HIFIMAN Full-Size Planar Magnetic Headphones with High Fidelity Design for iPhone/Android

Update: July 17 2024Saw a sale on HE1000 stealth that I couldn't resist. Tried them back to back with the Ananda and found the following. HE1000 sounds slightly better but the difference is nuanced to the extent that I had to switch multiple times to discern the difference. Considering the HE1000 is double the price of the Ananda that speaks well for the Ananda. It seems to me that you can spend less on the lower models and still get 80-90% of the signature HiFiMAN sound, or if your budget allows get the nuanced Improvements available in the pricier model. The materials and construction are noticeably better on the HE1000 also.Original Review: So I was trying out new upscale dynamic driver headphones looking for a more audiophile experience when I stumbled upon some HiFiMAN planar headphone reviews. HiFiMAN makes headphones like fast fashion with constant design changes and technical improvements reflected in numerous models. I decided to try out the Ananda as it seemed to have the latest tech (nano drivers, stealth magnets) at a more modest price than the Arya price due to being an older model. When they arrived I compared them back to back with the HD660S2. The S2 has great sound, nice details and improved base, but the Ananda had a small edge in virtually all aspects. Better detail, better bass, more clarity. The planar drivers used by HiFiMAN lived up to the hype. I was so Impressed that I checked out HiFiMAN's US sales and bought 2 more pair, Sundara closed back and Deva Pro with BT. The Sundara haven't arrived yet but the Deva pro has 90% of the same planar goodness as the Ananda and work on BT for 7 hours (at moderate volume, at elevated volume I got only 4 hoursof use). If you are price insensitive buy the latest and greatest, but if you are price conscious you should be able to find sales and bargain, especially on non-current models. The Deva has great sound for a small price but will not be able to replace a good noise cancelation HP, is open back so leaks sound and has only 7 (less at high volume) hours play time on a charge. But if you can live with those limitations you will be treated to the delite of listening to exquisite sound untethered to your stereo. In fact the Deva BT model is currently on sale for $179 on the HiFiMAN US sale site and that is a stupid low price for these bluetooth planar headphones irrespective of their limitations. I found religion with HiFiMAN planar headphones. Update: The Ananda model that I purchased is the "stealth" version. A seemingly credible review that I found online covered a number of models and rated them is ascending quality of sound as follows: Ananda stealth ; Ananda nano; Arya stealth; Arya organic; HE1000 V2. They found that there were discernible improvements model-to-model in each step up in this hierarchy. This makes sense as higher prices also follow this order. Since the model that I own is at the bottom of this list I have the opportunity to upgrade in the future. I'm in no hurry to do this as I quite enjoy the sound of my Ananda stealth. The Sundara closed back arrived and I find that the closed back sacrifices some of the traits that I prefer, they don't sound bad but are not as special as the open back ones.

