Planar magnetic headphones have this way of shifting your entire frame of reference. This particular setup — a HIFIMAN Ananda Nano paired with the EF500 DAC and headphone amp — exists for one very specific reason: late nights on the sofa, lights off, nothing else demanding your attention. Here's how it all came together, and what's actually sitting on that side table.
From HE560 to Ananda Nano
About a decade ago, the first planar headphone in this chain was the HIFIMAN HE560. That first listen — yeah, it changed things. The tone felt warm and wide open, the detail was shockingly fine, and there was this sense of space around every instrument that hadn't seemed possible before. Texture, resolution, atmosphere — it all got rewired in one session.
That moment kicked off a slower exploration through HIFIMAN's lineup: Edition X came next, then the original Ananda. It wasn't really about chasing upgrades so much as understanding how HIFIMAN thinks about planar voicing, and figuring out which one actually clicks with your ears.
The Nightly Rig: Ananda Nano + EF500
What's ended up staying is the Ananda Nano paired with the EF500, and honestly, the routine around it is just as important as the gear itself. Day winds down, sofa becomes command center, extra lights go off, headphones go on. Nothing to watch, nothing that needs answering.
That's when listening gets real — you catch the small weight sitting behind each kick drum, the tail end of a vocal line, reverb still hanging in the air after the note's already gone. Your ears get the whole space.
The footprint is tight: amp standing upright on a small round table next to the sofa, headphones resting beside it when you take them off. Everything you actually touch — gain switch, mode indicator, volume knob, headphone jack — lives right there on the front panel in one easy column.
Rear Connections on the EF500
The back side handles everything else. Balanced outputs sit at the top — left and right — then RCA outputs below that, a network port, coaxial input, USB input, and the power switch with its AC inlet. It's the kind of thing you look at once while plugging in your source, then you just forget about it.
Editor's Notes & Summary
Chasing gear for the sake of it misses the whole point. The real payoff comes when what you're hearing actually sounds good to you — and for those quiet, late-night, lights-off sessions, the Ananda Nano and EF500 are exactly where this search landed.
10 comments
Can this drive the HD600 properly?
The HE560 was a lot of people’s introduction to planars, and it still holds up today.
At this price, try the Deep Sea Submarine instead.
Driving it straight from a phone is listenable, but an amp clearly gives the sound more power.
You can ask customer service; the black Serenade I bought can drive 300Ω headphones.
Shame it clamps my head — that’s why I sold mine.
Scored a bargain.
How much is it? Just tell me so I can give up. [smirk]
Same headphones, same amp — I bought mine because they look good.
I paired my Hifiman Edition XS with a Tokyo Sound Valve X SE tube amp.