I plan to purchase an Ananda and a Grado RS 2e in the near future. I can’t decide whether to get the Asgard 3 amplifier (good, but only usable on a desk) or the IFi Hipdac which Is portable). Would the Asgard be sufficiently better for pairing with those two headphones to give up the minor convenience of portability? I listen primarily to vocals, New Age and classical (no big bass/loud necessary). Thanks.
So just to be sure since I didn’t see it elsewhere in this thread: have there been any silent revisions to the Ananda since its creation that have changed the sound of the headphone, similar to the way the Sundara changed? I saw @Resolve’s review that stated that there weren’t any to his ears, but I wanted to confirm.
I haven’t found anything so far yeah.
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Hi-I am relatively new to the headphone world. I just bought the Ananda and I’m trying to decide on a budget amp/dac. I’m older and have a touch of tinnitus and so my hearing, while relatively good, is not quite what it used to be and for that reason I don’t listen to music at very high volume. I enjoy vocals, classical, opera, mellow New Age and some rock ‘n’ roll (but not metallic, etc.). A combination that has been recommended to me is the Schiit Asgard 3 with the Schiit Modius. Would that be a good pairing with the Ananda? Would you have any other recommendations for amps/dacs for the Ananda in that general price range? At some point in the future I might upgrade further and I would hope that whatever amp/dac combination I get will work with even higher grade headphones. Thanks all.
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You may also want to consider a Tube Hybrid Amp with the Ananda as well. I haven’t heard that AMP/DAC from Schiit with the Ananda yet. I would say the Ananda has a bit more in your face presentation at times which many people appreciate, and others don’t. I think they will pair better with a tube hybrid or a slightly warmer solid-state amp.
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My Ananda’s up for sale!
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Great reviews, I understand that the HD800s and the Ananda are two completely diffrenet headphones. Yet I find myself wanting one of the other. Maybe someone can help fact check what I know already.
HD800s is going to have better soundstage, imaging, and detail? Its not going to have better tonal balance or that fun factor?
Does the HD800s sound more natural and if you had to pick one or the other which would you get. Thank you so much for your time, I know these are questions we get asked all the time, any help would be appreciated. The answer to my question is probably they are so different that getting both would be in order.
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To not break tradition, this review is available on my blog (link in my profile) in English and Spanish. It is also available on YouTube for those who speak Spanish: Ep.36 - Hifiman Ananda BT - Te olvidas de que son Bluetooth…
Hifiman Ananda BT
Let me start out by saying that Hifiman have very kindly sent me both the Ananda BT and the regular Ananda for me to test and review. They have not requested anything in return for these reviews, nor have I received anything for them.
Preface…
As I just said, Hifiman have been very kind, sending me both of these headphones to test. To be honest, I have been wanting to try the Ananda for quite some time now but had never really thought about trying the Bluetooth version. I have read about it but more as a coincidence when reading about the regular version.
As I received both at the same time, I decided that I wanted to put the Ananda BT through its paces before I even tested out the wired version, I want to review it on its own merits rather than comparing it straight away. Therefore, in this review, I will not be making comparisons with the wired Ananda as I have not heard it. If I feel I need to make comparisons, I will do so at a later date.
Intro…
The Hifiman Ananda BT is an over-ear planar magnetic headphone that comes in around 999€. I am not going to go deep into the specs as I hope that someone that is interested in spending 1k on such a niche product will do their research before pressing “buy”.
The reason I say that it is such a niche product is because I have spent days trying to figure out exactly at who, or at what situation, this headphone is aimed. I am not saying this to be detrimental, I am actually curious.
First I will say that I am a person who favours wires over wireless, not just on headphones, which may mean that I am already looking at it from the wrong point of view, but… When I think of using Bluetooth headphones, I am looking at them as a solution to a problem, be it of convenience or of a noise-cancelling nature.
