[martel80]

I have a basic question about all this work after getting your parameters right on the nano, what happens if you go out & buy a new dac/amp or go from solid state to tube amp or even your mobile dac/amp will you have to re-do or adjust anything to suit your constant changing source ?

The tolerance in DAC differences are of about 0.5db from consumer to professional devices. So to answer your question plainly, no. I also don’t use tube in my signal path as it would go against the fact that I’m reaching out for transparent devices and try to avoid as best as I possibly can any devices that introduce distortion (ie tubes). We often go about how flat a set of cans are but we often forget the amount of distortion underlining their transducers at specific frequencies. Usually very upfront in the low end for dynamic drivers compared to planars.

Hope that help.

 

[Lightspeed12]

The tolerance in DAC differences are of about 0.5db from consumer to professional devices. So to answer your question plainly, no. I also don’t use tube in my signal path as it would go against the fact that I’m reaching out for transparent devices and try to avoid as best as I possibly can any devices that introduce distortion (ie tubes). We often go about how flat a set of cans are but we often forget the amount of distortion underlining their transducers at specific frequencies. Usually very upfront in the low end for dynamic drivers compared to planars.

Hope that help.

Yes thankyou for that which leaves me with one other question if you don't mind.
If you are a person that does use tubes as well as solid state which I do ( darkvoice & woo wa7 fireflies 3rd gen) (ef600,ef400 topping d90le & a90 descrete) would that effect the cans even more ?

 

[TheR0v3r]

You underlined something that I was saying but that might have been misleading. Especially on that PRaT that I keep on bringing back without context.

It is true that by lifting the veil (correcting the frequency ), you are thereof giving your cans the opportunity to be more dynamic because they will have more headroom to give the listener to hear details where, before correction, it would have been masked or should i say, more difficult to hear because it’s buried under neighbouring or over powering frequencies. A good example
Is the treble that, to some, is just good as is. (See the reviewer and is award for example). When you actually correct the treble, you are not only lowering the amount of info coming from that region so it translate more naturally but you are also helping the rest of the frequency range having more room to transmit their energy through their transducers. Thats also the reason why you would lower the gain on your digital EQ in proportion to the highest peak so not only your digital signal won’t peak your DAC but also because it will, again, give more headroom for your signal to articulate its full transient response without having the digital ceiling acting like a limiter and cutting off peaks of your outgoing signal.

Yes, this makes total sense!

Thinking about sound as energy has really helped me come to terms with the fact that changes can have an effect both in the frequency AND time domain at the same time.

 

[TheR0v3r]

The tolerance in DAC differences are of about 0.5db from consumer to professional devices. So to answer your question plainly, no. I also don’t use tube in my signal path as it would go against the fact that I’m reaching out for transparent devices and try to avoid as best as I possibly can any devices that introduce distortion (ie tubes). We often go about how flat a set of cans are but we often forget the amount of distortion underlining their transducers at specific frequencies. Usually very upfront in the low end for dynamic drivers compared to planars.

Hope that help.

And here I am using an all tube setup (or at least hybrids), I can’t live without my tubes.

Actually I don’t disagree with the goal of avoiding distortion in the signal path. It has taken me ALOT of time to find the tubes that work for me in my setup with the aim of maximizing coherency and fidelity. I’d like to point out that from my PoV there are limitations with transistors too, so one is not necessarily better than the other.

 

[martel80]

And here I am using an all tube setup (or at least hybrids), I can’t live without my tubes.

Actually I don’t disagree with the goal of avoiding distortion in the signal path. It has taken me ALOT of time to find the tubes that work for me in my setup with the aim of maximizing coherency and fidelity. I’d like to point out that from my PoV there are limitations with transistors too, so one is not necessarily better than the other.

I totally agree that there’s limitation in every sound setup but the benefit you would get from tubes is an embellishment of the soundstage if you leave behind the saturation in a “clean tube”. I’d highly advise in searching for low THD solid state amp to get the best out of the frequency and sound stage presented . Saturation is a soft distortion and that is not desirable in faithful reproduction. Try to avoid as much as possible.

 

[TheR0v3r]

I totally agree that there’s limitation in every sound setup but the benefit you would get from tubes is an embellishment of the soundstage if you leave behind the saturation in a “clean tube”. I’d highly advise in searching for low THD solid state amp to get the best out of the frequency and sound stage presented . Saturation is a soft distortion and that is not desirable in faithful reproduction. Try to avoid as much as possible.

