HIFIMAN Ananda Stealth Magnet Version Over_Ear Wired Headphones Full-Size Wired Planar Magnetic Wired Headphones Without Mic with High Fidelity Design for Audiophiles/Studio

Picked these on Amazon prime day sale a couple of months ago and below are my impressions. I am a big fan of planars and have started my journey with Hifiman He-560 quite some years ago and was itching for an upgrade from Mrspeakers Aeon closed and Sundara and here comes the Ananda.While Ananda is an upgrade from the above mentioned Headphones it belongs to a slightly different category from the above mentioned ones as it is the most easiest to drive of all the above. This is a headphone for the ones that crave for a grand experience portably, Ananda is the first step in the world of planars which opens a world of grandness with its massive stage height from a portable device.Cutting it short Ananda is pretty easier to drive at 103 db/mW, a mid-fi DAC with good driving power like ibasso DX-160 or Quloos QA 361and a mid-fi DAC Amp like Earmen TR-Amp can do good justice to it, however the benefits of a bigger amp cannot be ruled out. Ananda being advertised as being able to be driven a phone is like a joke but the good news is something like the Earmen TR-Amp can drive it well more so than the ibasso DX 160. With my experience with the three I would rate the experience with Earmen TR-Amp as the best followed by QA 361 and DX-160 in balanced.BuildSolidly built with all metal and very comfortable even though the chassis is the same as the Sundara. The good news about Ananda's ear cups is the side wall material is of thicker variety and one can be rest assured it will have a longer life, on the contrary Sundara's side wall material is on the softer side and starts tearing up after an year of usage.I had auditioned a friend's unit which has been in use for more than 2 years and was glad to see that it is very intact. A big thumps up for the build quality even on the looks front Ananda looks grand especially on the side profile with silver shaded grilles.When I had a closer look at the driver units I could see that the 2020 version has a thicker cloth mesh to protect from outside dust and Hifiman claims that the QC is much better on the newer HPs and they have not received any single driver failure on the newer models in India, a bit reassuring.The cable is a joke but at least it is on the softer side and is very much usable and does not have a mind of its own but Hifiman decides to give you two cables one with 3.5 termination and one with 6.3mm termination!! What about an XLR instead of 6.3mm! have they lost their mind?SoundSo how does it sound? It’s like a big extension of HD 650 if I can say! The first thing that strikes you immediately is the height of the stage it is so huge given the size of the driver. It actually has the warmth of a HD650 with the speed of a planar. The one thing that puts me down with warm sounding DD HPs is the lack of speed and Ananda comes as a refresher here, it is a touch warmer than Sundara making it the most musical HP in Hifiman line up.Ananda is a culmination from Hifiman Edition X and is more on the detailed side and I would say they had hit the bull's eye with tone in Ananda, no wonder these sell very well worldwide. It has enough bass to keep you engaged and punchy but if you are looking for pure slam, Sundara scores better but please note that Sundara is a bit harsh sounding than Ananda and needs to be Eq'd however with Ananda you just don't need Eq at all.I don't listen to genres like R&B & Hip hop but with Jazz, Rock and Indian film music it plays hard. Rock especially is particularly refreshing as it has a good treble response along with the warmth and punchy bass.I listen to 80s & 90s mostly, the golden (Raja) era of South Indian film music and would like my voices full and rounded and Ananda does full justice to that, honestly I would not expect any more from the voice front on this. It can fall back a smidgen on the mids when compared to the likes of Arya when it comes to emotion of mids but Arya is double the price and needs a desktop setup too, I would request not to come to a judgement with just a few tracks.Some of my regular Jazz nos had the voice upfront and grand with TR-Amp itself and there is not a hint of shoutiness with such a small DAC/Amp. This is the biggest strength of the Ananda as mentioned above, you need not be tied to a desktop set up to experience a grand scale presentation however it scale well with a good desktop set up.Treble response is sweet and is technically or I can say qualitatively far better than the likes of HE400i and Sundara which completes the package very well, those who upgrade from HPs like Sundara will immediately notice that the quality of the treble is on a much higher pedestal. It has higher resolution and is comparable to the high end category like Arya.It is on the thinner side compared to the likes of HD800 which could be thicker and a bit harsh sounding. If you want me to pick up a HP between Ananda & HD800 my choice would be the Ananda. HD800 needs a better desktop chain and is very amp picky and needs a lot of additional investment to sound better unlike the Ananda which just shines with an entry level DAC amp like TR-Amp. Ananda beats HD800 in stage height and HD800 beats Ananda in stage width, I would say any HP for that matter. The scalability factor with high end amps could be higher on the HD800 but Ananda gives you an easy path to high end audio.ConclusionOverall it is an excellent package and I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking for an upgrade from Sundara or who is not happy with the Audeze line up in this price category.

