what headphones do you own thread - i own dt150's :)
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Man of Honour
Ok so not had a chance to listen to the Ananda Nano yet only unbox, the cup housing is plastic except for the outer grille which is metal, the Sundara as such feels superior as all metal.
Listening soon.
Edit* listening session done. The size of these cups
It's like taping some panel speakers to your face lol.
Plastic jack connection on Sundara vs metal on the Nano:
There's also a cool effect as the grilles play with the light on the Nano:
I'm returning the Sundara.
Listening soon.
Edit* listening session done. The size of these cups
It's like taping some panel speakers to your face lol.
Plastic jack connection on Sundara vs metal on the Nano:
There's also a cool effect as the grilles play with the light on the Nano:
I'm returning the Sundara.
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Soldato
Wanted a dabble into IEM to see if much difference and if all the hype was worth while went with the Moondrop Aria SE and they aren't for me, treble was that harsh at points it was hurting my ears to listen too. Was nice having them on and no weight at all feeling compared to my usual HD660s that I use as daily driver.
Back they go, seen the DT770 have a new ltd edition out might give those ago as I had the original DT770 for 6 years.
Back they go, seen the DT770 have a new ltd edition out might give those ago as I had the original DT770 for 6 years.
Man of Honour
I read those reviews and watched a few too but I can only relay what I am hearing. They are less bright than the Sundara, the Sundara I found were bright but on some tracks, compared to the Nano, and when listened to back to back playing the same song, can sound quite harsh. Take for example Madonna's Lucky Star, there's a brightness on the high vocal ranges that I think sound harsher on the Sundara vs on the Nano which places them with a texture and forward placement that just seems more natural, as if I'm listening to her performance live back in the day.
The best way I can describe it is that there's an authentic-ness to the Nano that is missing on the Sundara for a wider range of music that I've heard so far. The Sundara does some great things though but there is no denying that the Nano is in the flagship class for planars, if the size of the drivers were not a giveaway lol. They share the same tech as the Arya Organic which is a £1200 model and most owners seem to be saying they find the Nano delivers 90-95% of the Arya Organic sound for a significantly lower price.
And the stereo imaging is a step above the Sundara too.
Gotta say I love how they look, just hate how the plastic cups feel after the metal Sundara
I think the other way to describe them is what this reviewer says "I don't find them bright or edgy...":
He mentions that since the drivers are so tall, you get some interesting sound verticality that you don't get on smaller drivers like basically everything else that isn't of this size, and thinking about it I can't recall anything short of STAX electrostatic headphones being this massive? They look ridiculous for sure, but man they sound immense.
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You need one of these https://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_adi_2_dac_fs.htm
Always happy to help you spend money
Always happy to help you spend money
Man of Honour
It has a graphic EQ?!?!
These songs I've listened to just now and man they have s much energy on the Nano that was missing with the Sundara and HD650, yes the treble is more emphasised, but not in a disturbing way:
And for soundstage and imagine I found this was really good track:
And this:
Edit* And this
These songs I've listened to just now and man they have s much energy on the Nano that was missing with the Sundara and HD650, yes the treble is more emphasised, but not in a disturbing way:
And for soundstage and imagine I found this was really good track:
And this:
Edit* And this
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Man of Honour
You know what, I'm actually considering that now hah. I haven't checked the dimensions yet but whether I go for it or not boils down to its desktop depth. Can the rear balanced outputs be used to power speakers with an adapter? If I can use that one box to replace both my speaker amp (MX3s) and headphones amp then that secures the deal even moreso.
Alternatively I am also considering the Arya Organic now, same price as that amp and for all intents and purposes, end game headphones.... This realisation came about this morning whilst I dunked biscuits in tea and suddenly it occurred to me I have a bunch of stuff I've been sent to keep that I can sell anyway that would easily cover the purchase of either the amp or Arya Organic. Was the Sundara and Nano a waste of time? Certainly not, gave me great experience in hearing what they are like, but I do like the idea of that amp given its potential and with that EQ potential.
Alternatively I am also considering the Arya Organic now, same price as that amp and for all intents and purposes, end game headphones.... This realisation came about this morning whilst I dunked biscuits in tea and suddenly it occurred to me I have a bunch of stuff I've been sent to keep that I can sell anyway that would easily cover the purchase of either the amp or Arya Organic. Was the Sundara and Nano a waste of time? Certainly not, gave me great experience in hearing what they are like, but I do like the idea of that amp given its potential and with that EQ potential.
