TL; DR: I tried out three of the headphones mentioned. They are all decent but Hifiman’s Ananda Nano is the clear winner for technical retrieval, value, bass and overall sound for multiple music genres. I also have tried MANY sets of headphones/IEMs (listed below). The write up is simply my initial impressions.
Ok, so I’m going to start this by saying, “I know everyone will have a different listening experience, and we all hear a slight bit differently”, but OMGosh! Comparing these three headphones with a variety of music genres left me in shock!
Initial Impressions:
*Not burned in yet and using stock cables with all.
First off, I don’t think they are all trash. In fact I think it’s more a preference on what you like. I chose these three because I was trying to stay in a specific price point for headphones, as I tend to put my cash in high end IEMs (more on that in the “My background section”. That’s not to say that I haven’t experienced $1K plus headphones, I have. But here’s the thing about these three. They are VASTLY different. I read through the reviews here, on headphones dot com, Amazon, and headfi dot org. What I’ve found over the years is that in the end, YOU must listen and test on your own.
So I tend to buy from Amazon because I can do this and return what I don’t like, or I use headphones dot com, bloom audio dot com or similar places to find the things Amazon doesn’t have.
So I purchased these three and here are my thoughts:
Ananda Nano:
- The detail retrieval is good for this price point. Like WAY better than I expected
- Bass: Surprisingly on point. Not too punchy, but deep enough and appropriate for the songs you are listening to, which is ideal in my humble opinion.
- Build Quality: For the most part ok, I did get a scratch on it from somewhere which is weird, but overall the cups are comfortable, although I read that the clamp force was an issue for some. I have an average sized head.
- Overall: This is my number one pick between the three it has the best of all worlds for a broad variety of music genres. Even though it has a twinge of brightness on some tracks.
Edition XS:
- Detail Retrieval: Not that good. Not terrible, but compared to the Ananda, it’s basically non existent.
- Bass: Good but a little muddy imho. Overall it’s better than most and appropriate for the music genre, albeit a bit “muddy” to my ears.
- Build Quality: Same as Ananda Nano except the cable provided is shorter than the Ananda Nano. There’s quite a bit more “plastic” versus the metal.
- Overall: Not bad, not great but it’s a good entry point into Hifiman if money is tight. If you can afford a little extra, I’d go with the Ananda Nano. You won’t be disappointed. If you want to compare them, buy from Amazon, try them and return the ones you don’t like.
Sennheiser 660S2:
- Detail Retrieval: Good, but it seemed a bit subdued and quiet. Sennheiser’s are usually quite good at this in my experience (IEMs and Headphones).
- Bass: Better than the other 6 series, but it’s not great. And I’m talking about with multiple genres. You know its there a bit more than other 6 series versions, but for the money, there are MANY options that blow it away. Comparing it to the Hifiman headphones above, there’s no comparison here. Hifiman hands down with the clear, punchy, and throaty but not muddy sub bass. (Note: if you’re a bass head, none of these will scratch that itch per se, so go consumer grade imho.)
- Build Quality: I absolutely love the Sennheiser build quality. It’s elegant, luxurious, and overall great. The box and presentation, not so much but who cares about that. The headphones are top notch.
- Overall: These are music genre specific in my humble opinion. As you’ll see below, I listen to quite a variety of music so I needed something that can handle that. I don’t see, these doing that. Maybe Classical and Rock would be good on those…maybe.
My Background Prior Listening Experience:
So here’s a bit about my setup, prior headphones I’ve listened to, set ups and such. I’m by no means an expert, but I’m simply sharing my opinions/thoughts in hopes of helping others make a decision that will suit them best.
Current Set Up:
- IEM: Astell & Kern X Empire Ears Odyssey
- Headphones: Hifiman Ananda Nano
- Astell & Kern SP3000
Past Set Ups/Headphones:
- Sennheiser HD 800
- Sennheiser HD 558
- Sennheiser HD 650
- Sennheiser HD 660S2
- Sennheiser IE 900 & 600
- Hifiman Arya and Arya V2
- Hifiman HE 1000 V21
- Apple Airpods, Pro, Max
- Bose Quiet Comfort
- Sony (many variations)
- Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies
- HIFIMAN EF2A Tube USB Amp/DAC
- There are others I’m not remembering most likely haha. It’s been a long journey of fun!
Music Genres:
- Hip Hop
- R&B
- Country
- Smooth/Classical Jazz
- Down Tempo
- Classical/Baroque (Only when learning or studying)
***I hope this helps someone in their decision making process for these headphones. :)***
So for me, I was chasing what’s better. The order I listed the set ups in wasn’t linear. I kept going up. I was looking for something that was an all around amazing experience. I like to feel my music. This will sound maybe weird, but I generally know I like a headphone/IEM if I start dancing, singing and “feeling” the music. I also didn’t keep all of them, because I’m sort of that guy, who doesn’t like to have a lot of stuff hanging around. I understand that there are headphones that are great for certain genres, I didn’t want to switch to another pair if I wanted to listen to classical vs. hip hop or something like that.
The experience of them all was great! would I buy them again, absolutely. I simply prefer the set up I have now as it meets my “all around needs” and minimalism.
Now onto your question about the Odysseys.
I didn’t list the couple of IEMs I started with The Moondrop Katos, then the Blessing 2s. They were great, but I wanted “more”. I did a TON of reading and watching reviews on the odysseys, and I found someone who sold them to me for a great price. I have no regrets. They are quite literally the best imho. I haven’t even changed my stock cable, but pairing it with my SP3000, listening to music is literally a studio/in person concert experience. They are worth the price of admission to me. I’ve listened to every genre of music I could find in my playlists with them, rap, hip hop, country, jazz, smooth jazz, classical, downtempo, soundtracks, rock, smooth rock, hard rock, punk and on and on and it sounds incredible to my ears. If I had to say one thing I don’t like, for my ears, they will start to come out on my left ear after long listening sessions. It’s probably me though, but I love them and they look cool as heck too!