HiFiMAN Ananda Review - worth it over Sundara?
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- Опубліковано 27 кві 2020
- Hifiman Ananda: www.headphones.com/products/h...
Forum thread: forum.headphones.com/t/hifima...
Written review: www.headphones.com/blogs/news...
HiFiMAN Sundara review: • HiFiMAN Sundara Headph...
HiFiMAN Sundara: www.headphones.com/products/h...
Become an expert on headphones: www.headphones.com/pages/rese...
Learn about headphone measurements and frequency response: www.headphones.com/pages/meas...
How frequency response impacts sound signature: www.headphones.com/pages/how-... - Наука та технологія
I ended up selling the Sundara and keeping the Ananda. The clarity and staging of the Ananda were the primary deciding factors for me.
Gotta say, Andrew, that you're by far my favorite reviewer for headphones, etc. The thought and detail you provide for each review are just outstanding. Happy to be a subscriber!
Bought the Ananda thinking it'll be just a different headphone to the HD 660s that I can add to my collection, turns out it's just better in almost everyway and now I need to sell the 660s.
600s sound like mud next to the anandas
Still thinking the same today ... 🤔
Weird, but nice
I own Sundara and Hd 660s. I think they complement very well: dark vs bright, narrow vs. wide. I got the hd 600s as an upgrade to hd 600, and I think it was worth it, specially considering the added clarity (HD 600 was too muddy for me).
@@pascaljean2333 not really. Get a good amp and they scale like crazy
Stumbled across your channel this week, have found your delivery and review format to be the most concise while being highly informative and have greatly appreciated them to the point where I’ve watched many, many of your vids now while researching planar magnetics and am now going to purchase the Ananda in the near future. Kudos mate, keep up the great work.
You are the best headphone reviewer on YT, IMHO. Thorough explanations of sound quality and thoughtful comparisons as always. I really liked your written review of the Elegia on SBAF. I recently got an Elegia and think your impressions are spot-on. You have taken the torch from Tyll and Metal571. Thanks for all you do!
agreed
Love the new intro and the graphics and ratings used!
I enjoyed the Ananda in an audition, but to me it had a "soft" sound. Not a whole lot of slam. It definitely works for classical and acoustic music more. Happy to have picked the Sundara over it (and of course, the HE-500 over that!).
Love your reviews, clear and concise and complemented by a nice comfortable background. Thanks!
Thanks for speaking in a language normal people can understand, yet also providing a lot of depth with your analysis.
Well, it looks like I gotta thank Joshua Valour because I was thrown in the audiophile algorithm and UA-cam recommended your video. Sub'ed.
Bismillah
Great review. I would have liked to hear your comparisons between the Ananda and Mr Speakers Aeon. I imagine you would agree the aeon has a tighter sound stage but more dynamic and comfortable. How about in the detail (they seem pretty simulate to me)?
Thanks for the excellent explanation!
Own the Ananda's and really enjoy them with all genre's of music, good review thanks.
Great video, lighting. Nice to see from someone focused on audio.
Any chance you'll be reviewing the HE-1000V2? It'd be really interesting to see your opinion on how similar it is to the Arya.
Amazing content as always btw..
Great review! You deserve more views and subs!
I was going to keep the Ananda. But since I am using a Can Opener plugin to mimic a speaker setup ( I started mixing on headphones this year and bought a couple planars ), I opted to keep the Sundara. I just tuned the headphones to be as close to my monitors (unscientific method though ). The extra slam that is in the Sundara was the deciding point and $400 was a chunk of change and of course the conclusion on this review.
I do love your reviews and how you present them.
Good review and comparison with clear indicators. Subscribed. Thank you.
Excellent comparison, thanks.
Great job. You deserve more Subs .
You're an honest reviewer.
Subscribed!
Keep safe.
Rating scale makes sense, good video 💐
Now that was very helpful. Excellent review.
So what has more sub-bass impact; Ananda or Elear with Clear pads? And how do they both compare to the LCD2 Classic's sub-bass impact?
