đŸ”¶ HiFiMan Ananda

I would say tuning refers to the frequency response curve in most cases. Timbre and tone are separate hence the use of separate words for these characteristics. In most cases tuning could be synonymous with sound in the context of a simplistic statement on audio. Given Crinacle is using tuning in an “audiophile reviewer” context I would say the breaking out of specific terms like tuning, timbre, and tone all carry their own connotations here. So I’m simple terms you would be correct in using tuning to imply tone and timbre because those terms all fall under the “sound” umbrella.

TLDR; you are both right under certain contexts lol. Also im sitting waiting for breakfast with nothing to do so I went a bit hard on this :smiley:

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First impressions: Bass is more present than I expected. The bass from the huge driver is simply atmospheric. I also bought an HE400SE, and despite the Ananda not being a lot more resolving, it somehow sounds more beautiful. I suspect the 1.5k dip is making it polite

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Got these headphones a couple of days ago for a really good price and so far I’m loving them.

Comfort wise I can’t complain at all personally. I did get them brand new and they do have weird smell which for me is not a big deal.

Build quality is not at all what I would expect from a “high quality” headphone but on the other hand the sound absolutely is.

These are my first open back headphones, when I pictured a high quality open headphone I imagined something along the lines of speaker like soundstage which would envelop the sound all around me far and wide while sounding clear, crisp, and most importantly detailed so I can listen through my whole playlist and find out things about my favorite songs which I never knew before.

I got exactly that and I couldn’t be happier.

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TL;DR:

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IMO these headphones sound really different as you move up in gear. Replacing the stock cable to a better balanced one makes them sound pretty different too.

Completely agree with the weak dynamics part (guess you could also call it blunted). I don’t like bright headphones so I was also turned off by the treble forwardness (compared to bass) as well. Can’t say much else cause I didn’t want to spend more time with it (and yeah, it did sound big (“wall of sound”) due to its size).

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how do these compare against the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO? I want to buy a new pair for around $500-600

edition xs>ananda and cheaper

These have more soundstage than Dt1990 pro.
These are easier to drive
These have a more neutral and better tuning than the treble monster beyer
These are not as well built
It is easier to get cables for ananda
Ananda has a softer impact, but more atmospheric bass

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Ananda Version 2 with stealth magnets are here.

Short impressions OG vs Stealth: no visual difference on the phones themselves at all, packaging says “Stealth Edition”, volume is the same or nearly identical, production date March '22, so far I prefer the OG for the staging capabilities as explained in this video (even though it’s the Arya review, it still applies imo)

Hifiman sent me the new Ananda SM along with an EF400. Here are my first impressions:

Full reviews of each coming soon!

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Full Ananda Stealth review is up:

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how was the overall timbre vs the XS? i always thought the XS had pretty solid timbre for what it was which honestly was what surprised me most about the XS.

I think all these new hifimans have pretty rock solid timbre. I don’t think you’ll find anything to complain about here.

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To the people here having listened to both the Arya and the Ananda. How much better does the Arya sound compared to the Ananda (as I know there are diminishing returns)? Thanks!

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If anyone missed my post from the Deals thread, wanted to drop by and say that the Ananda is available for $440 in a like-new condition.

It’s from Apos Audio Certified offerings, which is where the store sells refurbished gear that’s guaranteed to work and look like new.

They also have Arya (stealth magnet) listed in like-new condition going for $800