[bithloman]

my ananadas shake my head with the oratory EQ. the cups are just too big for my head and i want more slam so i ordered the he6se for 650 dollars. same price i paid for ananda. people say the he6se can be better than the arya so ill report back here on the difference. im usung the saga + as a tube pre amp i would highly recommend if you dont want to EQ it tames the treble quite a bit with a ken rad smoked glass and makes everything better basically. JOT 2 as balanced amp helps as well.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

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.

It got really muddy and lost a lot of resolution. For higher end headphones like HD800S or ZMF VC, when you add a bass shelf, you get deep and clean rumble like a good subwoofer.

 

[DaOchin]

I tried some tuning and it seemed to help improve the bass. Not a bass monster still but it got pretty thick.

 

[bithloman]

I tried some tuning and it seemed to help improve the bass. Not a bass monster still but it got pretty thick.

i think if you used this setting which is 85% of oratory EQ for ananda. i didnt feel the need to do all of the tweaks on little tiny things. you will notice a large improvement overall without any downside. using EQ APO

 

[Belimaxim]

Hello
did anyone make straight comparison between these and edition x? Seems they are pretty similar in terms of driver quality , ergonomics

 

[bithloman]

Hello
did anyone make straight comparison between these and edition x? Seems they are pretty similar in terms of driver quality , ergonomics

The edition x is 3 revisions behind the Ananda . Then and is technically superior in every way. Not to mention the reliability was very bad on the older ones.

 

[bagwell359]

HEX v2 and Ananda are similar in the bass including the lack of impact. HEX v2 needs more EQ to shine. When EQ'd the HEX v2 has a deeper stage. Ananda is a bit snappier W.R.T dynamics. Ananda presents as a thinner/less body mids. Anandas weakest point is the lack of subtle details/harmonics - it seems very Solid State too me. The HEX v2 is more cohesive and richer in the mids. Treble more nuanced than then the fundamental first and oops where are the harmonics Ananda.

My HE-6sev1 (albeit with crummy staging) and heavily modded HE-500 bury both of them. My HD-600 on modded BHC also is far more enjoyable than either.

If you listen to classical, Chesky, Sheffield, Krall type stuff try the used HEX v2 - $650-700. If you only listen to amplified music you are likely better off with the Ananda. But it has been about 3.5 years since the last HEX v2 rolled off the line - which has to figure in your calculations.

 

[Belimaxim]

HEX v2 and Ananda are similar in the bass including the lack of impact. HEX v2 needs more EQ to shine. When EQ'd the HEX v2 has a deeper stage. Ananda is a bit snappier W.R.T dynamics. Ananda presents as a thinner/less body mids. Anandas weakest point is the lack of subtle details/harmonics - it seems very Solid State too me. The HEX v2 is more cohesive and richer in the mids. Treble more nuanced than then the fundamental first and oops where are the harmonics Ananda.

My HE-6sev1 (albeit with crummy staging) and heavily modded HE-500 bury both of them. My HD-600 on modded BHC also is far more enjoyable than either.

If you listen to classical, Chesky, Sheffield, Krall type stuff try the used HEX v2 - $650-700. If you only listen to amplified music you are likely better off with the Ananda. But it has been about 3.5 years since the last HEX v2 rolled off the line - which has to figure in your calculations.

Thank you for such an accurate explanation

 

[haasaaroni]

my ananadas shake my head with the oratory EQ. the cups are just too big for my head and i want more slam so i ordered the he6se for 650 dollars. same price i paid for ananda. people say the he6se can be better than the arya so ill report back here on the difference. im usung the saga + as a tube pre amp i would highly recommend if you dont want to EQ it tames the treble quite a bit with a ken rad smoked glass and makes everything better basically. JOT 2 as balanced amp helps as well.

Curious to hear your thoughts when you get them. I'm thinking of upgrading from the Ananda soon...they've been with me a while, but I'm wanting something "more." Was thinking of upgrading to the Arya since I've got a liquid platinum coming in soon. I hesitate to go to the HE6SE because of the smaller driver size (my ears also don't fit the circular cups of the round Hifimans), and what I love most about the Ananda is that huge sound it gives, especially for classical.