Yeah, I’ve actually been thinking about adding a solid state amp to my setup. Now that the Ananda Nano’s are performing far beyond my expectations I might hold off on adding another headphone and instead allocate the money to an amp. Any suggestions?

P.S. I do appreciate the potential drawbacks of using tubes but also appreciate the benefits

 

[martel80]

Yes thankyou for that which leaves me with one other question if you don't mind.
If you are a person that does use tubes as well as solid state which I do ( darkvoice & woo wa7 fireflies 3rd gen) (ef600,ef400 topping d90le & a90 descrete) would that effect the cans even more ?

Definitely yes. As stated in my previous message , in the best case scenario, those “clean tubes “ will embellish the sound stage. In the worst case scenario, the tubes will over emphasize a specific frequency range . Saturation is a bit hard to explain without hands on experience but to put it plainly, it’s like compressing a specific frequency range and bringing it up front which in return gives the illusion of an upfront frequency range but really just brings harmonic distortion and diminish the depth capacity. There’s also the type of distortion that will gives you a width impression while all it does is emphasize the mid highs with soft saturation.

I’m ok with the idea to better music in a way it wasn’t supposed to be but can we please don’t call mini vanelli grammy nominees ?

Let’s fake the funk together but let’s just call it fake and be done with it.

Now if you’re after faithful representation of an actual work of art, please don’t tell me how the joconde look great in low bit pixel meme. Go there, watch it and THEN tell me which picture you saw that gave you the same feeling.

 

[TheR0v3r]

Definitely yes. As stated in my previous message , in the best case scenario, those “clean tubes “ will embellish the sound stage. In the worst case scenario, the tubes will over emphasize a specific frequency range . Saturation is a bit hard to explain without hands on experience but to put it plainly, it’s like compressing a specific frequency range and bringing it up front which in return gives the illusion of an upfront frequency range but really just brings harmonic distortion and diminish the depth capacity. There’s also the type of distortion that will gives you a width impression while all it does is emphasize the mid highs with soft saturation.

I’m ok with the idea to better music in a way it wasn’t supposed to be but can we please don’t call mini vanelli grammy nominees ?

Let’s fake the funk together but let’s just call it fake and be done with it.

Now if you’re after faithful representation of an actual work of art, please don’t tell me how the joconde look great in low bit pixel meme. Go there, watch it and THEN tell me which picture you saw that gave you the same feeling.

Actually in agreement. One of the biggest issues with tubes is getting ’em right when it comes to frequency response (if thats what your looking for). In my opinion tubes do really well in the time domain but there are issues when it comes to frequency response, as you correctly point out.

P.S. I’ll hold off commenting any further on tube vs solid state so as to keep the thread on topic.

 

[Lightspeed12]

Yeah, I’ve actually been thinking about adding a solid state amp to my setup. Now that the Ananda Nano’s are performing far beyond my expectations I might hold off on adding another headphone and instead allocate the money to an amp. Any suggestions?

P.S. I do appreciate the potential drawbacks of using tubes but also appreciate the benefits

I couldn't do without my tube amps, hybrid amps, r2r dac/amps & solid state dac/amps that's what makes this hobby so great you can use what you want depending upon the mood.
When you download music or buy cds a lot of that has been digitally enhanced anyway.

 

[martel80]

Yeah, I’ve actually been thinking about adding a solid state amp to my setup. Now that the Ananda Nano’s are performing far beyond my expectations I might hold off on adding another headphone and instead allocate the money to an amp. Any suggestions?

P.S. I do appreciate the potential drawbacks of using tubes but also appreciate the benefits

I use professional grade ADC / DAC that include proficient HP amps. If I was to follow the idea of the most faithful reproduction from mastering engineer to listeners, right now I’d vouch for the Neumann MT-48 or the old mytek or even lavery.

 

[Silence33]

Yeah, I’ve actually been thinking about adding a solid state amp to my setup. Now that the Ananda Nano’s are performing far beyond my expectations I might hold off on adding another headphone and instead allocate the money to an amp. Any suggestions?

P.S. I do appreciate the potential drawbacks of using tubes but also appreciate the benefits

Hello,

I want to give my opinion regarding amplification.

I'm not going to comment on the valves because I "married" with solid state amplification.

It is not necessary to buy something expensive to get the full potential of the Nano ....

I have had many DACs/Amps, the most expensive I had (and I think I will have) was the Oppo HA1, it cost me 1500 dollars with taxes at that time, excellent piece of amplification and DAC .... and despite that, a simple Fiio K7 of $200 (which is the one I have to move the Nano now) is better in sound quality and simplicity.

