HIFIMAN Ananda Nano Headphones – Refinement Of The Planar Art

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano Headphones – Refinement Of The Planar Art

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano is a $599 USD pair of over-the-ear Planar Magnetic Headphones with the new Nano diaphragm, which is a direct update from the Ananda Stealth that we reviewed before, and which should be a huge sonic upgrade from it. We will be comparing it with other high-end headphones, including OLLO S5X, iBasso SR3, Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire, and Sendy Audio Apollo. 

 

Introduction

HIFIMAN is likely the most popular name in the audiophile headphone industry nowadays thanks to the way they managed to design and create something for everyone, from super high performance headphones, such as Sundara, which most readers have heard at least once, all the way to the flagships like Svanar, or Susvara. They also are the makers of the wireless bluetooth earphones that I am using right now for gym, namely the Svanar Wireless. HIFIMAN provides excellent service and support for their products, and you can safely order from their website and shop, but their products are also available on Amazon, which should be comfortable for most readers to use. 

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with HIFIMAN, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. I’d like to thank HIFIMAN for providing the sample for this review. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it. The purpose of this review is to help those interested in the HIFIMAN Ananda Nano Planar Magnetic Headphones find their next music companion. 

 

Product Link

You can grab one from www.amazon.com here: https://amzn.to/3QvZOJN

If you’re in the UK, you can grab one from www.amazon.co.uk here: https://amzn.to/45gfWTO

And if you’re from Europe, you can grab one from www.amazon.de here: https://amzn.to/45ivpmp

 

Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano is the newest Ananada series of headphones that has a physical difference from the rest, as this time around HIFIMAN introduced a new headband support mechanism, which although looks very similar to the one found on Sundara, it has a different way of applying force and supporting the headphone, and the cable is also vastly improved over what we’ve seen before from HIFIMAN. 

First off, this one looks really neat, it is similar to HE1000 V2 in design, and has a really nice comfort, as the earpads are ultra large, and designed to fit the ear and the head ergonomically. We have a new driver design too, this time the driver diaphragm being nanometers in thickness, and based on the famous Susvara design. This means that in theory it has a much lower distortion, higher transient response, better details and dynamics. 

The planar magnetic design is really different from traditional dynamic drivers, and where we have the magnets on one side, and the ear on the other side, with dynamic designs, we have two huge magnets on each side of the diaphragm with planar magnetic designs. It is named planar because the magnets are aligned in the same plane as the diaphragm, and this will result in a much larger moving surface for the driver. The voice coil, or the conductor layer that moves the driver is also aligned with the diaphragm in the same plane, and this means that the force that moves the driver is aligned with uniformity, increasing the surface where the force is distributed heavily. This results in a much lower phase distortion, improved spatial information, and better instrument separation than most dynamic drivers. 

We also still have the improvements we’ve seen from Ananda Stealth, which had the stealth magnets, that are acoustically stealthy. This means that the magnets do not reflect sonic waves, and instead allow them to pass through freely, which heavily reduces distortion, improves perceived detail and improves the sound all around. I noted in my review of the Ananda Stealth that those perform really well, but the design also results in a heavily increased transparency of the headphone acoustically, so there is zero passive noise isolation, and the sound leaks freely around you. 

Ananda Nano is basically Ananda Stealth Nano and HIFIMAN made sure that it is easily drivable from most sources, giving it a low impedance and a somewhat high / natural SPL for the design, as we have 14 OHMs of impedance, and a SPL or Sensitivity of 94 dB. I think that it is somewhat hard to drive, and it pushes FiiO K9 PRO to about half volume on high gain to sound natural, and to 3/4 of the total volume to get reasonably loud. Most portable dongles like iBasso DC04 PRO will drive Ananda Nano perfectly, and they will sound really nice out of it, but ddHIFI TC35C does not work so well, as the sound cannot get loud enough for my preferences with it. 

