[bagwell359]

I can’t help but feel if the Arya didn’t exist, would we really be looking past the Ananda?

Past a $700 can, ahh yeah.

HE-6se (at $699) is a much better can except the sound stage.

Arya better. But it does exist. A little edgy and needs EQ, but at different spot than the,, Ananda.

E2 - seriously underrated. Bass has much better impact, and much stronger fibre. Needs a bit of EQ on top - but Ananda needs to chill at 7-9k.

HEKse - walks on everything except the Susvara.

Emp - a bit too rich in the bass, but clobbers the Ananda.

HEKv2 - well better than the Ananda, including transparancy.

Clear - superb swiss army knife of a can

HE-500 - my modded pair run rings around the Ananda. The mids of the Ananda are revealed as as thin and lacking body.

HEX v2 - needs nuggets and a lot of EQ, but richer, more coherent than Ananda

HD-600 on a BHC - listen to this for a week, then the Ananda and ask - where the heck are the harmonics?

Ananda is excluding the 6se the best can at that pricee - but it lacks body and impact in the bass. Lacks harmonics all over the place and its over cooked at 7-9k.

 

[1-MiC]

I remember when the first Hifiman cans came out, I was still new to headphones and more interesting in pro audio. Sounds like I missed out on some gems.

Clearly there are better cans out there. I’m saying take the Arya out of the current Hifiman lineup, and moving up the ladder becomes a very hard sell. My perspective anyways, I’m a new father and must limit my temptations unfortunately.

I bought my ananada used in near perfect condition for $550. This is certainly my favorite purchase in my audio journey thus far. I would buy them new, but more likely I’d sell them to fund an Arya, with confidence I would enjoy those as well.

 

[CoFire]

To anyone who has the Arya and the liquid Platinum have you done the cap mod and if so did you find it a improvement with the Arya?
Also to anyone who has the ifi pro ican and the Arya how is the synergy between the two?
thanks.

What is the cap mod? My Platinum lost a tube so I need to get something in quick. Already missing the sound. I think the Platinum is an excellent ammo because it adds tube goodness without compromising detail too much. I feel all the OTL's I've heard are just too smoothed and syrupy. The Platinum is a great compromise and hovering at $400-$550 right now, a screaming deal!

Past a $700 can, ahh yeah.

HE-6se (at $699) is a much better can except the sound stage.

Arya better. But it does exist. A little edgy and needs EQ, but at different spot than the,, Ananda.

E2 - seriously underrated. Bass has much better impact, and much stronger fibre. Needs a bit of EQ on top - but Ananda needs to chill at 7-9k.

HEKse - walks on everything except the Susvara.

Emp - a bit too rich in the bass, but clobbers the Ananda.

HEKv2 - well better than the Ananda, including transparancy.

Clear - superb swiss army knife of a can

HE-500 - my modded pair run rings around the Ananda. The mids of the Ananda are revealed as as thin and lacking body.

HEX v2 - needs nuggets and a lot of EQ, but richer, more coherent than Ananda

HD-600 on a BHC - listen to this for a week, then the Ananda and ask - where the heck are the harmonics?

Ananda is excluding the 6se the best can at that pricee - but it lacks body and impact in the bass. Lacks harmonics all over the place and its over cooked at 7-9k.

I have the HEX V2 and compared it head to head with the Ananda and prefer the warmer signature of the HEX V2 and the less piercing treble peaks. I don't EQ the HEX V2 and think it's fabulous with the Platinum.

I've heard the E2 open when it first came out and all I can say is if you get one, be sure you have a great return policy. Engineering wise it's an outstanding headphone. Sound wise, the one I had, had some issues. This was denied by Mr Speakers since there was a problematic batch. It was sent back for inspection and came back sounding completely different and was told that there was nothing wrong with it.

Unfortunately, we compared it with so many cans before and now it was very obvious something "changed". I would have a totally different opinion possibly if that was the can that I heard the first time around but this cloak and dagger stuff, well I'd rather look elsewhere.

This could be seen as great customer service but I think transparency is great customer service as well.

 

[bagwell359]

I have the HEX V2 and compared it head to head with the Ananda and prefer the warmer signature of the HEX V2 and the less piercing treble peaks. I don't EQ the HEX V2 and think it's fabulous with the Platinum.

Well we agree that the HEX is better than the Ananda, but silver cables, nuggets and esp EQ really sets them into a higher league. It takes 9 EQ settings between 1020 Hz and 11500 to really get them clean and open - IMO.