Man of Honour
I did some further digging and came to the same findings yep. I am actually happy with the default output of the Nano and don't feel the need for any EQing yet, if that changes I can always give Peace+APO a try and just drop a few dB in gain at 8KHz which sweeps down the high peak slightly - Unless there is a better way of doing it in Peace?
the K7 seem extremely powerful to power the Nano so I think I will just be sensible now and keep that going. I also have to do no real manual toggling in Windows as I found, turn off the MX and turn on the K7 and Windows just outputs to the K7, switch that around to go back to the MX3s since I don't need both on at the same time. Simple and effective, and it turns out Peace/APO can be told to only EQ to a certain output, so I can just apply it to the K7 and not the MX3s, which is great.
the K7 seem extremely powerful to power the Nano so I think I will just be sensible now and keep that going. I also have to do no real manual toggling in Windows as I found, turn off the MX and turn on the K7 and Windows just outputs to the K7, switch that around to go back to the MX3s since I don't need both on at the same time. Simple and effective, and it turns out Peace/APO can be told to only EQ to a certain output, so I can just apply it to the K7 and not the MX3s, which is great.
Man of Honour
That openheart cable someone mentioned from ali express arrived today, bit too late mind since I've now gone fully into the Hifiman ecosystem 
The cable is fantastic quality, solid metal terminations too and the braiding and pliability is very nice. I think I will keep it stored away if I ever go back to Sennheiser and they keep the same connector, if not then maybe sell on.
Can't complain for £20 shipped really.
The cable is fantastic quality, solid metal terminations too and the braiding and pliability is very nice. I think I will keep it stored away if I ever go back to Sennheiser and they keep the same connector, if not then maybe sell on.
Can't complain for £20 shipped really.
Man of Honour
It's the whole AKG and Fidelio years all over again, headphone after headphone after NAD amp after NAD amp etc lol.
I am at least content now though.
Edit*
HD650 now sold, got £165+ postage for it, not bad considering I bought them for £220 back in 2014
Adios for now, Sennheiser... maybe be back if they ever release a metal build HD6?? series....
Edit 2*
Have the 660S2 arriving this evening
Want to see what the differences are in person against the Ananda Nano asI can't help but feel curious about them and the new bass extension range. Reviews and graphs only tell one story, I need to hear them for myself. Once again, will keep whichever I like the most now that I've got accustomed to the HiFiMAN sound
I am at least content now though.
Edit*
HD650 now sold, got £165+ postage for it, not bad considering I bought them for £220 back in 2014
Adios for now, Sennheiser... maybe be back if they ever release a metal build HD6?? series....
Edit 2*
Have the 660S2 arriving this evening
Want to see what the differences are in person against the Ananda Nano asI can't help but feel curious about them and the new bass extension range. Reviews and graphs only tell one story, I need to hear them for myself. Once again, will keep whichever I like the most now that I've got accustomed to the HiFiMAN sound
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Man of Honour
Well the 660S2 is an interesting switch from the HD650. More technical detail, soundstage/imagine is definitely greater, even if subtle in some tracks or more obvious in others.
Since when did Sennheiser bundle in a 4.4mm balanced cable too in the box?!! Both cables in the box were also 1.8m long which was a surprise as reviews slated the super long cable in typical Sennheiser fashion?
The "Sennheiser veil" is immediately obviously swapping between Ananda Nano and 660S2, though the high range peak harshness in some tracks is well under control on the 660S2 vs the Nano which is a typical HiFiMAN trait as I've now learned.
The cups and headband are more comfortable on the 660S2 (as are all HD6 series) for long session listening. It could still be that my Nano headband and pads have not broken in yet and softened so still waiting for that.
660S2 has much better sub bass than the HD650 too, impressively technical in detail and articulation. But pausing a track and flicking over to the Nano you are immediately enveloped by soundstage and imaging that Sennheiser can't do. So it's a toss up between that textured midrange but put up with the veil, or have the high range brightness of HifiMAN. Even the Susvara/Arya Organics still have the brightness so it's not like the £1200 models solve that. I did try Peace/APO to drop the 7800Hz and 12000Hz by about 2dB but felt that this changed the musical dynamics. Instead I've discovered that simply lowering the volume slightly seems to help tone down any overly bright tracks. So instead of listening really loud, just lower it a bit and enjoy the imaging/soundstage.
I think the 660S2 will be going back for a refund, just wanted to hear them directly back to back with the nano and see how they compared, plus give me an idea of what they are like vs the HD650 too. I would say if you have the HD600 or 650 then the only reason to get the 660S2 is if you must have the added sub bass as this is something the HD650 can't match even with the mass loader bass mod.
