[WoollyGeezer]

I have been A/Bing the Arya v3 vs the Ananda and I do like the Ananda more because of the Tonality.

Arya sounds thin and metallic compared to the Ananda which sounds full and alive. Arya is a somewhat similar sound but thinner.

Arya has a massive soundstage and separation I'll give the Arya that. It's a marvel.

But for Music, Ananda. Hands down. As soon as I believe I like the Arya more I give the Ananda a few songs and I feel the music's soul.

If I had to keep one it would be the Ananda.

Here's where I get critical of Hifiman.

The Arya has a very crappy cable(better looking than the Anandas though and it's OCC) but it keeps falling out of my earcups. One time my headphone amp tripped the safety because of it...and another time it didn't and I wish it did, and I swear it sounds a little muddy now (THX 889). Girlfriend said they same thing when she used it for her music and I didn't tell her what happened. "Where did the sparklys go"

Could that have ****ed up my dac at all? Or the headphones?

Maybe I'd enjoy the non stealth magnets more?

Not at all "happy" with Hifiman. Pretty pissed tbh. Cable doesn't stay in the headphones and possibly shorted my equipment, pretty sad for a 1600$ can.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

Well I had HE400i & put a thousand hours or more on them before the headband wore out & have Sundara which are well built,solid,a benchmark of neutrality under $1000.00 & an ABSOLUTE steal at $350.00..VERY happy with HiFiMan!

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

Hi there, sorry to hear that. If you have any problem with your Arya, please feel free to email us at customerservice@hifiman.com, then we can see how to help. Thank you!

 

[bagwell359]

My "house" brand, but there are issues:

1. Cables poor
2. Pads meh

and of course trading on superior earlier models with poor copies:

HE-5se (not a copy of any 4 or 5 model). Poor sonics

customers made to believe the HE-5XX seem like a "new" HE-500 - hardly.

HE-6se v1 not a match for HE-6. v2 however might be

560 v3 no match for v1

And of course no warranty support for buying used cans.

 

[WoollyGeezer]

I love the Anandas. Favorite headphone I own.

I will return the Arya and keep the Ananda.

The soundstage and separation of the arya sounded spectacular in his "listening room". You truly need a dead quiet atmosphere to appreciate the Arya.

I see the potential in them and will give them a chance again once some time passes and they get their v3 quality under control.

The cable did in fact short out my amp (or cause some sort of damage to it). My coworker also owns a thx889. He was the one that recommended me it.

Brought it to his house and compared them. Yep. Without a doubt. Muddy vocals, lacking midrange and punchy lows compared to his amp.

Luckily the amplifier is still under warranty and I have a few others to use in the meantime.

I did not open the amp to look for any burnt resistors or smell for teenage spirit considering I did not want to void the warranty.

I should really test the cable before I send them back but my Fluke is at the plant during my 4 day weekend.

 

[Kentajalli]

I had a run in with Hifiman, regarding service.
never again!
Read it here
Also see this.

 

[bagwell359]

It Damocles all over again. If I could just listen to one brand only, it's HFM. HE-500, HE-6, HEK v2, Susvara right off the bat.

I've never actually had a unit die, but the cables all suck, the pads are pretty bad, the rear screens on the round forms are poorly designed. And I've bought the 6se and 5se under false pretenses - created by HFM. The bogus 500XX marketing turd was another mark of shame just this year.

Lucky for them they make some superb bits - otherwise no reason to do business with.

I see that they are focusing more money and PR at the QC issue over the past 18 months - too bad QC issues are solved by intelligent redesign of manufacturing processes.

 

[glennkresge]

I will never ever buy anything from HIFIMAN again. I have had major issues with their audio players along with headphones (I have two of their headphone). They make JUNK! I had one of their top audio players, the 800 model, and that was complete junk; and their mini-player was a big piece of little junk. Even if you get their products at a reduced price-it's not worth the hassles. Then, they give you a hard time with all the steps you have to do to send their junk back to get it replaced or repaired. I really hope they go out of business. A company that makes this kind of high price junk, then gives you a hard time when their junk breaks because of their extremely poor Q.C. And then bad customer service if any at all. I actually throw out the mini and the 800 audio players. Both were complete junk. The 800 had many issues along with poor battery-then developed background noise issues. The mini was a huge piece of junk too. Most of the time it just froze up and had to be reset with a pointed object inserted into the reset hole. Thus, complete junk!! The 560 headphone stopped working on the right bank after about an hour of use. Again, complete junk!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Must be really bad as you used word "Junk" 10 times in a single post.
Sorry about your experience.

BTW, there was recent thread about their QC and build quality on general.
Perhaps one of many.

 

[glennkresge]

Must be really bad as you used word "Junk" 10 times in a single post.
Sorry about your experience.

BTW, there was recent thread about their QC and build quality on general.
Perhaps one of many.

I am glad you read the post. Hopefully, it will save you and or someone else money. The word junk is too kind to describe HIFIMAN.

 

[IXOYE]

I will never ever buy anything from HIFIMAN again either, I've had two XS's that the height adjustment broke on within two weeks, I send both back to Amazone and upgraded to Ananda, but those had a loose connection in one of the cups, so that one had to go back to Amazone as well, Hifiman's headphones have great sound, but the build quality doesn't match the price.

 

[ST33L]

^^^ So, what you’re saying is that you wouldn’t spend $18,000 for their Shangri-La Electrostatic headphones?

On a serious note, I’ve read nothing but good reviews on their Susvara headphones, and have considered buying them. Maybe more research is needed.

 

[glennkresge]

I will never ever buy anything from HIFIMAN again either, I've had two XS's that the height adjustment broke on within two weeks, I send both back to Amazone and upgraded to Ananda, but those had a loose connection in one of the cups, so that one had to go back to Amazone as well, Hifiman's headphones have great sound, but the build quality doesn't match the price.

I agree! And I try to warn folks of the Q.C. issues of all their HIFIMAN Products. The best word to describe their products is "JUNK IN BOX."

 

[glennkresge]

^^^ So, what you’re saying is that you wouldn’t spend $18,000 for their Shangri-La Electrostatic headphones?

On a serious note, I’ve read nothing but good reviews on their Susvara headphones, and have considered buying them. Maybe more research is needed.

I would not buy anything from HIFIMAN ever again. Yes, I like the sound of most of their headphones too! Just way too many Q.C. issues.

 

[Terriero]

Here, Team Hifiman answered to the forum member @SHAMuuu about some disperfect he found in one Hifiman headphones.