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.
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).
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!
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!
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!).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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 :)).
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)?
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.
@@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.
Yeah maybe. The Susvara has decent slam, but the other egg-shaped ones don't all that much. I know Max Settings doesn't like the lack of slam, but there's also a refinement or 'softness' to the presentation that may benefit certain types of music.
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.
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
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 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.
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..
Why top phones nowadays cost more than $1300 and millions are buying them once in 1-3 years, and why headphones that you keep 8+ years cannot cost more than $350. Some people keep 15+ year old sennheisers that costed $700 at launch. Also resale value of professional gear is great, you lose 10-25% of cost after 5 years of use.
【Godz】 Headphones cost close to nothing to make. The profit margin of luxury headphones is insane, even when taking into account the minimal R&D these companies do. A top of the line phone may cost 450$ in parts. Then there is assembly, shipping, software development... and real R&D. If apple’s profit margin on iPhones is 200%, Hifiman’s must be 2000% on Anandas.
David Gardiner The volume of highend headphones sold are way way less than the mobile phones being sold, and the R&D cost is to be divided by this volume. That being said I do agree that some of these headphones are being sold at unnecessarily high prices and some of them drop in price significantly (2-3 folds) over time. Also companies like hifiman are selling headphones that feel like plastic toys at prices > 1000$ and has poor QC is just nuts. “Audiophiles” are willing to pay for it, and thats what determines the prices at the end of the day.
@Dex4Sure Fostex have inexpensive planars. They don’t sound all that great, but then, most headphones designed in that era are mediocre. The reason planars are not common is that they require a lot of energy to drive => they are not great for phones, laptops and desktops. Sometimes a laptop or desktop motherboards will have an adequate amplifier built in, but one cannot count on it. For instance my 13 inch laptop can drive my planars OKish, but my desktop with a top of the line motherboard (itx z390) cannot. Planars are not expensive to make. You need magnets, and an etched circuit.
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
Joshua Valour, the Honest Audiophile and Reddit lured me bit by bit into buying my own pair, but this review did me in. But boy am I glad I caved. After a year of ✨ADORING✨ them I just uploaded my own review, and I would L💖O💖V💖E 💖 it if you guys, both the HEADPHONE Show team, and you guys watching the video, could give it a watch and leave me your comments on the vid.... I'm starting my channel, and every bit of feedback is greatly appreciate it.
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.
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
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?
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?
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 ?
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 👀
Owned the Ananadas for about a year and really enjoyed them. About 5 months in I flipped the high gain switch on my Lyr 3 amp and omg, they opened up! Give these plenty power! I'm in love 💕
@@bradhuskers yeah they go on sale often. Some ppl recommend speaker amps but that's not a must. Any amp putting out around 2 watts into 50 ohms will do. Jotenheim2, A90, Lyr3 (new lyr coming soon) and so on.
Dude, you posted this 1 day after I bought Anandas as an upgrade from my Sundaras. I swear to god if you say it wasn't worth it lol... EDIT : okay, my choice was validated, feeling much less anxious. Arrives on sunday. Am very much so looking forwards to this. Also what you describe as a loss of bass thump I'd say sounds more like a sidegrade. Less thump more definition and detail. Sounds more up my alley.
Sorry, poor phrasing. You had said the Ananda was worse in that category, but since it's measurably better at other aspects in the bass, it sounds more like a sidegrade in the bass overall.
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
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.
For those who are looking at the Sundara please read this comment if you own the OG HE4XX from Massdrop, yes from before the name change to Drop, because I just might save you some money. For those that have an OG set of the Massdrop HE4XX with the 2.5mm connectors that are looking at the Sundara I can help you save the $300 to $350 minus a $65 set of Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads. The Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads are basically the same pads the Sundara 2021 use. Same foam density, same shape and thickness, same inner perforations, same soft part that contacts your skin, so basically the same thing. Get a set and put those on your OG HE4XX and bingo you have the Sundara with maybe just a little more sub base but that could just be in my head. I got a pair of Sundaras and the wife and I blind tested them against my OG HE4XX with the pad swap. We did this two different times on two different days with 10 tries each to guess which set we were listening to. She did the swaps between sets and I did them for her. Out of 10 tries each on those two different days we both ended up with thinking the OG HE4XX was the Sundara because it was the set we thought sounded better. This was probably due to the hype around the Sundara on my part but the wife doesn't follow things in this hobby the way I do or watch a ton of reviews like me. I was lead to believe the Sundara were so much better than anything at the mid tier from Hifiman that came before them. I found out that this is not the case for me at least. So this very long story short if you have a set of OG HE4XX back when they still had the 2.5mm connectors at the cups just get a set of the Elite Hybrid Pads that Dekoni sells for the Sundara and put them on your HE4XX and for around a $65 cost of the pads you'll have the sound of the Sundara and maybe even a little better in the base/sub base department but I mean only marginally better and that could just be in my head. I truly hope this helps somebody out there to save some money and further enjoy this hobby. I do not know if the newer HE4XX from Drop with the 3.5mm connector at the cups will transform like my OG set did with a simple pad swap but it may be worth giving it a shot...