About a year ago, I spent some time going through all of the BT ANC headphones I could lay my hands on, the reason being that I fly a lot for my job (or I did until things changed last year) and I needed something noise cancelling. I tried the usual offerings from Sony, Bose, JBL, Sennheiser etc. along with some lower priced stuff such as MPOW and Taotronics. After trying all of them, the ones that sounded the best to my ears were the Sony WH-1000XM3 but they still didn’t sound good enough to convince me to spend the >300€ they cost at the time.
Obviously the Ananda BT are not aimed at competing with those as they are completely open-back, so there isn’t even any noise reduction, never mind cancellation.
I also own various sets of TWS IEMs, none of them with ANC, which I use for convenience when working on things that are not desk related. In this case, I am not really focusing on the music, I am focusing on whatever I am doing at the time. I have worn the Ananda BT a few times for this over the past weeks and I enjoyed the quality of music over the IEM alternatives while soldering a few cables. However, most of the time, I am doing something that includes physical movement, meaning that the Ananda BT are a little cumbersome. I am also someone who sweats quite a bit, so, even though the Ananda are very breathable, they do add a little extra heat that IEMs don’t.
So, that leaves me with the times that I am sitting at my desk, either at home or in the office. Luckily I don’t share an office so open-back is not an issue, however, I can see it being an issue for a lot of people. Also, when I am at my desk, either at home or in the office, I have no issues using a wired set up, so Bluetooth doesn’t really give me any benefit (personally).
That brings me back around to the beginning, I feel that the situations at which these headphones are aimed, at least in my case, are minimal.
Anyway, enough rambling about what people may or may not use them for, anyone who is going to spend this much on a set of bluetooth headphones will already know why they want them!
On to the product…
Presentation…
The Hifiman Ananda BT arrives in a box that is very similar to the Deva, except for the fact that the Ananda BT are packed inside a transport case in the box rather than a fabric covered cutout.
The transport case is actually very nice, being rigid and taking the shape of the headphones, it also contains a small drawstring back, affixed by velcro, which holds the 2 usb cables that are included, along with a microphone that can be plugged into the cup, turning them into a headset for calling (or maybe gaming also?).
Also included in the box is a user manual that is more than the usual brief booklet. Along with the usual brief instructions (which you need to read if you know nothing about these headphones), it also includes some nice information about the headphones and the company.
There is not much else to say about the presentation, so let’s move on to the important bits…
Build and aesthetics…
Starting with the build quality, I personally don’t see any issues, at least during the brief time I have been using these headphones. A combination of metal, plastic and imitation leather are used to create this headphone that is easily identified as Hifiman. I don’t think that this headphone is something that could be abused as much as other BT alternatives, such as the Sony options, but again, I don’t think that is the aim of this headphone. It is not built to be thrown in a bag every day and tossed around while travelling, but the hard case does protect the headphones pretty well.
As far as aesthetics, as I said, it is easily identified as Hifiman. Everyone has their own tastes as far as looks, in my case, I am a fan of this style of Hifiman headphones and find it to look like something that fits in its price bracket.
I will say that the headphones are large, again, especially in comparison to the great majority of BT headphones that are aimed at portability. I have received a few comments on how large they are while wearing them over the past weeks but I will also say that the size of the cups is something that adds to the comfort in my case. For people with smaller heads, it may prove to be a little on the large size, especially the length of the cups towards the jaw bone, however, as always, comfort and aesthetics are something that each person needs to decide for themselves.
Functionality…
The Ananda BT are a set of headphones that I find both simple and complex at the same time. While there is hardly any functionality through the two buttons that are on the left cup, I still found myself confused at times.
Of the two buttons that these headphones have, one is used to turn on and off, enter pairing mode and also play/pause the track. The second button is used to activate charging mode.
Although the headphones connected pretty quickly when only connected to my phone, automatically defaulting to LDAC, I had issues when switching between devices or even when using multiple BT headphones. I honestly couldn’t say what these issues were as I found that when they did connect, I hadn’t done anything differently to when they didn’t. I also found that sometimes the headphones would turn on with just a 2 second press of the button, other times it would take holding it for 5 or 6 seconds.