Thanks a lot for this very good and instructive video. How does the Ananda compare with the Grado 325SRe? I use a Lehmann Audio Linear amp and listen mainly to classical and jazz. Kind regards, Ignacio
I feel like I'm always hearing smooth jazz playing in my head when watching this channel
Good.
his presentation is coherent and smooth..same as Ananda's :) I also bougth them recently and I think they sound amazing
Hello,
Thanks for doing this comparison. Outside of Max Setting, you seem to be one of the only reviewers that mentions the Ananda. I do wish you would have mentioned EQ as you can get as much slam as you want as long as you have a good amp to compensate for the lower volume to prevent clipping. I also have the Elex and they are very different headphones. The Elex has a smaller sound stage, is much more intimate, and has less detail, but has more depth to the music in it's more limited sound space. It does slam harder out of the box but with EQ that's a non issue. Also, remember that the Elex's driver does have a clipping issue with very loud low level bass. The Elex is also a bit brighter in the higher frequencies than the Ananda. I think they complement each other rather than compete with each other, The Ananda is great if you want your music to sound like you are in a concert hall where as the Elex are more intimate and the music sounds like it's very close to you.
I wonder if the punch n slam you refer to is due to the magnets.. did you try different amps like a really powerful one? I moved from phone output to LG Quad DAC to Earstudio and Schiit Magni 3+ and I "felt" the responsiveness increase...
do you have the Beyerd 1-tesla headphones to compare as well?
Really interesting, enjoyable watch for me, thank you
Just found you. Excellent channel. New subscriber.
See I always thought of those earcups as almond shaped, but I guess I can see why you'd make the egg comparison. This looks like quite a nice headphone to me, I like the styling too - I'm a sucker for driver excursion dynamics/"tacility", but since I have my own custom TH-610 for that, this may just make it on my short list for an open pair 👀
Can you guys look into durability and lifetime of the Ananda? Ever since I got my Ananda I noticed that the traces on the membrane started to wrinkle and maybe with use start tearing of the mylar over time.
Have you tried the Ether Flow 1.1 Opens? Wonder how they stack up to these...
Best headphone reviews by far.
Thanks for video! Can also say “gap is not much” between ananda nano and Sundara ?
Could does this compare to the HE4xx? i find the 4xx really good for most genders of music, if i could get something an upgrade in soundstage it would be my endgame
Ultimately decided on the Sundara, primarily because I was thinking that if I had a DOA Hifiman, I'd rather it'd be a (probable) $350 headache instead of a $700 one. Here's hoping they really did step up the driver quality after the numerous complaints from early buyers.
hi may i as the which is the dac/amp you are using for sundara? the red one i see in your video. i want a recommendation for my hifiman for a good dac/amp combo - desktop mode or portable or versatile and best value for money. Thanks!
When they put the arya on sale i'll consider it. idk why its never seen a price reduction like the others
Hello!
Ananda or Lcd-x has better Soundstage and sub bass?
Which one of them would you recommend for mixing?
Do you EQ the headphones to correct curve response prior to reviewing them ?
Hi, There is a price difference of about 650 USD between the Ananda vs Arya in my Country. Do you think it would be better to stretch and go for the Arya ? I dont change Headphones frequently and tend to keep it atleast for 5 years. Primary usage is for movies and country/blues based music. Please provide ur input.
I have marantz 6014 avr, will that be good for these as well? or I buy dedicated headphone Amp if yes which one you suggest thanks
G’day any chance you could do a review on the B&O H95 headphones cheers
So I already have the Sundara. What complements it? The only shortcoming I see is image separation. So what else has good separation but isn't terribly lacking in other areas in the Sundara price range?
Kinda late... but what kind of amp is best to partner with this? I mostly listen to alternative rock... any help would be hemlpful
Review he400i 2020 edition. A comparison of the lineup would be very useful.
Because of your review/ comparison of the Arya and Ananda , I tried both. And ultimately kept the Ananda. The Arya was definitely more comfortable to wear however in my second week it already made a squeaking sound and I think 🤔 that’s the disadvantage of the swivel design. The pads of the Arya was way more comfortable vs the Ananda, however the sound quality was very similar and to me the Arya ‘s definitely not twice better than the Ananda , not even 30 percent better. So, I am still surprised why the Ananda is not a clear upgrade to the Sundara being that the Arya and the Ananda are pretty close in sound quality. I am still happy with my choice thanks to your review (in your old channel) . I am disappointed that probably I will be limited to the hifiman’s clamshell designs due to the large inside openings of this design. I have pretty big ears 👂 and HPs with small openings will be extremely uncomfortable even if they sound endgame. Thanks for your channel. And keep up the good work.
you
thanks again i you iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijjj i’ll jnnnnnn
hmm ok
Did u recommend to use a Zen Dac for this ?