I'll get my pair of Quad Era-1 tomorrow. I've read so much positive words about them. The thread on Head-Fi is all praises. Only 400$ here in sweden right now. Very exited!
This is a highly targeted comparison. It would be worth considering some equally priced (if not cheaper) alternatives such as the reference Beyerdynamic T1.2 over the the Ananda.
I had the Hifiman Sundara, Ananda and Arya. The Sundara driver broke after one month (I had the previous edition) and I returned it and upgraded to the Ananda. If I could make a difference choice I would have skipped the Ananda and bought the Arya instead. The Arya has more detail and much bigger soundstage than the Ananda.
I ended up selling the Sundara and keeping the Ananda. The clarity and staging of the Ananda were the primary deciding factors for me.
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
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!
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
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
Thanks for speaking in a language normal people can understand, yet also providing a lot of depth with your analysis.
Own the Ananda's and really enjoy them with all genre's of music, good review thanks.
Well, it looks like I gotta thank Joshua Valour because I was thrown in the audiophile algorithm and RUclips recommended your video. Sub'ed.
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!).
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.
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.
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
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
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.
Best headphone reviews by far.
Thanks for the excellent explanation!
Great video, lighting. Nice to see from someone focused on audio.
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.
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!
Rating scale makes sense, good video 💐
Love your reviews, clear and concise and complemented by a nice comfortable background. Thanks!
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!
*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.
Wow you were pretty close. The Arya Stealth is $650 now. I think that’s a great deal
@@sanane66543I would... Rather have a headphone thanks?
You're an honest reviewer.
Subscribed!
Keep safe.
Great job. You deserve more Subs .
Excellent comparison, thanks.
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
Good review and comparison with clear indicators. Subscribed. Thank you.
Now that was very helpful. Excellent review.
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
Great review! You deserve more views and subs!
Keeping my ananda returned the sundara. Tested them both on ifi zen dac with zen can
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
set looking a lot better
Prime day this year was a treat, got this for 350£ Used like new
Really interesting, enjoyable watch for me, thank you
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.
So I just picked up the Ananda’s for $360 like new. Is that a steal?
Just picked up the Ananda for $550!
how the frick
Guys?
The new stealth magnet Ananda is now available.
It's a giant leap forward.
Did you get to compare them?
@@PioloAskal2009
Yes. And I sold the sundaras.
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 :)).
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)?
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.
These headphones are God Mode for classical and instrumental music
Good to hear! I only close-listen to Classical. What in particular stood out for you vs. other cans? The detail and soundstage?
About the punch, I believe that's what the funder of HifiMan wants, he has grown to such "soft sounding" style these days.
Yeah maybe. The Susvara has decent slam, but the other egg-shaped ones don't all that much. I know Max Settings doesn't like the lack of slam, but there's also a refinement or 'softness' to the presentation that may benefit certain types of music.
he1000 family and he6 family. two types of sound.
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.
Let’s gooo.
Just found you. Excellent channel. New subscriber.
I got the Ananda on sale for slightly less than $500. Waiting for it to arrive.
I got them for $549 new in the Hifiman store :D
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!
I just got the sundara why am I watching this
Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Happens to all of us.
@@willywonka3050 haha
Best Test..sombody did it..Love it
I can get the Ananda in China right now for $492 😂 I feel like if I dont get it im missing out on a huge steal
Please share the link.
damn thats a deal breaker
@@soulfulfool its 468usd in china now
@@Qjemuse but can we order IT in that price? Not beeing china man
Can someone tell me how in just 4 years you can now buy ananda v3 new for 300$ aka the same price as sandara... how does this work?
