[Nickapalooza86]

My favourites have been 1000v1 and XS which reminds me of the aforementioned. HE1000v2 was pretty good as well, but not as good as v1. Ananda just lacked the huge stage/scale that made the others so special to me.
I liked Ananda, it just sounded more normal/average, more compressed - but still a great headphone in its own right, just a different flavour.
To me 1000v1 and XS have a huge sense of scale/stage and an oddly natural sounding laid back presentation that just makes everything sound effortless. Thats what ananda lacked some of, and v2 had some, but less than v1.


Really hope the Organic or Nano returns to that sound.

Which Ananda version did you try? I have the Stealth and the sound stage is huge and separation and imaging is perfect, any bigger and I would imagine it would sound artificial. I tried the Ananda Stealth, Sundara and XS all at the same time and kept the Ananda Stealth and Sundara and sent the XS back. XS just sounded too technical and dry to me, no musicality to my ears anyway. I hear the Nano has more treble than previous versions.

 

[479235]

Ananda Nano or XS is the question...

 

[Nickapalooza86]

Ananda Nano or XS is the question...

Any Ananda is better than the XS.... Just my opinion though, only your ears will know.

 

[Random Lunatic]

Which Ananda version did you try? I have the Stealth and the sound stage is huge and separation and imaging is perfect, any bigger and I would imagine it would sound artificial. I tried the Ananda Stealth, Sundara and XS all at the same time and kept the Ananda Stealth and Sundara and sent the XS back. XS just sounded too technical and dry to me, no musicality to my ears anyway. I hear the Nano has more treble than previous versions.

I believe I've tried the original and the stealth version. Headphones are never going to approach the staging size of speakers, without major DSP, so I don't quite follow the notion of being artificially big?
To be clear, the stage and imaging on Ananda is fine - I just like the 1000v1 better, and albeit I havent compared them directly, XS struck me as closer in terms of the sense of scale, than Ananda, which didn't give me that sense. But who knows- without a direct comparison I can't be certain of course. I just know it struck me quite immediately when I heard it.
As for the treble, it'll be interesting to see them all measured on the same rig, so they can be compared, because I'm not a big fan of just slapping more and more treble on to make it seem like they have more detail, as seems to have been the case with some of the stealth models, but lets see

 

[Random Lunatic]

Ananda Nano or XS is the question...

Personally I'd take XS over any of the prior Ananda's, but who knows with the new one - or which fits your taste. What headphones others like doesn't really tell you much unless you know what they like vs. what you like.

 

[Nickapalooza86]

I believe I've tried the original and the stealth version. Headphones are never going to approach the staging size of speakers, without major DSP, so I don't quite follow the notion of being artificially big?
To be clear, the stage and imaging on Ananda is fine - I just like the 1000v1 better, and albeit I havent compared them directly, XS struck me as closer in terms of the sense of scale, than Ananda, which didn't give me that sense. But who knows- without a direct comparison I can't be certain of course. I just know it struck me quite immediately when I heard it.
As for the treble, it'll be interesting to see them all measured on the same rig, so they can be compared, because I'm not a big fan of just slapping more and more treble on to make it seem like they have more detail, as seems to have been the case with some of the stealth models, but lets see

I actually found the XS to have more annoying treble than the regular Ananda Stealth, don't know about the Nano but it sounds like they may have upped it which would probably be too much for me.

 

[Random Lunatic]

I actually found the XS to have more annoying treble than the regular Ananda Stealth, don't know about the Nano but it sounds like they may have upped it which would probably be too much for me.

Yea, regardless which model suffers most from this, I definitely agree - the tendency for the "stealth" label just meaning "treble peak added" I'm really not a fan of.

 

[Potoroo]

FWIW, Bloom Audio just posted their review of the Ananda Nano. They really liked it.

