Hifiman Ananda Nano Headphone Review

[Mr. Haelscheir]

Perhaps not, but don't you think the AP is an overkill for headphone measurements?
DACs are one thing . . .
A good DAC/ADC and a laptop is all the electronics you need.

Indeed, if I am interpreting my own MOTU M2 measurements correctly (plus apparently impressively low-distortion $4 electret capsules), my current setup could resolve down to 80 dB SNR with averaged harmonic distortion sweeps and up to 90 dB SNR with long multi-tone FFTs, which is surely well below what the grand majority of transducers achieve or what is audible.

 

[solderdude]

It may well be all that is needed but Amir uses the AP also for the test protocols and reporting (generating plots) and arguably is better in ADC than any DIY/clone or other fixture.
Knowing Amir he is not going to sacrifice this.

A soundproof box for headphone measurements (expensive) with the option for leakage/isolation measurements would be a more logical step but Amir has already stated he was not going that way and 94dB as the lowest range seems to be a good option and even that level already is hitting the noise floor on open headphones with low distortion.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

It may well be all that is needed but Amir uses the AP also for the test protocols and reporting (generating plots) and arguably is better in ADC than any DIY/clone or other fixture.
Knowing Amir he is not going to sacrifice this.

A soundproof box for headphone measurements (expensive) with the option for leakage/isolation measurements would be a more logical step but Amir has already stated he was not going that way and 94dB as the lowest range seems to be a good option and even that level already is hitting the noise floor on open headphones with low distortion.

Well yeah!
Amir's got the AP already and he uses it for everything.
All I was saying was that, as far as electronics go, something like the RME ADI and a laptop will yield as accurate a result.
Of course, one needs a good dummy head/microphone and quiet environment.
In a nutshell, the AP in this case is waaay an overkill.
But if you happen to have one lying around and it's silent enough then . . . .

 

[Blorg]

I'm pretty sure that the reviewed headphone at $499 is in no way a revelation in Sound Quality (capitalised because you just put SQ) for the bucks that you mention. (It's not magic)

It's literally the third best tuned open back headphone ever made (and note the best one, the Sennheiser HE-1, costs $69,000), by objective measurements and Harman score, and the research we have indicates that tonality is much more important than distortion numbers when it comes to sound quality.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

It's literally the third best tuned open back headphone ever made (and note the best one, the Sennheiser HE-1, costs $69,000), by objective measurements and Harman score, and the research we have indicates that tonality is much more important than distortion numbers when it comes to sound quality.

Tonality is personal and subjective.
The Harman curve is nothing but an averaged subjective preference of some test subjects.
It is a good approximation, I am not knocking it, but sticking to it is not a must.

 

[Robbo99999]

It's literally the third best tuned open back headphone ever made (and note the best one, the Sennheiser HE-1, costs $69,000), by objective measurements and Harman score, and the research we have indicates that tonality is much more important than distortion numbers when it comes to sound quality.

That's not the case according to the ranking on the AutoEQ website:

But the score is not fine-grained enough to make distinctions that relate to your statement re "best tuned" anyway. It's good for overall statistical analysis when the score was used in the Harman Research, but it's not a useful tool to make fine-grained decisions on "best tuned" or "3rd best tuned" or whatever. The reason being is that the curves can differ quite wildly in shape around the target and still score the same, when in actual fact they would not sound anywhere near the same, so there's limitations with the scoring system. It's better just to "read" the frequency response graph and come to your own conclusion about what it's likely to sound like based on your experience. The frequency response is pretty good for a stock headphone though, but it's not that remarkable, but the bass shelf and bass extension is probably the most remarkable thing about it. I don't think it is likely to be described as a revelation in sound quality (which was I think the initial response point of this thread of discussion) for people that have tried some decent headphones & also along with EQ.

 

[Blorg]

That's not the case according to the ranking on the AutoEQ website:

Because they don't have the Nano up yet. Oratory has it measured and it gets 94/100.

