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

Product Information

In the context of the philosophy of complementary headphones aka insanity such a verdict is easily spoken out of course. What if I only had to choose between the two and wasn't allowed any other headphone at all? I would go for long time listening, lushness and probably chose the Edition X V2. The optimized clamping force, supportive pleather headband, and improved skeleton significantly enhance the comfort level compared to the Edition XS, which I’ve been using daily for over a year. The headphones are incredibly comfortable, and I applaud Hifiman for achieving this improvement without adding any extra weight. Yet out of the box aka no modding and with not a lot of power to spare the Ananda reclaims space with great imaging, staging, details and genre, application compatibility. What I did notice quite well was that as I went up in my chain of gear... the Ananda responded by presenting more. The change from the Apple dongle to the es100 showed more detail and a wider presentation with greater dynamics. Similarly, the change from the es100 to the ifi micro iDSD was just more of everything. For the asking price, HiFiMAN has served up a very delectable pair of headphones indeed. Highly recommended."

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. But I always prefer the Sundara with Oratory EQ vs without (Comparrison above was down without EQ), but I imagine it would similar enough with or without the EQ to draw a somewhat similar conclusion, the shoutiness of the Sundara may actually make this song more enjoyable without EQ. Rule of thumb, songs with lots of stuff going on, or very big or wide sound, particularly if its well recorded give a wow factor with the Ananda, but songs that are narrow or compressed or intimate in nature seem to do better on the Sundara. 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. The original HIFIMAN Ananda was released a little over four years ago as of the date of this review, and that is nearly a lifetime in the fast-paced personal audio space. My colleague covered it here and was impressed with the comfort, sound signature, and how easy the Ananda was to drive, even off portable sources. Indeed, the Ananda drivers are regarded as some of the most efficient planar magnetic drivers ever made, to where HIFIMAN even made a Bluetooth version that comes with a removable boom mic to make for an excellent high-end headset too. I was expecting to see the updated stealth revision being for the Bluetooth model itself, given it generally makes for even more efficient drivers and yet HIFIMAN thought otherwise, as we enter autumn 2022 with the all new Ananda Stealth (wired). Thanks to HIFIMAN for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

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. Driven out of Hiby R6 and Magni 3, I felt that Ananda and HD800 are within the same class, they deliver the same resolution and details, imaging is better on HD800, but the warmth of Ananda is easier to listened to. Bass is mostly neutral, with decent extension which however doesn’t cover the lowest notes with the same authority. There’s a very good amount of detail and layering is great as well. Midrange is more towards the bright side than anything, with a clear rise starting in the middle and going up with frequency; this sometimes creates a bit of thinness, but in general manages to give more energy and vivacity to the sound without compromising its overall tonality. Treble is where the rise that started in the midrange tops off, only to then go down quite rapidly in the upper area. It can sometimes be a bit aggressive, but it’s also quite detailed and overall pleasant in the mix. Final Thoughts Disclaimer: Hifiman sent us the Ananda Nano for this review, free of charge. This article reflects my unbiased opinion about the product. HIFIMAN The headband construction is mostly metal, clamping force is medium. They are very open design, so will leak a lot of sounds!

This is a non-scientific comparison between the Hifiman Sundara and Hifiman Ananda, without measuring equipment or proper volume matching, for the layperson who might have difficulty relating the measurements to real world listening experiences (aka me). I tried to listen at moderate volume on both, to where any higher would be uncomfortable. This is just my subjective experience and is not a substitute for scientific testing. Both headphones were plugged into a Topping A50S balanced 4.4mm output. 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.I have to pair them almost every time with my s21, since I cant just turn them on. Plus, when paired, they often only connect for “calls”, not for “audio”. Also, with LDAC disabled (have to manually turn it on), which also is crap (you can actually hear the difference in sound). I invite you to read the wired Ananda review to get the full picture, but I’m going to make a recap here. From the perspective of technical ability, the Ananda BT are able to place you in a relatively wide soundstage, where they place instruments with good accuracy while offering quite good instrument separation. If anyone had told me a couple of years ago that I would be sitting here reviewing and comparing three headphones of this category, I would have said they were crazy. However, here they are and I get to say which one I prefer, what a great problem to have! Additional perceived clarity is brought out by the non-smooth treble, which has a slight sparkle at the top to make notes stand out more. Planar magnetic drivers, unlike the conical moving coil speakers found in most consumer headphones, are flat planes traced with conductive filaments, suspended between rows of powerful magnets. This design results in low distortion levels, a crisp presentation, and impressive clarity. They provide a sense of spaciousness and great clarity, which I’ve consistently observed in Hifiman’s offerings. Regardless of your audiophile preferences – whether you’re a basshead, a treblehead, or a reference lover – Hifiman’s headphones are bound to impress from the first listen. This unique blend of technicality and clarity is what drew me to planar headphones, not just for music, but also for movie watching.