Performance

HiFiMAN's ANANDA is the ordinary cabled version of the ANANDA-BT we reviewed a while ago, and that is where the ordinary stops. The ANANDA shares the driver and design with the BT version. The design is similar to what you get on the Edition X and Arya headphones. HiFiMAN uses the NsD driver in the ANANDA, and with the cabled version, you get to hook them up to your favorite source, where the BT version is locked to its internal DAC/amp.

Omitting the Bluetooth portion has made it both lighter on the head and the wallet. At $699, it is $300 less than the BT version. If you plan on just using it at your desk, the non-BT variant is a welcome addition. The $300 goes a long way in terms of source and amplifier—our go-to DAC/amp, the O2+SDAC, can usually be had brand new including shipping for under $250 depending on the specification.

We tested the headphone on our O2+SDAC with the upgraded power supply, which has more than enough power. With a sensitivity of 100+ dB/mW, these headphones can be really loud out of just about any source out there, but the sound quality might not be all that great. The ANANDA is a very revealing headphone, which means a good source is needed for them to really shine.

Tuning-wise, the ANANDA is like the Edition X V2—the bass is plentiful and has great extension. At the top-end, the ANANDA is very well behaved and sounds like a HE-1000 V2 with dialed down treble. This is great as the HE-1000 V2 is a bit bright. Imaging is a little better than what you get on the ANANDA-BT and only a bit behind the HE-1000 V2. Overall, the ANANDA is a pretty good replacement for the Edition X in the HiFiMAN line-up. It is less expensive and has all the qualities that made me fall for the Edition X. Compared to the Sennheiser HD800S, the treble is dominant, and the imaging is a bit more left/right. As expected, the bass of the ANANDA is more controlled and revealing.

In terms of tuning, the HiFiMAN went with what we heard in the Edition X V2, which means you get a high end that is almost perfectly dialed in. The upper midrange is near perfect and much more pleasant to listen to than on the Sennheiser HD800S. Treble performance is great—it is very detailed and not boosted compared to the rest. Overall, the ANANDA is very balanced-sounding out of the box.


The ANANDA has enough bass for most people, but bass heads might want to consider boosting the lows via an equalizer. The good news is that the ANANDA is very easy to equalize because of its close to flat frequency response. A simple low-end shelving filter can satisfy just about the most die-hard bass heads out there. There is more than enough headroom at normal and slightly elevated listening levels to add a significant amount of bass.

Going back and forth between the ANANDA and the BT version reveals that HiFiMAN has been very good at dialing in their DAC/amp in the BT version. The major difference coming from the O2+SDAC to the integrated one in the BT version is the noise floor, which is significantly worse. It seems like the BT version is also slightly less composed in the high-end, which might be a combination of different noise types.

If you like to listen really loud, the O2+SDAC is also better, but the BT version goes well above the maximum you should be listening at already.