The whole design is made to make the earcups as acoustically transparent as possible, even those window shade grilles that protect the driver. The ear cups are asymmetrical and follow the natural shape of the human ear. The headband is also designed with a different design than the original Ananda and even than the Ananda Stealth, as now it seems much tighter and offers a much stronger support for the weight of the headphones. Ananda Nano is not very light, and clocking in at 419 grams, I am willing to say that it feels lighter and more secure on my head than most headphones out there. The clamping force is high, and they really stick to my head. I would say that the new design is far more comfortable on my head for long wearing periods and although at first it feels like the contact with my head is stronger, it feels much much better after a longer wear period. 

We have detachable 3.5mm cables that feed a stereo signal into Ananda Nano, and the cable seems to be feeding the stereo signal in each cup, as there is no notation on the cable which is the right and which is the left one. The cable connects to the headphones with the most universal standard out there, a 3.5mm 3-pole jack. The cable is quite long, about 3 meters in length, and very flexible, being a huge upgrade over older HIFIMAN designs. The plug of the cable is L angled and it works super nicely for my setup, making the whole Ananda Nano a huge upgrade over all the previous Ananda headphones and my current favorite lower priced HIFIMAN Headphone. I would classify it as a high-end headphone though, thanks to the super tech inside, and the technical prowess of HIFIMAN when making those with no errors. 

 

Sound Quality

I had a few weeks to spend with Ananda Nano and they’ve been some of the best sounding weeks I’ve had in a long while, so I also had the time to pair them with a good number of sources, including HIFIMAN’s own EF400 DAC AMP, but also FiiO K9 PRO, iBasso DX320 MAX TI, Astell & Kern ACRO CA1000T, Palab M1 Mini, Aune S9C PRO and Hiby R6 III. Although the somewhat low SPL of 94 dB makes it feel hard to drive, I had excellent experience with affordable sources too, and you only need a JDS Labs Atom Hevi AMP to have an excellent experience, and you could do really well with a high quality portable DAC AMP like Shanling UA5 too, so no need to panic. If there’s anything I would add to Ananda Nano is a balanced cable to use all the power available with all the sources out there. Overall, my favorite sources with Ananda Nano have been HIFIMAN’s own EF400 and FiiO K9 PRO, both of which provide a really wide and powerful sound with it. 

The overall signature of Ananda Nano has much less to do with the original Ananda that I formally reviewed before, and is much closer to Edition XS and HIFIMAN HE1000 V2, as the new Ananda Nano is quite neutral – natural, it has superb, full bass, but stays within neutral territory, it has outstanding resolution and detailed, a very textured sound that gives richness to guitars, violins and a really delightful presentation to both male and female voices, along with outstanding spaciousness and a surprising instrument separation. All in all, as long as you enjoy a mostly neutral signature, it is a dream come true. It is basically the most detailed and cleanest sounding analytical headphone you can grab right now for under 1000 USD, and it has a little bit of Susvara, the master headphone that I heard at High-end Munich. 

Starting with the bass, we have a really pleasing presentation that gives just the right amount of kick and punch to rock, metal, and even pop and EDM, but is not a basshead presentation, rather being natural with the bass. The bass will rattle your head, if the song is really heavy, but one word that would describe Ananda Nano well is transparency, it will show exactly how much is in the song and how much the song intends you to hear that bass. With death metal, it has so much attack and impact that the premier drum sounds like it is attacking you and gives you so much emotion, it is incredible. The trick here is that with most dynamic headphones, you get a good impact in the sub lows and the treble, with a bright treble, but Ananda Nano provides a full range of dynamic and impact, the bass touches those juicy 20 Hz but does not linger there more than the song is meant for it to play there, and instead provides a level of transparency, where slow music sounds slow, like Jill Tracy, and extremely fast and aggressive music like Queen Kona or Lorna Shore sounds lightning fast and aggressive. Ananda Nano has a sound that favors music with huge dynamic range, and Jazz, Cabaret or Rock will present a more detailed bass than music that’s super compressed, like Death Metal, where everything will come at you all at once, as the mastering of Death Metal usually sounds like. Hadbass music can resound all inside your throat if you listen loud, and you feel and hear every single reverberation and micro texture of the bass in trancecore too. 