Dropbox

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It's better just to "read" the frequency response graph and come to your own conclusion about what it's likely to sound like based on your experience. The frequency response is pretty good for a stock headphone though, but it's not that remarkable, but the bass shelf and bass extension is probably the most remarkable thing about it. I don't think it is likely to be described as a revelation in sound quality (which was I think the initial response point of this thread of discussion) for people that have tried some decent headphones & also along with EQ.

It's the most natural and correct sounding headphone I have ever heard out of the box. Period. The supposed distortion is totally inaudible. And I can say that, having actually heard it, which everyone in this thread grousing about the supposed poor sound quality hasn't.

The research suggests distortion is not particularly audible and that tonality is overwhelmingly the most important parameter. Temme & Olive found in The Correlation Between Distortion Audibility and Listener Preference in Headphones (AES 9118):

In conclusion, the perception and measurement of nonlinear distortion is a fascinating but challenging area of research. The linear distortions in headphones are orders of magnitude higher and more audible than the nonlinear ones. The virtual headphone method used in this study solves one of the major research challenges: isolating the nonlinear distortions from linear distortions. Nonlinear distortion in headphones of this high caliber (Headphone D excepted) seems to not be a significant factor in how good it sounds. Finally, this study provides further experimental evidence that traditional nonlinear distortion measurements are not particularly useful at predicting how good or bad high caliber headphone sounds. A more perceptual-based approach for measuring the audibility of nonlinear distortion is warranted.

Linear distortion = frequency response, where this headphone is near perfect.

In this paper they expected distortion in the 1-5kHz region would be a larger issue than distortion in the bass region but it actually turned out to be the reverse, headphones B&C had high distortion 1-5kHz but this did not affect preference. Headphone D had distortion in the bass and this was the only headphone to have a statistically significant impact on preference.

My speculation, due to the significantly different levels of bass vs mids in recordings, bass is 20dB above mids before equalization. Closer to 30dB if you EQ to Harman. You are not listening to 1-5kHz at 114dB or 104dB. Even 94dB would be damaging. You could easily have bass peaks at those levels though. So I am very sceptical that this distortion at 2-5kHz, if it's there at all, really matters. What research we have says it doesn't matter. Although our hearing is less sensitive in the bass, it's the bass that starts off +20dB up and it's the bass people tend to EQ up further. So you could be listening to 1-5kHz at 85dB (any more than that A-weighted and you are wrecking your hearing) but have bass at 110dB -115dB. And in my own experience, bass is the only place I have ever heard distortion. Not because of hearing sensitivity but because you might be talking about +30dB all told down there and that's 1,000x the power, so it's putting a lot more strain on whatever you are listening to. And as it happens, this headphone does have very low bass distortion.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

The research suggests distortion is not particularly audible and that tonality is overwhelmingly the most important parameter. Temme & Olive found in The Correlation Between Distortion Audibility and Listener Preference in Headphones (AES 9118):

There is truth in that, however, any headphone with a naturally smooth FR curve, can have the desired tonality by simple EQing, at least to a good degree. Any DAP, cellphone etc. can implement high quality EQ, so it is not a big-E, again provided the FR is smooth.
There is no trick, to counter the effects of distortion! Once you got distortion, you are stuck with it.
When I got my EDXS, in the early days of its China release, I loved the sound, but there was a very audible distortion! I had no measuring equipment then. I reported it, before it was even released in the west. Later on as measurement reports surfaced, sure as hell, it was there.
I even conjured a Mod., and it did work, but not fully! I eventually sold them.
Don't get wrong, it was a wonderful pair of headphones.
But distortions are audible, tonality can be fixed (to some degree) with EQ.

 

[Blorg]

@Ken Tajalli There is obvious distortion on both of these (and other Hifiman eggs) if you play very loud tones with the headphones not on your head. You can also get this distortion if you don't have a seal. Put the headphones on your head, and the distortion goes away. Break the seal slightly, and it's back again.