1 year update:I've now had the Ananda for almost one year and have been switching back and forth between them and the HD6xx. I will have a new incoming very soon (either the Audeze LCD-2c or Focal Clear OG). After a year, the truth is I find myself using the Sennheiser HD6xx slightly more often than the Hifimans. There is one simple reason for this, and its one that I mentioned in my original review below...the Sennys are much more comfortable and more critically, RELAXING. More often than not I listen to my headphones at the end of the day after my kids are in bed, and normally I want a relaxing experience. The HD6xx do a much better job of that than the Ananda. There is no question that the Ananda are technically a much more competent headphone than the HD6xx, but relaxing is not a word I would use to describe them. Its also more difficult to focus on something else while listening to the Ananda, sometimes I want music in the background while I'm doing something else. The HD6xx are excellent for that purpose, Ananda not so much. I still enjoy the Ananda for gaming and for listening sessions when I really want to pay attention to the details in the music. If thats what you want, they are an amazing deal now (even cheaper than I paid). But if you're an old fart like me (I'm 42 btw), you might actually prefer a Sennheiser HD 600 series can. My initial impressions in my original review all still apply.Original Review:I just bought these at what is apparently the new reduced price of $399, cheaper than the Edition XS, and it has to be said...they are spectacular at that price point. Yes they now have a newer version of these (the nano) but are they worth $300 more? Probably not. However, the only thing I can compare them to is the Sennheiser HD6xx because thats the only other higher end open back can that I own.To give you some background I am by no means a dedicated audiophile. Generally speaking I would not spend more than about $500 on any single piece of audio gear because it is my firm belief that beyond this price the law of diminishing returns really starts taking precedent. I've been listening to rock/metal and blues all my life and have been playing guitar and recording for 30+ years. FYI my $500 limit does not include guitar or recording equipment, only equipment purely for the purpose of LISTENING to music. My source gear includes a high end gaming PC and Schiit Modi/Magni stack connected via USB. Prior to purchasing the Ananda I had the 6xx for a few years and have really enjoyed them.These are my initial impressions of the Ananda vs. the 6xx after roughly 5-6 hours of listening time:Overall I find the Ananda to be much more "surgical" than the 6xx. They have a far bigger soundstage and are much more crisp and detailed. The 6xx are more intimate and a little warmer, particularly in the mid range, and I prefer the 6xx when it comes to vocals (and more specifically MALE vocals). For just about everything else though, the Ananda is superior. Just like the 6xx, the Ananda also lacks in the low frequencies, but that can be corrected with EQ, and unlike the 6xx the Anandas EQ extremely well. I found the 6xx to get a little muddy with too much low end boost, but not the Ananda. Despite the relatively neutral response of the Ananda, I do find them to be a little brighter than the 6xx which I don't like. But once again, that can be corrected with EQ. Due to the excellent soundstage and imaging of the Ananda when it comes to gaming and movies, there is simply no comparison to the HD6xx, they are far superior. Comfort is my biggest complaint so far with the Ananda. I have pressure points at my jaw and on the top of my head due to the combined effect of the clamping force, relatively stiff earpads, and the shear weight of them. The 6xx are far more comfortable for long listening sessions. One other thing: the cups on the Ananda are so huge that positioning them properly on your head (placing your ear in the correct location inside the cup) is actually very important and impacts the sound. That can take some adjusting early on to get them in the right place.If you read that comparison above and are still wondering whether or not I prefer them to the 6xx, you aren't alone. I'm still on the fence about that and haven't come to a firm conclusion. But either way, they are sufficiently different from the 6xx (and most likely all other Sennheiser HD models) to justify owning them along side the Sennys. I wouldn't trade in my 6xx for them, but I am happy to own them and most likely will reach for them more often than the 6xx, perhaps just not for as long of a stretch. At $399 though, you can't go wrong. You'll most likely be happy with them and overall, I would consider them a marginal "upgrade" to the HD6xx/650.

Estos auriculares suenan maravilloso, sin embargo, si requieren de grabaciones bien realizadas y de un buen dac, para sacarles el máximo provecho. He de mencionar que el primer juego que recibí, fallo un lado antes de vencer la garantía, afortunadamente el fabricante hizo válida la garantía y me hizo llegar otro juego, el cual continúa funcionando sin problemas. Excelente producto y excelente proveedor.

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.