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 for video! Can also say “gap is not much” between ananda nano and Sundara ?
When they put the arya on sale i'll consider it. idk why its never seen a price reduction like the others
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 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.
Does anyone know what is the difference between the ananda & the ananda nano??
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..
Entry to mid level headphone costs 350 USD xD. I must be a dirty peasant that is undeserving of good headphones. 😭
Why top phones nowadays cost more than $1300 and millions are buying them once in 1-3 years, and why headphones that you keep 8+ years cannot cost more than $350. Some people keep 15+ year old sennheisers that costed $700 at launch. Also resale value of professional gear is great, you lose 10-25% of cost after 5 years of use.
【Godz】 Headphones cost close to nothing to make. The profit margin of luxury headphones is insane, even when taking into account the minimal R&D these companies do.
A top of the line phone may cost 450$ in parts. Then there is assembly, shipping, software development... and real R&D.
If apple’s profit margin on iPhones is 200%, Hifiman’s must be 2000% on Anandas.
David Gardiner The volume of highend headphones sold are way way less than the mobile phones being sold, and the R&D cost is to be divided by this volume.
That being said I do agree that some of these headphones are being sold at unnecessarily high prices and some of them drop in price significantly (2-3 folds) over time. Also companies like hifiman are selling headphones that feel like plastic toys at prices > 1000$ and has poor QC is just nuts. “Audiophiles” are willing to pay for it, and thats what determines the prices at the end of the day.
@Dex4Sure Headphone materials must be very very expensive. Heck, you can buy a nice hand made Swiss watch for that price.
@Dex4Sure Fostex have inexpensive planars. They don’t sound all that great, but then, most headphones designed in that era are mediocre.
The reason planars are not common is that they require a lot of energy to drive => they are not great for phones, laptops and desktops.
Sometimes a laptop or desktop motherboards will have an adequate amplifier built in, but one cannot count on it. For instance my 13 inch laptop can drive my planars OKish, but my desktop with a top of the line motherboard (itx z390) cannot.
Planars are not expensive to make. You need magnets, and an etched circuit.
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
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.
Joshua Valour, the Honest Audiophile and Reddit lured me bit by bit into buying my own pair, but this review did me in. But boy am I glad I caved. After a year of ✨ADORING✨ them I just uploaded my own review, and I would L💖O💖V💖E 💖 it if you guys, both the HEADPHONE Show team, and you guys watching the video, could give it a watch and leave me your comments on the vid.... I'm starting my channel, and every bit of feedback is greatly appreciate it.
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.
What's the music starting at around 0:16?
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
These or the Edition XS? I didn't like the Sundara at all and bought the XS, which I like.
The new stealth magnet Ananda is remarkable.
It's next level.
Hi, as reviews of the stealth version are rare, could you please describe how you feel the Stealth Ananda is better? In what areas etc. cheers
@@hamdc4291
The new stealth magnet Ananda has a more detailed sound, it's warm, and doesn't have the thin, treble sound that the sundaras have.
@@bradhuskers 👍Thanks!
Hi, may i know about the soundstage comparison? Does the stealth magnet one has wide soundstage like the previous one?
@@itt9037
Yes. Very spacious and very wide.
This is END GAME at this price point
sorry if it's already been answered, but anybody know the black headphone stand?
Did u recommend to use a Zen Dac for this ?
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
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?
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?
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 ?
So Focal > Ananda?
Review he400i 2020 edition. A comparison of the lineup would be very useful.
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 👀
I am owning my first planar H400SE, how good Ananda and Arya are compared to it?
Owned the Ananadas for about a year and really enjoyed them. About 5 months in I flipped the high gain switch on my Lyr 3 amp and omg, they opened up!
Give these plenty power! I'm in love 💕
The new stealth magnet Ananda is now available. It's even better
@@bradhuskers I got a HE6SE V2, loving it!
@@rvgr12
Really?
I saw them on adorama for just $500 brand new!
But I would have to also buy a powerful amplifier to bring out their full potential.
@@rvgr12
Do you power them with a powerful amp?