Unfortunately for some people with the size of the cups, it's possible they will never get a seal. It's also very possible Amir didn't have a good seal on his measuring rig, he didn't with the OG Ananda review.

The Edition XS with its very light clamp is more susceptible to this than the Ananda, if I move it around a bit on my head, I can actually get distortion with it depending on the position. I can hear the grill rattling in some positions, but move the position a bit and that will go away, so it's highly dependent on the exact position. This does usually take volumes well above my listening volume, but they are not painful volumes. They are volumes loud enough they leave my ears feeling funny afterwards. But I could imagine someone listening much louder than I do getting this issue frequently, I know what you mean with the Edition XS and I can hear that myself on my one.

I do not get this with the Ananda, unless I very deliberately break the seal by lifting the cups outwards. Then, yes, there's distortion, but it's not the grill rattle type of distortion, it's just the broken seal distortion. I don't get the grill rattle from the Ananda Nano at any volume, they seem to have damped that better.

 

[Ezees]

Tonality is personal and subjective.
The Harman curve is nothing but an averaged subjective preference of some test subjects.
It is a good approximation, I am not knocking it, but sticking to it is not a must.

Yeah, that's pretty much correct, IMO. I see the various Harman curves and (nearly) all of them have a huge bass hump/shelf that most regular consumers hear as "accurate".....but that I personally hear as "bloated" - that is, especially with HFM's egg-shaped cans. The pro Harman folks - when they see the FR plots of HFM's cans - accuse most of them of having "flat bass"....which in their minds often equates to "too little" or "no" bass. More experienced HP listeners hear the claimed "flat/no bass" of HFM's eggos as "deep and accurate", if not just slightly lacking in the "punchy dynamics" of many dynamic driver HPs - depending on the amp(s) used in listening (IMO on that last point). Horses for courses though.....

 

[Ezees]

Amir does seem to find distortion in Hifiman egg headphones that no-one else has been able to replicate.

Is it a real problem? I just got the Nano in and It's not audible to me, at all.

I wholeheartedly hear and agree that this distortion at the highest volume levels is more than likely inaudible/undetectable at the volumes that most people listen....IMO, that is......

 

[Ken Tajalli]

@Ken Tajalli There is obvious distortion on both of these (and other Hifiman eggs) if you play very loud tones with the headphones not on your head. You can also get this distortion if you don't have a seal. Put the headphones on your head, and the distortion goes away. Break the seal slightly, and it's back again.

We are talking about different things, I believe. I am talking about the mid-band distortion peak, which is common to almost all egg shaped Hifimans. The seal, the head and all that don't come into it.
The 3-4 kHz distortion, I could hear and later on, could measure with my humble gear. Though in EDXS case, it was a little higher in frequency.

Unfortunately for some people with the size of the cups, it's possible they will never get a seal. It's also very possible Amir didn't have a good seal on his measuring rig, he didn't with the OG Ananda review.
The Edition XS with its very light clamp is more susceptible to this than the Ananda, if I move it around a bit on my head, I can actually get distortion with it depending on the position. I can hear the grill rattling in some positions, but move the position a bit and that will go away, so it's highly dependent on the exact position.

Not me, I am a big-head!
I also modded the headband with a leather-strip, which permanently fixed the issue.

This does usually take volumes well above my listening volume, but they are not painful volumes. They are volumes loud enough they leave my ears feeling funny afterwards. But I could imagine someone listening much louder than I do getting this issue frequently, I know what you mean with the Edition XS and I can hear that myself on my one.
I do not get this with the Ananda, unless I very deliberately break the seal by lifting the cups outwards. Then, yes, there's distortion, but it's not the grill rattle type of distortion, it's just the broken seal distortion. I don't get the grill rattle from the Ananda Nano at any volume, they seem to have damped that better.

Again, you are possibly talking about low frequency distortions. They are actually pretty good in that area. There is a resonance/breakup in mid-band, with these headphones.
Tonality is pretty good out of the box, to the point of not needing EQ, unless one gets fanatic.
I moved on to a pair of Audeze LCD-XC (closed) eventually. The tonality is not as good as Hifiman, out of the box, but! they are totally distortionless.
With a simple mod. and minor EQ, I can live these.