When I first received the Ananda BT, I plugged it in to charge. After connecting, I found it only had 60% battery. Once I had run down the battery, I plugged them in to charge again, only to find they didn’t charge. Finally I opened the user manual (which is something I should have done first) and found that for the headphones to charge, you need to press the charge button. This seems to be so that you can use the headphones via USB without them draining the battery of the device they are connected to (i.e: cell phone, DAP etc.).
Being able to use them via USB is a good idea, however, there is no analog input, meaning that the headphones are always dependent upon their internal DAC and Amplifier.
None of this is deal breaking for me but seeing that, to me personally, wireless is all about convenience, I would have liked next/last track and volume control on the headphones themselves, saving me from having to use my phone or DAP to control them. For example, on the Hifiman TWS800, there is volume control on the IEMs that is totally independent from the device volume, allowing much better control of volume levels than the normal Android volume control.
Sound…
Straight away, I can quite confidently say, without a doubt, that these are the best sounding bluetooth headphones I have ever heard.
Are they perfect? No.
They do have a few issues for my personal taste, but these are issues that I will mention only because I am reviewing this item and want to cover the good and the bad (if these details can even be called “bad” rather than just “not excellent”). It is also impossible not to focus on small things when we are speaking about a 1000€ set of Bluetooth headphones.
Please remember that I started off by saying that my favourite Bluettoth headphones until now have been the Sony WH-1000XM3, which were not perfect by a long shot but were my preference after trying out 15 or 20 different models, all of which were sub 400€. However, it is functionality that plays a large part with the Sony’s.
As far as sound, in comparison to the Ananda BT, the Sony’s sound like there is a blanket over the drivers. I guess this is not a fair comparison, as the Sony’s now cost 20% of the Ananda BT and are aimed at a completely different audience/scenario, but it was still amazing to switch back and forth between them, there literally is no comparison.
But anyway, enough about other models, let’s break down the Ananda BT and treat it as what it is, unique.
The sub-bass extension of the Ananda BT is fairly well extended, however, there is a roll off once reaching under 60Hz which means that lovers of a lot of rumble may find it lacking down there. For my tastes, the Ananda BT don’t inspire me to listen to dubstep and other sub-bass centered EDM.
However, the extension is there and, although reduced, it is very well controlled and defined, as are the rest of the bass frequencies. In fact, the rest of the bass frequencies are very good, both in quantity and quality. The tuning of the lower mids and higher bass regions is great and added to the amazing detail, speed and instrument separation of these planar-magnetic Bluetooth headphones, I find them to be almost perfect for my tastes.
There is just enough in the lows as they meet the mids to give acoustic guitars and basses a beautiful warmth without losing detail, but they do just as well on electric guitars and basses.
I could list endless songs that I have enjoyed this part of the spectrum on, from Paul Simon to AC/DC, with everything between. Only when moving over to electronic music did I not enjoy them as much, preferring instruments over digitally produced sounds.
Throughout the mids, these remain flat and present lush vocals with plenty of detail and without anything blending together. I can honestly say that from around 60Hz all the way to 1kHz, these headphones are nothing short of great.
Moving up to the top of the midrange, heading towards the treble is where things are not quite perfect. There is enough of a peak around 3kHz to keep the presence of the voices intact, and the same great detail is there, however, this presence either extends a little too far or there is another peak close to it. This results in sibilance being a little too present, along with a slight harshness that is created by this peak along with another peak a little higher (around 10 to 12kHz), making certain notes come across as piercing. This especially affects cymbals and some of the higher pitched wind instruments.
Now, while these are noticeable, these are not horrendous, the sound of these headphones is still miles above anything Bluetooth I have listened to, but they are 1000€ which means you focus on all kinds of nuances.
I also think that, due to these headphones being so detailed and revealing, they actually highlight their own issues, making them stand out more than they would on a less capable headphone with the same tuning.
Because there is no doubt, at least in my mind, that the detail, definition and speed that these headphones are capable of is amazing. No matter what kind of music I have thrown at the Ananda BT, it has not seemed to suffer in the slightest. Even on some of the most complex slap bass lines, not once did I feel that I missed anything, it is even capable of presenting nuances of playing while the notes being played are almost too fast to follow.
