HIFIMAN ANANDA Over-Ear Open-back Planar Magnetic Headphones, wired-Black

Product Information

Note: The measurements you are about to see are preformed using standardized GRAS 45CA headphone measurement fixture. Headphone measurements require more interpretation than speaker tests and have more of a requirement for subjective testing as a result. In addition, comparison of measurements between different people performing it using different configurations requires fair bit of skill. So don't look for matching results. Focus on high level picture. Listening tests are performed using RME ADI-2 DAC and its headphone output. Headphones: Sennheiser HD660s (Equaliser APO: EQ'd based on Oratory1990 Harman), Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro, Bose qc35 Testing Equipment: FiiO K9 PRO ESS, Topping E70V & L70, Chord Mojo 2, Topping G5, Lavricables Master Line, DHC Peptide Extreme

Overall, Hifiman has hit the mark with the Ananda Nano in terms of comfort, fit, and design. I would love to see them transition from plastic to aluminum alloy chassis in the future, but it seems that this will remain a potential improvement for another day.My music preferences is mostly instrumental, whether it's Classical, Jazz, Celtic, New Age, etc. I also enjoy music with vocal on them, but my playlist is mostly instrumental. I would say around 80/20 mix. Lower treble transitions from the upper mids smoothly and doesn’t have any notable spikes or dips. Treble is well detailed and has good texture. I did find timbre to be a bit bright at times as the Ananda seems to have an elevation in the 7kHz range that extends through somewhere between 9 and 10kHz. The upper end is tough to pin down as it seems to vary with source material. In this case bright should not be thought of as synonymous with harsh though. The Ananda maintains good control throughout the top end and while it has a bit of extra energy, it is not harsh and somehow actually manages to sound a bit relaxed and gentle. Again, the Ananda takes on the character of the recording. Poor recordings come off as thin, tinny, and metallic. Better recordings sound much more lifelike and lose that edge. Well recorded strings are a pleasure on the Ananda as it gets their timbre closer to spot on than most.

HIFIMAN Ananda + Astell & Kern SP2000T (100 USD + 2500 USD) - The overall pairing between Ananda and SP2000T is superb, with excellent depth and impact, but also that organic, smooth midrange that SP2000T is known to offer. This pairing has one of the best overall dynamics and impact that you can expect to squeeze from Ananda using a portable music player, the only other DAP that's close to this presentation being also an Astell & Kern, the SE180. Overall, Ananda has a huge soundstage, but with excellent instrument separation, and great overall punchiness, to the point where you sometimes forget you're wearing a headphone, and think you're right there in a concert hall, when listening to a live piece. They are slightly more dipped in 1-2k than the HE500 and HD6XX (by ~2dB according to InnerFidelity and solderdude's measurements) but are still enjoyable the same, as the Ananda's mids tends to veer closer to a softer, more neutral presentation. 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. 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. As you see, it dwarfs the panther next to it. For both testing and listening tests I had it in its lowest setting. It fit me but if you have less tall head, then it may not on you. Good news is that the Ananda is extremely light for its size, coming at 410 grams. As you see, the cup is oval so while the height is 88mm, I can't give you an exact width of the inside of the cup. I measured it more or less at 57mm. Depth to the dust cover is 17 mm.

The Ananda did a great job of being a transportable headphone along with a headphone that I could sit down with in my listening room for more long-term listening sessions. Here we have another one of those comparisons that at first glance doesn’t look to be well thought out. I’ll admit I did this one based on the soundstage of the two being similar (a huge complement to the Ananda in and of itself).

The treble of Ananda is clean, slightly wet in character, like most of their sound, and they present music enjoyable, the treble is natural in balance to the bass and the midrange, never being too much, making them natural rather than bright or hot headed. The treble is the best part for a headphone as well balanced as Ananda, and it helps give contour to the musical and sweet presentation they give to music. This is one of my favorite headphones for sure, and it is worthy to consider if you can't afford the Arya Stealth which is a bit more detailed and precise, or if you want a sweeter and richer sound than Arya Stealth. The sound of Arya is more upbeat, while the sound of Ananda is relaxed and smoother, and those are words that you can use to generally describe Ananda, smooth and relaxed. There are headphones that dig even a bit deeper in the bass, there are headphones that feel even a bit more snappy and dynamic. No headphone does it all perfect. The sound was good now but still I felt some bass was missing so dialed in the 1.5 dB broad boost centered around 90 Hz. That warmed things up a bit more which was nice. I still had some grunginess I did not like so put in the dip 930 Hz and that helped. I got this unit as part New Zealand tour arranged by team Hifiman, thank you very much for including me in this tour Besides the minor discomfort behind my ear, and the connection issue (which can be remedied), there’s nothing about this headphone that I don’t like.I loved the Ananda, if I don't have my Stax system, I might buy and build my system around Ananda, and happy to call it an end to the journey. They are that good.