The Nano has an eerie ability to combine imaging, soundstage and sub bass in such a way that the experience in my head is on another level, just tone the volume down a bit on harsher tracks that fall into that 7800/1200 peak brightness and all's good. I never imagined that bass like this could be heard and felt in headphones lol. The HD6 series just feels too narrow for soundstage after listening to the Nano, had I not gone through this journey then the HD6 soundstage and imaging would have remained excellent because it is, but the Nano is just on another planet.
Interestingly through the Fiio K7 at the same volume dial on the amp, both Nano and 660S2 have the same (or very similar) loudness. That's 14 ohms vs 300oms spec difference between them, madness.
I do love the all matte finish on the 660S2 though, shame Senn do not give a box or case any more, just some cheap-ass cardboard box and some cheap-ass "pouch". At least they give a balanced cable now and don't give you a 10 mile long secondary cable.
I will say this, the Sennheiser plastic is superior to whatever cheap-ass feeling plastic HiFiMAN are using. I have no idea why they didn't use all metal considering they did just that with the Sundara... It boggles my mind as to why the Nano isn't all metal too.
Edit* Listen to this playlist on headphones, 3D audio at its finest.
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Associate
The more I listen to EDM on the IER Z1R the more I love them, but for everything else the OG Solaris still do great.
Headphones I have tried and sold and do not recommend, using a headamp GSX-Mini
LCD-X - Absolute garbage.. the bass boom makes your ears vibrate and does not really do subsonic bass well - the vocals are nice but avoid this one like the plague
HD 650 - for some reason I just dislike this a lot compared to the HD600 OG Ireland made one
I am fairly neutral about the OG HD800, in my old age I can't hear the "S" Issue - at 40 can't hear above 16khz anyway :'(
Headphones I have tried and sold and do not recommend, using a headamp GSX-Mini
LCD-X - Absolute garbage.. the bass boom makes your ears vibrate and does not really do subsonic bass well - the vocals are nice but avoid this one like the plague
HD 650 - for some reason I just dislike this a lot compared to the HD600 OG Ireland made one
I am fairly neutral about the OG HD800, in my old age I can't hear the "S" Issue - at 40 can't hear above 16khz anyway :'(
Soldato
Ive always loved my DT 990s Pro, but they are old and need replacing, also have AKG K712s which are great but the headband has become loose even after trying to fix it. So im now using a pair of Phillips Fidelio X2HR which are decent enough i guess and the build quality is superb
Man of Honour
I've now returned the Fiio K7
Not because of any issue, it's actually fantastic, but because I've actually given the MX3s a proper run with the Ananda Nano and discovered that the volume with high gain for the HP output is 14dB of gain with still a very low noise floor (inaudble at any volume) - It's only at 75% dial volume that the MX3s reaches limit trying to drive the 14 ohm Nanos - And at 52% volume they are too loud on high gain anyway.
I also discovered that as I always found the MX3s to be a smooth/warmer sounding amp just like my old NADs (which is why I felt it was a viable upgrade from the NAD amps and with more features for a lot less £££), that the Ananda Nano benefited as it subtly tones down the brightness on those tracks where the brighter planar high frequencies might be an annoyance.
To that end, by chance I've discovered that I didn't need a headphones amp all this time and the tiny little MX3s had what I needed all along
I have a Linsoul 3.5mm cable for the Nano coming today to complete the setup and will return the 4.4mm one too.
So all in all, this whole saga has cost me trialling 3 different headphones, a headphones amp, only to then return all but the Ananda Nano lol.
Not because of any issue, it's actually fantastic, but because I've actually given the MX3s a proper run with the Ananda Nano and discovered that the volume with high gain for the HP output is 14dB of gain with still a very low noise floor (inaudble at any volume) - It's only at 75% dial volume that the MX3s reaches limit trying to drive the 14 ohm Nanos - And at 52% volume they are too loud on high gain anyway.
I also discovered that as I always found the MX3s to be a smooth/warmer sounding amp just like my old NADs (which is why I felt it was a viable upgrade from the NAD amps and with more features for a lot less £££), that the Ananda Nano benefited as it subtly tones down the brightness on those tracks where the brighter planar high frequencies might be an annoyance.
To that end, by chance I've discovered that I didn't need a headphones amp all this time and the tiny little MX3s had what I needed all along
I have a Linsoul 3.5mm cable for the Nano coming today to complete the setup and will return the 4.4mm one too.
So all in all, this whole saga has cost me trialling 3 different headphones, a headphones amp, only to then return all but the Ananda Nano lol.
Associate
Just curious @BananaDunka, when you're doing your comparison listening tests, do you use music only or do you check out games and/or movies too? Does performance in gaming matter to you that much when settling on a pair of 'phones?