As far as soundstage, there is plenty, almost too much at times. These certainly give the sensation of having speakers placed way off to the sides, they are not intimate in any way.
Conclusion…
I will say once more that these are the best bluetooth headphones I have ever heard, by a long way, and I want a set, I just can’t think of a reason to own them.
If I could get this sound quality, or even just relatively close, in a set of Bluetooth headphones with ANC, I would be 100% sold. Even just in a closed back BT without ANC. However, the completely open design really limits the places where I could enjoy these headphones and in each of those places I have the possibility of using wired headphones.
Another thing is the price. I am not saying these are overpriced but the price is something that makes me think more about the investment and the use I will give it. At the price of 1000€, there are a lot of wired options to choose from.
I have mentioned a couple of things that don’t quite sound right to me and others have commented on the differences between the Bluetooth and regular version of the Ananda (which I have not yet heard and am excited to do so once I complete this review). I think that is something worth noting also, these headphones are of a quality that makes it easy to forget they are Bluetooth. The majority of comparisons of these headphones are against wired alternatives because there just isn’t anything that really competes with the Ananda BT, it is quite a unique product.
I can really say that I have enjoyed the time I have spent with the Hifiman Ananda BT, it is a great headphone that has some quirks but has totally changed my expectations of Bluetooth headphones and what they really could do.
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To not break tradition, this review is available in English and Spanish on my blog (link in my profile) and is also available on YouTube for the Spanish speaking crowd here: Ep.39 - Hifiman Ananda
First, I need to say a huge thank you to Hifiman for sending out both these and the bluetooth version for me to review. They have not requested anything other than an honest review but it is always good to factor in that it has not cost me anything to try out these headphones.
Preamble…
Before starting the review, I would like to say that this review may be subject to some bias from my point of view. I am hoping that is not the case, as I always do my best to be impartial, but the Ananda are a set of headphones that have been on my radar for quite a while, since I reviewed the Sundara to be exact.
I really liked the Sundara and almost purchased it on various occasions and the only thing that held me back was the fact that the Ananda appealed to me more than the Sundara, at least on paper and in photos. Now that I have finally had a chance to try both, I have a decision, but I’ll get to that in a moment.
Therefore, just in the same way that you need to consider the fact that it hasn’t cost me any money to try these headphones, they are also headphones that I really wanted (and expected) to like.
Take that as you may and on with the review…
Intro…
The Ananda are not a new model, they have been around for a couple of years now and I have read and seen many reviews on them. Usually I will not read or watch reviews on items that I don’t know (or know little) about and am going to review, trying to limit my expectations of a product. In this case, I have already seen plenty of positive reviews and many measurements, so I wasn’t exactly going into this blind.
The Ananda are an open back planar-magnetic headphone, with an impedance of 25 Ohms and a sensitivity of 103dB. On paper these should be quite easy headphones to drive but I have found that they do like a little bit of power to make them come alive. Saying that, I have been using them with amplifiers like the Atom, the Heresy, the NEO iDSD and all of them have powered them sufficiently. In the case of the NEO iDSD, it was running quite high on the single ended output but was still more than enough for my personal listening levels.
There are also plenty of measurements on the web showing what to expect from the Ananda, however, the following are my subjective findings, anything approaching the published measurements could be pure coincidence…
Presentation…
The presentation of the Hifiman Ananda is one that does live up to the price you are paying. They arrive in a beautiful leather covered box, inside a cardboard sleeve, that opens to reveal the headphones in silk lined fitted shape. In the center there is a foam type shape that covers the remaining contents.
These remaining contents are a user manual, or rather a nicely written guide with specs and information about both the headphones and company, a cable terminated in a 90º 3.5mm TRS, another cable terminated in a 6.35mm TRS and a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter.
After having the Ananda BT here also, the case that is included with the BT would be a great addition to the contents of the Ananda, or something similar. I know that the Ananda are not meant to be portable but a storage option a little smaller than the box would be a nice touch.
