@Wazzupi forgot to tag you
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I literally just sold my Ananda for a used pair of Arya… Idk why, they sound significantly brighter than what I can rmb the anandas used to be, the sense of scale and clarity are there and a notch better than the anandas. This pair of “used” Arya is only a month old, so it could be that they arent burnt in yet, but Im not so much of a burn in believer if im to be honest… lets see…
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Yes, but the arya out performs both and you can only wear one set
Agreed. Be it Clear, LCD-X, Arya, or mest. I have never heard anything under 1k that competes. That is not to say price indicates performance, but instead just that, generally speaking, performance costs a certain amount to make.
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Doubtful. He6se is better than all of the above properly amped.
Was that aimed at me? Cause im fairly sure HE6SE has a MAP above anything I listed
Sorry it wasn’t, I just purchased a pair and love them. Sold my gl2000 and I don’t care to own any of the mentioned hps any longer. I have the adorama version which is going for $650.
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Man. Huge missed opportunity with the gl2k. I absolutely love my he6se but there’s some kind of fucking witchcraft happening with the gl2k once you do the equivalent of a grill mod to them. The detail is probably better on the he6 and maybe better slam potential buy holy fuck the stage im fairly certain is possibly the best there is. I haven’t tried the 1266 or susvaras as they’re way out of my price range but IF they’re any better stage wise im pretty sure it’s not worth the extra $5,000+ and is probably barely noticeable. I need input from people with both but nobody seems to want to try…
Also they lose every shred of that odd tuning they have when you pull the dust covers and tuning paper off. It blew my mind that that’s all that was making them sound the way they do.
I’ve had the Ananda for about 2-3 years now. When I bought them I auditioned the HEK V1, Arya and Sundara using the dealers expensive dacs/amps, something from mytek, and iFi I believe using dealer interconnects.
What had stuck in my head over the years is that the Hek had better timber, but treble that could be fatiguing, the Arya sounded super similar to the HeK, and the Sundara just couldn’t compete.
The Ananda was interesting because I couldn’t tell much of a difference between it and the Arya. When I took the Ananda’s home they sounded a lot worse with my modest modi 2 uber/magni 3 and stock cable. After I upgraded to a THX 789, it sounded cleaner/clearer, but dynamics were kind of flat. Finally, I upgraded to a balanced periapt cable. WTF it’s like the whole thing came alive and dynamics were KILLER. Everything was clearer too. I’ve dissected the stock Ananda cable after it failed and I can tell you the wiring is total garbage. Sorry to the cable nay sayers, but the first thing you need to do is replace the default cable. It’s like upgrading to a new set of headphones.
I’ve gone back to audition the Arya using my own THX 789, periapt cables and my Ananda’s to see if there worth while. To be honest I couldn’t hear much of a difference. If you listen to strictly acoustic music, I guess I’d consider stepping up, but to my plebeian pop, rock, j-pop and video game OST’s. Nah.
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The Arya had too much grain and the treble peak didn’t work for me. The Ananda’s tonality was perfect for me.
Weird, I listened to a loaner Ananda with a SDAC-B/THX AAA 789 (balanced output) and was thoroughly unimpressed. Worse dynamics than the Arya, far less bass rumble, weak instrument separation, lack of soundstage on the same setup. Almost opposite to everything that you experienced. I liked how easy the Ananda is to drive and its FR. That’s about it. My old setup might not have synergized well with it according to my ears. I admit that I was overly kind in my rating: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-ananda.23314/review/22982/
Still, if you are happy with the Ananda, that’s great! You saved a bundle of money while finding a headphone that you enjoy. At the end of the day, all that matters is whether we enjoy how our music collection sounds with our gear.
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That’s so odd, I’d never describe the Ananda as lacking bass. I suppose it really could be as simple as what chain was used.
The thx 789/Ananda is transparent enough that I can differentiate between my different dacs, or even different 5v plugs on my modi 3.
5v apple charger - cleaner thinner
2a iPad charger - thick and bassy some detail loss
Dragonfly red V shaped and mids are more distant.
Audio can be a really frustrating hobby some times 
Beside my lcd2c it has similar bass…
Totally agree. I believe that at over 1000 dollars, maybe an extra 5 percent resolution and soundstage will cost you another 1000, but those 5 percent increases contribute to a much bigger increase in realism