I've recently joined the Ananda club since last week , my observations so far :
Vs HD660S/HD650 : Unlike the sennheisers I can run the Ananda without any eq at all . It's the first pair (including IEMs) which from scratch sounds perfectly tuned to my tastes (which more or less are on the Harman "neutral" side ).
Except when I'm in the mood for some EDM or dubstep then I'll just add in a 6db bass shelf on my peq.
I've actually testet the bass capabilities further ...with eq there is alot of room to get huge bass out of these cans , enough to make your head rumble in absolute Subbass bliss
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Just like the bass, the mids and treble sound more defined , faster , more detailed than the sennys. The tonality is way brighter and less relaxed then the warmer sennheisers, so if you are used to them , expect some fatigue in the beginning.
With the Hd660s I had to use the AutoEQ settings to make them barable for me , these turned them into a completely new set of headphones , including proper Bass and Subbass , way brighter and clearer, too .
Before that they just sounded muffled to me, like listening through a pillow.
Only reason I upgraded is because I gave these to my mum , in my family some older folks ONLY listen to "German-quality" sennheisers, not to any "cheap Chinese knock-off crap" haha ! For me right now it's chi-fi all the way.
So without the need for eq I can actually drive them off my note 8 smartphone (1V output max). The exynos version 3,5mm out was measured with good thd and noisefloor numbers somewhere else. Quite satisfied using them this way, but at home I'm using them with my balanced amp to get some more out of them.
So Hifiman's claim is actually true, unless you need serious headroom for modifications or eq, an averege smartphone is enough to get alot out of these planars ! Pitty there wasn't a transport Box included , but for travel I just stick to my IEMs I guess.
Pitty I can't compare them to any other planars, but it's safe to say I'm quite addicted to them .
Do you guys think a sundara or he400i might have been enough to get a similar nice planar- experience? Over at the ASR forum some guys are suggesting they sound almost the same, but specswise they are totally different, I mean look at that driver size! Can't imagine they are only marginally better than the cheapest planars, I mean they cost ALOT more ! I know of diminishing returns but all I can say is I'm hugely enjoying the Ananda.