Checking out the midrange, we hear what could only be described by insane speed and transparency, bands that incorporate multiple layers of instruments sounding better than ever, and music that has pianos having a crystalline and gentle presentation of that piano, all while guitars and screams can play right beside, and everything happens in a huge space, all around the listener. I love the feeling of soundstage and when it is done well, with good instrument separation, the wider the better would be the way I approach soundstage, and Ananda Nano has a soundstage that is unbelievably wide and well extended. The original Ananda was great too, but the new Ananda Nano has the stage wider than even Arya Stealth with certain music, especially Cabaret. To be honest, I spend most of my time listening to new and commercial music though, so it is incredibly pleasing to hear a really smooth, emotional voice for female voices, and a deep, strong and punchy voice for male voices in rock and metal. Even for pop, and for artists like Kesha or Lady Gaga, their voices are incredibly pleasing and smooth. Ananda Nano has one of the richest presentations I’ve heard so far for guitars, and it has some of that organic magic that I really love and appreciate about Sennheiser HD660 S2, which has just this kind of sound too, very detailed and rich, very saturated and full. If you like guitars with a lot of texture and life in them, if you want a super vivid sound, then Ananda Nano will bring your wildest dreams to life for sure. Both acoustic guitars, and violins have the kind of texture, warmth and presentation that makes them sound natural and realistic. 

The treble of the Ananda Nano continues the tradition we’ve seen so far for its signature, which is a neutral – natural presentation, and while I can’t confirm with my ears whether they extend as high as HIFIMAN Quotes, I can say for sure that they extend up to 20 kHz, and they sound super airy, open and bright in the treble. We have a vivid and vibrant treble with lots of energy and life, but shockingly it is not harsh or metallic sounding. I actually used some of the most aggressive music I know of to test Ananda Nano for sibilance and harshness, even bands like Queen Koina and their new song Showdown Kings, or Infant Annihilator, and Ananda Nano always stays in line of presenting music as it is, it is really transparent and clean. I would call this signature super crisp, pleasing to the ear, yet very much bright and alive. It sounds like a live concert, but more open and detailed with lower distortion than what I’ve heard to date in any live concert. Ananda Nano makes most J-Rock and J-pop incredibly pleasing, by presenting all the sharp and bright symbols and effects typically associated with those styles, but making the female voices smooth, full and playful, and the bassline deep and punchy. The detail level is in a whole new level compared to what else I’ve been hearing around the 599 USD price point, and HIFIMAN brought more detail to Ananda Nano than I ever expected a headphone to have in a reasonable way. If you often find yourself struggling to understand the lyrics of songs, Ananda Nano has the kind of presentation that will bring forward the voices in just the right way to make them easily audible and easily understandable. 

 

Comparisons 

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano vs iBasso SR3 (599 USD vs 599 USD) – Starting with the driving power needed to drive both, Ananda Nano is much easier to drive, while SR3 needs quite a bit more power to be driven well. The design makes both comfortable, but SR3 has a looser fit that you feel much less while you’re wearing it, Ananda Nano sitting tighter on your head with more clamping force. This also means that Ananda Nano will stay more secure depending on what you’re doing, SR3 being easier to lose if you’re walking or moving around a lot. The sound is really different, with SR3 being a much gentler, softer sounding headphone that is also natural. By comparison, Ananda Nano sounds considerably more transparent, more detailed, brighter, more open and more resolute. It is clear that Ananda Nano has more impact and sounds more vivid and more dynamic, while SR3 is more relaxed and quiet in general. They are so different, that you either want to feel like a live concert on steroids like Ananda Nano, or you want an easy and low key relaxing night with SR3. 

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano vs Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire (599 USD vs 899 USD) – We have a higher price point of Aeon 2 Noire, but it makes a good competitor for Ananda Nano because both are well regarded, and both go for a really vivid sound, so starting with the comfort, both are comfortable headphones, but I find Aeon 2 Noire to be more smaller in size, to have smaller earpads, and Ananda Nano to be tighter and to have larger earpads, but with more clamping force. Both are well made, but the Aeon 2 Noire is harder to drive than Ananda Nano. The sound is quite different, and since Ananda Nano goes for Neutral – Natural, it brings voices and midrange instruments more forward, and makes everything easier to enjoy and listen to, it gives music more glow, more presence, and more detail, all while making it bright, open and airy. Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire makes music thicker, deeper, but also brings the midrange farther away from you, still bringing quite a bit of treble to music. It is easier to understand lyrics and micro details become much easier to notice with Ananda Nano, and it sounds wider and more expanded, although both have outstanding instrument separation. Aeon 2 Noire keeps the sound more similar to other headphones, it sounds more traditional, while Ananda N can sound considerably more analytical and highlight information in the mids with ease. 