Does they match well with the ifi idsd micro bl?
which of the 2 headphones sounds best with hard metal rock?
Excellent review as always ! I've still got a question though : what about vocals on the Ananda ? I mean i come from a 6XX & i fckin love them sooo much for their kinda intimate vocals, would love to know how the Ananda deal with lot of vocals/voices songs, can he get intimate like the 6XX can ? I mean i don't think lot of headphones can actually reproduce the same awesome intimacy on vocals that the 6XX provide, but just wanted to know if the Ananda can maybe come close & give you that sweet intimacy "realistic" vocals like the 6XX ? Hope it make sense i'm french my english could probably be better lol
I think for intimate vocals, hd6xx is probably still the king. If timbre and naturalness is what you're looking for, you may want to stick with a dynamic driver headphone.
@@TheHEADPHONEShow Yes i see, & i heard that planar headphones don't always sound very natural, but well i thought the Ananda can be an exception to this rule and sound pretty natural, its ok if it don't come close to the 6XX, but voice still sound kinda natural on the Ananda or its not really that good ?
I just bought and compared these two and agree with all you say. I’m keeping the ananda and sending the Sundara back. They are both awesome and I’d be thrilled with either. But the ananda just has a more airy open sound and just has a better treble response to my ear. The Sundara felt a little more closed and the soundstage a bit more narrow.
Guess what? The new stealth magnet Ananda is now available. It's even better!
EQ this headphone and you will never need another headphone ever again.
Problem with the Ananda is - The smallest headband setting is too big big for me so I have to improvise by wearing an old Grado G-cush on top of my head , then place the headphone on top of the G-Cush.
I'd be interested if anyone could commend on the Ananda vs. Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Open. DC is offering 15% off the A2O for the next few weeks so the price is very close. I'm looking for a complement to my Focal Elex.
Your reviews are always so detailed and informative and I really appreciate that!
I did decide to get a Sundara the other day and I'm waiting on it to arrive. I'm actually relieved that you mentioned the Sundara has a more dynamic and not a soft sound like the Ananda, since that is what I prefer. Can't wait to hear how it performs against my HD600 and 58X.
@Au12 Ok, here are my impressions:
The Sundara is quite a bit brighter and treble detailed than the 58X, and perhaps just a little brighter than the 600. Sundara is brighter, has more air, and improves on technicalities over the 58X and 600 like speed and soundstage. However, it does not have as good of a timbre, maybe a bit less natural. I'm also hearing a slight elevation around 13kHz, which emphasizes cymbal hits and metallic instruments. But with some EQ, these issues almost disappear and on top of that you really can tune these to your liking, as they respond incredibly well to EQ. I personally only bring down the treble 2-3 dB in a few areas, the bass and mids sound perfect. They perform a lot better than the Sennheisers at most genres. Not in timbre, but in wide soundstage, openness, imaging, and of course extended low planar bass. These make things sound very nice and wide and open, really a big jump from the 58X. Also, the mids are surprisingly good, very natural. Things are not as forward and in your face like the 600/58X so it's more like listening to speakers than headphones, but that's probably the general planar presentation. And I do recall these being significantly more balanced than the 4XX, but I will have to compare side to side to be sure. Hope that helps!
Seems to be the general issue with planars.
The lack of natural timbre.
@@divinecurrent9053 and what about the material it self? I heard from a lot ppl on the internet, Hifiman have a QC issue in their products
I bought the Sundara a couple of months ago and just got the Ananda about a week ago and to me it was worth it. At first I wish I didn't get the Sundara but after comparing the two I think they sound different enough that it's worth keeping both. The Ananda is a more detailed headphone with a larger soundstage and some of the best separation I've heard. I have like 12 headphones now and after getting these 2 I think I'm going to start selling many of my other ones.
Would it be possible to eq the Ananda for some more slam? I'm considering both of these headphones
@@P.7005 Absolutely you can eq them for more bass impact. I have the Schiit Loki 4 band eq that I use and I go to only about 2dB up but I've tried it at the max 6dB and they sounded just fine with no clipping.
hifiman is just good headphone brand!
