Hifiman Ananda First Edition Box

 

This is the First Edition of the Hifiman Ananda Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones, they come in a beautiful case with 2 sets of cables one smaller cable ending in 3.5mm SE angled connector for portable use and one larger cable ending in a 6.35mm SE for home use.

 

The RRP upon release was 699€ (2019) now you can find them on the used market for 50%-60% less and for that kind of money they are absolutely a bargain. There are already 2 successors to the this model the V2 Stealth Version and lastly the Nano Edition.

 

I have been using these headphones for quite some time now and i’m still very happy with the performance, the built is very good and they are also quite comfortable. The pads are the stock ones and they did not degrade notably over time, they still feel and look very good. This headphone is very easy to drive, it can be used directly on IOS/Android Device or PC but to get to its full potential i recommend using an external DAC/AMP.

 

I mainly listened to those Headphones using my desktop rig the Questyle CMA-400i DAC/AMP and MS Surface Pro with Qobuz/Roon software, i feel that the CMA-400i drove them to their best using the BAL XLR Port. The cables provided with the Ananda are single ended only as mentioned above so to be able to use those headphones with a balanced amplifier you need to invest in an adequate cable.

 

Pro’s and Con’s:

I would say that the Ananda’s are great for neutral sound, they are well-balanced and cater to all genres of music, with a good amount of bass and an accurate representation of the instruments and vocals in the mid-range. They have an excellent soundstage that will feel large and open. They're comfortable enough to wear for hours but they are not the best in that category. On the other side due to their bulky earpads they could not fit well to people with smaller heads also the isolation to the outside is very poor. Nowadays there is also strong competition out there (also in-house) like the Edition XS and also the latest release the Ananda Nano which outperforms the v1 in almost every category.

 

Final Word:

I think that if you can get the Ananda on the used market for half of the RRP or less in good condition it would still be a great choice.

 

Used listening components:

Questyle CMA-400i

Questyle M15

Ifi Zen Dac / Zen Can Signature Edition

Xduoo MT604

Fiio BTR-7

Cayin Ru-6

Topping M50

Fiio M11 Pro DAP

 

 

Hart Modular Audio Cables & Stock Cables