[fsi22]

i agree. but when amir directly reported to bill gates reguarding his research into audio compression and also has the best gear it is at least worth a look. i dont agree with him on many things but his techincal knowledge about audio compression and equipment isnt just made up or a fraud. the measurements speak for themselves and all he has to do is step out of the way. which he doesnt always do. again the anandas have a very strange shape and you are seeing the effects here. people should know about that. i think its a great headphone. sucks about the distorion and phase alignment unless someone could prove thats because of the lack of seal but i dont think so.

Yeah, Amir is a massive credit. His experience, qualifications and credentials cannot be ignored. Don't have to agree with him on many subjective things but it's good to have this recourse for people who are engineering inquisitive. Those who think objectivity is overrated should get their information from those who they trust / prefer, but Amir is no fraud.

 

[fsi22]

I would look at other measurements other than Amir's, not just Amir's. See how they differentiate, etc.. It's not set in stone that Amir's is the standard. I only see Amir's measurements as a different rig's result.

Amir testing is deeper than most, but yes there are people like Crinacle and Andrew. Amir not recommending a product doesn't make it bad subjectively. It simply is his approach from an engineering perspective.

Andrew is probably the most agreeable to most people who straddle the line between objective and subjective.

 

[sebek]

Mhh .. if Ananda have been crushed by Asr flatlanders it is the official confirmation that they are great headphones.

 

[fsi22]

Mhh .. if Ananda have been crushed by Asr flatlanders it is the official confirmation that they are great headphones.

Lol, I'm curious.... on the flip side. He was blown away by the HE6. So what does that say?

 

[yeboyi]

It's slightly scooped at around 1.5khz which is why it would seem off. Tonally balanced is that it doesn't wildly fluctuate along it's spectrum. It's the Hifiman sound, a late rise at 2khz and slightly elevated at 4khz. From Ananda to Susvara, they are a variation of that sound. The Sundara now follows the harman target more closely, so rises earlier.

3 to 5k is also a peak to me so 1.5k dip right before 3-5k peak heavily impacts the balance. Not big fan of hifiman house sound.

 

[hmscott]

How do you feel about the stock cable? All the reviewers seemed to hate it, but I feel Iike they missed the point—there don’t seem to be any lighter materials that could’ve been used. I feel like hifiman really just wanted to minimize weight and they nailed it.

The stock Hifiman cables that came with the Ananda and HE6SE V2 sound fine, they don't get in the way - a bit short - and I have 3 different cables from Hifiman - the 2x 3.5mm to 6.35mm (fixed), 2x3.5mm to 3.5mm+6.35mm adapter, 2x3.5mm to 4-pin. For my use I am using the 3.5mm/4-pin cables mostly, and ordered new cables to see if they are a sound / fit / physical improvement.

These GUcraftsman 8/16 core Silver/Copper cables have a good reputation, sell on AliExpress and Hifigo.com and ?. Shipping Monday, and shipments usually take 3-10 days from Hifigo during the Covid-19 affected shipping over the last year, typically from my experience AliExpress takes weeks longer, I'm in CA, USA:

FYI - I'm only interested in balanced cables, prefer 4mm connector, and the 4mm termination option is what I've ordered here:

GUcraftsman 6n silver For Beyerdynamic Headphone Upgrade Cable (see images discuss Hifiman usage)
https://hifigo.com/products/gucraft...eadphone-upgrade-cable?variant=32171665129521
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32889082424.html

Also picked up HD660s cable:

GUcraftsman 6n silver HD600 HD650 HD660s Headphone upgrade Cables 4.4/2.5mm balance
https://hifigo.com/products/6n-silv...bles-4-4-2-5mm-balance?variant=31090994708529
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32887740764.html

GUcraftsman also has one 16 core cable, but only makes it for HD6-- series headphones, and only GUcraftsman's Aliexpress store has it, I'll ask Hifigo if they can source it / list it before I order again next month:

GUCraftsman 2.5/4.4mm Balance 16 core silver 4Pin XLR hd600 hd650 hd660s Earphone Headphone cables
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000005439414.html

Next month I'll try the 16 core cable and ask for GUcraftsman if they will build a Hifiman 16 core cable. Wonder if I can get them to make a mixed Silver/Copper 16 core...

 

[ahmonge]

How do you feel about the stock cable? All the reviewers seemed to hate it, but I feel Iike they missed the point—there don’t seem to be any lighter materials that could’ve been used. I feel like hifiman really just wanted to minimize weight and they nailed it.

It's the lightest headphone cable I know of, which is fine, but it gets permanently deformed with ease. The two cables of my Anandas show the markings of the wires of the packaging and maintain the signature of a spring. In the end I opted for a braided cable from Aliexpress which is reasonably light and memoryless.