 

[Ezees]

We are talking about different things, I believe. I am talking about the mid-band distortion peak, which is common to almost all egg shaped Hifimans. The seal, the head and all that don't come into it.

No, I think we're talking about the exact same things. HFM eggos' distortion plots vary greatly depending on if you have them on your head (ie: sealed front volume) vs if you're holding them in your hands (or loosely on a measuring dummy - ie: a leaky, unsealed front volume).

I can turn up the volume on my HEKv2 Stealths right now while they're securely on my head and hear no such "distortion" whatsoever (ie: having a sealed front volume). But if I take them off - ie: creating an unsealed front volume - it's VERY EASY to make the planar drivers distort and "buzz" at the mids and bass frequencies. This distortion is not only heard in the bass frequencies, but also through the mids too.....

I think this is what's happening when Amir measures most HFM cans - and where he's finding "distortion" - ie: when the front volume isn't sealed very well on the test rig, it's very easy to create massive "distortion" at various frequencies. IRL, that "distortion" wouldn't be heard at all by most listeners due to having their HPs securely on their heads (and having a mostly totally sealed front volume - which would negate the "high distortion" state).

I believe that herein lies the difference: between the measured "distortion" on the test device - ie: one without a well-sealed front volume.....and then the total lack of that same "distortion" when listening to them IRL (and having a good sealed front volume), IMO.....

 

[Blorg]

@Ken Tajalli have you compared the Edition XS to other egg Hifimans? Because no question my EXS distorts more than the others, I also have/heard OG Ananda, Ananda Stealth, Ananda Nano, Arya Stealth and HE1000 Stealth and none of these have the rattling the EXS does. If you Google Edition XS rattling / buzzing, several people have noted it does this, and mine does it, albeit only in certain positions and at high volumes. But I do get audible distortion on the Edition XS that I just don't get on any of the others, I really think that's an Edition XS thing rather than a general Hifiman thing.

 

[Robbo99999]

Because they don't have the Nano up yet. Oratory has it measured and it gets 94/100.
View attachment 378565

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

It's the most natural and correct sounding headphone I have ever heard out of the box. Period. The supposed distortion is totally inaudible. And I can say that, having actually heard it, which everyone in this thread grousing about the supposed poor sound quality hasn't.

The research suggests distortion is not particularly audible and that tonality is overwhelmingly the most important parameter. Temme & Olive found in The Correlation Between Distortion Audibility and Listener Preference in Headphones (AES 9118):

Linear distortion = frequency response, where this headphone is near perfect.

In this paper they expected distortion in the 1-5kHz region would be a larger issue than distortion in the bass region but it actually turned out to be the reverse, headphones B&C had high distortion 1-5kHz but this did not affect preference. Headphone D had distortion in the bass and this was the only headphone to have a statistically significant impact on preference.

My speculation, due to the significantly different levels of bass vs mids in recordings, bass is 20dB above mids before equalization. Closer to 30dB if you EQ to Harman. You are not listening to 1-5kHz at 114dB or 104dB. Even 94dB would be damaging. You could easily have bass peaks at those levels though. So I am very sceptical that this distortion at 2-5kHz, if it's there at all, really matters. What research we have says it doesn't matter. Although our hearing is less sensitive in the bass, it's the bass that starts off +20dB up and it's the bass people tend to EQ up further. So you could be listening to 1-5kHz at 85dB (any more than that A-weighted and you are wrecking your hearing) but have bass at 110dB -115dB. And in my own experience, bass is the only place I have ever heard distortion. Not because of hearing sensitivity but because you might be talking about +30dB all told down there and that's 1,000x the power, so it's putting a lot more strain on whatever you are listening to. And as it happens, this headphone does have very low bass distortion.

Re your last paragraph, that is one of the reasons I started that thread poll trying to guage what people think re testing distortion at 86dB too (I linked it earlier).

