Hifiman Ananda Nano Headphone Review

[Nyho]

You’ve mentioned that these are widely used by studios a couple of times, on what basis?

Studios seem to use the usual suspects from Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Sony, AKG and Audio Technica.

I used to be part of a Discord group dedicated to mixing. If you want to check out some of the members who have YouTube channels, it’s mixphones.



You seem to be confusing a recording studio, which indeed uses many of the brands you mentioned, with a mastering/mixing studio. And I’m not even talking about producers, who on their side use all kinds of different equipment.
In recording, closed-back headphones are used a lot, and absolute sound quality isn’t really the priority. The main purpose is to hear the monitor mix.
In mastering, you generally use two or three different speaker monitoring systems, but it’s becoming increasingly common to use headphones, and even IEMs. The brands you’ll see more often are HIFIMAN and Audeze.
Of course, it all comes down to personal preference, but I like HIFIMAN’s brightness because of its ability to reveal and exaggerate details, both in the low and high frequencies.
When I hear the reviewer criticizing the bass on these headphones, I honestly have serious doubts about his ability to hear music properly, without meaning any disrespect, of course.
I’m not closed-minded about it, and I recently tried the HD 490 Pro, as well as the ATH-R70x, Sendy Aiva 2, etc. I also have an OPPO PM-3 somewhere in a drawer, which is well known for its bass.
Sorry, but I really don’t understand this criticism. In my opinion, it completely misses the point. I’ve honestly never heard bass this clean and punchy. Seriously.
For mixing, it’s a fantastic tool because it immediately shows you where the problems are.
Now, for casual listening, I’d probably lean more towards an HD600/650, the D1 (too much treble for me), or an XV, which is the logical successor to the HD600. But that’s really just nitpicking, because with EQ, you can make the Nano sound extremely enjoyable.
And if you add to that a distortion graph that is completely off the mark, I have to question the reviewer’s credibility.

 

[PenguinMusic]

Hi Nyho,

Having owned the Nano, i know what you're saying about it.
And indeed, if you scroll up, you'll see a post where I am asking what I should listen to, to hear that distorsion.

The HiFiman is probably one of the best price/audio ration I have ever met.
I like it...
And even if I do not know what distorsion is, I have never heard anything that would make me think it is "distorted".

I think you have a point in questioning headphone measurements.
Reasons are :
- the rig set-up may be difficult ;
- positioning the headphone differently can produce huge difference in measurementys (especially with large planars)
- the Harman curve is not a reference, just a guide...

All in all, it all remains by the listener.
My two favourite headphone do not score more than 60/100 in Oratory's headphones measurements.
But I still like them... as I do like a 100/100 headfphone in that same list !

But you should not try to force people into your views just by stating "It is the best headphone I have ever heard".
Numbers are numbers. If you can reproduce them from a session to another, they do not lie.

You can say "I do not like the Harman curve".
You can say "I like this headpone".
You can say "To my eas,n this headphone sounds good despite it's deviance from Harman curve and despite the measured distorsion".

But claiming "This headphone is the absolute best because myt ears tell me so and those how disagree are stupid people putting blind faith in numbers" is another level of judging...

Regards.

 

[solderdude]

"It is the best headphone I have ever heard".

There is nothing wrong with claiming that.
One just has to realize he used the words 'I have ever heard' which is not an absolute statement but just an opinion based on his experience.

He did not say: 'It is the best headphone (period)'

And if you add to that a distortion graph that is completely off the mark, I have to question the reviewer’s credibility.

About distortion on planar headphones. This usually is very low but with a less than perfect seal not only the bass extension is less and bass response increases by compromised (less) acoustic damping. This can result in increased distortion in the lows.
When a test fixture is used with a stiff pinna pushing against the baffle and lifting the pads a little bass distortion can increase at high SPL.
Almost all planars have (substantial) resonances as well which may or may not be perceived as 'audible distortion'. Production spread and sensitivity of a listener is of importance.


Everyone has preferences and that's why there are so many headphones and so many fans for quite different models.
When one finds one that works for them .... stick to it but do check out other models too. There could be an even 'better' one for each person.
One can mix properly on quite a few headphones as long as one knows how they 'translate' or properly EQ'ed.
Properly is the main issue and one's ears may well not be similar to a test fixture + target.

Easier to do with good sounding headphones (out of the box) for sure that need minimal or no EQ at all to get good results.

 

[PenguinMusic]

There is nothing wrong with claiming that.
One just has to realize he used the words 'I have ever heard' which is not an absolute statement but just an opinion based on his experience.

He did not say: 'It is the best headphone (period)'

Hi,

Okay...
But nonetheless he seems to despise all those who do not agree that this headphone is the best (he heard).
Again, I had that headphone and I find it amazing...

But OK...

 

[solderdude]

Strong opinions ... are everywhere

 

[heraldo_jones]

In recording, closed-back headphones are used a lot, and absolute sound quality isn’t really the priority. The main purpose is to hear the monitor mix.

Possibly one of the biggest stupidities I’ve ever heard in the world of audio, and in my life in general. The recording is precisely the first and most important stage, and it’s where the most critical judgment is needed in order to have to fix as little as possible during mixing and mastering (hence the famous Batman and Robin memes). In fact, back in the day, and not even that long ago, there were songs that, after a good recording, required only minimal adjustments during the mixing and mastering processes.

 

[solderdude]

Its actually true what @Nyho says as most closed headphones are used for monitoring by the instrumentalists and they need isolation and being able to hear what they are playing and whatever else is heard on the monitor. None of the instrumentalists care about tonality and accuracy. In fact sometimes a sound signature colored in specific way(s) can even be preferable (elevated treble, or mids or even lows).

Indeed you won't see many mixers/producers use closed headphones unless they know the sound signature by heart, EQ it and or for some reason can't use open headphones or (much better) monitor speakers.
Maybe some of them like to check mix on their favorite closed back perhaps.