including the Ananda's and I've never had a problem with anything being defective. I don't think they're hard to drive but the open up, to me, when given some power. I'm not familiar with the Hidzs S9.

 

[Dijitalism]

I’ve been using the Anandas for about a week and I just find them too fatiguing for me. I’m probably treble sensitive. I’ll most likely just return them.

What could I get instead? Something that’s suitable for treble sensitive ears (Sennheiser 660s?)

 

[DJ LP]

I agree with you. After having the Ananda for a few weeks, I love the great balance and they sound really good with Classical music and Jazz, but they are lacking in bass response. Not enough slam and dynamics in the bass. Also, there is a metallic colored timbre that is very noticeable if you are used to listening to dynamic driver headphones. I am thinking about upgrading the HE1000v2 or SE.

I agree with you. Bass is a little light and I don't know why manufactures are scared to make audiophile headphones with bass. What's perceived as fast bass, a lot of times is no sub bass. Example. Listening to a kick drum, the initial not is higher in frequency. What follows is sub bass. They don't hear the sub bass but the initial attack and think that's fast bass, when they're missing half of what they're supposed to hear. That wasn't for you by the way. For the fast bass people. You go listen to a live, full orchestra, you will hear sub bass, that will go through you. Home audio, which I'm also into, subwoofers are a big sell. I own 2 myself, M&K MX 200Thx, to go with my Dynaudio Countors. If anyone knows anything about the brand, they will know they are excellent subwoofers. People pay thousands of dollars for subwoofers, that have excellent performance. Most of us that have the really good ones are music first, movie second type of people. I don't know why this hasn't caught on on the headphone world. With that being posted, let me tell you this. I still think they're a little light BUT I'm starting to change somewhat. I don't know if my cord or the headphones have broken in because now I'm noticing more sub bass. I was truly thinking about selling mine but now I'm really reconsidering. The bass was my only problem. I changed the cord, which sounds better across the board. I haven't tried the old cord since the increase in bass to see if it's that or the headphones itself yet because I'm still in shock about the increase. I use HiFIMan's DAP, the HM-650, with a minibox gold card. I've purchased the xDuoo XD-05 Plus and I think I'm going to get the xDuoo X10T II, to use as a DAP. I didn't like the way the HIFiMan sounded with it. The HiFiman was better by itself. I think that was because of the way it was hooked up to the xDuoo.

 

[DJ LP]

However I have a little problem with Ananda, which always tends to slide down on the head. When it slips down the sound changes significantly and darkens. I often have to fix and pull it.

Me too. Does anyone have a remedy for that?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I agree with you. Bass is a little light and I don't know why manufactures are scared to make audiophile headphones with bass. What's perceived as fast bass, a lot of times is no sub bass. Example. Listening to a kick drum, the initial not is higher in frequency. What follows is sub bass. They don't hear the sub bass but the initial attack and think that's fast bass, when they're missing half of what they're supposed to hear. That wasn't for you by the way. For the fast bass people. You go listen to a live, full orchestra, you will hear sub bass, that will go through you. Home audio, which I'm also into, subwoofers are a big sell. I own 2 myself, M&K MX 200Thx, to go with my Dynaudio Countors. If anyone knows anything about the brand, they will know they are excellent subwoofers. People pay thousands of dollars for subwoofers, that have excellent performance. Most of us that have the really good ones are music first, movie second type of people. I don't know why this hasn't caught on on the headphone world. With that being posted, let me tell you this. I still think they're a little light BUT I'm starting to change somewhat. I don't know if my cord or the headphones have broken in because now I'm noticing more sub bass. I was truly thinking about selling mine but now I'm really reconsidering. The bass was my only problem. I changed the cord, which sounds better across the board. I haven't tried the old cord since the increase in bass to see if it's that or the headphones itself yet because I'm still in shock about the increase. I use HiFIMan's DAP, the HM-650, with a minibox gold card. I've purchased the xDuoo XD-05 Plus and I think I'm going to get the xDuoo X10T II, to use as a DAP. I didn't like the way the HIFiMan sounded with it. The HiFiman was better by itself. I think that was because of the way it was hooked up to the xDuoo.

I haven't invested in a high end cable for the Anandas yet. I did get an affordable 4-pin XLR so that I can connect them to all of my sources. I did try to EQ them and they did not respond well when I added a 100hz bass shelf. I just think they are technically not capable of delivering the same type of rumble and slam of my other headphones. This is not a knock on the headphones because I love them as they are. They sound great with almost all of my music. None of my headphones sounds the best with everything.

 

[sebek]

Me too. Does anyone have a remedy for that?

Dekoni Nuggets should be a good suggestion, I think I'll order and try them.

 

[DJ LP]

I haven't invested in a high end cable for the Anandas yet. I did get an affordable 4-pin XLR so that I can connect them to all of my sources. I did try to EQ them and they did not respond well when I added a 100hz bass shelf. I just think they are technically not capable of delivering the same type of rumble and slam of my other headphones. This is not a knock on the headphones because I love them as they are. They sound great with almost all of my music. None of my headphones sounds the best with everything.

What did they do when you added the bass shelf? You're absolutely correct. I have Ultrasone's Pro 650, Pro 900 (bass, slam and dynamics) and Performance 880. HiFiman 400i and the Ananda's. I just want 1 pair of headphones that sounds well with everything I listen to, which is a pretty wide variety of music. For the money we pay, that's not too much to ask.

 

[DJ LP]

Dekoni Nuggets should be a good suggestion, I think I'll order and try th

Dekoni Nuggets should be a good suggestion, I think I'll order and try them.

Me too.