There are numerous reviews on the web that you can see to understand the features and technicalities of the Hifiman Ananda. I am going to limit my feedback to my experience.Firstly, if it's possible for you, please visit a good audio store and try out these or other open-back planar magnetic headphones to understand what you are getting into. Open-backs are a whole different league and experience from the usual closed-back options we have. It would also do you well to read up regd. open and closed-back headphones on the internet.I own multiple high-end gear like Shure SE535 IEMS, Sony MDR-1000x noise-canceling headphones, Bose Soundtrue headphone, V-Moda Forza Metallo Wireless earphone, OneMore Triple Driver earphones, Beyerdynamic Soul Byrd earphones, and the Hifiman Deva open-back headphone. From amongst all these, the Hifiman Deva was my latest purchase and once I heard open-back headphones, I just loved them for the superlative experience they provide! Yes, they're bulky, expensive, look funny, are less portable, etc. but for me, the sound experience greatly overshadows all these cons. When I purchased the Hifiman Deva open-back headphone, I had also listened to the Hifiman Ananda but didn't buy them due to budget constraints. I got a good discount during the Amazon Republic Day Sale and went for them.For me, the Ananda is comfortable and sounds superb! The company recommended burn-in period of 150 hours is yet to pass, but I have already heard a burned-in version of these when I had visited a store in Pune. But the Hifiman Ananda is simply amazing and at a whole other level. The instrument separation, soundstage, layering, etc. are all excellent for me. It is like I am sitting on a stage and the musicians and singers are all around me! All the individual sounds come through and from different directions. Being an open-back headphone, this is comfortable to wear for hours with no fatigue. In summary, music is a subjective experience and mine is 5-stars here. I like detailed sounds with a wide soundstage and crisp bass that is not over-powering.While a good DAC-AMP will surely help elevate the listening experience, the Ananda are easy to drive off the simple Type-C to 3.5mm and Lightning to 3.5mm adapters that come bundled with phones nowadays. In fact, I recommend that one should buy a good portable DAC dongle instead of these over-priced company sold adapters as these DAC dongles will give a much better music experience.

At this price point, only the focal elear can match this in sound quality. Now, it is hard to get a hold of the elear in India so this is the only option for a $1000 headphone. The sound is clean with an emphasis on the upper mids and treble. The soundstage is average but the imaging is great. Detail retrieval is absolutely top notch, hence it is quite a revealing headphone so badly mastered music will sound awful. The build quality is actually pretty okay however for a $1000 headphone it could easily be better. Overall an amazing headphone that is especially for people who like lots of detail and a clean airy sound.

I am not an audiophile but I have got this what I wanted. Amazing quality of sound that I can't feel before.Thanks Amazon and the seller for great discount.

The noice cancellations and the product quality is top notchMy best friend really wanted it for his birthdaySo I gave it to him...Although there was a big surgery where the last kidney of my best friend was sold

Perfect headphones to pair with my nokia feature phone. They pair pretty great and its a match made in heaven indeed.