I've heard the E2 open when it first came out and all I can say is if you get one, be sure you have a great return policy. Engineering wise it's an outstanding headphone. Sound wise, the one I had, had some issues. This was denied by Mr Speakers since there was a problematic batch. It was sent back for inspection and came back sounding completely different and was told that there was nothing wrong with it.

Unfortunately, we compared it with so many cans before and now it was very obvious something "changed". I would have a totally different opinion possibly if that was the can that I heard the first time around but this cloak and dagger stuff, well I'd rather look elsewhere.

This could be seen as great customer service but I think transparency is great customer service as well.

I thought that mess was cleared up over two years ago. The one I heard was less than a year old and I was surprised at how great it was - since several here that I respect basically hate them.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Finally pulled the trigger on the Ananda which is due to arrive today

 

[RushNerd]

Finally pulled the trigger on the Ananda which is due to arrive today

Not sure what gear or hifiman you used before this, but please let us know your impressions after a few days of trying them out!

I got the Zen Can as a budget amp with good reviews because I knew I was getting the Aryas and didn't want to spend $500+ for something like the Topping A90 just yet.
That it improved the Anandas was an unexpected bonus. The amount of improvement will likely depend on where your starting point is but for all the claims of the Ananda being efficient enough to work out of a phone or a DAP (yes they will work) they definitely benefitted, in my opinion, from adding the Zen Can over straight from the AK240 or the ZX507 I had earlier.

I ordered my Zen Can the morning after you mentioned it and it came in Eight hours (thanks Amazon!) The form factor on the amp is PERFECT for my desk. It's a pretty decent upgrade from my soundcard amp (which is being used as an RCA out DAC here) and works great with the Anadas.

Only gripe is my Asus Essence doesn't seem to have an actual Db pre-amp level before EQ, so any bass boost does seem to go over 0db on the software's meter (even lowering the cards volume though the software doesn't seem to change it). So I was wondering if just lowering all the EQ bars and just pumping up the 32-60hz band a bit would be a viable solution for bass boost W/O clipping? Logically this should work but it could be ruining the sound, let me know.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Not sure what gear or hifiman you used before this, but please let us know your impressions after a few days of trying them out!


I ordered my Zen Can the morning after you mentioned it and it came in Eight hours (thanks Amazon!) The form factor on the amp is PERFECT for my desk. It's a pretty decent upgrade from my soundcard amp (which is being used as an RCA out DAC here) and works great with the Anadas.

Only gripe is my Asus Essence doesn't seem to have an actual Db pre-amp level before EQ, so any bass boost does seem to go over 0db on the software's meter (even lowering the cards volume though the software doesn't seem to change it). So I was wondering if just lowering all the EQ bars and just pumping up the 32-60hz band a bit would be a viable solution for bass boost W/O clipping? Logically this should work but it could be ruining the sound, let me know.

My gear was the Focal Elear and AKG K812 Pro driven by either Violectric HPA V90 (one of the most powerful Violectric models) or directly from my Mcintosch amp.
The Elear was not that brilliant i would say but still decent on attacks while the AKG sounds sooo precise.
Will let you know how they compare with the Ananda.

 

[ahmonge]

It's a pretty decent upgrade from my soundcard amp (which is being used as an RCA out DAC here)

I would try an external DAC as well to complement your new HP amp.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Am using the Cambridge Audio CXN as a DAC before the Violectric or the Mcintosch DAC.

 

[bagwell359]

I remember when the first Hifiman cans came out, I was still new to headphones and more interesting in pro audio. Sounds like I missed out on some gems.

Clearly there are better cans out there. I’m saying take the Arya out of the current Hifiman lineup, and moving up the ladder becomes a very hard sell. My perspective anyways, I’m a new father and must limit my temptations unfortunately.

I bought my ananada used in near perfect condition for $550. This is certainly my favorite purchase in my audio journey thus far. I would buy them new, but more likely I’d sell them to fund an Arya, with confidence I would enjoy those as well.

Yeah, it's a good deal, even new list. It just isn't the whole ballgame as some of its fans insist that it is. New HE6se (if still available at $699) kicks. Used Focal Clears can be found for $750 and that's a real good sound too. Arya used has been tough to find under $1100 which is a long way from $700 - agreed. I suspect this logjam will break before end of Q1 '21 so that $950-999 prices could be found, and that's fairly close on the money.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Yeah, it's a good deal, even new list. It just isn't the whole ballgame as some of its fans insist that it is. New HE6se (if still available at $699) kicks. Used Focal Clears can be found for $750 and that's a real good sound too. Arya used has been tough to find under $1100 which is a long way from $700 - agreed. I suspect this logjam will break before end of Q1 '21 so that $950-999 prices could be found, and that's fairly close on the money.

