[Jman841]

Mine do seem to have improved considerably since I purchased them. The first few days the "distortion" in vocals was very noticeable and threw me off as I never heard it in my last pair. This current pair seems to be better now but is still present sometimes. I wonder if a bit of "burn in" is helping?

I'm confused as to what would cause this only in the vocal region.

 

[jasswolf]

Where do you find the QC date? Mine was purchased directly from Hifiman's US Website and shipped from the US on November 27

Should be on the original box it was shipped in (that had the product box inside).

Mine do seem to have improved considerably since I purchased them. The first few days the "distortion" in vocals was very noticeable and threw me off as I never heard it in my last pair. This current pair seems to be better now but is still present sometimes. I wonder if a bit of "burn in" is helping?

I'm confused as to what would cause this only in the vocal region.

Did some google-fu before after noticing my hands being 7-10 cm (3-4 inches) away from the grille on either side was cleaning things up a bit, and apparently skin is fairly absorbent for 1-6 kHz, so there's perhaps something in the driver that's seeing it act up there.

That would be impacting sibilants, consonants, and breath noises. There's some other stuff at play though, so I think it's just a slightly cooked driver that plays up more with complex and sibilant tracks.

 

[Jman841]

Should be on the original box it was shipped in (that had the product box inside).


Did some google-fu before after noticing my hands being 7-10 cm (3-4 inches) away from the grille on either side was cleaning things up a bit, and apparently skin is fairly absorbent for 1-6 kHz, so there's perhaps something in the driver that's seeing it act up there.

That would be impacting sibilants, consonants, and breath noises. There's some other stuff at play though, so I think it's just a slightly cooked driver that plays up more with complex and sibilant tracks.

Is it possible it has gone away with burn-in time? I'm def hearing it much less now. I wonder if I just let them burn in longer if it will be totally resolved.

 

[jsmiller58]

The stock 2020 pads. Tuning with those is excellent, I rarely find pad changes actually help a well tuned headphone like the Sundara.

Does anyone know where the stock 2020 pads are for sale? I have a Sundara from 2018 and wouldn’t mind trying out the change.

 

[cycloverid]

Does anyone know where the stock 2020 pads are for sale? I have a Sundara from 2018 and wouldn’t mind trying out the change.

The PaliPad on their store and Amazon should all be the new revision.

 

[jsmiller58]

The PaliPad on their store and Amazon should all be the new revision.

Awesome! I like how my Sundara sound, curious to see if there is anything to the sound change observations that are (at least by some) attributed to the new pads. Thank you!

 

[Jman841]

I purchased from HIFIMAN's Amazon Australia Marketplace presence, so I'm covered by this and it seems that's through a local replacement, possibly an advanced replacement.

My order was sent directly from China though, with a QC date of the 25th of November, was yours from a similar batch?

Did Hifiman get back to you? What did they say?

 

[cycloverid]

Awesome! I like how my Sundara sound, t curious to see if there is anything to the sound change observations that are (at least by some) attributed to the new pads. Thank you!

As far as I'm aware, there were two changes: the pads and a new dust cover. Both might affect the FR a bit?


@Jman841 @jasswolf This seems like a weird issue. I recieved mine Oct 26, so maybe mine don't have this problem? I don't hear any distortion atleast. I was assuming Hifiman QC was getting better...

 

[jasswolf]

Did Hifiman get back to you? What did they say?

Like I've said twice earlier, they offered a replacement pair. They'll have more details for me on Monday my time.

Is it possible it has gone away with burn-in time? I'm def hearing it much less now. I wonder if I just let them burn in longer if it will be totally resolved.

I'm hearing some subtle differences, but given the impact on resolution that distorted tracks are still having, I'm inclined to think that's my ears become less sensitive to the hotter parts of the FR curve. Cupping my hands either side at a distance from the back of the enclosure still cleans up the sound.

Lou Reed - Perfect Day, in the chorus, you'll hear distortion from the reverb effect on the vocals and piano, but on my Sundaras it doubles as a jagged edge to both.

As far as I'm aware, there were two changes: the pads and a new dust cover. Both might affect the FR a bit?


@Jman841 @jasswolf This seems like a weird issue. I recieved mine Oct 26, so maybe mine don't have this problem? I don't hear any distortion atleast. I was assuming Hifiman QC was getting better...

This is subtle and raises its head in complex tracks, but I am surprised that an automated tool didn't pick it up, because it should be measurable in FR testing.

Safe to say ours are a totally different batch of production than yours, but I'm unsure how far apart mine are from JMan.

 

[Jman841]

Like I've said twice earlier, they offered a replacement pair. They'll have more details for me on Monday my time.


I'm hearing some subtle differences, but given the impact on resolution that distorted tracks are still having, I'm inclined to think that's my ears become less sensitive to the hotter parts of the FR curve. Cupping my hands either side at a distance from the back of the enclosure still cleans up the sound.

Lou Reed - Perfect Day, in the chorus, you'll hear distortion from the reverb effect on the vocals and piano, but on my Sundaras it doubles as a jagged edge to both.


This is subtle and raises its head in complex tracks, but I am surprised that an automated tool didn't pick it up, because it should be measurable in FR testing.

Safe to say ours are a totally different batch of production than yours, but I'm unsure how far apart mine are from JMan.

I'll reach out to them tomorrow and see what they say as well, the first pair I had was incredible except for the driver issue that developed at low frequencies. It was extremely audible to the ear with a sine sweep though.

 

[ParaLoganGrado]

So I ordered a pair of these direct from the website Friday the 4th. They created the label and were picked up the following Monday. Arrived at an NY distribution center Wednesday the 3rd and haven't made any progress Damn you USPS!

I can't wait to compare these to my daily drivers Grado GH2 and Audeze LCD2-Closed. I'm hoping these find the sweet spot between the extremely musical and fun open-back dynamic Grados and the super analytical, speedy LCD2-CB. If I had to pick a negative for each one it would be the somewhat loose (but decently extended) bass on the Grado, and for the LCD2-CB it would be the somewhat shouty midrange and a tiny bit of closed back reflections. However I find myself reaching for the GH2 probably 3-4 out of 5 times because they're so balanced and musical with so many genres (and are much lighter than the 650+ gram LCD2-CB). When it comes to deep bass electronica or string quartets, the Audeze are chillingly good. Here's to hoping the Sundara can bridge the gap, or at least bring something new and fun to the table!

I've got an Asgard 2 that will push the Audeze to about 80-90% hearing loss, where at 70-ish ohms it's only putting out about 700mW. With the 32 ohm impedane of the Sundaras, they should be getting the full 1 watt per channel. Maybe I'm just posting here to get excited again because the USPS is bogged down with holiday deliveries, or to justify my bourbon induced impulse purchase that fateful Friday. But for $350 I feel I can't go wrong and am really looking forward to these. Worst case, I get a pair with channel imbalance or a dying driver and send back for warrany replacement. Barring that, it might push me to finally buy that Schiit Loki I've been eyeing but not purchasing because the silver won't match my black Asgard 2

 

[Jman841]

I'm going to go through the process of getting them swapped out, again. The strange distortion/crackling sound in the upper mids/lower treble is still there and is driving me crazy now, I keep hearing it and never heard this on my previous pair.

 

[jasswolf]

My replacement pair are being sent from the factory in China, brand new. Will receive them early next week and report back!

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

So weird seeing these posts. I must have tried on the first 15 different Sundaras, owned them thrice, and never ever bumped into any issues.

 

[MMeirolas]

i hear you mate..

just ordered my first sundaras based on the excellent reviews, and now i see this...
well, at least i have a 3-year warranty