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano vs Sendy Audio Apollo (599 USD vs 500 USD) – Starting with the comfort, we have really comfortable headphones from both companies, but Apollo is lighter, and has softer earpads, while Nano has tighter ear pads, with more clamping force, a tighter fit, but larger earpads. Both feel really well made, both are somewhat easy to drive, and both sound good with a large number of sources. The signature is actually a bit different, and although Apollo also goes for sounding somewhat neutral, Ananda Nano is much more revealing, brighter and more open in the sound, with better instrument separation, more dynamics, better impact, and overall it sounds more vivid and more transparent. The soundstage of Ananda Nano is much wider, with better instrument separation and layering, while Apollo is more intimate, and has a more gentle and softer sound. I think that Apollo is more relaxing, while Ananda Nano is more forward, more active, and more punchy. 

HIFIMAN Ananda Nano vs OLLO S5X (599 USD vs 489 USD) – We have two really nice headphones here, and while both go for being comfortable, Nano has much larger earpads, but harder earpads too, with a tighter fit and more clamping force. They are equally hard to drive, but Ananda Nano sounds better with a higher number of sources, while OLLO S5X really needs a brighter, more airy sounding source to sound its best. The overall tuning is really different, with OLLO S5X sounding really thick, warm and smooth, and Ananda Nano sounding really airy, open and transparent, neutral and clean, detailed and crisp. You could argue that the heavier sound of OLLO S5X would be easier to enjoy for longer periods of time, but I find Ananda Nano to be enjoyable for long hours of listening just as much, especially when I want a rich midrange, and an airy sound without any harshness or fatigue. We have a much wider, more holographic soundstage with Ananda Nano, and a more intimate presentation with S5X. The maximum bass is higher on S5X, the treble is always more present and more airy for Ananda N, both make great headphones, but if precision is your main thing, Ananda Nano is more precise, while S5X is smoother, fuller and bassier. 

 

Value and Conclusion

HIFIMAN always knew how to deliver excellent performance for the price paid with their headphones, but Ananda Nano is simply insane, it beats the Ananda and Ananda Stealth, in detail, resolution, clarity and overall precision of the sound big time, and not only that, but stays in the affordable range, being less pricey than Ananda the original was at launch, all while improving on the cable it comes with, and offering a better experience than Edition XS too. This is now a favorite of mine, and I think that with HIFIMAN selling it for 599 USD, you can get to experience flagships sounds for literally the best price I’ve seen for such a revealing and detailed sounding headphone to date. 

Before the end of the review, HIFIMAN Ananda Nano has to replace the original Ananda, as well as Ananda Stealth and Edition XS, and is the most recommended affordable headphone from HIFIMAN, in the Audiophile-Heaven Hall Of Fame. It is a perfect blend of detail, impact, dynamics, and an ingenious system to support it on your head without you getting tired after a long period of listening music through them. 

At the end of the day if you’re looking for what is the most detailed affordable headphone made by HIFIMAN with superb performance to date, for a headphone that is exceptionally resolute, textured, clean, crisp and detailed, has a huge and I mean humongous soundstage, excellent instrument separation, and is drivable from your traditional entry-level source, HIFIMAN Ananda Nano is how you beat the heat of the summer with a thousand reasons to stay indoors and enjoy your favorite tracks forever. 

 

Product Link

You can grab one from www.amazon.com here: https://amzn.to/3QvZOJN

If you’re in the UK, you can grab one from www.amazon.co.uk here: https://amzn.to/45gfWTO

And if you’re from Europe, you can grab one from www.amazon.de here: https://amzn.to/45ivpmp

 

Technical Specifications

Frequency Response – 5Hz – 55KHz

Sensitivity – 94 dB 

Impedance – 14 Ω

Weight – 419 gr

 

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Full Playlist used for this review

We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature.  I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5

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