Build and aesthetics…
Now, as always, aesthetics are a very personal thing and I am a huge fan of the Ananda looks. The prolonged shape of the cups, the grille, the leather (or faux-leather) headstrap, it all comes together to present a product that I really like. Out of the Hifiman line-up, as far as looks, my favourite is the Susvara but the Ananda is not far behind. I think it has sort of an “industrial hi-fi” look to it, which matches well with my style.
The build quality is something that does not strike me as having issues, at least as far as the actual overall assembly and materials used but I have only had these headphones in my posession for a short period of time and I have treated them very well, I am not sure they are built to take much physical abuse. In my experience with Hifiman, I can neither vouch for nor against their build quality.
One thing that I do know has been an issue for other people is the lack of swivel on the cups. In my case, the Ananda fit me fine, so I cannot complain in the slightest. As always, personal comfort is just that, personal.
The negative side to this section of the review are the included cables. They use decent connectors, seem to be well built and work without flaw, but… they are neither pretty nor nice to the touch, obviously in my personal opinion. The inner cores of the cable are surrounded by a clear tubing that reminds me of heat shrink that didn’t shrink down enough. The cables have a tendency to fold rather than bend and are not very manageable. Again, they do their job, but I could think of many cables that I would prefer to receive with a 1k set of headphones.
Sound…
Where do I start without just sounding like a Hifiman sales rep?
Let me try and put it in context. Although I have been experimenting in the headphone world for a few years, my whole experience with audio has been mostly based around live sound or at least venues aimed at live performances (in which I am also including venues with live DJ’s and not always live musicians), with some studios thrown in along the way. That means that all of my life, speakers have been my source of music, some very good and some very bad. Other than listening to other peoples setups, I have very little experience with audio outside of the live or studio realm.
When you spend time involved with a specific thing, you grow acclimatized to it and that becomes the sound you recognize as “normal”. If you spend 20+ years listening to the HD600 sound signature, everything else will sound a little strange (regardless if better or worse). These years in this specific area of audio have brought me to love clean and detailed audio. I am not a lover of exaggerated bass, unless the track calls for it, and I am not always a lover of warm sounding gear, although I do like it now and again to relax.
Over the years I have come to love the (lack of?) house sound of Genelec and Meyer Sound, although there are a few other brands that are high on my list also. These PA speakers and studio monitors are not the most expensive, they are certainly not cheap either, and there are a million hi-fi speakers that would add extra zeros to the price (at the wrong end). I am not doubting at all that those speakers are better (or worse), but what I can get from Meyer and Genelec is enough for me personally to be happy. I suppose I could say they are my “end game”, although “end game” doesn’t really exist when you enjoy trying new gear. And just because they may be my “end game” as far as sound, they certainly don’t work in all situations.
So, all of that was to put what I am about to say in context. The Hifiman Ananda are my Genelec/Meyer Sound of headphones.
I did say that I was going into this review biased, so you have been warned, but from the moment I put on the Ananda for the first time I was sold, or rather, they were purchased.
But anyway, enough gushing, I am going to try and separate this into sections as I do in all reviews…
Starting from the bottom, the sub-bass is actually more present than I expected. Looking at graphs, I expected the roll off in the sub-bass to be quite noticeable, but it really isn’t, at least not in music that doesn’t need those exaggerated 30Hz. For example, songs from my test tracks that focus their lowest notes around the 40 to 50Hz region, such as “Bury a Friend” by Billie Eilish or “I Fink U Freeky” by Die Antwoord, have plenty of bass (in my opinion) whereas tracks with low hits around the 30 to 40Hz mark do show that roll off (“No Mercy” being my usual example here).
As we leave the lowest of frequencies to focus on the rest of the bass range, these sound wonderful. As I have said before on occasions, as a bass player, my attention automatically zooms in on the higher bass and lower mid regions. The Ananda presents these frequencies with a great balance and enough detail to focus on the instrument of your choosing. There are endless tracks that I could list that I have really enjoyed in these regions.
