[ishmeister]

I'll give it some time and play with EQ. Just tried Oratory1990's Harman EQ and while the tonality is improved overall the treble timbre still seems a tiny bit off. I'll see if I can tweak the EQ to suit my own ears.

 

[housekrl]

Just picked up the Anandas a day ago and so far I'm not liking the treble much. I'm hearing a lot of SHHH and FFFF in consonant sounds in vocals. Is this a burn in thing? Will it improve? Setup is a JDS Atom/Topping D50s.

I have heard the Shhh and Ffff that you speak of but only on my Solid State amp, not on my Tube amp. It seems the Ananda likes a warm amp.

 

[yeboyi]

Ananda definitely have peak around 3k. Asians love 3-4k energy a lot. I recommend balancing 1-5k range with this headphone. However i don't have problem with higher treble. I don't think it sounds sibilant. It's just sharp in the high mids.

I'll give it some time and play with EQ. Just tried Oratory1990's Harman EQ and while the tonality is improved overall the treble timbre still seems a tiny bit off. I'll see if I can tweak the EQ to suit my own ears.

Oratory EQ is a good starting point but not a good precise/definitive eq due to headphone variation and personal taste. https://www.dropbox.com/s/l1wivpf8901uflr/Hifiman Ananda.pdf?dl=0

I recommend band1: +3db, band2: -5 db instead.

Edit: For dac/amp i think Ananda goes well with intimate and punchy amps. Otherwise it's a bit soulless.

 

[haasaaroni]

I have heard the Shhh and Ffff that you speak of but only on my Solid State amp, not on my Tube amp. It seems the Ananda likes a warm amp.

What tube amp are you using if you don't mind me asking?

 

[bagwell359]

Oratory 1990 is great above 100 Hz, below their advice is well intended, but wrong. Only good for bass heads and other fans of non linear sound.

 

[housekrl]

What tube amp are you using if you don't mind me asking?

Woo Audio WA6

 

[MrMarc]

Woo Audio WA6

I'm using a tube-rolled Darkvoice 336i. I don't have a SS amp to compare it to except my Dragonfly Red which also sounds great. I've been contemplating the purchase of a solid state amp, but I'm too tickled with the performance of the DV. I would not be surprised to hear that the Ananda pairs well with tube amps - especially after break-in.

Marc

 

[housekrl]

I'm using a tube-rolled Darkvoice 336i. I don't have a SS amp to compare it to except my Dragonfly Red which also sounds great. I've been contemplating the purchase of a solid state amp, but I'm too tickled with the performance of the DV. I would not be surprised to hear that the Ananda pairs well with tube amps - especially after break-in.

Marc

I've heard good things about the Darkvoice. Yes, the Ananda has a special synergy with the WA6. I would expect it to sound great with other tube amps as well.

 

[ishmeister]

I'm using a tube-rolled Darkvoice 336i. I don't have a SS amp to compare it to except my Dragonfly Red which also sounds great. I've been contemplating the purchase of a solid state amp, but I'm too tickled with the performance of the DV. I would not be surprised to hear that the Ananda pairs well with tube amps - especially after break-in.

Marc

Experimenting I think it needs a little rolloff in the high treble/air (10khz+). The Atom is dead flat so maybe for some listeners with good hearing extension it might sound less smooth.

 

[DJ LP]

Ananda definitely have peak around 3k. Asians love 3-4k energy a lot. I recommend balancing 1-5k range with this headphone. However i don't have problem with higher treble. I don't think it sounds sibilant. It's just sharp in the high mids.



Oratory EQ is a good starting point but not a good precise/definitive eq due to headphone variation and personal taste. https://www.dropbox.com/s/l1wivpf8901uflr/Hifiman Ananda.pdf?dl=0

I recommend band1: +3db, band2: -5 db instead.

Edit: For dac/amp i think Ananda goes well with intimate and punchy amps. Otherwise it's a bit soulless.

What amps would you recommend that fit that description?

 

[yeboyi]

What amps would you recommend that fit that description?

Unfortunately i don't have much experience with different gears. My experience is that Ananda sounds bad with E30+THX789 combo. Ananda is a weak sounding headphone and this dac amp combo makes it even weaker. Some may call ethereal ? i don't know the audiophile speak of this. I like SBX AE5 soundcard with Ananda. It's more intimate and punchy, lively, engaging.

 

[yeboyi]

Is it just me or Ananda comfort and sound better with longer hair and beard ? Feels like seal no big deal with this eggshape planar. I heard some people getting more slam when they break the seal. Interesting. Bass is kind of swallowing itself when drivers are close to ear.

 

[haasaaroni]

Is it just me or Ananda comfort and sound better with longer hair and beard ? Feels like seal no big deal with this eggshape planar. I heard some people getting more slam when they break the seal. Interesting. Bass is kind of swallowing itself when drivers are close to ear.

Yeah I actually have the same experience. Had "COVID hair" for a few months and was really loving the sound! Then as soon as I got a haircut, I could have sworn the bass got a little weaker and the soundstage (obviously) got a little narrower. Of course my giant ears now touch the inner foam, so there's that too. Grow back hair!

 

[DJ LP]

Unfortunately i don't have much experience with different gears. My experience is that Ananda sounds bad with E30+THX789 combo. Ananda is a weak sounding headphone and this dac amp combo makes it even weaker. Some may call ethereal ? i don't know the audiophile speak of this. I like SBX AE5 soundcard with Ananda. It's more intimate and punchy, lively, engaging.

Thank you for your response. It doesn't appear to have much on the low end without equalization, which I don't have. Sounds thin on modern type recordings, which for the most part all have bass. I'm hating the fact that I have their DAP, which I paid about 450 for and an amplifier card that costs another 300, to not get the sound that I thought I would get. I already had the DAP by the way.

 

[yeboyi]

Thank you for your response. It doesn't appear to have much on the low end without equalization, which I don't have. Sounds thin on modern type recordings, which for the most part all have bass. I'm hating the fact that I have their DAP, which I paid about 450 for and an amplifier card that costs another 300, to not get the sound that I thought I would get. I already had the DAP by the way.

Zen dac can be good with this. Single button analogue bass boost, d/s multibit hybrid dac, 4.4mm balanced output, nice design. Ananda is sensitive but if power is not enough you can stack it with zen can.