In den letzten Jahren gingen schon einige Kopfhörer durch meine Hände, Modelle von Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, Audeze und Stax, alles bekannte und renomierte Namen.Auch ein Hifiman war schon mal mit von der Partie konnte mich aber seinerzeit nicht so recht überzeugen, es handelte sich um einen Hifiman V1000 (V1). Trotz seiner Luftigkeit und Transparenz im Mittel-/ Hochtonbereich die stark an Elektrostaten erinnerte und einem gefälligen Bass war mir der Kopfhörer im Hochtonbereich insgesamt zu aggresiv abgestimmt und daher wurde er nach einiger Zeit doch recht stressig.Fast noch schlimmer war aber die Tatsache das der Hörer mehr schlecht als recht verarbeitet war, ein Kritikpunkt den man bei Hifiman sehr oft hört und auch heute mitunter noch aktuell zu sein scheint. Beim damaligen Modell wackelte eine Buchse und die aufgeklebten Holzimitate (daran hat sich auch heute noch nicht geändert) und das "handgemachte" Finish war und ist in dieser Preisklasse fast schon ein Affront. All diese Kritikpunkte ließen mich neben dem klanglichen Aspekt den Hörer letztendlich wieder zurückgeben.Nach nun einigen postiven Rezessionen bezüglich der Klangqualiät und auf der Suche nach einem offenen Kopfhörer der ein geschlossenes Modell von Focal ergänzen soll, habe ich nun dennoch wieder den Schritt zu einem Hifiman gewagt und wurde nicht Entäuscht.Gut fangen wir bei der Verarbeitung an, - hier hae ich beim Ananda eigentloch wenig zu meckern, der Hörer hinterlässt einen insgesamt soliden Eindruck, alles sitzt fest, nichts wackelt. Das "Platikdesign" ist halt in dieser doch schon gehobenen Preisklasse nicht jedermanns Sache andere können das mitunter besser, wobei man hier einschränkend sagen muss der Bügel ist komplett aus Metall gefertigt.Die Anprobe, - Der Hörer passt wunderbar zu meiner Kopfgrösse, Die grossen Ohrmuscheln gehen problemlos über meine Ohren, da klemmt nichts und sie liegen sauber an. Der Anpressdruck ist spührbar aber nicht unangenehm. Zur Anpassung noch, - hie und da hört man mitunter die Kritik das dies nicht für jeden gilt da die Einstellmöglichkeiten gegenüber en grösseren Brüdern etwas beschränkter sind, - ich habe hier Glück gehabt ;)Zunächst zur Einspielzeit, - laut Hersteller braucht der Ananda hier wie alle Magnetostaten aus demselben Haus und im allgemeinen eine sehr lange Zeit um ihr Optimum zu erreichen, laut Betriebsanleitung ist diese erst nach gut 150 Betriebsstunden erreicht. Man sollte ihm also die Zeit gönnen bevor man ein abschliesendes Urteil über dessen Klangqualität fällt.Nun aber endlich zum wichtigsten, - dem Klang. Zu Beginn fiel mir die tendenziell wärmere Abstimmung des Anandas auf die vor allem dem etwas fülligeren Bassbereich geschuldet ist, anfangs ist dieser noch etwas undifferenziert aber dies änderte sich im positiven Sinn mit zunehmender Einspielzeit, seine hohe Transparenz zeigt sich hingegen schon gleich zu Beginn. Gleichermasen wie er hier an Kontur gewinnt und immer aufgeräumter spielt wird er auch im Bass etwas schlanker wobei auch nie Knochentrocken, in letzter Konsequenz könnte er vieleicht ein Quäntchen mehr an Tiefbass vertragen.Die Mitten und der Hochtonbereich, erinnern mich wie seinerzeit beim V1000 teils an Elektrostaten aufgrund ihrer hohen Transparenz, der Schnelligkeit und Luftigkeit. Der Ananda gehört tendeziell eher zu den etwas "helleren" Hörern, überschreitet aber nie die Grenze hin zum lästigen oder wird gar stressig bei längeren Hörsessions. Der Ananda spielt Geschlossen, seziert nicht sondern betrachtet das musikalische Geschehen als Ganzes.Er reproduziert Instrumente dabei Farbenfroh und Homogen. Tief,- Mittel,- Hochton gehen bruchlos ineinander über und verschweigt aufgrund sener hohen Tansparenz keine noch so kleinen Details. Stimmen werden voluminös und mit viel Körper reproduziert und die räumliche Darstellung ist realistisch soweit man dies bei einem Kopfhörer überhaupt sagen kann, alles hat seinen Platz.All diese genannten positiven Eigenschaften lassen sich allerdings nur ausreizen, - und dies ist einer der wenigen Nachteile bei so einem hochwertigen Gerät, wenn man hier noch in einen guten Kopfhörerverstärker investiert und entsprechendes Quellmaterial nutzt. Zudem, so mein subjektiver Einnruck, profitiert er von guten Kabeln, - die mitgelieferten zwei Strippen sind zwar durchaus in Ordnung aber da gibt es noch besseres.Nebenbei noch, der KH lässt sich aufgrund seiner hohen Empfindlichkeit problemlos mit mobilen Geräten koppeln wobei man hier seine klanglichen Eigenschaften natürlich nicht annähernd ausreizt, ein entsprechdes Kabel ist im Lieferumfang dabei.Wie kann man nun die klanglichen Eigenschaften insgesamt einordnen, kurz und Subjektiv für meinen Geschmack , - grandios.Für mein persönliches Dafürhalten spielt der Ananda deutlich über seiner Preisklasse und kommt in dieser Beziehung seinen grossen Brüder, zb. dem HE 1000 V2 oder dem HE V1000SE schon so gefährlich nahe, das für mich die Anschaffung derer eigentlich schon fast überflüssig wäre. Es soll sogar Stimmen im Internet geben die den Ananda auf dieselbe Stufe dieser beiden Tophörer hiefen, ja sogar als besser empfinden.In meinen Augen ist der Ananda in jedem Fall ein absoluter Preis-/ Leistungshammer und bekommt deshalb die volle Punktzahl.Zum Schluss noch ein Wort zum Händler, - Die Lieferung war schnell und zuverlässig allerdings wurde der derzeit geltende Mehrwersteuervorteil anscheinend einbehalten.