[yeboyi]

edit: It's the song. Plugged in my HD 700's and the same crackle and pop is there although hard to hear and I had to be looking for it. Detail retrieval of the Anandas is simply amazing.

Lol this was so surprising for me too. I thought my headphone was broken.

Detail is ridiculously good and effortless. If you listen acoustic, live stuff you notice lots of stuff, it captures the atmosphere, breathing etc so well.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Hi,

Looking at the Ananda as my next potential headphone upgrade. Would a portable DAC/Amp do it justice? I'm thinking FiiO BTR5 or Dragonfly Cobalt. Or would I be better off with Ananda BT?

Appreciate any help!

I haven't heard Ananda wired with portable gear but I had Ananda BT briefly. The wired Ananda sounds much better especially considering the $300 difference, IMO. Plus there was no way to drive the BT with an outboard amp, the only option was the amp inside the BT that limited my playing options. That was the real deal-breaker for me. They sound different also, with the wired version sounding more refined and easier to listen to for long sessions. IMO, of course.

 

[Pugzilla]

Would the Ananda be a significant improvement over the Fidelio X2 for gaming and music?

 

[lalawilson168]

I haven't heard Ananda wired with portable gear but I had Ananda BT briefly. The wired Ananda sounds much better especially considering the $300 difference, IMO. Plus there was no way to drive the BT with an outboard amp, the only option was the amp inside the BT that limited my playing options. That was the real deal-breaker for me. They sound different also, with the wired version sounding more refined and easier to listen to for long sessions. IMO, of course.

I havent tried Ananda BT but given Hifiman is charging an extra 300 bucks over it I doubt its noticeably worse in terms of sound quality over the wired version but as I said I havent tried the BT version so take that comment with a grain of salt. I agree with @ezduzit2500 the inability to drive the BT version with an external amp is a deal breaker for me, and to top that off, I struggle to see why you would use this headphone which leaks tremendous amount of sound in a portable way? If you are using it at home or indoor environment might as well get yourself a schitt stack or E10K with hundreds of dollars to spare.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Would the Ananda be a significant improvement over the Fidelio X2 for gaming and music?

Haven't heard the X2 but I believe that Ananda sure sounds close to, if not squarely high end. The music sounds pretty realistic. Don't know about gaming but movies sound good. Not the best of the best but not any huge flaws in it's sound, in my opinion. $699 is a lot of money for me but I feel that overall I got my money's worth, I'd have to spend quite a bit more to get not that much better. Depends on listener preference also. Best headphone I've owned so far, not trying to be a fanboi, but glad I took the step up to Ananda.

 

[MrMarc]

Hello,
I recently had my buddy's X2HR to evaluate it against my modded HE4xx and it wasn't even close for music. I can only imagine the gap widening versus the Sundara or Ananda. While a very good and "fun" pair of cans, it could not match the detail, sound stage, or accuracy of the 4xx on my rig. I do zero gaming, so I cannot fairly assess them for that purchase.

TBTW, while well built and somewhat heavy, they are very comfortable to wear.

Of course, YMMV.

THTH,
Marc

 

[animefreeks]

I havent tried Ananda BT but given Hifiman is charging an extra 300 bucks over it I doubt its noticeably worse in terms of sound quality over the wired version but as I said I havent tried the BT version so take that comment with a grain of salt. I agree with @ezduzit2500 the inability to drive the BT version with an external amp is a deal breaker for me, and to top that off, I struggle to see why you would use this headphone which leaks tremendous amount of sound in a portable way? If you are using it at home or indoor environment might as well get yourself a schitt stack or E10K with hundreds of dollars to spare.

Fun fact, I used to wear the Sennheiser HD 598's daily out in public when I was still in school. I used a rubber band to tie the 10ft cable and stuffed that into my pocket

 

[LoyK]

My upgrade path was Fidelio X2 -> Drop Hifiman-4XX -> Ananda and I think that both steps are quite the improvement.
Sundara or Deva would also be a nice improvement I guess but I could not listen to them yet.
Super happy with Ananda now If you like the X2 or 4XX I think that Ananda is a worthy upgrade.

