[bagwell359]

Something interesting I stumbled on last night. When I received the Ananda's the headband was in it's lowest/smallest size setting. The ear pads are huge, completely envelope my ears at that setting, and at that smallest setting the Ananda's still felt like they were way too low on my head. Out of curiosity I extended the headband up another 2 notches last night, and the ear pads are now even lower, slightly overlapping with the corner of my jaw. To my surprise the sound changed dramatically for the better. Imaging went up to the next level, bass increased, thinness decreased, and the tonality of everything improved a lot. So if these headphones don't sound right to you, try adjusting the band even if you don't think you need to. You may find something special if you can find the exact right height.

At least two other users here went through this - but with the "sister" cans HEX v2. The soundstage and treble are at their best IMO when the center of the can is right even with your ear hole. I have a big head, and they are still too low on their own. The nuggets were a perfect solution. I also added a silver cable, and I don't think there are too many HEX v2's around that sound better.

However, the Ananda is another kettle of fish. I wouldn't think silver or SPC cable would be good, stick with OCC copper. The actual height of the cans wrt soundtage and treble? I don't know, didn't test it, but I would bet that you'll be able to find it with some adjustment.

 

[Ironcobra80]

Hey guys just grabbed a pair of these and had a few questions about hesuvi, have any of you guys used the autoeq files for these headphones? Im kinda a noob with this stuff and was wondering which ones to use for these cans. https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/rtings/avg/HiFiMan Ananda

 

[shady1991]

Something interesting I stumbled on last night. When I received the Ananda's the headband was in it's lowest/smallest size setting. The ear pads are huge, completely envelope my ears at that setting, and at that smallest setting the Ananda's still felt like they were way too low on my head. Out of curiosity I extended the headband up another 2 notches last night, and the ear pads are now even lower, slightly overlapping with the corner of my jaw. To my surprise the sound changed dramatically for the better. Imaging went up to the next level, bass increased, thinness decreased, and the tonality of everything improved a lot. So if these headphones don't sound right to you, try adjusting the band even if you don't think you need to. You may find something special if you can find the exact right height.

I had exactly the same experience. I had on the lowest setting and I wanted to make it even shorter because I was reading here that nuggets is needed. But the truth is the contrary, shifting the cups lower makes sound sooo much clearer and warmer. I think this positioning psrtly contributes to big disagreements about sound of these headphones, the cups are too large so there is too many ways to put it on the head which result in different sound characteristics.

 

[Dramlin]

Couldn't agree more. I too think that some are likely having different experiences with these headphones due to incorrect placement of the band. Shifting the headphone lower seems very counterproductive due to the size of the cups, but the changes are dramatic if you find the right spot.

Also completely odd in my case is that while I was playing around to find the right height for me, I accidentally had one side lower than the other. Again to my surprise I found that 2 notches on the left and 1 notch on the right sounds best to me (even though it isn't symmetrical). I'm not exactly sure why, but perhaps one side is slightly too high and one is slightly too low on my head, and they both cancel each other out to make the sound I'm looking for.

 

[Ichos]

I am participating at the loaner tour.
I tried the above mentioned adjustments and to my experience the differences were from minimal to non existent.
Anyway trying to micro adjust the headphones to your head every time to get the optimal experience seems kind of counterproductive.

 

[Ripper2860]

I guess that explains why my music sounds better after a haircut!!

 

[kid vic]

I guess that explains why my music sounds better after a haircut!!

Honest opinion, whenever I shave and get a haircut all of my headphones seal better and I get better bass and a slightly sharper presentation.

 

[bagwell359]

I had exactly the same experience. I had on the lowest setting and I wanted to make it even shorter because I was reading here that nuggets is needed. But the truth is the contrary, shifting the cups lower makes sound sooo much clearer and warmer. I think this positioning psrtly contributes to big disagreements about sound of these headphones, the cups are too large so there is too many ways to put it on the head which result in different sound characteristics.

There is no right size fits all. Depending on the contours of your cheeks, width and length of your head, etc. it effects the seal and bass response. Angling the headband even with the cups in the same place can change the bass quite a bit.

However for the HEX v2's I want the max treble - even over bass seal. With the Ananda's I cannot imagine wanting to max the treble - so having them lower makes sense, but what happens to the soundstage? If you go too low you are going to break the bass seal. Multi variable equations - always fun.

 

[Ironcobra80]

So good old amazon delivered the wrong headphones got the sundaras instead of the anandas I ordered, so I get to demo the sundaras for 2 days until I receive the correct pair. I have to say wow are these a huge upgrade over my ath-a900. Havent received my atom and tone board yet until tomorrow so im just running them off of a marantz sr7010. Such a huge sound. Extremely comfortable as well.

 

[G0rt]

So good old amazon delivered the wrong headphones got the sundaras instead of the anandas I ordered, so I get to demo the sundaras for 2 days until I receive the correct pair. I have to say wow are these a huge upgrade over my ath-a900. Havent received my atom and tone board yet until tomorrow so im just running them off of a marantz sr7010. Such a huge sound. Extremely comfortable as well.

If you can, try them balanced. Running them SE is, IMHO, a lot like running your sailboat on it's diesel backup. Sure, it goes, but it's just not right.

 

[Ironcobra80]

If you can, try them balanced. Running them SE is, IMHO, a lot like running your sailboat on it's diesel backup. Sure, it goes, but it's just not right.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this Im very new to this hobby and not sure what you mean. Im currently outputting hesuvi equalizer for the sundara with no virtualization to hdmi from my nvidia card to my marantz in pure direct.

 

[G0rt]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this Im very new to this hobby and not sure what you mean. Im currently outputting hesuvi equalizer for the sundara with no virtualization to hdmi from my nvidia card to my marantz in pure direct.

My Sundara, and my Ananda, sounded fine to me, even from my S8 cell, using the supplied cables. Not great, not especially impressive other than that planar sense of liquidity, but certainly good enough to enjoy.

When I was able to use them with the balanced outputs I have available, Mjolnir 2 and Jotunheim, I was, not to put too fine a point on it, flabbergasted.

Clarity, tonal balance, dynamics, everything across the board improved dramatically. They really, really shine with efficient, balanced drive.

I attribute this entirely to giving them the power they seem to need to deliver on their potential, Sundara even more than Ananda. And it's not a simple matter of loudness, but of quality at any level.

Surprisingly, to me, given their largely flat impedance curve relative to dynamics, planars thrive on power. They appear to have been designed, or at least tested, with considerable power available.

 

[Ironcobra80]

My Sundara, and my Ananda, sounded fine to me, even from my S8 cell, using the supplied cables. Not great, not especially impressive other than that planar sense of liquidity, but certainly good enough to enjoy.

When I was able to use them with the balanced outputs I have available, Mjolnir 2 and Jotunheim, I was, not to put too fine a point on it, flabbergasted.

Clarity, tonal balance, dynamics, everything across the board improved dramatically. They really, really shine with efficient, balanced drive.

I attribute this entirely to giving them the power they seem to need to deliver on their potential, Sundara even more than Ananda. And it's not a simple matter of loudness, but of quality at any level.

Surprisingly, to me, given their largely flat impedance curve relative to dynamics, planars thrive on power. They appear to have been designed, or at least tested, with considerable power available.

Oh okay I got you that makes sense now. I have already emailed Pro audio LA to make me some custom cables as i need 12 ft to my amp from my listening position anyway, I will add balanced to my request, I asked for Mogami wire and Neutrik connectors. I will also upgrade the newer tone board when it comes out as its going to be balanced and have optical.

 

[oqvist]

My Sundara, and my Ananda, sounded fine to me, even from my S8 cell, using the supplied cables. Not great, not especially impressive other than that planar sense of liquidity, but certainly good enough to enjoy.

When I was able to use them with the balanced outputs I have available, Mjolnir 2 and Jotunheim, I was, not to put too fine a point on it, flabbergasted.

Clarity, tonal balance, dynamics, everything across the board improved dramatically. They really, really shine with efficient, balanced drive.

I attribute this entirely to giving them the power they seem to need to deliver on their potential, Sundara even more than Ananda. And it's not a simple matter of loudness, but of quality at any level.

Surprisingly, to me, given their largely flat impedance curve relative to dynamics, planars thrive on power. They appear to have been designed, or at least tested, with considerable power available.

To me power dont help at all. I can increase the power but it just compresses and drivers do seem to get out of control. I tried it on the THX 789 and my weaker tube amp. Same phenomena it dont scale well and equal volume despite more then 10* the power in the THX I recon. The lcd-2 loves my speakers amp outputs. Though the THX 789 was plenty enough for it.

If the amp is optimized for balanced it is better I recon but doubt it for power reasons. Is there any cheap cables out there? I can share cables with the elear which is practical.

 

[G0rt]

To me power dont help at all. I can increase the power but it just compresses and drivers do seem to get out of control. I tried it on the THX 789 and my weaker tube amp. Same phenomena it dont scale well and equal volume despite more then 10* the power in the THX I recon. The lcd-2 loves my speakers amp outputs. Though the THX 789 was plenty enough for it.

If the amp is optimized for balanced it is better I recon but doubt it for power reasons. Is there any cheap cables out there? I can share cables with the elear which is practical.

There's a slight conflation of terms here, I think.

A higher level, indicated by volume setting, doesn't necessarily equate to more power, as a linear function.

Power, generally speaking, is the product of voltage and current, and either can be limited by the driving circuitry, and it's power supplies.

Again, in general, power increases as the square of voltage, and if the corresponding current for a given load is simply unavailable, you can get exactly that sense of compression you describe.

(And yes, this is a gross oversimplification of amplification and power supply behaviors, but it's still generally true.)

Balanced drive is typically associated with more powerful circuits, and balanced drive is itself more efficient in delivering whatever power is available, kind of a win win.

All my headamps can deliver lots of power, and by design or default, most of my headphones sound best using the balanced interfaces, but I find the planars benefit fairly dramatically.

The rest is just my speculation, but I have given it some thought.