 

[bithloman]

Curious to hear your thoughts when you get them. I'm thinking of upgrading from the Ananda soon...they've been with me a while, but I'm wanting something "more." Was thinking of upgrading to the Arya since I've got a liquid platinum coming in soon. I hesitate to go to the HE6SE because of the smaller driver size (my ears also don't fit the circular cups of the round Hifimans), and what I love most about the Ananda is that huge sound it gives, especially for classical.

i ordered the XL brainwavz hybrid pads for the he6se so my ears can fit, and the open grill mods for the back. aparently that is amazing. and you can see the different pad changes to the freq response here. it looks quite good for the purple line which is the pads i ordered. i think it will be an upgrade. and they are 599 on adorama now if you click the used tab once you click on the regular priced option.

 

[haasaaroni]

i ordered the XL brainwavz hybrid pads for the he6se so my ears can fit, and the open grill mods for the back. aparently that is amazing. and you can see the different pad changes to the freq response here. it looks quite good for the purple line which is the pads i ordered. i think it will be an upgrade. and they are 599 on adorama now if you click the used tab once you click on the regular priced option.

Dang, looks like they're already sold out. I just see them new for $1799 (on backorder), no used option. Unless I'm missing something.

Yeah that FR looks very promising! Let us know how you like them.

 

[bithloman]

Dang, looks like they're already sold out. I just see them new for $1799 (on backorder), no used option. Unless I'm missing something.

Yeah that FR looks very promising! Let us know how you like them.

yeah they must have sold out in the last day. you can find some used for around that price. but i guess you might want to wait. idk if they will drop that low again. need a pretty crazy amp for them. i wont have my JOT2 for awhile so ill be using a heresy which is only 1.8 watts into 50 ohms but we will see. schiit is super behind i guess.

 

[haasaaroni]

yeah they must have sold out in the last day. you can find some used for around that price. but i guess you might want to wait. idk if they will drop that low again. need a pretty crazy amp for them. i wont have my JOT2 for awhile so ill be using a heresy which is only 1.8 watts into 50 ohms but we will see. schiit is super behind i guess.

Yeah Schiit's got a backorder problem of their own. I'd assume the Liquid Platinum would powerful enough for them, at around 4 watts at 50 ohms. Otherwise I can always move my Emotiva BasX A-100 from the living room I'll keep an eye out for some!

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

So I've had my Ananda for a full day now. First impressions weren't great, out of the box I found the Sundara slightly more comfortable and to have a more pleasing sound. The Ananda are definitely brighter. Not too bright for most I'm sure, but too bright for me.

I find the Hifiman headbands and yolks to be extremely disappointing. After all these years do they still struggle to put out a headband that has just as much functionality as a £10 headset. As with the Sundara, I bent the metal yolks slightly to improve the comfort. Come on Hifiman, we shouldn't have to bend yolks due to a lack of swivel. They really need to change their design team (headband system... not the sound).

The earpads are enormous, and due to the way the sound is presented and how open these are, it does feel a bit like you're wearing a headphone that has no drivers and that you're listening to some nearby speakers a few inches beyond the pads. Very different to most headphones so takes some getting used to, but definitely a positive overall.

I don't like to EQ headphones, I'm not very good at finding my own settings, I feel like an idiot doing it, and I kind of feel like an expensive headphone should be at it's best without the need to EQ (perfect world, I know). This morning I've installed EQ APO and Peace GUI, then I've configured the EQ with the most recent Oratory settings. I have to say, this headphone responds better to equalising than just about any other headphone I've configured previously using Oratory. What a night and day difference! It's safe to say this headphone is too bright for me without EQ, but absolutely nails the sound for me with EQ (I appreciate we all have our own tastes in audio). Such a pleasure to listen to after EQ... how many times can I say EQ.

If Hifiman produced a better, more effective headband system, and also improved the pads (the polyester is very cheap and nasty for such a premium product), then this could easily be my favourite headphone. I would never recommend it without explaining these issues first, but for anyone left wondering if these are worth it then I'd have to say... try them first. Out of the box I don't think so. But with EQ and a few bends to the yolks then yes they're worth it BUT only if you don't already own the Sundara. I don't think both in a collection is worth it. The Ananda with EQ is the better of the two. The Sundara is the easier to listen to without EQ to either headphone. This is my own view of course.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

i think if you used this setting which is 85% of oratory EQ for ananda. i didnt feel the need to do all of the tweaks on little tiny things. you will notice a large improvement overall without any downside. using EQ APO

I'll give these settings a go as well as the Oratory. Thanks for sharing.