ANANDA NANO

I have Senn Momentum 4’s which are great wireless, but I just got the Hifiman Ananda Nano’s and they are fantastic. They are open back, so better for listening in a quieter setting. My headphone testing tune is the Opening jam —> China—> Mind left body jam —> Rider on Dick’s Picks 12 (Providence Civic Center 6/26/74 and Boston Garden 6/28/74 . It’s my absolute favorite China Riders partially because it is so crystal clear. The soundstage on the Ananda nano’s is outstanding— you can hear the position of the band on stage, and the clarity is amazing. It’s alot of headphone for 319 right now on Amazon. They are a few years old, but they were 800 or so when they were initially released. They are my end game over the ears (at least for now). I specifically looked for headphones that had the most soundstage because I listen to so much Dead. My listening set up is: ALAC or FLAC from iPhone/iPad/MacBook Pro— Qudelix 5k DAC— Douk audio preamp— Douk audio headphone amp — Ananada’s.

This is a very interesting list. I wonder if some of this has to do with the purpose in which they listen? The susvara is constantly rated high, but I would put that close to the bottom of my list. It just sounded way too dry. The best hifiman I've heard was the nano and arya unveiled.

At that price you can get the Ananda nano from hifiman and you are rolling, they are some of my favorite headphones.

Yeah. Yesterday I listened to my brand new Hifiman Ananda Nano, and my goodness it's a monster when it comes to anything metal related, and it's also good for the rest of my music. The soundstage, bass, and detail is incredible. I just wish the earpads were better shaped, and softer.

I've always listened to my music in other ways, and my headphones were more for on the go, so BT and noise cancelling. My car and home audio setups have always been where I invested. Recently, my old Sony WH1000MX2 headphones I used for gaming fell and broke. So I invested in some Hifiman Ananda Nano's and a Fiio K13 R2R and have been attached to my desk every night for the last week.

If you're gonna EQ, kiwi ears altruva. Better soundstage than the 490s, better bass and sub with eq, about equal on the mids and highs, and a fraction of the price. I have the 490s. What they do well is comfort and build quality, but coming from DT880s, the soundstage was seriously lacking. While I haven't tried the edition XV I have heard good things on sound and comfort. I do have some ananda nanos which blow the 490s out the water in terms of sound. But they're not very comfortable, I can get a few hours out of them before I have to take them off.

What you experience with the Arya stealth is normal as you are not giving them enough power for properly controlled bass and staging. Ananda is easier to drive. 

With these planars power is not just a matter of getting them loud enough.  I can power my Arya Stealth off a weak dongle and blow my ear drums, but it will not sound great. Or pair it with sufficient power and it will be clean and fast.  Ananda Nano is great though and gives you a little more bass unless you’re willing to eq. 

I think Ananda has a tuning that is punchier overall. But with eq it is easy to throw an insane bass shelf on these Hifimans and spice up the bass to taste.