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

Product Information

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. Pads do not rotate on the vertical axis (as all HiFiMAN’s headphones), but since they are so big, they still remain very comfortable" 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. We're not talking about Beyer, Ultrasone peak levels of course. I'm simply magnifying this part a lot to contrast the slight differences better. 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.

Admittedly, the LCD-X is probably the better comparison spec-wise as the LCD-2 is much higher impedance and harder to drive than the Ananda, but I did not have the LCD-X on hand to compare. The LCD-2 is considerably heavier than the Ananda at roughly 500 grams vs the Ananda’s 400. The Ananda feels lighter than the actual weight difference as well as the headband does a better job of distributing weight. I’m not a fan of the pads on the LCD-2 either and have long since replaced mine with Dekoni pads, but still find the pads on the Ananda to be more comfortable. Both have angled connectors although I like the LCD version a bit better with its Mini-XLR and steeper angle than the 3.5mm of the Ananda. Both are solid, I just prefer the look of the LCD connector better. The pads are quite soft, the sides are leather, while the surface that touch your ears are alcantara i think? they are comfortable and I don't have problems using them for 2 hours and more. 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. I've listened to Hifiman Ananda for about a month. I've used them mostly with Hiby R6 amped through Schiit Magni 3. The source will be either my personal flac or spotify.At the end of the day, it really a matter of taste I suppose, you want analytical and lean? go HD800, warm and cozy? Ananda. Gentle reminder that this is all my opinion, YMMV with different source/amp/etc. Midrange is ever so slightly warm but clean and pronounced. The Mids have good emotion and while not totally neutral the do have a neutral quality about them I found them rich and very tastefully done, vocals had a natural tone and sat somewhere just behind the instruments yet remained clear.

Give it a listen if you can, you might find them to be the headphones that you never knew you needed. From Home Theater and HiFi's review of the HiFiMAN Ananda , first published on December 19th, 2018: Although you can’t use the Ananda BT with a classic audio cable, you can use a USB cable to connect them to a PC, smartphone or tablet.” This review is a bit older (a few months) and at that time I owned the Gungnir Multibit B. The Edition X V2 was a friendly loaner.

Cables & Connectors

Soundstage is open and one of the best I've ever heard, its very spacious and equally wide as it is deep not only that the details and separation make the imaging near perfect. Once there, the transformation was dramatic. The headphone tonality was very nice now and sound super open and pleasing. Alas, after a few minutes of listening, I lost interest in wearing these headphones and focused once more on some grunginess. Mind you, it could just be imagined problem but the final outcome was unlike other headphones that I listen to that are nice. I usually won't stop until I have to do the review. Didn't happen here. The treble is probably the least exciting, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not great. It is vivid, shimmering and refined, with just a hint of spiciness. At the same time, it’s not boosted, since the Ananda is one of the most neutral headphones on the current market. I could say that the treble is transparent and superbly extended, but I have to mention that it has a strong presence in music. While it may be a bit problematic for people that are on the “dark side of the force”, I wouldn’t call the Ananda bright sounding. disclaimer: I received the Ananda as part of the Head-fi tour and would like to extend a thanks to Hifiman for giving me the opportunity to try them out. I received no guidance or incentives to write this, and upon completion the Ananda (sadly) went on to the next reviewer. 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.

Overall, for my listening preferences (which is textured vocals) the Ananda performs extremely well at it’s price point. I find myself reaching for the Ananda far more in my listening room than other options I have available to me. Now, that could be down to the fact that I am on this loaner tour and find myself compelled to spend as much time as possible with it, but I would like to think that I would happily remove some of my current lineup for these. I have previously owned both the v1 and v2 version of the Edition X, and based on memory I can say that I prefer the Ananda for my listening preferences. I found the Hifiman Ananda Headphones in search of a product which can serve me as a professional musician. Listening to music in high quality and doing some editing work is part of my daily job. The Ananda headphones fulfilled all my hopes, the sound is very clear and realistic, with a super sense of space. I use it mainly for editing string instruments, and it has a great, detailed, rich sound both in high and low register. It works well for all genres. 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. Generally Ananda bests the Edition X V2 in technicalities but is drier and more stoic. The Edition X V2 counters with romanticism and character. On the other side of things. The HD-600 on a good OTL tube amp is also far more musical and realistic - even liquid. Ananda is dry.