 

[yeboyi]

Fun fact, I used to wear the Sennheiser HD 598's daily out in public when I was still in school. I used a rubber band to tie the 10ft cable and stuffed that into my pocket

True audiophile move right here

 

[BubbaJay]

I think the Ananda sounds a lot better than the 2C and to me it's not even close. If I listen to my 2C it sound overly warm and less detailed than the Ananda and also has a smaller soundstage and worse imaging. I put the stock vegan pads back on the 2C which did help a little but overall I just think the Ananda is a much better headphone.

I feel like my taste in sound signature has changed over the past few years from liking a warmer smoother sound to now a more balanced sound with good treble presentation. I don't like a really bright treble like on say the DT990 Pro but I find the Ananda's highs the be about perfect for me. They're bright enough without ever going over the edge to harsh, my HP-3 also has a treble response I like a lot.

 

[xanlamin]

Hi BubbaJay, I see you have the Aiva and HP-3. Would you consider them better in SQ as compared to Ananda? I had the HP-3 briefly and they sounded very good to me but my ears got fatigued after 30mins with them. Just wondering if Aiva or HP-3 would be considered an upgrade over the Ananda?

 

[Dramlin]

Has anyone tried the Arya and preferred the sound of the Ananda instead? I've seen some say that they couldn't tell the difference between the Ananda & Arya, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that they liked the Ananda more. What I'm getting at is that irregardless of the price difference, and whether it's worth that difference, it seems to be almost unanimous that the Arya is a better sounding headphone. Just wondering if anyone feels to the contrary on that statement since both headphones have slightly different approach in their sound signature.

 

[yeboyi]

Has anyone tried the Arya and preferred the sound of the Ananda instead? I've seen some say that they couldn't tell the difference between the Ananda & Arya, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that they liked the Ananda more. What I'm getting at is that irregardless of the price difference, and whether it's worth that difference, it seems to be almost unanimous that the Arya is a better sounding headphone. Just wondering if anyone feels to the contrary on that statement since both headphones have slightly different approach in their sound signature.

My impression(from reviews) is that Arya have slightly more v shape sound signature. More treble and bass, more slam. It also has much bigger soundstage, better technicalities. I would like it but it's way more expensive. You can buy 2x Ananda and a good dac amp stack for that money.

Ananda is a bit close sounding than i like. I like a bit bigger field of view. Ananda vocals are pretty forward and other instruments are done with exceptional depth capability of the headphone. Everything sounds transparent and i can see through them but it's not spread out.

 

[ezduzit2500]

I havent tried Ananda BT but given Hifiman is charging an extra 300 bucks over it I doubt its noticeably worse in terms of sound quality over the wired version but as I said I havent tried the BT version so take that comment with a grain of salt. I agree with @ezduzit2500 the inability to drive the BT version with an external amp is a deal breaker for me, and to top that off, I struggle to see why you would use this headphone which leaks tremendous amount of sound in a portable way? If you are using it at home or indoor environment might as well get yourself a schitt stack or E10K with hundreds of dollars to spare.

I wouldn't say worse, but different though. Depends on the listener. I found the BT to have a midbass bump, slightly sharper treble, and a less wide soundstage, to be fair this is from memory. Best to listen if one can. My preference is for wired because I've got a setup that I like and that works well with the Ananda.

 

[animefreeks]

My impression(from reviews) is that Arya have slightly more v shape sound signature. More treble and bass, more slam. It also has much bigger soundstage, better technicalities. I would like it but it's way more expensive. You can buy 2x Ananda and a good dac amp stack for that money.

Ananda is a bit close sounding than i like. I like a bit bigger field of view. Ananda vocals are pretty forward and other instruments are done with exceptional depth capability of the headphone. Everything sounds transparent and i can see through them but it's not spread out.

I can definitely see the soundstage being narrower than the HD 700, and that may be slightly disappointing. The soundstage on the Ananda is more tall than it is wide though so depending on how you perceive soundstage, it may just be different. Some may even prefer the soundstage of the Anandas to other wider sounding headphones because it goes deeper. However, for what it lacks, it makes up for in detail and imaging. I feel that there is less "ringing" in the mids with the Anandas compared to the HD 700. I'm probably on my 30th hour of burn in, and I can say that slam has improved to adequate levels so it isn't as lacking as when it was fresh out of the box.