Not sure buying used electronic components is a smart thing to do. God knows what happened to it before reaching you. Good luck with that

 

[bagwell359]

Not sure buying used electronic components is a smart thing to do. God knows what happened to it before reaching you. Good luck with that

Been buying used equipment for 44 years. Dyna Pas 3X, Quad ESL 57, Dyna 3, ADS 710, 810 (2), Lg Walnut Advent (2), Dual 510, 604, Marcof step-up, Oracle Delphi, Ariston RD 11S, VPI IV, VPI Jr, SAE-31B, Dyna 410, Hafler DH 200, HK Citation 12, Threshold Stasis 3, ADS 710, VPI HW-14, HW-1700F, Onkyo T-4055, DCM Time Windows, Electro 25/25, Ampzilla, Dahlquist DQ-10, Magnepan MG1, MG2 (2), MG3.3, ML Aerius, SL-3, CLS IIz, ProAc EBS, Tablette 2, Adcom GFP-750, Verity Parsifal, Pass Aleph 3, Aleph 5, X-150 (2), JVC-UA7055, FR 66, Souther SLA-1, Triangle 202, several Sony tuners, Pass P, Pass Ono.

Probably two times that all used, all NO PROBLEM. Also, well built pieces. Since 2015 when I went headphone have bought these used:

HE-5LE
HE-500
HE-560
HE-400
HEX v2
LCD-2
FOSTEX FH-500RP

The LCD-2 was junk and got sent back via Amazon and I got a full refund - 400 was beat and died - oops out $125. Not bad considering the 10's of thousands I saved - FYI Verity Parsifal 3 retailed for $20k and I got them for $7800 - 2 failures in 44 years and about 75 used purchases - obviously YMV.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Been buying used equipment for 44 years. Dyna Pas 3X, Quad ESL 57, Dyna 3, ADS 710, 810 (2), Lg Walnut Advent (2), Dual 510, 604, Marcof step-up, Oracle Delphi, Ariston RD 11S, VPI IV, VPI Jr, SAE-31B, Dyna 410, Hafler DH 200, HK Citation 12, Threshold Stasis 3, ADS 710, VPI HW-14, HW-1700F, Onkyo T-4055, DCM Time Windows, Electro 25/25, Ampzilla, Dahlquist DQ-10, Magnepan MG1, MG2 (2), MG3.3, ML Aerius, SL-3, CLS IIz, ProAc EBS, Tablette 2, Adcom GFP-750, Verity Parsifal, Pass Aleph 3, Aleph 5, X-150 (2), JVC-UA7055, FR 66, Souther SLA-1, Triangle 202, several Sony tuners, Pass P, Pass Ono.

Probably two times that all used, all NO PROBLEM. Also, well built pieces. Since 2015 when I went headphone have bought these used:

HE-5LE
HE-500
HE-560
HE-400
HEX v2
LCD-2
FOSTEX FH-500RP

The LCD-2 was junk and got sent back via Amazon and I got a free refund - 400 was beat and died - oops out $125. Not bad considering the 10's of thousands I saved - FYI Verity Parsifal 3 retailed for $20k and I got them for $7800 - 2 failures in 44 years and about 75 used purchases - obviously YMV.

Point proven
Respect

 

[HTSkywalker]

BTW The musical intimacy through IEMs is hard to match with over ears or any other headphones. It's a totally different experience.

 

[housekrl]

I hope everyone is having a nice evening, morning, or afternoon depending on where you live in the world.

Awhile back I was on the HE560 thread. In conversation I happened to mention that I thought the Ananda was a better headphone. And the response I received was that they are not better but a matter of preference.

Subjective by definition is: based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

Keeping this definition in mind, the opinion that one headphone or piece of audio gear is "better" than another headphone or piece of gear is probably not accurate.

There are so many things to consider before making a blanket statement like, this is better than that.

+ What amplifier and dac are we using? Do they have the right synergy with said headphone?
+ Are we streaming verses listening to vinyl? Mp3 or Flac?
+ What is are personal taste in sound?
+ How does the music make me feel when listening? Probably most important.
+ What music are we listening too? Edm, classical, prog, classic rock, acoustic, jazz, world, latin, ECT.?
+ Do we prefer tubes or solid state sound?
+ Cables, source?

Again, what are our tastes, preferences, opinions?

Are we overly concerned about measurements? Is a dip in the bass or a spike in the treble going to ruin the experience for me?

How do I feel when listening to my favorite music? If I get goosebumps then I'm doing something right.

This is where YMMV comes in. Thanks for reading my rant. Back to listening. Enjoy the music!