The stock frequency response measurement is alright, I've said that, but it's not gonna be a revelation for people who are already EQ'ing some decent headphones.

The headphone does have some weaknesses re distortion as I've said before, and there are better out there from that perspective. I would have liked distortion testing at 86dB too though to help put the mids & treble more into perspective in terms of distortion, but there's better out there.

I mean you're a real fan of these headphones so I suppose it makes sense that you're defending them. I don't think they're particularly special from the measurements & price. I'll have to bow out because we've both said what we think about it and we don't wanna keep going circular on it.

 

[Blorg]

@Robbo99999 I don't even own these headphones, I just have them on loan and have been listening to them the last week. So I have no vested interest in them, they are just genuinely really good headphones, tuned better than anything else I have ever heard, and have no audible distortion. Amir himself said he couldn't hear any distortion. I do think there are possible reasons as to why they might have measured like that in this test, but it doesn't translate into anything actually audible, and even if we are strictly limiting ourselves to distortion, others measuring distortion don't seem to get anything half as bad.

I just think it's hilarious the extent to which people on ASR will insist on stuff being bad like this having never actually heard the headphones. And completely discount the actual science which says that linear distortion is "orders of magnitude higher and more audible" and that even with this EQed out non-linear distortion in almost every case, and even when large in the 1-5kHz range, has no statistically significant effect on preference. "Orders of magnitude" is at minimum, a factor of 100. But you focus on the 1/100th part of it, laser-focus on the thing that doesn't matter because it's the thing you can see in the graph... if these measurements are actually right in the first place. It's so anti-science for a forum supposedly dedicated to a scientific approach.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

@Ken Tajalli have you compared the Edition XS to other egg Hifimans?

When I had them (Modded), I took them with me to a CanJam. At Hifiman stall I tried it against others. They all pretty much sounded similar, with HE1K being the smoothest. All had varying degree of the same slight shouty-ness.

Because no question my EXS distorts more than the others, I also have/heard OG Ananda, Ananda Stealth, Ananda Nano, Arya Stealth and HE1000 Stealth and none of these have the rattling the EXS does. If you Google Edition XS rattling / buzzing, several people have noted it does this, and mine does it, albeit only in certain positions and at high volumes. But I do get audible distortion on the Edition XS that I just don't get on any of the others, I really think that's an Edition XS thing rather than a general Hifiman thing.

I never had a buzzing/rattling issue with mine. Good seal or glasses worn (as I do sometimes) made no difference to the audible distortion I was describing.
I always assumed/reckoned it had something to do with the design of the back grill. It rings like a bell! So I Modded mine with a vertical rod, stuck to the grill bars trying to keep them from ringing.
It made a positive difference. But ultimately, wasn't a cure.
Again, it wasn't a major issue, I am just fussy.
For the money, I don't know of a better headphone.

 

[Blorg]

@Ken Tajalli they are all shouty, that's the tuning. Harman is verging on shouty to begin with and and most Hifimans err a little on the shoutier still side of the line. The Nano to me, and this is backed up by Oratory's measurements, is actually the least shouty Hifiman egg I've heard, and that's a large part of why I think it's the best tuned.

The Edition XS I do get audible distortion that I simply don't get with the others. I'm not talking about tonality here, the tonality is very similar across the range. I think it's better on the Ananda Nano, but it's not radically different, it's a few small tweaks to an already great tonality that make it world-leading, namely the little bass shelf and the smoother, less shouty upper mids. It is very bright in the high treble but my hearing up there is poor enough this is just not an issue for me, I could understand it being so for younger people.

Here though I'm just talking about the distortion, as you said you got audible distortion on the Edition XS. I also get audible distortion on the Edition XS, not at my listening volume with them seated right, but I do get it at not very much above my listening volume so would not be having an argument over distortion with someone who says there is distortion on the Edition XS, I know there is, I can hear it on my own one. And one component of this does seem to be grill, like you describe.