"In terms of sound, the original Ananda is brighter than the Ananda Nano, with notably less bass. The timbre isn’t as natural, and there’s more tendency for tinniness in the treble. Edition XS is the hottest in the treble, but has very strong bass extension, extending deeper in the bass than the original Ananda. XS lacks Ananda’s warmth though and can feel a little cold or hollow, particularly in comparison to the more natural, full Ananda Nano."

https://bloomaudio.com/blogs/articl...r-portable-players-hifiman-ananda-nano-review

 

[Nickapalooza86]

FWIW, Bloom Audio just posted their review of the Ananda Nano. They really liked it.

"In terms of sound, the original Ananda is brighter than the Ananda Nano, with notably less bass. The timbre isn’t as natural, and there’s more tendency for tinniness in the treble. Edition XS is the hottest in the treble, but has very strong bass extension, extending deeper in the bass than the original Ananda. XS lacks Ananda’s warmth though and can feel a little cold or hollow, particularly in comparison to the more natural, full Ananda Nano."

https://bloomaudio.com/blogs/articl...r-portable-players-hifiman-ananda-nano-review

Be nice if someone compared it to the Ananda Stealth....

 

[Random Lunatic]

FWIW, Bloom Audio just posted their review of the Ananda Nano. They really liked it.

"In terms of sound, the original Ananda is brighter than the Ananda Nano, with notably less bass. The timbre isn’t as natural, and there’s more tendency for tinniness in the treble. Edition XS is the hottest in the treble, but has very strong bass extension, extending deeper in the bass than the original Ananda. XS lacks Ananda’s warmth though and can feel a little cold or hollow, particularly in comparison to the more natural, full Ananda Nano."

https://bloomaudio.com/blogs/articl...r-portable-players-hifiman-ananda-nano-review

Now that sounds very intriguing, and hopefully the Organic follows the same trend. Look forward to one of the graph databases getting all of them, so its actually possible to see how they compare to XS and others in terms of the mentioned bass etc.

 

[kumawooms]

Just received my Ananda Nano which I bought to replace the XS, and.... right ear makes no sound. When I look into the driver, two of the bars (? don't know the terminology) on the driver are cracked in half - never seen that before. Maybe QC issues with early batches? I'd heard of Hifiman's QC issues by my XS has been rock solid without issues. I guess my advice might be to wait to see if QC is a widespread issue.

A/B'ing just the left ear (lol) against the XS, I think the Ananda Nano is an improvement over the XS, though hard to tell listening through one side. I always liked the XS (XS and Clear OG split time as my daily drivers), but compared to the Nano, I think less clarity throughout the range, especially in the mid, makes my XS sound slightly veiled in comparison. Highs are also more forward on the Nano, not the point of being harsh or unpleasant and smoother (?) if that makes sense. Also I think slightly wider soundstage on the Nano. I don't perceive the poor timbre and metallic sound that others have reported, at least not compared to the XS (my only other headphones are the Clear OG and HD6xx, both of which have better timbre to me than both the XS and Nano).

XS is more comfortable to me, but don't stay on my head well with movement - Nano is tighter with more clamp force. I also get a creaky noise when I move my head a certain way with the XS but not with the Nano - makes it feel better built. Maybe b/c the Nano ear cups don't swivel? Which also makes them slightly less comfortable than the XS. Overall, the Nano is pretty comfortable, and the build quality gains probably outweigh any loss in comfort for me personally.

Just hearing the left side I'm hopeful enough to send them back for a replacement rather than refund, though the QC issue scares me quite a bit. If the second pair comes damaged, or I find out listening to both sides I'm not impressed, I might just stick with my XS. I am also curious about the new Aryas, but it might go against my principles to let Hifiman's QC issues cause me to buy even more expensive Hifiman headphones.

 

[wwinter86]

Just received my Ananda Nano which I bought to replace the XS, and.... right ear makes no sound. When I look into the driver, two of the bars (? don't know the terminology) on the driver are cracked in half - never seen that before. Maybe QC issues with early batches? I'd heard of Hifiman's QC issues by my XS has been rock solid without issues. I guess my advice might be to wait to see if QC is a widespread issue.