As we hit the lower mids, which are probably the most important part to me, the transition is perfect, in my opinion of course. Instruments, be them electric or acoustic, have a wonderful body and warmth to them, without the overall sound becoming warm. Sometimes I will be going through my test list and something will strike me, making me listen to it over and over again, that has been the case more than a few times. For example, with the intro of the song “All Your Love Turned to Passion” by Sara K., the warmth and body of the guitar is great but it does not affect the reverb and overall tonality of the intro.
Moving through the center mids, there is no recess, nothing takes second row, and while that can be uncomfortable on some headphones, the Ananda keeps its calm and you don’t feel like it is pushing mids at you. Voices are smooth but without any lack of detail. Listening to acapella tracks with multiple voices, it allows you to spot nuances in individual voices even when harmonizing together. Songs like “Down To The River To Pray” by Alison Krauss or “These Bones”, are very impressive, easily individualizing each voice. In fact, I spent some time listening to choirs and the detail and distinction between voices was a very memorable experience.
The higher mids are just as present, although there is no immediate drop after the 3kHz mark like in so many other headphones. Usually, if the 3kHz mark is followed by another peak, or if it doesn’t roll off slightly, then I get the impression of things being a little harsh. This was an impression I got with the Ananda BT for example. In this case, although the graph shows that the Ananda doesn’t really drop off after the 3kHz mark, it just rolls down smoothly (with a small dip around 5kHz), I don’t get a sensation of harshness at all.
Up in the higher frequencies, things stay just as good. Sibilance is not an issue, although it is a very clear headphone, so if the recording is sibilant, the Ananda isn’t going to hide it. My usual sibilance test tracks, which I have mentioned many times before, are all listenable without the feeling that sibilance is more (or less) present than it should be.
My subjective listening tests bring me to the conclusion that if there is any excess in the treble, it is above my hearing range before it starts to become uncomfortable. In fact, as far as the “air” and “shine” up top, I have no complaints at all (which is a rare occurrence for me).
Throughout all of this, the detail, speed and dynamics of these headphones do not disappoint at any frequency. No matter what music is thrown at these headphones, they just say: “here it is… next”. Even in the sub-bass ranges, way down in the 30’s, the Ananda doesn’t suffer, even when EQ’d, it just does its job.
And that is another thing I would like to mention, equalisation. There are many times when EQ can fix an issue with headphones but in the case of the Ananda, forget the headphones and fix the music. By this, I don’t mean that the Ananda and EQ can fix badly recorded music (in fact, it makes badly recorded music sound even worse) but it does lend itself well to EQ, meaning that the tweaking if decently recorded tracks that just don’t suit your preferences can be adjusted without worry of losing any of the details.
One last thing that needs to be mentioned is the soundstage and image placement. As with the Ananda BT, this is a very wide headphone. There is a very ample width which is presented to you, it is certainly not an intimate headphone. I don’t think that it is quite as wide as on the BT version, or at least I don’t get the feeling that it is too wide like I did at times with that one, but it is certainly a first or second row experience, where speakers are placed well off to your left and right.
Inside this soundstage, the placement of images is very well defined, in both placement and what I would refer to as layering. It is easy to locate both the positioning of instruments and sounds in their space but also other images that are taking place in the same position but in front or behind other sounds.
Conclusion…
I think that by this point I have already made it clear that I am a fan of the Hifiman Ananda, so I will refer to my earlier comment about these being my “Meyer Sound” of headphones. I have no doubt that there are other headphones that excel at specific points, or are just (slightly) better overall, but as we move up in the price range from here, these differences get smaller and smaller and personal preference becomes more and more relevant.
My planar-magnetic journey started with the Hifiman Sundara a couple of years ago, which I really liked, and would be a high recommendation to anyone looking for a sub 500€ headphone. I find that the Ananda goes just that one step further and that one step is enough for me to not find anything lacking, at least for the situations in which I would use the Ananda.