Nice review! Any recommendations on amp? Will the ifi zen dac be enough or how about the Asgard 3 or monolith 788?
This headphone is super efficient. You don't need much power at all. So yeah the Zen stuff is easily enough
I really like your review style, but would you consider brightening (and warming) up the room's lighting?
The dark shadowy look going on now makes me feel like I'm watching an interrogation lmao
Guys please help me, I can't find an answer, how hifiman Ananda sounds without an amp. I want to play these from my iPhone..do they loose a lot? Looks like they are pretty efficient... thank you so much for your help ❤️
Was the frequency response comparison with the Sundara the 2020 revision?
Your reviews are the only common sense reviews on you tube. They actually translate to the actual audible experience.
One question. Do you give every Can you review a full 150 hours of burn in. I don’t mean to be what many would consider
“One of those”, but I’ve been doing this for a very long time.
I owned a high end shop for 22 years. I never evaluate any component seriously until it’s burned for at least 150 hours.
Your feelings on this controversial issue would be very much appreciated.
Hey thanks for the kind words. I don't specifically burn in anything ahead of time, but I do spend quite a bit of time with them before reviewing any headphone. Also, most of them I receive are open box units or from people who own them and just send them to me for review, so they all have sufficient use on them. As for whether or not I believe in burn-in, I think 90% of headphones don't require it. There are some that use a rubber surround that do change noticeably, but even then I don't know if it's worth doing a pre-evaluation process or anything. I think these cases are responsible for the notion that burn-in is a requirement, but for most mass produced headphones there's already a lot of that done during the QC process anyway. For more boutique or small batch headphones, there's a chance it could be more significant.
Thank you for your very thoughtful reply.
This issue has gone around the horn so many times it’s dizzying. In the absence of consensus, everyone’s thoughts on the subject deserve equal weight. The differences I perceive, which I attribute to burn in are admittedly subtle, but significant. Not so much quantitively, but in a musically qualitative sense. The various sources of the products you receive for review unfortunately deprive you of a baseline regarding the amount of use they underwent prior to your receiving them. Your comments were very helpful which is why I so enjoy your reviews. I didn’t realize the products you receive for review weren’t factory fresh. I seem to have a definitive advantage in that I have to purchase every product I get to evaluate. They are all factory fresh. I have the advantage of experiencing their sonic signature from there first electrical impulse. This has been my experience from the beginning of my HIFI life which spans almost 50 years. If you have the opportunity to evaluate a brand new piece of equipment I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the results. Just a thought from a geriatric HIFI lune. Thank you for your consideration of my thoughts, and above all.....BEING REAL!!!!
Warmest Regards,
Greg Belemjian
Keeping my ananda returned the sundara. Tested them both on ifi zen dac with zen can
How do these compare to Audeze LCD2 is the Ananda worth getting if I already have the LCD2'S
Was like 300 msec from buying these. What do you recommend in this range?
can these be powered through a Schiit Modi/Vali stack?
Let’s gooo.
The soundstage alone was worth the upgrade for me from the Sundara to the Ananda. The Sundara is a wonderful headphone but the Ananda is just amazing IMO. Also I don't find the punch and slam difference to be drastic at all. It's there but only really noticeable when comparing back and forth. The soundstage is night and day. The Sundara has a weak center image while the Ananda is strong.
Thx for sharing your experience. I'm going to save up to upgrade my 400i straight to ananda, skipping sundara
@@dayeah765caoni3 Same thinking here
All praise the Sundara but I suppose the Ananda is the next level
Or LCD-2 ... 🤔
Totally agree. I had both. Sundara is so good but the Ananda is amazing! Sold the Sundara
what's your choice for dap and dac for Sundara?
the Anada headphones is 300 right now! i own the Sundara! do you think it's worth getting? i still plan to use my Sundara is the more soundstage an better image making it worth it? to get Anada
I am owning my first planar H400SE, how good Ananda and Arya are compared to it?