I would never pay high prices for headphone amplification again.

Something as simple as my K7 provides such a correct sound (it adds nothing), that I know I don't need more than that ... its double implementation of AKM DAC's and its double implementation of exclusive THX amplifiers, give a truly balanced output that It is so correct that there will be different things but hardly discernibly better.

I even recently had the Fiio K9 which is supposed to be better than the K7 ... and I liked the K7 more (Probably because of the pair of AKM DAC's vs pair of SABRE DAC's).

I comment all this to make the following reflection:

The purpose of a DAC/Amp is not to add anything ... that the reproduction is transparent (and has enough power) .... and that's all ... and that is achieved by most recognized manufacturers today .... maybe before it was more difficult, but now it is not ... it is no longer difficult to achieve TRANSPARENCY AND POWER AT LOW COST in 2024.

Conclusion:

Buy a Fiio K7, it does magic with the Nano .... it seems that they were built for each other .... but there are other very good cheap options also from brands such as Topping, Ifi, Schiit, Aune, SMSL .... this latest brand (SMSL) has super interesting options with cutting-edge technology that impresses on paper, but a little more expensive (keep an eye on it).

So my advice to everyone who is looking for a partner for the Nano is not to buy expensive equipment .... in 2024 it will no longer be necessary .... not today !

Greetings !!

 

[Ichos]

Dear friends, here is my Ananda Nano review, adapted for Heafi.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-ananda-nano.26739/review/32593/

 

[TheR0v3r]

Dear friends, here is my Ananda Nano review, adapted for Heafi.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-ananda-nano.26739/review/32593/

Always a pleasure to read your reviews

This is spot on, from your review:

The HIFIMAN Ananda Nano is a breeze to power, just make sure you have a source with decent power output. Forget about the rumors of needing tons of power or excessive current, it's all urban legends. However, it does shine when paired with higher quality sources. Despite being a mid-range headphone, it's incredibly transparent and precise, capable of bringing out the best in high-end sources.

In one post I wrote something to the effect that the Ananda Nano should be treated as a TOTL headphone. This was exactly what I meant, but you’re more to the point

 

[Silence33]

Dear friends, here is my Ananda Nano review, adapted for Heafi.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-ananda-nano.26739/review/32593/

Thank you very much Ichos, it was a pleasure to read you and confirm things.

I can't stop falling in love with this headphones.

Greetings and thanks again

 

[TheR0v3r]

Well...why not just buy the Sennheiser Orpheus or whatever other headset, following that logic?
Also, if you want to say the Ananda Nano are cheap, I think you would also say the Arya Organic are cheap as well?

It seems like, with the Ananda Nano, Hifiman released a pair of very technically capable headphones that can get close to the Arya Organics for less than half the price. However, they do seem to need EQ to achieve very high performance.

So, I think the Ananda Nano is actually a hard sell atm. The Edition XS, according to what I've read on the 'net, seem to be relatively close to them and also are better tuned out of the box as well as having a vast number of EQ settings available online. It seems like the Ananda Nano has not been met with such a popular reception.

However, from what people have said, the Ananda Nanos do seem to have a technical ability that significantly surpasses the XS's. I'd be curious for @TheR0v3r @martel80 opinions on the XS/Ananda Nano, as they both seem to have much more professional opinions.

So, why do this with the Ananda Nanos?
1) There isn't a good set of EQ settings available for them
2) It's interesting to see what performance can be drawn from them
3) It's helpful to other people that might be looking for the same information
4) It's Hifiman's 'mid-range' headphone offering atm and some kind of combination of Arya Organic's clarity with the previous Nano's slightly warmer, (Sennish? ) presentation.

I could be wrong on that last point.

I missed this post @dd051. Hopefully it’s better with some answers late rather than never

Initially I bought the Ananda Nano out of frustration and as a temporary solution. At the time I still had my Focal Utopia but it didn’t connect on an emotional level and was looking for another headphone. On a whim I decided to try something less expensive and was drawn to the technology that had trickled down from the Susvara to the Nano.

After a while (and with some burn in!) it dawned on me that it was a very capable headphone, like REALLY capable. It’s technical capabilities are actually much closer to TOTL headphones than people seem to understand (or are willing to express). IMHO. So I decided to see how far I could take the Ananda Nano with EQ and thanks to @martel80 it turned out very, very well. At this point I consider the Ananda Nano the best headphone I’ve owned because it brings me joy EVERY time I put it on.

P.S. Keep in mind that I don’t especially like the most common Harman tuning so the vast number of available EQ for different headphones are often of little use to me.