I say “for the situations in which I would use the Ananda” because these are not a headphone that is designed for all situations, or at least I don’t see them that way. They are a large, very open and quite delicate headphone that is not made for transportability nor for using in areas with other noise etc. I live in an apartment and have a young child, which means that during the day time (or rather the time that my son is awake, be it day or night) I do not get the enjoyment and satisfaction I get when using them in a quiet, dedicated, listening session.
Personally I do not share an office, but anyone who does would also have to find a different solution (or very understanding co-workers) because even at very low volumes, they are quite audible on the outside. Travel and commuting are obviously out of the question with the Anandas, well, unless you don’t mind hearing everyone around you and them hearing you.
My use for the Ananda will be to have it at home to use when I can sit in a quiet space and get lost in the music. There are times when I will prefer a warmer signature, something more focused on bass, etc., those depend on my mood but the Ananda is something that I think will form a very valuable part of my home headphone set up.
At the beginning of the sound section of this review (although this has become so long they should probably be called “chapters”), I mentioned the words “end-game”. I just want to point out that “end-game” is something that is dependent upon each person but, to me, it means that you have found something that you don’t need to improve. In my case, the detail and definition of the Ananda is enough for me to not need to look for anything better, but that is something personal and only relevant to me. That also doesn’t mean that I won’t still be looking anyway.
Well, I guess this is long enough for something that is supposed to be a review. I think I rambled on enough and it is probably due to me enjoying this honeymoon period with the Ananda. I just hope that the honeymoon is the start of a long and happy marriage.
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Very interesting reading. Sundaras opened a world to me. Little by little I’ll bring on my journey and I hope my path will cross Anandas before or later. You’ve put a lot of wisdom in what you wrote and it made the reading very fascinating. Thank you for sharing and enjoy.
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Thank you for the kind words 
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Thank you, as always!
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Great review SenyorC. I hated selling my Ananda’s. One of the best values in headphones that I’ve experienced.
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Very useful your mentioning the behavior of Ananadas and Audeze’s with different volume levels. Thank you for sharing.
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Hello and please allow me to ask:
I’m 5’6” with a size 6 1/2 head. Will the Ananda’s be too big?
I saw the pic of the 3-yr-old wearing them. HEY!! Some kids have big heads. 
Thank you
I have posted a comparison of the Hifiman Ananda vs Arya vs HE1000se in the HE1000se thread:
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Just spent some time measuring a recent brand new HiFiMAN Ananda from 2021. Not sure there were any revisions to this one, but I suspect not apart from the dust cover change Fang talked about years ago - at least compared to the previous one I evaluated. I do have an older one here at the studio as well so I’ll report back if I find any meaningful changes:
It still has the same excellent balance between fundamental and harmonic, the only weirdness there is the 1.5khz dip that you often see with HiFiMAN headphones. Interestingly, it’s very distinct on this one (driver mode?).
Also, for anyone who may have been confused about the bass response from seeing a drop-off on some other measurements or with a broken seal, sure enough it’s totally fine here.
To confirm this, here’s the on-head result in RED (only look at the bass here, it’s not taken at the ear drum and so the rest of the information won’t match):
Now let’s check out the air gap behavior:
Fs is nice and low, but of course the Ananda (and to a certain extent Arya) are counterexamples to the ‘slam’ question, making this not a sufficient condition for that quality. But nonetheless, I imagine they were able to achieve this due to the truly massive diaphragm size on these headphones.
Harmonic distortion (94dB):
Solid and well-controlled at 94dB. It does go up quite a bit at higher volumes, but this is totally unrealistic, and still not audible even if you did happen to listen loud enough to token this level at peak. This is due to the fact that it’s low order anyway (2nd and 3rd), and the significant auditory masking at this volume:
In general, the Ananda is still a fantastic headphone for the price in 2021.
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Just posting the pre-2021 Ananda information here:
In general it’s all fairly similar, but it should be noted that this one is in rough shape, with pads that look to be a bit worn out. So while the general driver behavior all looks the same, you may notice some subtle differences in the treble. Once again, this doesn’t indicate any meaningful difference to me beyond pad wear and slight unit variation.
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