I heard that with weaker amps, you can't experience what they are capable of
@@bradhuskers yeah they go on sale often. Some ppl recommend speaker amps but that's not a must. Any amp putting out around 2 watts into 50 ohms will do. Jotenheim2, A90, Lyr3 (new lyr coming soon) and so on.
from he400i to ananda ?
Dude, you posted this 1 day after I bought Anandas as an upgrade from my Sundaras. I swear to god if you say it wasn't worth it lol...
EDIT : okay, my choice was validated, feeling much less anxious. Arrives on sunday. Am very much so looking forwards to this. Also what you describe as a loss of bass thump I'd say sounds more like a sidegrade. Less thump more definition and detail. Sounds more up my alley.
Well it is better in three important categories
Sorry, poor phrasing. You had said the Ananda was worse in that category, but since it's measurably better at other aspects in the bass, it sounds more like a sidegrade in the bass overall.
@@iantaylor8624 yeah definitely. It's a more 'refined' presentation overall
@@iantaylor8624 Please share your opinion about the upgrade when it arrives.
@@matmoraes will do. Sunday hopefully. Stack I'm listening on is Geshelli Archel 2.5 + Enog 2 balanced
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
which of the 2 headphones sounds best with hard metal rock?
There may be greater benefits from doing some upgrades elsewhere. I would replace the cable and maybe upgrade the headphone amp
Looking for a headphone to remember my 40th and resilient to my selling off habbit. Hmm
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.
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
Hello!
Ananda or Lcd-x has better Soundstage and sub bass?
Which one of them would you recommend for mixing?
For those who are looking at the Sundara please read this comment if you own the OG HE4XX from Massdrop, yes from before the name change to Drop, because I just might save you some money.
For those that have an OG set of the Massdrop HE4XX with the 2.5mm connectors that are looking at the Sundara I can help you save the $300 to $350 minus a $65 set of Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads. The Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads are basically the same pads the Sundara 2021 use. Same foam density, same shape and thickness, same inner perforations, same soft part that contacts your skin, so basically the same thing. Get a set and put those on your OG HE4XX and bingo you have the Sundara with maybe just a little more sub base but that could just be in my head. I got a pair of Sundaras and the wife and I blind tested them against my OG HE4XX with the pad swap. We did this two different times on two different days with 10 tries each to guess which set we were listening to. She did the swaps between sets and I did them for her. Out of 10 tries each on those two different days we both ended up with thinking the OG HE4XX was the Sundara because it was the set we thought sounded better. This was probably due to the hype around the Sundara on my part but the wife doesn't follow things in this hobby the way I do or watch a ton of reviews like me. I was lead to believe the Sundara were so much better than anything at the mid tier from Hifiman that came before them. I found out that this is not the case for me at least.
So this very long story short if you have a set of OG HE4XX back when they still had the 2.5mm connectors at the cups just get a set of the Elite Hybrid Pads that Dekoni sells for the Sundara and put them on your HE4XX and for around a $65 cost of the pads you'll have the sound of the Sundara and maybe even a little better in the base/sub base department but I mean only marginally better and that could just be in my head. I truly hope this helps somebody out there to save some money and further enjoy this hobby.
I do not know if the newer HE4XX from Drop with the 3.5mm connector at the cups will transform like my OG set did with a simple pad swap but it may be worth giving it a shot...
Was like 300 msec from buying these. What do you recommend in this range?
can these be powered through a Schiit Modi/Vali stack?
Have you heard the QUAD era-1?
I'll get my pair of Quad Era-1 tomorrow. I've read so much positive words about them. The thread on Head-Fi is all praises. Only 400$ here in sweden right now. Very exited!
@@Loken47anUA I would jump on a pair of those if I could find them in u.s.
Was the frequency response comparison with the Sundara the 2020 revision?
Does they match well with the ifi idsd micro bl?
This is a highly targeted comparison. It would be worth considering some equally priced (if not cheaper) alternatives such as the reference Beyerdynamic T1.2 over the the Ananda.
I think this review is perfect for guys looking for their first entry HiFi headphones, like me. Big saving for sunk cost
what's your choice for dap and dac for Sundara?
I had the Hifiman Sundara, Ananda and Arya. The Sundara driver broke after one month (I had the previous edition) and I returned it and upgraded to the Ananda. If I could make a difference choice I would have skipped the Ananda and bought the Arya instead. The Arya has more detail and much bigger soundstage than the Ananda.
How was the bass to sundara compared to ananda?