[shady1991]

Hey Ananda folks, I'm taking a serious look at these with the current pricing to compliment my Focal Elegia. I'm looking for something a bit more balanced timbre and with a larger soundstage than the Elegia. A bit more bass presence wouldn't hurt either/

What do you all think? Is the Ananda a good compliment to the Elegia? My recent listening taste includes indie/indie adjacent artists like Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, Haim, Frightened Rabbit, James Blake, Radiohead and Folk artists like Sturgill Simpson, Mandolin Orange, Tyler Childers. I also regularly listen to Hip Hop and classical Piano concertos.

I have both, Ananda and Elegia. They are two very different headphones therefore they complement each other very well. If you want more bass than Elegias then Ananda is not for you. Actually elegia is much punchier than Ananda, with much more defined imaging with clearer and more localized dense images. Lack of punch and diffused imaging are basically two biggest drawbacks of anandas and Elegia does well in both cases. In everything else Ananda is a big upgrade, bigger stage, much better treble, better timbre and overall very smooth airy sound.

 

[yeboyi]

Did anyone bought any of these from aliexpress ?

They are $10-$20. Original pads are $80 from Hifiman.

 

[matty007]

Did anyone bought any of these from aliexpress ?

They are $10-$20. Original pads are $80 from Hifiman.

Anxious to hear if anyone has.

I expect to get a long time out of the pads with the Ananda, as they're quite firm, and FR shouldn't change too much over time. Replacement pads should always be on hand though and they're very difficult to obtain in the UK, aside from the Hifiman store which has them for about £80...yikes. Pads really are a ripoff.

Always worried about how aftermarket pads will effect the FR etc, and especially soundstage, but if there's not much diffrence, cheaper pads would be a big win.

 

[matty007]

Update on EQ and setup -

Finally stumbled on my final setup for these. A Topping E30 going in to a NAD 7125 vintage reciever. Yes, I actually prefer these through the NAD rather than my JDS Atom and Chord Mojo. Low end seems a little more defined, and if I'm not dreaming, a slightly wider soundstage. Volume isn't even at 20% thanks to the NAD supplying the headphone jack the full power of the speaker output, much like a Emotiva BasX. Impedance and damping not an issue due to linear response of the Ananda.

Couple this with a Peace EQ of -

4db low shelf at 85hz
-2.5db at 950 hz with 3Q
+3db at 1600khz with 1.1Q
-1.5db at 3100khz with 2Q
-2db at 6400khz with 5Q
+2db high shelf at 14500khz, to add air.

These cans were perfect for me before, but this setup and EQ has just sweetened them further to my ears. I know what we all think of 'endgame' but these really are my endgame. I see no need to upgrade further than this, for miniscule to no improvement.

 

[hammersrocco]

Hello,

Have been lurking for so long, don't quite remember if this is my first post or not. It may be!
Decided to pull the trigger on the Ananda - Amazon price now at $600, down a lot from the $999 I remembered from back when. Anxiously waiting for them, but wanted to ask in advance so I know what to do when I get them. My other Hifiman cans are the HE5XX, which even though they are fairly low impedance, I was recommended that given they are still planar headphones it would be better to use the High Gain setting of my Asgard 3 Schiit amp. Did that and it does makes sense.

My question is if the advice applies to the Ananda. Impedance is a bit higher on the Ananda at 25 ohm (vs 18 ohm on the HE5XX) but sensitivity on the Ananda is 103 db (vs 93.5 on the HE5XX). It seems to be that it does not apply and should be fine running in Low Gain mode. Looking for validation, decided to ask if there any Schiit owners (Asgard 3 or not) that do have Ananda and what setting is used, Low or High Gain.

Thanks in advance for your time for this silly question,

hammers

 

[trellus]

Hello,

Have been lurking for so long, don't quite remember if this is my first post or not. It may be!
Decided to pull the trigger on the Ananda - Amazon price now at $600, down a lot from the $999 I remembered from back when. Anxiously waiting for them, but wanted to ask in advance so I know what to do when I get them. My other Hifiman cans are the HE5XX, which even though they are fairly low impedance, I was recommended that given they are still planar headphones it would be better to use the High Gain setting of my Asgard 3 Schiit amp. Did that and it does makes sense.