 

[yeboyi]

We should have earpad talk in this sub. My earpads are getting old are there any alternatives ? What happens if i use arya earpads for example.

 

[ahmonge]

3 to 5k is also a peak to me so 1.5k dip right before 3-5k peak heavily impacts the balance. Not big fan of hifiman house sound.

Yes, you’re right, no good for vocal oriented music, exagerates sibilance if it is on the recording, but it does the trick for orchestral classical music, and even with classical singers, which are well recorded and sibilance free. So, with the right recording Anandas make wonders: great soundstage, liveness. detail and dynamics. Try the Mahler 3rd symphony by Ivan Fisher and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, for instance. Awesome experience.

 

[hmscott]

It's the lightest headphone cable I know of, which is fine, but it gets permanently deformed with ease. The two cables of my Anandas show the markings of the wires of the packaging and maintain the signature of a spring. In the end I opted for a braided cable from Aliexpress which is reasonably light and memoryless.

Which cable(s) on AliExpress did you get? Link(s)?

 

[fsi22]

There's also the beyerdynamic cables. nice quality and reasonably priced. I use the balanced version

https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/audiophile-connection-cable-1-40-m.html

 

[fsi22]

I ordered cables of ebay recently from Sky Audio Cables. I haven't received them yet but his options of colour and styles is awesome. There is a thread on headfi and people seem happy with the quality.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-H...7?pageci=b1be66a8-3a23-4e3c-8560-7d58fb53cbbe

 

[hmscott]

I ordered cables of ebay recently from Sky Audio Cables. I haven't received them yet but his options of colour and styles is awesome. There is a thread on headfi and people seem happy with the quality.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-H...7?pageci=b1be66a8-3a23-4e3c-8560-7d58fb53cbbe

Which wire did you order? Litz copper or silver plated? Termination?

They also have a Pure (solid) silver version:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pure-Sil...fiman-He400i-Amiron-Elear-Sony-Z7/17401503836

The cost of £107.31 for the solid silver wire is very close to what the solid silver wired GUCraftsman cost, $158.00.

There's also the beyerdynamic cables. nice quality and reasonably priced. I use the balanced version

https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/audiophile-connection-cable-1-40-m.html

The link you provided is for their 3.5mm/6.35mm SE cable, not a balanced cable...Which balanced cable did you order?

When I searched on that site I didn't find a cable with a 4mm balanced end - which is what I like to use for desktop/portable, but I did find 2 balanced cables, one with a 4-pin termination and one with a 2.5mm termination - that 2.5mm end looks like it will be difficult to use as the plastic barrel is huge:

AUDIOPHILE CONNECTION CABLE, BALANCED, 1.40 M
Connection cable for two-sided cabling with conductors made from OCC 7N copper with 2.5 mm 4-pole plug
https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/audiophile-connection-cable-balanced-1-40-m.html

AUDIOPHILE CONNECTION CABLE, BALANCED, XLR–4, 3.0 M
https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/connection-cable-audiophile-3m-balanced.html

 

[fsi22]

Which wire did you order? Litz copper or silver plated? Termination?

They also have a Pure (solid) silver version:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pure-Sil...fiman-He400i-Amiron-Elear-Sony-Z7/17401503836

The cost of £107.31 for the solid silver wire is very close to what the solid silver wired GUCraftsman cost, $158.00.

The link you provided is for their 3.5mm/6.35mm SE cable, not a balanced cable...Which balanced cable did you order?

When I searched on that site I didn't find a cable with a 4mm balanced end - which is what I like to use for desktop/portable, but I did find 2 balanced cables, one with a 4-pin termination and one with a 2.5mm termination - that 2.5mm end looks like it will be difficult to use as the plastic barrel is huge:

AUDIOPHILE CONNECTION CABLE, BALANCED, 1.40 M
Connection cable for two-sided cabling with conductors made from OCC 7N copper with 2.5 mm 4-pole plug
https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/audiophile-connection-cable-balanced-1-40-m.html

AUDIOPHILE CONNECTION CABLE, BALANCED, XLR–4, 3.0 M
https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/connection-cable-audiophile-3m-balanced.html

The beyer balanced is

https://www.beyerdynamic.com.au/products/beyerdynamic-718106

With Sky Audio, I went with the Silver plated, Not for my Ananda so had 2.5mm into cups and 2.5mm balanced. I prefer 2.5mm balanced as I have 2 devices that have different terminations. 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced, so use a 4.4mm adaptor to 2.5mm for my cables.

 

[ahmonge]

Which cable(s) on AliExpress did you get? Link(s)?

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/4000614744098.html

2 meters 6.5 mm. jack