A/B'ing just the left ear (lol) against the XS, I think the Ananda Nano is an improvement over the XS, though hard to tell listening through one side. I always liked the XS (XS and Clear OG split time as my daily drivers), but compared to the Nano, I think less clarity throughout the range, especially in the mid, makes my XS sound slightly veiled in comparison. Highs are also more forward on the Nano, not the point of being harsh or unpleasant and smoother (?) if that makes sense. Also I think slightly wider soundstage on the Nano. I don't perceive the poor timbre and metallic sound that others have reported, at least not compared to the XS (my only other headphones are the Clear OG and HD6xx, both of which have better timbre to me than both the XS and Nano).

XS is more comfortable to me, but don't stay on my head well with movement - Nano is tighter with more clamp force. I also get a creaky noise when I move my head a certain way with the XS but not with the Nano - makes it feel better built. Maybe b/c the Nano ear cups don't swivel? Which also makes them slightly less comfortable than the XS. Overall, the Nano is pretty comfortable, and the build quality gains probably outweigh any loss in comfort for me personally.

Just hearing the left side I'm hopeful enough to send them back for a replacement rather than refund, though the QC issue scares me quite a bit. If the second pair comes damaged, or I find out listening to both sides I'm not impressed, I might just stick with my XS. I am also curious about the new Aryas, but it might go against my principles to let Hifiman's QC issues cause me to buy even more expensive Hifiman headphones.

A replacement should be fine as mine are great

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

Just received my Ananda Nano which I bought to replace the XS, and.... right ear makes no sound. When I look into the driver, two of the bars (? don't know the terminology) on the driver are cracked in half - never seen that before. Maybe QC issues with early batches? I'd heard of Hifiman's QC issues by my XS has been rock solid without issues. I guess my advice might be to wait to see if QC is a widespread issue.

A/B'ing just the left ear (lol) against the XS, I think the Ananda Nano is an improvement over the XS, though hard to tell listening through one side. I always liked the XS (XS and Clear OG split time as my daily drivers), but compared to the Nano, I think less clarity throughout the range, especially in the mid, makes my XS sound slightly veiled in comparison. Highs are also more forward on the Nano, not the point of being harsh or unpleasant and smoother (?) if that makes sense. Also I think slightly wider soundstage on the Nano. I don't perceive the poor timbre and metallic sound that others have reported, at least not compared to the XS (my only other headphones are the Clear OG and HD6xx, both of which have better timbre to me than both the XS and Nano).

XS is more comfortable to me, but don't stay on my head well with movement - Nano is tighter with more clamp force. I also get a creaky noise when I move my head a certain way with the XS but not with the Nano - makes it feel better built. Maybe b/c the Nano ear cups don't swivel? Which also makes them slightly less comfortable than the XS. Overall, the Nano is pretty comfortable, and the build quality gains probably outweigh any loss in comfort for me personally.

Just hearing the left side I'm hopeful enough to send them back for a replacement rather than refund, though the QC issue scares me quite a bit. If the second pair comes damaged, or I find out listening to both sides I'm not impressed, I might just stick with my XS. I am also curious about the new Aryas, but it might go against my principles to let Hifiman's QC issues cause me to buy even more expensive Hifiman headphones.

Hi there, sorry to hear that. Can you please kindly email us at customerservice@hifiman.com, with a pic of the defective part, and your purchase receipt so we can see how to help? Thank you!

 

[kumawooms]

Hi there, sorry to hear that. Can you please kindly email us at customerservice@hifiman.com, with a pic of the defective part, and your purchase receipt so we can see how to help? Thank you!

I have already done so, im being taken care of thanks! Although it does take a bit of time for me to get a replacement.

 

[6speed]

Hey guys! I just got into this hobby... more like dipping my toe in. I have a Topping E50 dac and an L70 amp. My Ananda Nanos just arrived yesterday and I'm impressed; thrilled, even. My question is, are the benefits worth the price jump to the Arya? Do you get $700 more value over the Ananda when listening to the Arya ($1,300 for the Organic which I know few have yet to hear)? Do you guys feel the Ananda Nanos are in the diminishing returns territory or is there yet still a vast new experience to be had with more expensive gear?