I've sold my hifiman nano. My he6se through the ttoby is something else
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I'm a fan of the Sundara's and Electrostatics like L300/L500mkii/Jade II - so that's my taste in headphones and these are similar to the electrostatics if not better due to the ability to get louder and have more bass. (I mostly use headphones for mixing music type things)
I've owned the L500 mk 2 and it's in a completely different league. Sorry meant the L700 mk 2Could you compare the Nano to the L500 MKII? I'm especially interested if the L500 is well above it in speed and how the spatial presentation compares. Oh, and also that 'ethereal' quality that Estats are known for.
That’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing. If you ever find a sound profile from the same source but for both devices, I’d really love to know your opinion when the frequency response is out of the equation.I'm starting to work through a comparison of the Nanos with the HE100SE. I had compared them briefly at CanJam NYC and at that time with the same source, amp, cables, everything the same, the HE100SE blew me away with how much more expansive and epic the sound stage was. To the point that even though they are ridiculously more expensive, The set a hook in me and wouldn't let go. Then a week later, HiFiMan listed some refurbs on the sight for $1700 so I bought them. I also got talked into carrying home the demo VMV D2R and VMV P2 DAC and amp that the SMSL booth had discounted so they didn't have to drag them home to China.
Now that I have both headphones home and can hear them without the noisy room, and with the immensely powerful amp, I would say the Nanos are really good. I had also compared them carefully to the Meze 109 (the Nanos are more transparent and revealing, the Meze are more sonically comfortable and romantic) and the Audeze M500 (both have a nice transparent sound as much as I could tell but their music file was lacking). I noticed that the Nano can really sound better on a powerful amp. ifi had their flagship $3500 amp which takes an accurate grip of the Nanos and makes them sound their best. Which is maybe what I am hearing at home now with the VMV stack. The HE1000SE no longer has a night and day advantage over the Nanos that I heard at the show through the HiFiMan amp. Or maybe the refurb HE100SE that I have is somehow a little tired already.
The HE still presents with a wider stage, both are fairly deep and high. The Nanos don't have quite as natural a timbre and don't flesh out the instruments quite as well. They are well placed and black in between but smaller in their image size within the stage. And somewhat less real sounding, having less body. The Nanos have a slight rise in the upper midrange which gives a slight coloration that the HEs don't have. But for 1/4 the price are very good. I would think that at the new price of $500, their is nothing that comes close at twice the price. I would easily choose the Nanos over the Arya Organics which were more neutral but smaller and more condensed in a tighter stage.
I'm going to spend some more time going back and forth with my slightly thinner and more crystalline Burson electronics to get a better idea but in this VMV system the Nano and The HE1000 SE are closer than i would have thought.
I generally quit using the Math EQ plugin and just go with ASIO output which Foobar and Qobuz both seem to effortlessly offer as an option with every new DAC I connect Math Audio plays out through WASAPI but the level is like 12db lower even in bypass for some reason which pushes me toward having to select a higher gain in the amp. Which never sounds quite as good when you have to do that. I started going crazy with the parametric EQ with 20-30 filters so I decided to just walk away from it for now.That’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing. If you ever find a sound profile from the same source but for both devices, I’d really love to know your opinion when the frequency response is out of the equation.
whoa. That’s a big claim. Love it.. I've said it before. It's potential endgame for some. I like it over the LCD-X/M500, Focal Clear/MG, Meze 109 Pro/Empyrean and so many others costing more.
Highly agree. The Nano gives impressive price to performance. Ultimately, yes the HE1000 will be the better headphone giving more stage, clarity, detail etc but I at times prefer the slightly more intimate and in your face sound of the Nano, I also find the Nano to slam a little harder in the low end. I rate it like this. The Nano does 90% - 92% of what the Arya Organic does. And 85% - 87% of what the HE1000 can do in terms of technicalities. But with a little EQ, you can make it sound more to your liking.I'm starting to work through a comparison of the Nanos with the HE100SE. I had compared them briefly at CanJam NYC and at that time with the same source, amp, cables, everything the same, the HE100SE blew me away with how much more expansive and epic the sound stage was. To the point that even though they are ridiculously more expensive, The set a hook in me and wouldn't let go. Then a week later, HiFiMan listed some refurbs on the sight for $1700 so I bought them. I also got talked into carrying home the demo VMV D2R and VMV P2 DAC and amp that the SMSL booth had discounted so they didn't have to drag them home to China.
Now that I have both headphones home and can hear them without the noisy room, and with the immensely powerful amp, I would say the Nanos are really good. I had also compared them carefully to the Meze 109 (the Nanos are more transparent and revealing, the Meze are more sonically comfortable and romantic) and the Audeze M500 (both have a nice transparent sound as much as I could tell but their music file was lacking). I noticed that the Nano can really sound better on a powerful amp. ifi had their flagship $3500 amp which takes an accurate grip of the Nanos and makes them sound their best. Which is maybe what I am hearing at home now with the VMV stack. The HE1000SE no longer has a night and day advantage over the Nanos that I heard at the show through the HiFiMan amp. Or maybe the refurb HE100SE that I have is somehow a little tired already.
The HE still presents with a wider stage, both are fairly deep and high. The Nanos don't have quite as natural a timbre and don't flesh out the instruments quite as well. They are well placed and black in between but smaller in their image size within the stage. And somewhat less real sounding, having less body. The Nanos have a slight rise in the upper midrange which gives a slight coloration that the HEs don't have. But for 1/4 the price are very good. I would think that at the new price of $500, their is nothing that comes close at twice the price. I would easily choose the Nanos over the Arya Organics which were more neutral but smaller and more condensed in a tighter stage.
I'm going to spend some more time going back and forth with my slightly thinner and more crystalline Burson electronics to get a better idea but in this VMV system the Nano and The HE1000 SE are closer than i would have thought.
This is an interesting comparison.Highly agree. The Nano gives impressive price to performance. Ultimately, yes the HE1000 will be the better headphone giving more stage, clarity, detail etc but I at times prefer the slightly more intimate and in your face sound of the Nano, I also find the Nano to slam a little harder in the low end. I rate it like this. The Nano does 90% - 92% of what the Arya Organic does. And 85% - 87% of what the HE1000 can do in terms of technicalities. But with a little EQ, you can make it sound more to your liking.
I think a lot depends on the music genre and preferences. I also had the opportunity to compare Arya Stealth with Ananda Nano for a few weeks. I chose the Ananda Nano because of its speed, high-band detail and a soundstage that is more deep than wide. I hear rock and metal from ifi Gryphon and Sabaj Da3 DAC. The Arya Stealth found its new home with my father-in-law, who mainly listens to Jazz and orchestral music. BTW, for this type of music I would also choose Arya Stealth due to the richer sound of the midrange.Then the Aryas arrived. Well, they're on a whole different level than the other two. Soundstage, technical performance, dynamics, sound decay, the fullness and richness of the soundscape, details retrieval, transparency.