My question is if the advice applies to the Ananda. Impedance is a bit higher on the Ananda at 25 ohm (vs 18 ohm on the HE5XX) but sensitivity on the Ananda is 103 db (vs 93.5 on the HE5XX). It seems to be that it does not apply and should be fine running in Low Gain mode. Looking for validation, decided to ask if there any Schiit owners (Asgard 3 or not) that do have Ananda and what setting is used, Low or High Gain.

Thanks in advance for your time for this silly question,

hammers

I’m pretty sure I remember using my Ananda on low gain with my Schiit Jotunheim - I’ll test later today (it’s 2:29 AM where I’m at currently) at office, which coincidentally also happens to be where my 5XX lives, so I can compare gain settings on the Jot for both 5XX and Ananda.

 

[jkteddy77]

Looking to buy the 3.5mm 4ft rubbery cable that comes with the Ananda. I know most of you don't even use it, Please PM me

 

[1S0U0N0S]

Ananda is so popular I don't understand why exactly.

 

[hammersrocco]

I’m pretty sure I remember using my Ananda on low gain with my Schiit Jotunheim - I’ll test later today (it’s 2:29 AM where I’m at currently) at office, which coincidentally also happens to be where my 5XX lives, so I can compare gain settings on the Jot for both 5XX and Ananda.

Working late (or early!) and checking threads!
I do appreciate you taking the time and effort to check this!

hammers

 

[tesarpa]

Ananda is so popular I don't understand why exactly.

Maybe for it's SQ delivery? I recently visited hifi shop and compared my Ananda against Focals and Denons. I left satisfied with what I have. They just sound right to my ears. Even the bass is better than any dynamic driver I have yet heard. I should also mention that I wear Ananda on my head in quite unorthodox fashion, and it helps bass a lot. I position them so that there isn't perfect seal of pads around ears, the headband is forward sitting on my forehead.

 

[bagwell359]

Ananda is so popular I don't understand why exactly.

Well it's transparent and clean - coming from murky and/or closed backs it can sound impressive.

It's also thin, lacks bass impact, and can be bright.

The HFM HE-6se @ Adorama is better for less. The Far East only (for now) XS appears to also be better.

 

[asarkhentamentiu]

going from Ananda to LCD-XC '21... should be a good jump, good luck to all hifiman customers lol.

 

[trellus]

Working late (or early!) and checking threads!
I do appreciate you taking the time and effort to check this!

hammers

So… the results were not what I expected

I used low gain for both and with the crude measure of DecibelX app on my iPhone, I actually measured a an average slightly lower on the Ananda (78.4 dB) than on the 5XX (80.2 dB) at roughly 12 o’clock on the Jot:

 

[hammersrocco]

So… the results were not what I expected

I used low gain for both and with the crude measure of DecibelX app on my iPhone, I actually measured a an average slightly lower on the Ananda (78.4 dB) than on the 5XX (80.2 dB) at roughly 12 o’clock on the Jot:

Oh wow - again, thanks for taking the time - what that tells me is this - 1) I should try both settings 2) Big drivers need more juice even if sensitive and efficient - which makes sense, to me, right? If you are a big guy and want to eat, even if you are not that hungry, you may still consume more food that a little guy even if the little guy is pigging out and inversely, the little guy might pig out on what the big guy considers just a snack.

Of course, no. 2 above is just what my intuition tells me re: @trellus experiment... I might be wrong and talking stupid!

Will pick up the headphones tomorrow morning from the Amazon locker - will report back.

hammers

 

[PierPP]

I'm just having the WORSE customer support history of my life with my (arrived broken) HIFIMAN ANANDA bought from their official store.

They sent it from their poland warehouse and they arrived with left channel KO.
I asked for a reinbursement and they asked me to send it back to them in Poland
I paid an assured DHL shipment to their location, pack arrived.

Now it's 2 weeks that hifiman customer support is telling me that DHL delivered it to the wrong city (they're thinking that the DHL hub location is the shipment city lol) and they refuse to give my money back. (I've sent them DHL's digital shipment proof, the label created, the pic of the package etc).

I'm going to open a paypal dispute.
I'm really scared by this customer support quality. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER