[HTSkywalker]

Of course it is.

If a 900$ can fails tomorrow it's worth 900$ - price to repair it. Only if the parts are not longer manifactured and no other third party service can replicate them you have a problem.

How about buying a new can with a 3-5 years warranty with new materials inside and enjoy it ?
To each his/her cup of tea but since I work in the electronic and IT field I have lots of reasons not to buy but new. And if anyone have a tendency to buy used stock, get NOS tubes but they tend to get more expensive the older they are

 

[Deolum]

How about buying a new can with a 3-5 years warranty with new materials inside and enjoy it ?
To each his/her cup of tea but since I work in the electronic and IT field I have lots of reasons not to buy but new. And if anyone have a tendency to buy used stock, get NOS tubes but they tend to get more expensive the older they are

Personally i value the option of giving the headphone away with no resale loss if i don't like it higher than having new materials inside it.

 

[ph58]

My new rig : HIFIMAN ANANDA SMSL SP200 M200

 

[X1787X]

I can't speak for everyone or for all cables but I definitely hear an audible difference between the stock cable and the Periapt cable. And the difference isn't all that subtle. But I won't waste any time trying to convince anyone. I know what I hear and that's all that matters.

Oh dear, not a cable argument again. I escaped from the Arya thread because of that

 

[trellus]

The Cavalli CTH will surprise you

Will that promise hold up with a stock tube or should I be replacing it with a better tube? I don't have an Ananda yet but I've had my eyes on a potential purchase for a few months now.... The CTH is a very affordable amp, for certain, if it indeed pairs well with an Ananda.

 

[bagwell359]

Buying used or refurbished electronic equipment is not an option for me, a $900 priced used can is a $900 can today, if it fails tomorrow it’s worth nothing.
I had my Focal cans dual driver replaced after 4.5 years coz of the valid warranty of 5 years on the first release of Utopia and Elear.
But off course to each his preferences

It's not like the HE-6 is available new, like many other great cans it's not in production. You'd say no to an Orpheus, or some great e-stats because you can't get a warranty?

I understand. I've passed on several HE-6's for a complex list of issues. I'm glad I got a used HE-500, same with my HEX v2.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Will that promise hold up with a stock tube or should I be replacing it with a better tube? I don't have an Ananda yet but I've had my eyes on a potential purchase for a few months now.... The CTH is a very affordable amp, for certain, if it indeed pairs well with an Ananda.

It shines and rock with the Ananda, the stock tubes is an ELectro Harmonix 6922 and the amp design is made around it, not much tone change if you roll tubes but the best you can use in it with an audible difference is a Genalex Gold lion which is not an expensive tubes.
In fact I prefer the CTH over my Violecric SS amp and this says a lot.

 

[HTSkywalker]

It's not like the HE-6 is available new, like many other great cans it's not in production. You'd say no to an Orpheus, or some great e-stats because you can't get a warranty?

I understand. I've passed on several HE-6's for a complex list of issues. I'm glad I got a used HE-500, same with my HEX v2.

Correct and you also may get lucky with a slightly used pair, am not saying other wise. Just listing my personal preference based on a long experience with electronic appliances. Just my 2 Cents

 

[amigastar]

The HE-6 hasn't been sold new in about six years. Used they are available at ~$900. Ananda $699 new and maybe $500-550 used. Unless you segregate can costs into a dozen or more narrow bands those prices to me indicate a reasonable comparison.

The HE-6 is probably more myth than real these days. How many prospective Ananda buyers have heard a HE-6 under good circumstances? If they did they wouldn't question any longer that the HE-6 bass impact is defining while the Ananda is close to a cooked piece of pasta.

In the world of audio, many times buyers will go from a $1000 to a $2000 piece for a 1.5% gain. So a used $900 can vs a new $699 one - that's 32.4% more for the HE-6, and its a lot more than 1.5% better. That does not address the age/failure issues - but its HFM. Buying one can be faith vs Russian Roulette.

I never have compared the HE-6 and Ananda head to head. However I have compared a modified/EQ'd HE-500 vs an EQ'd Ananda w/ an improved cable - and the 500 was at least 15% better. Even the Ananda owner concluded the 500 ate his can for breakfast.

That means my HE-500 is better than the Ananda? I find this hard to believe although i really love my HE-500. Of course i haven't tried the Ananda yet.

 

[bagwell359]

That means my HE-500 is better than the Ananda? I find this hard to believe although i really love my HE-500. Of course i haven't tried the Ananda yet.

500 w/ my mods on a potent amp - is what I am referring to. Stock - esp with that miserable silver plated cable and the meh pads, and screen on, no fuzzor? It's not that special.

My Recipe:

* used HE-500 $370
* used Black Dragon v1 cables $40 (anything O2)
* Dan Clark Ether Angled Lambskin $79 (no substitute IMO)
* fuzzor mod $2 (the key mod, (listed this low due to moderate difficulty in removing it)
* screens off (or new screens that are much more open than stock)
* 4XX headband (gratis from myself)
* dynamat $2 - to correct some muddiness in bass.

Add in: TIDAL MQA bit-perfect or MQA w/ EQ, Neo Oyaide USB, Schiit Gumby 1, Schiit Ragnarok 1. Better impact in the bass, better tone in the bass, proper sustain in the bass. Much deeper , thicker more vivid and more nuanced mids, distinctly wider soundstage. The Ananada and my 500 fight it out in the treble, the killer on the Ananda treble is that its thin/threadbare with harmonics. Maybe folks that grew up with electrical music forever don't care. But a viola is a rich thick sound with complex overtones and on the Ananda it's 2D.

 

[kr0mka]

Hey guys, I'm probably nitpicking but I noticed some "wrinkles" on the left driver of my newly bought Anandas. I've contacted the support and received a response that in their experience this should not affect the sound of the headphones. I didn't notice anything odd with the sound just playing music, but when playing the driver matching test on audiocheck (https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php) I can notice some slight unbalance in the 1000-2000hz region. Not sure if it's just me getting biased against this particular unit, but would like to get some opinions on this from you. Can you guys notice something similar on your Anandas?

Here's a video that shows my pair:

BTW. I've looked around and couldn't find anything about this regarding Anandas, the only thing similar was regarding Aryas and these were way finer wrinkles that looked more like "cracks" in the membrane, due to the driver substrate being quite a bit thinner I'd guess.

 

[bagwell359]

Hey guys, I'm probably nitpicking but I noticed some "wrinkles" on the left driver of my newly bought Anandas. I've contacted the support and received a response that in their experience this should not affect the sound of the headphones. I didn't notice anything odd with the sound just playing music, but when playing the driver matching test on audiocheck (https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php) I can notice some slight unbalance in the 1000-2000hz region. Not sure if it's just me getting biased against this particular unit, but would like to get some opinions on this from you. Can you guys notice something similar on your Anandas?

Here's a video that shows my pair:

BTW. I've looked around and couldn't find anything about this regarding Anandas, the only thing similar was regarding Aryas and these were way finer wrinkles that looked more like "cracks" in the membrane, due to the driver substrate being quite a bit thinner I'd guess.

this has been reported on the Ananda, HEX v2 and Arya. Not sure about the other big cuppers. I have the wrinles on my HEX. Seems to be moot.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Hey guys, I'm probably nitpicking but I noticed some "wrinkles" on the left driver of my newly bought Anandas. I've contacted the support and received a response that in their experience this should not affect the sound of the headphones. I didn't notice anything odd with the sound just playing music, but when playing the driver matching test on audiocheck (https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php) I can notice some slight unbalance in the 1000-2000hz region. Not sure if it's just me getting biased against this particular unit, but would like to get some opinions on this from you. Can you guys notice something similar on your Anandas?

Here's a video that shows my pair:

BTW. I've looked around and couldn't find anything about this regarding Anandas, the only thing similar was regarding Aryas and these were way finer wrinkles that looked more like "cracks" in the membrane, due to the driver substrate being quite a bit thinner I'd guess.

Just nitpicking, no effect whatsoever on the sound or reliability, just forget about it and enjoy your cans

 

[danny87]

It shines and rock with the Ananda, the stock tubes is an ELectro Harmonix 6922 and the amp design is made around it, not much tone change if you roll tubes but the best you can use in it with an audible difference is a Genalex Gold lion which is not an expensive tubes.
In fact I prefer the CTH over my Violecric SS amp and this says a lot.

Does the CTH impart a tubey sound to the Ananda? I've heard that hybrid tube amps generally sound pretty much like solid state. I have a Darkvoice but with stock tubes, so I'm not sure if it's gonna be a good pairing.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Does the CTH impart a tubey sound to the Ananda? I've heard that hybrid tube amps generally sound pretty much like solid state. I have a Darkvoice but with stock tubes, so I'm not sure if it's gonna be a good pairing.

Darkvoice with the Ananda is a match made in hell don’t even bother trying it, stock tubes or not.
And yes the CTH gives a tubey sound to the Ananda and it’s very pleasant sounding and drive it with force.