HiFiMAN Ananda Comparisons

Live recordings are also the way to go with the Ananda, as the superbly accurate staging meets this huge amount of air pushed by a driver. Both of those combine for a spectacular and accurate representation of both music venues and huge concert halls. Don't expect the bass to rumble down low like a AH-D7000 or the TH-900, the character and tuning goes past the expectations of bassheads. It goes for accuracy, linearity over wow factor. Make no mistake though, it's not like the bass of the TH-900 isn't accurate in context. Not at all actually. The tuning is simply different. The TH-900 grows a lot in presence and rumble the lower you go, the Ananda goes for linearity and does extend pretty well but never goes for the thunder or the furious slam of the TH-900. It does not take away, it does not give but is still leaner in character. it maintains excellent control and details stand out. More so than the Hex V2 which brings us more volume down low and a tiny bit less control, adding to the overall warmer character but also adding to the bass presence. 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. The Ananda Nano continues Hifiman’s tradition of egg-shaped earcup design. It bears a striking resemblance to the Ananda Stealth Magnets Edition, but the Nano introduces a reworked headband to ensure a superior seal around the ears. The earcups of the Ananda Nano are a hybrid of plastic and metal. The grille, a crucial component for sound quality, is crafted from metal, while the surrounding frame is constructed from sturdy plastic.

This headphone is a little bit bright with elevated upper-mid (less bright than HD800). Soundstage is good (i think it is about as good as as DT880's). Comfort - The cushions on the Sundara are softer and apply less clamping force, the Ananda are absolutely fine, but they do apply more pressure and are firmer.With regards to amplification, the Ananda sure scales with the amplifier, but seems to not require a lot of power – which is a good thing. I did not test it, but would be surprised if the Ananda will not sound great from a good portable amp. Conclusion: Both are great, if you don't have an amplifier then the Ananda is the best way to go since they are easier to drive. I have to say, the Ananda are superior to me, but its not night and day. I found that certain songs I preferred on the Sundara but more of the songs I preferred on the Ananda. Out of the box, the tuning of the Sundara is farther from the Harman Target, I feel like this has a lot to do with the differences here. If you asked me if the price difference was worth it, I would say this. If you plan on just plugging it in and listening straight away without any EQ, yes the Ananda is worth the price difference, however when using EQ to the Harman Target on the Sundara, they become a lot more balanced, and that makes it more complicated, then it comes down to how much you value imaging and soundstage. Sub-bass on the Ananda can only be described as minimal. Roll-off begins high enough up that anything below 150Hz is well behind the rest of the signature. Those looking for more low end, will be better served by other models in the Hifiman lineup. Mid-bass is much better represented and realistically from about 200Hz up, linearity is very good. To my ear, mid-bass is neutral or just a hair less, but mid-bass detail and texture are extremely good. While I would prefer a bit more bass, the fact that what the Ananda presents is as clean and well defined as it is, makes what is missing almost ignorable. Transition from the bass into the lower mids is very smooth and clean and where mid-bass bleed usually contributes a bit of warmth to the signature, here the tuning provides it as no perceptible bleed was present. This one has been easier for me than I initially thought it will be. In terms of build quality, the Clear is built more premium, but it’s not as comfortable as the Ananda. Also, its light gray earpads and headband tend to look quite gross after about a year of heavy use, and there’s no way to replace just the headband cushion, you have to get the whole thing new, and that ain’t cheap. Thanks to that, I’d rate the Ananda higher.