Hifiman's Newest Unveiled: Hifiman Ananda Unveiled Review

Back in 2024, Hifiman revealed their flagship Susvara Unveiled: a redesign of an already popular model that exposed the drivers on both sides. This style gained a lot of attention and praise, and so Hifiman continued to turn their famous headphones into Unveiled models. We got the HE1000 Unveiled and the Arya Unveiled, and now we're looking at the Ananda Unveiled. This is the most affordable Unveiled model to date, retailing at $549 and echoing the Ananda's similar affordability. How does this model stack up against the other Unveileds? Does it live up to the standard of the original Ananda? Our review of the Ananda Unveiled will answer these questions and more. 

The Hifiman Ananda Unveiled carries characteristics that Hifiman users will be very familiar with. The Ananda style is honored in this new rendition, with a similar ergonomic shape and suspended headband style. The Ananda Unveiled is only 60% of the thickness of the original Ananda, and the lighter weight is great for extended listening sessions. They ditch the grilles on the sides for exposed drivers. When the headphone is not in use, the black magnetic veils clip on for easy storage and dust protection. 

The build quality shows a great blend of what the Unveiled series has accomplished and the simplicity of the Ananda. The exposed drivers make the Ananda Unveiled a bit more delicate than your average headphone, but there is still a sturdiness that tells you this headphone was built to last. The earcups have a 360-degree swivel capability at the middle hinges to rest flush against your head. However, they don't have a lot of movement to lie flat on a table like the HE1000 Unveiled or Arya Unveiled does. 

Another great feature of the Hifiman Ananda Unveiled is the detachable cable. The stock cable terminates in 3.5mm with a 6.35mm adapter, but this cable is easy to swap out for your convenience. The dual 3.5mm ports make it easy to find replacement cables that integrate smoothly into your setup. The Ananda Unveiled does require a bit of power, so having a decent amplifier to use with the headphones will give you the best listening experience. 

During my own listening, I used amplifiers such as the FiiO QX13, the Chord MOJO2, and the iFi GO Link with the Ananda Unveiled. I found that the more powerful amplifiers worked best with this headphone, and that smaller, portable ones would not give the headphone enough power to get the full sound potential. 

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

The Hifiman Ananda Unveiled is an incredibly wide headphone. This is a characteristic that is consistent in the unveiled lineup, where everything gets pushed to the max in the horizontal field. Along with this wide stereo field comes a lot of vertical space that go way above your head. The depth in the sound signature is lacking, so instead of a 3D image, you get something that is more two-dimensional in width and height. You have a very frontal image that expands outwards and upwards, though it creates a wall of sound in front of you. 

The imaging on the Ananda Unveiled also is quite exceptional. Placing instruments in the stereo field is easy and opens up unique separation between instruments. There is still a nice cohesive flow to all the elements, but you still get separation between all those different textures for analytical listening. 

The signature is well balanced across the frequency range, though upon a first listen there was quite a bit of treble peakiness that was too sharp for my liking. Not a lot of headphones require a burn-in, but the Ananda Unveiled do perform better after they've been running for a bit. A couple of hours with various music tones the treble down and gives a little more warmth to the lower frequencies. This made the Ananda Unveiled a little more balanced, and the natural timbres and tones of instruments created a resolving signature. 

BASS FREQUENCIES

With a lot of open-back headphones, the bass frequencies are sometimes lost or take a major backseat in the signature. The Ananda Unveiled falls into this trap, where the bass is not the most powerful range in the signature. However, this doesn't mean that you lose it completely; instead, the bass gets a pleasant warmth and punchiness that drives tracks forward. It doesn't come to the front and take over in a track, but it does lay a nice foundation to give good balance through the whole signature.  

The bass gets a good amount of detail in the Ananda Unveiled. It doesn't lean on being washed out or muddy, thanks to the exposed driver showing off some incredibly pristine detail. Bass guitars got a noticeable treble lift, and kick drums had a tight punchiness that was great for hard rock. Sub-bass tactile drive wasn't quite there, but you still got some rumble to make those frequencies impactful. 

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange is where the Ananda Unveiled truly shines. The midrange is the most forward in this headphone's signature, showing off the impressive attention to detail and clarity amongst the different instruments. The distinct separation of the various textural elements was clear and direct in front of the already frontal sound signature. The coloration on the Ananda Unveiled is reminiscent of that of the HE1000 Unveiled, where it took a brighter tonality to all the frequencies in this range to boost the level of clarity. 

One great thing about this midrange is the analytical nature. The transparency in these frequencies shows how the Ananda Unveiled could easily become a reference headphone for some, especially given its wide soundstage and excellent imaging. The sound reproduction is natural and shows natural and honest timbres, so you know you'll get a great mix out of any genre. 

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

The Ananda Unveiled's treble response threw me off my rhythm. With the intense clarity and powerful coloration of the signature as a whole, it was easy for the treble to follow suit and create a very overwhelming and sharp top end. When I was first listening, the treble jumped out immediately, and I had to fight through some super bright transients to hear the rest of the signature. However, this was the case only when they were listened to right out of the box. After some time with a decent amplifier, the Ananda Unveiled had a bit of time to warm up and burn in, so you could hear the rest of what it had to offer. 

After some burn-in time, the Ananda Unveiled's treble balanced out with the bass to create a well-rounded signature. The range doesn't take on the same recessed quality as the bass, but instead travels upwards in the signature to create a very airy top end. You have a lot of coloration and detail from the instruments, and vocals get an extra shine when they reach those higher peaks. I really enjoyed orchestral works on the Ananda Unveiled because of the imaging, and I found I enjoyed them even more once the headphones had time to burn in.