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Hifiman Ananda Nano Headphone Review
- Thread starter amirm
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IXOYE
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I agree, either they or Sundara, I personally like Sundara more.
johny_2000
Active Member
The same refurbished model sells for $279 in the US, Canada, UK and EU.
But I've heard too many complaints from others about the discomfort and poor fit of the headband. This is the only thing holding me back from ordering.
After decades of using Sennheiser HDs where I didn't feel them on my head for hours of listening, I'm concerned about the headband and non-swivel earcups of the Edition XS.
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Leiker535
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They do swivel. The one that doesn't is the one present in Sundara or old Ananda's. It also worthwhile saying that you can easily swap hifiman wurst headband with a more confortable alternative easily. There are even some kits available on AliExpress for that.
I myself did so with my he6se, as it's unbearably heavy by itself.
johny_2000
Active Member
Can you explain more about this?
And new Anandas as well.
johny_2000
Active Member
I found that the swivel earcups are very important because the head orientation is constantly changing even while listening to chilling music, and then if they don't swivel, there are unwanted sound leaks that change the entire tone of the music. This is what turned me off from headphones without swivel earcups. Been spoiled by Sennheiser headphones for decades.
Yes, Anandas are hit or miss because lack of swivel. Hifiman’s headbands for entry to mid level headphones are subpar, from my point of view. Only Aryas and more expensive models get a decent headband.
johny_2000
Active Member
Thanks for the suggestion, but it won't fit all the non-swivel earpad headphones on the market.
I think this is an important factor for manufacturers to think about.
AryaStealth
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$15 Hifiman Comfort Strap from CapraAudio on etsy may help with XS headband uneven weight distribution (I tried HE6se v2 which has the same headband, and I can definely say that on my head this type of Hifiman headband can only be called a torture device. I couldn't wear it more than 15 minutes, it is painfully uncomfortable). In the UK CustomCans designed a leather strap for XS.
It's not at all easy with the Edition XS, you need to fully disassemble the cups to get the screws out; they are also glued/threadlocked in tight. And after that you need to find a headband that will actually fit the oval cups. Hifimans do not all take the same headband or the same approach, they are subtly different. You can't put a Sundara headband on the Ananda for example although it might look the same, the cup dimensions are different. Arya uses a pin-in system rather than the screws on the Ananda. HE6SE does NOT have the same headband either, in the sense they are not interchangable, the top is the same construction but the dimensions of the cups are different. And so on.
I replaced the headband on my HE6SEV2 as well, that was easy. It's not on the Edition XS. With that one, I just added a headband cover, and bent the arms in to increase clamp force, this worked fine and they are very comfortable now.
The best solution for the Edition XS, if you don't have it already, is to buy the Ananda Stealth for only $20 more, which sounds identical, possibly is identical (the impedance and sensitivity was changed to be very near identical the EXS) but has a suspension headband (but, no cup swivel).
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I just followed what Amir posted in his review, then tuned it from there to my liking. His sample seems to line up relatively close to the one I got, mine is perhaps not quite as extreme on the high end/treble.
And a small update regarding the headphones: The high pressure has seemed to decrease slightly. It was never so bad that I couldn't wear it for a long period of time, but it was always bad enough that I'd be aware there's something clamping on my head & I'd adjust it once in a while. I suspect over time it will loosen up further. Even with the out-of-the-box clamp force, I still much preferred that over the loose Edition XS as far as comfort/fit goes.
Can you share it?
At this moment I'm using this and I think the Nano sounds amazing, can't understand this popular hate on this cans, I have the 560s and Sundara and I preffer the Nanos by far.
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The 4 bands he changed that's in the first post of this thread: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...equalization-eq-parametric-filter-png.361218/
I've considered decreasing the -6db at 12KHz since that's a lot, but it seems I'm pretty sensitive to 12KHz, so after some tests I left it at -6db. As for what I'm using for EQ right now, here's the pic. Some of you will probably have a laugh at it, but it works for what I'm currently listening to, for other songs these settings would blow out my ears.
I agree that these headphones are underrated here, they're my favorite pair that I've tried so far. Although I haven't tried a ton of audiophile headphones, the fact that (for my taste) it puts the HD650/6XX to shame does mean something to me.
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After trying many EQ I can say these cans are manufactured for music and maybe movies (I never see movies using headphones, then I can't get an opinion) but not for play games, I have the 560s that are thousand times better for its imaging and positioning, the Nanos can't does it, they are awesome for music using a proper EQ but if you want play some FPS you need to return to default EQ, this not happens with the 560s I use the same EQ for music and games, for music sounds very well and for games sounds amazing with an incredible representation of the steps, the explosions, the shoots, etc., but when I use the Nanos I get a mediocre postioning in games but an awesome performance in music, why?
Well, I gotta be honest here. I was expecting it to sound average because of the measurements, but I tried the Susvara 2 weeks ago and it sounded really good.
I prefered it to the LCD5 which measures way better than the Susvara.
The stock tuning is more to my liking than the LCD5, which I felt cold and sterile. I didn't hear any weird things or distortion and my volume levels with the Sus.
That said, It's overpriced, just as 95% of the stuff on this hobby.
Esidemoken
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I see a lot of comments on this post mentioning how bad these headphones are so I would like to know what others are better with the same sound signature and for the same price.
I ask out of genuine interest as I am interested in buying them but the alternatives I have seen several recommend are much more expensive or with different signatures.
I ask out of genuine interest as I am interested in buying them but the alternatives I have seen several recommend are much more expensive or with different signatures.
If you want this exact signature with the little bass shelf/mid-bass dip, probably nothing. The Arya Organic has it, but it's more expensive ($1,299).
If you want similar for less money, the Ananda Stealth is $399 ($100 less). It doesn't have the little dip in the mid-bass, it's more linear, but otherwise it is very similar. I have it, I think it's great and unbelievable value at that price. The Edition XS sounds virtually identical for $379 (I would not be entirely surprised if the actual driver and cups were exactly the same) but the Ananda Stealth has a much better headband, worth the extra $20.
Something like the Sundara ($299) is also very good, and preferred here on ASR as it has smaller cups which is easier to measure with less distortion, and follows the Harman curve better between 1-2.5kHz. It's also less bright above that. I have it as well, and it is an excellent headphone but it is not quite the same thing as the egg shape ones and it is definitely missing something in the soundstage, comparatively.
Most people complaining about these Hifimans have never actually heard them and are just going off ideas they get from Amir's measurements. Other people who measure egg Hifimans don't get Amir's distortion results. Even Amir couldn't say that he could actually hear the measured distortion. Is it really there, or is it an artifact of the measurement protocol, possibly related to the headband and lack of cup swivel?
These are the OG Ananda, but Amir also got bad distortion (and a wonky FR that no-one else has ever measured) with them, due to lack of a seal.
Ananda
back to HIFIMAN back to measurements home published: June-21-2018, updated: Jun-5-2019 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons fl…
diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com
Headphones v1.5 - Graph Tool
www.rtings.com
Rtings gets very similar distortion measurements for the HE400SE, which Amir thought was fine, with low distortion:
So is it really that bad, if Amir is the only reviewer that gets these distortion measurements, and admits he can't be sure he can even hear it? It's a bright headphone, there is no question there, but that's already in the FR, it's not necessarily from the supposed distortion.
I don't hear the distortion in either the OG Ananda or the Ananda Stealth, haven't heard the Nano. I am highly sceptical this is actually as big an issue as people here, again most of whom have never heard the headphone, think it is.
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