Man I’m looking some good durable headphones for my electric drum I keep buying after 5 months couse one messed up and only one work. Any good suggestions?! Please help 😁
The ananda step back for slam is a deal killer for me. My pet peeve is/are headphones that claim "large sound stage". when it's like delay distance, and kills the intimacy of a recording. Close mic'd guitar should not sound 20 feet away.
i wish i could get a review for HD6xx and the HD800 in this fashion to really see what your verdict of them are number for number
So I just picked up the Ananda’s for $360 like new. Is that a steal?
I forgot to close my door all the way and my dog knocked my ananda off my desk a bent the hell out of the headband and hifiman hasn't had replacements in stock for as long as I can remember so Im just trying to decide on replacing it with a new ananda or just getting sundaras since they are so much cheaper.
Do you have a recommendation for headphone stores in Europe? Headphones.com doesn't ship here and even if they did, import and shipping costs would be huge
Amazon, Thomann
I got the Sundara and tbh I don't find it lacking in soundstage. I don't think it's "immersively" huge, but I actually find it accurate in its representation. Of course I've only listened to a bunch of mid-fi headphones (HD660S, DT1990, K712, HD598) and I honestly wouldn't say the Sundara does any worse than those. I think it's actually a matter of preference. Still, thanks for recommending them. I do find them a bit cold for my taste, so I applied oratory's EQ preset and with that added bass slam I'm extremely content. These are just my 2 cents btw.
*just gonna wait another 5 years for Arya to hit $500*
Just bought mine for 13k ntd, bout 464 usd
Man is it a killer hp at this price, pretty much unbeatable
@@antonyyangg boy 500 for hp is too much you can buy 58 pizzas for that price imagin that
It will be much more worth.
I spent $700, but I chose Sundara and Schiit Modi/Magni/Loki instead. I’m happy (if I could just stop thinking about HD6xx and Darkvoice!).
I just went Darkvoice and HD6XX
These or the Edition XS? I didn't like the Sundara at all and bought the XS, which I like.
Bought and enjoy the Ananda for a great price 699.99, as to build I have never had a problem with Hifiman, I have had problems with Audeze and truth be told if you have a problem with egg shaped do you also have a problem with a ton of Sennheiser's oval and very large HD800, 800s type of very large round cans?
I got the Ananda on sale for slightly less than $500. Waiting for it to arrive.
You guys are making my next headphone choice really hard! I am so stuck on what to get next to upgrade from my HD6xx, I can either get the HiFiMan Ananda or the Focal Clear for the same price >.>
Ohh... that's a tough choice. I'd check out the previous vid I did on planar vs dynamic and then make your decision based on which qualities you value more.
There are only two upgrades to the 6xx (IMHO and the opinion of many others who have owned expensive headphones up to $4k): the HD-600 and the HD-660s. Everything else might just be a journey into spending money only to come back to the 6-series in one or two years.
@@thelastrhino2581 600 and 660 S are just sidegrades to 6XX (650).
@@mattsch21 No, IMHO nothing matches the 6-series in timbre, and that's what it's all about. The Elex is a metallic mess. The bass on the 600 is sufficient for all music genres, especially EDM. I say this coming from Audeze TOTL headphones. It depends on what you have adapted yourself to. If you have been listening to Beats, of course the 600's bass sounds weak.
@@marekkouril7134 The 650 is the weakest in the 6-series.
I did purchase the Ananda as an upgrade to my Sundara a few months back, ended up replacing it with an Arya. The Sundara and Ananda are a lot closer than you might think, Andrew is on the money here. On that note, the Ananda had the best frequency response out of the box for me only losing to the Edition X v2.
I test listened to both ananda and arya at the same time and it was immediate for me that arya is way superior, for a lot of more money of course but I bought the arya in the end cuz it just has better everything, the details, the soundstage, the speed, the timbre. Ananda aint a bad headphone but as you said, it's not too big of a jump from the sundara.
Interesting, I listened to a few high-end headphones including the Arya and the Ananda next to each other and I believe it is comparable to the red wine scene. If you do a blind test, most people will not differentiate 10 and 100 $ wine.
Me and the workers at the store agree that the differences between the Arya and the Amanda are in the realm of a few percent. Also, I have seen a test where the frequency range of the Amanda was actually missing an unpleasant frequency peak that the Arya has and is more linear.
@@julianschmidt147 Interesting take. For me the Ananda sounded a lot more forwards with the overall delivery (much like the Sundara with stock ear pads) out of the box while the Arya takes a few steps back with a lot more depth, and that was the most significant difference and one of the reasons why I decided to keep it (along with the Sundara).
