I was alluding to the fact that if the amp is over or under powering the headphones (gain) would distortion levels measured from the headphones change? Because low/medium/high gain slighty affects my listening levels. When my headphones are underpowered the sound closes up and I can't get to a high volume without being suffocated in sound. Whereas on high gain the dynamics are too strong and the treble a bit too raw so I turn volume down.
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Hifiman Ananda Review (headphone)
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iamaproudamerican
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From cultists realizing that Amir brought great things to the industry on the electronic side but on the headphone side he is woefully lacking but will rush to defend him to their deaths? Yup.
Deviation from the norm is not the norm. It's just bad data. Unlike with electronic measurements that we're relatively new when Amir started doing them, headphone measurements are not.
It's also a disservice to the community for Amir not to mention where his gear is sourced from. In this case, he measured a pair of Anandas that were manufactured in 2019. 2 years of pad wear on them. He didn't mention that he got a Phonitor X that was "refurbished" (turned out not by the manufacturer) that was clearly defective. None of that helps anybody. Information is a good thing. Purposely omitting information like this actively harms the science behind measurements.
iamaproudamerican
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Read the 4 posts from Chocomel that everyone here made a conscious decision to ignore because it doesn't fit the narrative.
the_brunx
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he has explained transparently over and over why he’s measurements are the most accurate and makes the best sense. In fact, others are secretly learning a lot from him whether they admit it or not.
You are the one here who has your head in the sand and is stubborn, so much that you have to hide behind a new account to come here and insult his work.
You are the one here who has your head in the sand and is stubborn, so much that you have to hide behind a new account to come here and insult his work.
So not 2021 ”Hifiman”!
Why not “Hifiwoman” ?
Why not “Hifiwoman” ?
Cahudson42
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Suppose we took the same pair of Ananda's and:
First, ask Resolve/Andrew to repeat the measurements on his Gras
Second, yes it's a different rig entirely, but then ask @solderdude to also measure..
Might this help answer many of the questions previously posed? (Mismounting, 2019 aged pads, defective, etc. etc)
To me, the problems on Group Delay really stand out. How could all that he a seal issue? Yet if these 2019 phones have a zillion hours on them, you could entertain the possibility things could 'loosen up' - resulting in this.
Let's have others test the same phones..Certainly might be interesting..
First, ask Resolve/Andrew to repeat the measurements on his Gras
Second, yes it's a different rig entirely, but then ask @solderdude to also measure..
Might this help answer many of the questions previously posed? (Mismounting, 2019 aged pads, defective, etc. etc)
To me, the problems on Group Delay really stand out. How could all that he a seal issue? Yet if these 2019 phones have a zillion hours on them, you could entertain the possibility things could 'loosen up' - resulting in this.
Let's have others test the same phones..Certainly might be interesting..
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You've just been brainwashed! ;-)
ishmeister
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Ananda was the headphone I owned previous to getting my current OG HD800. The comfort just wasn't there for me - too much clamp. It's the only headphone I've ever had to put on over the top of my head (like a helmet) because it doesn't stretch out wide enough to clear my glasses frames from the front.
Is that an idea for another square? The "ASR is a cult" square?
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Seems to be, but not directly related to the measurements I don't think.
Amir inviting us all round for jesus juice and sinad worship is what people think is cultish. Nonsense, I say!
Harman Police
, I’m sure it’s a Radiohead songiamaproudamerican
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Just wanted to say I'm the one who sent these Ananda in for testing. To me one of the main appeals of ASR is that we can send our individual items in for testing, and is better than sourcing equipment direct from manufacturers meant for review, or equipment that's been on review tours with tons of people handling them, this is a real sample that someone would buy and take home. Again these were purchased from Hifiman directly Dec. 2019, so not two years old. These had all of the QC stamps and stickers on the box and shipped straight from hifiman, so I do think this is a representative pair. I've owned two pair of Ananda over the years and these were no different than my first pair visually, and audio wise. The drivers also look identical.
The stock pads had the glue let go and came apart pretty quickly, so these were a fresh set of pads from hifiman that I sent to Amir, I think the shape, especially at the "front" pretty much always have a dip and indentation due to the construction of the pads. The new Ananda actually don't have the dust cover attached to the pads anymore as that is where the pads would start coming apart where the dust cover attached to the pad seam with glue.
I agree with a lot of what you're saying, and I do wish we could have all the reviewers all measure the exact same set of headphones, but unfortunately that's not realistic for most samples. I do honestly enjoy the ananda, and that's why I bought them twice lol, sold my first pair, regretted it, and bought another. As solderdude pointed out, I pretty much would never listen above 90db, so the distortion issue isn't as big of a deal as most are making it out to be. Of course as a human I wish it were better to justify my past purchases hah, but if I'm honest with myself, I like the sound.
Also pedantic note here: Amir did clearly state the Phonitor X was purchased refurbished by a member and sent to him.
EDIT: I don't have any problem sending this same pair to other reviewers. I kind of want them back as I miss them and have to do some traveling for work, but I would be happy to send to another as long as the shipping is reasonable.
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+1 on HE560 V4
Yes, unit variation is certainly a thing. At this point though it would be prudent to look at all the various measurements of the Ananda that are out in the wild and see which result is most common (at least the ones done on standardized rigs like the 43AG or 45CA etc.). I'm unaware of any specific revision for the Ananda, so yeah it's most likely either unit variation or an issue with the measurements going on here. I'd recommend looking at Crin's results on this for now.
*Edit: I missed the point about it being measured with an air gap. That explains why it looks like that.
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Sounds great. Please send a loaner pair to @cursive, pay the S&H, and collate the data. Report back to us when you are done.
iamaproudamerican
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Headphones.com sends out headphones to their community as well as other reviewers on their own dime all the time so I'm sure they would have no problem paying shipping to have it go to Resolve.
For a prominent member of a forum that's all about science, you sure push back a lot against things that would produce scientific results.
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