Okay, thanks for the reply!
I havenât tried the sundara but I use my Ananda over my elex all day every day with the LP. The low end has so much presence. I find it a little more laid back and less aggressive than the elex.
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I definitely find my Sundaraâs much more relaxed than my Elexâs. But I do find that the Elexâs have more presence in every area. I think they form a great 1-2 punch. If you couldnât afford or couldnât get the Elexâs, the Sundara would be a Very nice pick-up.
I have heard that the Anandaâs were a little bright and so I had looked at the Arya, but that is WAY too expensive for me. The MSRP in Canada is $2,299.00! 
Just curious about comparisons between the Sundaraâs and Anandaâs.
Fair but for myself the elex seem brighter by alot. Could be my pair or my ears but I find the elex brighter and more fatiguing. Thatâs all I got. 
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I have both the Sundara and Ananda and I donât find either to be a bright headphone. They are a more balanced to natural sounding pair with good extension up top but I donât ever find them fatiguing. I find my Aiva to be brighter sounding than both Hifiman headphones.
I find my Sundaraâs a bit bright, but not a problem at all, much like my Gradoâs.
So, what do you find is the biggest improvement from the Anandaâs over your Sundaraâs?
I wanted to get the elex but now theyâre not shipping until August.
Iâve heard in reviews that the Ananda is less dynamic than even something like a sundara. How significant is this difference and does it make music feel lifeless at times?
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Having both the Sundara and Ananda I can tell you the Ananda does not sound lifeless in the least. I donât know why people say itâs not dynamic because it is though itâs not on the same level as say the Elear/Elex which are know to be very dynamic headphones. The detailed natural sound of the Ananda is very pleasing and I donât find the highs to be harsh and Iâm sensitive to bright treble.
I listen to a lot of electronic music and the Ananda sounds great with plenty of energy and dynamics. In the under $1000 category the Ananda is easily one of the best headphones you can get imo and I feel itâs better than my LCD-2C, HP-3, Elear, and Aiva.
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would you rec owning both? what are your thoughts on that?
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I just got the Anandas and thankfully my worries were for nothing because they sound incredible.
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I would say just get the Ananda because you donât need both.
I got the Sundara before the Ananda but if I got the Ananda first I wouldnât have bought the Sundara. Theyâre both great headphones but the Ananda does everything a little better than the Sundara.
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Recently bought these as well - open box from HFM direct. At first they may sound a little thin depending on what youâre coming from - but the tuning is very natural sounding to my ears and I adjusted pretty quick. I pair with iFi Zen and the âTrueBassâ bump is really great with these. Bass digs deep, just lacks a little bit of the âslamâ that can be satisfying⊠trade off is great overall timbre and balanced sound. Listen to The Cureâs Subway Song (remastered) for a nice demo of how clean and deep that bass is.
Loving these so far.
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They did sound a bit thin when I first got them but that went away very quickly and now theyâre my go to headphone. I also like to bump up the bass a few dB on my Loki just to give them a little extra thump.
I just got a Zynsonix Ballista cable for them and they sound a touch more resolving now which is great. I know a lot of people donât believe cables can improve the SQ and I was one of them but with this new cable I can truly hear a difference.
Just chiming in after lurking for a while. IMO, aftermarket cables are a must for Ananda. I bought ~$25 NeoMusica or New Fantasia cables from Am_zon (they are similar), treble clarity (not harshness) and bass solidity (and detail) both increased. The stock cables donât look to be OFC, the new cables are advertised as OFC and Iâm inclined to believe that after listening to the differences. Wonât tell anyone what to do but I believe that listening with the stock cables is a disservice by not getting the best sound out of the Ananda.
Whatâs everyoneâs favorite amp pairing for these?
For my primary desktop system I bought a gently used Emotiva a-100 for a good price. Since it is primarily a speaker amp I paired it with an inexpensive tube hybrid preamp that I modified to smooth out any SS harshness and to slightly soften Anandaâs treble peaks. I feel like it was a good investment for not a lot of $$$. I also have a Magni 3+ that drives the Ananda well and to quite decent volumes, if the input signal is strong enough.
Nice - thanks for the input. Adding some warmth to this headphone is a must for me. Thoroughly enjoy it though
Same here. It has most of the qualities of substantially higher priced cans. Good overall value, even at the current price.
I have recently picked up the Arya and the Arya is really worth the price increase. I bought an open box Arya from headphones.com at $1,199.99, so I donât know if itâs the best value at $1,599.99 when compared to the Ananda, but the Arya is the much better headphone.
Iâve been interested in Arya but have only recently purchased Ananda. Iâm not quite sure if Iâm ready to make the jump yet, price wise. Whatâs your impressions of the similarities? Differences also?