What I am saying, is the Ananda Nano absolutely does not have the same audible distortion that the Edition XS has.

 

[Ezees]

Because they don't have the Nano up yet. Oratory has it measured and it gets 94/100.
View attachment 378565

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

It's the most natural and correct sounding headphone I have ever heard out of the box. Period. The supposed distortion is totally inaudible. And I can say that, having actually heard it, which everyone in this thread grousing about the supposed poor sound quality hasn't.

The research suggests distortion is not particularly audible and that tonality is overwhelmingly the most important parameter. Temme & Olive found in The Correlation Between Distortion Audibility and Listener Preference in Headphones (AES 9118):

Linear distortion = frequency response, where this headphone is near perfect.

In this paper they expected distortion in the 1-5kHz region would be a larger issue than distortion in the bass region but it actually turned out to be the reverse, headphones B&C had high distortion 1-5kHz but this did not affect preference. Headphone D had distortion in the bass and this was the only headphone to have a statistically significant impact on preference.

My speculation, due to the significantly different levels of bass vs mids in recordings, bass is 20dB above mids before equalization. Closer to 30dB if you EQ to Harman. You are not listening to 1-5kHz at 114dB or 104dB. Even 94dB would be damaging. You could easily have bass peaks at those levels though. So I am very sceptical that this distortion at 2-5kHz, if it's there at all, really matters. What research we have says it doesn't matter. Although our hearing is less sensitive in the bass, it's the bass that starts off +20dB up and it's the bass people tend to EQ up further. So you could be listening to 1-5kHz at 85dB (any more than that A-weighted and you are wrecking your hearing) but have bass at 110dB -115dB. And in my own experience, bass is the only place I have ever heard distortion. Not because of hearing sensitivity but because you might be talking about +30dB all told down there and that's 1,000x the power, so it's putting a lot more strain on whatever you are listening to. And as it happens, this headphone does have very low bass distortion.

Here, here --- I wholeheartedly agree - though I'm one of those persons who haven't ever heard it in person. Nevertheless, I either own or have owned much of HFM's later HP lineup - starting from Sundara and ending with my newest, the HEKv2 Stealth (with the OG Ananda sitting in my storage unit). I pretty much have no doubt that Amir and other ASRers would decry nearly all of them for "distortion"....said so-called distortion that I would MOSTLY NEVER HEAR IRL, unless massive and damaging volume levels (for both the HPs and my ears, LOL).....

 

[Neo Cyrus]

I don't know if I should bother to post this, but I've had 4 of these now, yes FOUR:

1- My 1st one was absolutely great, but I scratched it literally on itself, the cup scratched against its own headband's metal while turning it to remove the earpad.

2 - They allowed me to exchange it for a new one but made me pay the shipping, the cheapest option was $45. The new one arrived with a severe imbalance, the left cup side was many decibels too quiet, obviously defective. Yes, I tested it in every way possible with multiple sets of equipment & wires, tried mono audio, & had other people listen to it. The left was very obviously defective.

3 - The 3rd one sounded just like the 1st, I was relieved... then I saw the inside of the left cup (the part that covers the driver) was snapped/broken upward. This wasn't a minor crack, it was completely snapped off. This couldn't have possibly been from shipping damage, there is no possible way for it to be the way it was aside from it being ASSEMBLED BROKEN to begin with.

4 - I liked the sound so much I gave it another shot & got a 4th one... complete imbalance no matter how I tested it like the 2nd one, the exact same issue with the left cup. And yes, I had others listen to it & tested it in every way possible... then in under 1 hour the left cup just died. Pressing on it could get sound out of it for a second, then it dies again, it seems like it might be a wiring issue from the factory.

I'm convinced they have a manufacturing problem with the Nanos.

I'm at a loss. I've pissed away about $130 in shipping (which they now say they'll refund, we'll see, but only with paypal?) & many many hours. I'm beyond frustrated & I don't even see an alternative for what comes out to $770 CAD after 13% sales tax. I don't know what to do.