Goes to show how personal audio is. I purchased a Sundara some time ago but it didn't gel with me, I didn't enjoy listening to it at all. Returned it after a few days, wondering why it got so much praise from reviewers and on audio forums. Some time later I tried the Ananda and I immediately felt it was made for me :) (I actually was ready to buy the Focal Clear Mg, but was totally not impressed by its sound, and the other set I tested was the Ananda). I have them EQ'd a bit for the lowest frequencies (+2.5 dB) to get a bit more bass oomph, and I cannot imagine ever needing other headphones (considering I'm not yet ready to spend much more than €1000 on a pair of headphones :)).
You could get pretty much the sound signature of Sundara with NAD HP50. A bigger difference may be made by adding a phone amp like dragonfly.
Open vs closed is a massive difference. Frequency response wise, you're correct.
What's the music starting at around 0:16?
set looking a lot better
Fantastic review, I think that the use of a grading scale (relative to price point) is a great idea! Now that you have reviewed the Sundara and the Ananda, are you planning on doing the Arya next? I've had my eye on that set for awhile and would love to know your impression!
Andrew already did on his previous channel >> "HiFiMAN Ananda vs Arya: Headphone Shootout" : ua-cam.com/video/Ak9WHse1OQs/v-deo.html
Max Settiings >> "Hifiman Arya Review | Stark Beauty" : ua-cam.com/video/Iuuv1Hq_Bz4/v-deo.html
@@releasethekraken5299 thanks for the response, I will check out the videos!
Was thinking of getting a headphone n heard so much abt the sundara. Tried Ananda n sundara. For me, Ananda immediately stands out when listening to them side by side. Soich more refine n sound cleaner n clearer as it's a bit brighter. Yet, less sibilant than sundara. But didn't get any cos compared to JH Lola which I use daily, the difference is minimal. Though Ananda has better texture, Lola had better defined bass. No enough difference to make a purchase. Sticking to the Lola.not really a fair comparison though as the Lola cost abt twice of the Ananda
Noice!
Bro can you do a review on Thieaudio Voyager 14
Prime day this year was a treat, got this for 350£ Used like new
from he400i to ananda ?
How far is the performance of the ananda from the absolute flagships like susvara and lcd4 etc?
Pretty significant
Would you pick the he1000v2 over the arya? I found the two in the used market at similar prices.
Best Test..sombody did it..Love it
which better for metal?
you need to use the longer cable in case of better punch.
BTW，not sure about if your Ananda driving properly？My amp output 1200mw @32Ω，can hear great punch when driving ananda
That's not the kind of punch we're talking about. I'm using amps that have up to 7k mW, not that it needs it. The Ananda is super efficient, easier to drive than a Sundara even. Dynamic slam is not the bass extension or energy, it's excursive ability (at least that's what several engineers have indicated at this point), combined with pad structure.
@@TheHEADPHONEShow i got your point .that's why flagship of hifiman always like he6se，susvara. never he1000 nor arya etc..
I've cancelled my Sundara and dac+amp stack order. I'm getting Ananda instead. Ananda is 25 ohm and 103 db sensitive but how is scaling with better dacs and amps ? My dac/amp already good, clean and very powerful. Low output impedance and 300mw power at 30 ohm but i might upgrade later on. I heard planars loves lots of power no matter the sensitivity.
Not necessarily. Eventually you'll get background hiss and noise floor with headphones that are highly sensitive. For example, you can't run the HE1000se from the balanced outputs of the (very) powerful IHA-6 even on low gain without getting the hiss. And that's an amp made specifically for planars.
@@TheHEADPHONEShow Thanks. Good to know. Ananda is very sensitive and low ohm. Hifiman really pushing with these ''efficient'' planars.
Hey Andrew - If I can get the Ananda for around USD500, is it a no-brainer then?
No, you still have to consider the purchase. It's a great sounding headphone, definitely a good buy at that price, but nothing in this hobby is exactly a 'no brainer' if you know what I mean.
Coming from a person with huge ears, I disagree with the egg shape earpads and larger earpads in general. I would much rather have it sit on the side of my head than having it small or round, giving me pain and pressure on my ears within 30min.