[Chodi]

I read that the Sundara clamps a little too much. Grados are so light and they don't put any pressure on your head. If you can find a solution for the itchy pads, Grado headphones are among the most comfortable headphones you can buy.




This Grado thread has almost 2800 pages and seldom (if at all) do you see a complaint about QC issues (no dead drivers, no channel imbalances). Yeah, you do see many complaints about comfort, but there are ways to get rid of the itchy pads problem.

I've gone through most of the Sundara thread and in almost every other page there is a report about driver failure (or chanel imbalance) or pads falling apart. Hifiman is famous for their bad QC, there is no denying that fact.

I'm willing to take a chance though. I plan to buy them from Amazon...and I'll keep my fingers crossed, hoping that there are no problems after 30 days. I believe the Sundara makes a good second can, but I would never recommend it as someone's one and only headphone.

The latest revision does not have those problems

 

[ruhenheiM]

The latest revision does not have those problems

as always. there's gotta be some revisions on hifiman headphones, i'm hoping their latest flagship doesn't need beta tester

 

[Shane D]

what differences of sound between the sundara and the degree you have?

They are completely different sound signatures. I would call the Sundara closer to the Elex and the Grado's more of their own kind of sound. If you like having different sounds and enjoy change it is a nice combo.

 

[elvergun]

The latest revision does not have those problems

The latest revision do have a lot less problems, true. You still see people reporting issues...and the Hifiman rep making appearances often instructing those people to contact them via email so the issue can be resolved.

 

[Shane D]

I read that the Sundara clamps a little too much. Grados are so light and they don't put any pressure on your head. If you can find a solution for the itchy pads, Grado headphones are among the most comfortable headphones you can buy.




This Grado thread has almost 2800 pages and seldom (if at all) do you see a complaint about QC issues (no dead drivers, no channel imbalances). Yeah, you do see many complaints about comfort, but there are ways to get rid of the itchy pads problem.

I've gone through most of the Sundara thread and in almost every other page there is a report about driver failure (or chanel imbalance) or pads falling apart. Hifiman is famous for their bad QC, there is no denying that fact.

I'm willing to take a chance though. I plan to buy them from Amazon...and I'll keep my fingers crossed, hoping that there are no problems after 30 days. I believe the Sundara makes a good second can, but I would never recommend it as someone's one and only headphone.

I find Grado's VERY uncomfortable with the L-cush pads. It actually hurts my right ear. That may be related to the fact I wear glasses. I tried knock off G-cush pads and the comfort was better, but I didn't like the sound. Finally I dropped the big money (to me), on the Beautiful Audio pads and life has been good ever since.

I hear you on the constant whining on that thread. Now go back through and look at it again, but this time note how many actual people had a problem. And then note how many posts start with "I read...", "I heard...", "A buddy/trusted source said..."

I would bet their success rate is well above 95%, which is pretty good for a smallish company.

Personally I have experienced no problems in my current and previous ownership. Now I must run and knock on some wood.

 

[elvergun]

I find Grado's VERY uncomfortable with the L-cush pads. It actually hurts my right ear. That may be related to the fact I wear glasses. I tried knock off G-cush pads and the comfort was better, but I didn't like the sound. Finally I dropped the big money (to me), on the Beautiful Audio pads and life has been good ever since.

I hear you on the constant whining on that thread. Now go back through and look at it again, but this time note how many actual people had a problem. And then note how many posts start with "I read...", "I heard...", "A buddy/trusted source said..."

I would bet their success rate is well above 95%, which is pretty good for a smallish company.

Personally I have experienced no problems in my current and previous ownership. Now I must run and knock on some wood.

What thread are you talking about? I have never posted on the Sundara thread. I have, however, read through most of that thread...and yeah, I read and I heard. I'm not making that up. And I stated that what I've reported in this thread about the Sundara is based on things I read (and not first hand experience).

And as far as buddy/trusted sources...well, that is why I contact you and Chodi via PM to get your take on the Sundara...and why I'm still interested in buying one.

I didn't tell cirodts to stay away from the Sundara, I told him to be aware of possible issues. Those issues exists and they are real.

EDIT:

I hear you on the constant whining on that thread. Now go back through and look at it again, but this time note how many actual people had a problem. And then note how many posts start with "I read...", "I heard...", "A buddy/trusted source said..."

I read this again and I misunderstood what you were trying to say. Apologies.

Yeah, some do say "I heard"...but others write stuff like, "I opened the box and the left driver started to cut off and now it is dead".

There are less reports of dead drivers lately, sure.

 

[cirodts]

it's true I had a sundara with 2 problems, right driver less sound pressure than the other and a wire on the left came off, I don't remember the sound that I try to compare it to the rs2e.

 

[Shane D]

What thread are you talking about? I have never posted on the Sundara thread. I have, however, read through most of that thread...and yeah, I read and I heard. I'm not making that up. And I stated that what I've reported in this thread about the Sundara is based on things I read (and not first hand experience).

And as far as buddy/trusted sources...well, that is why I contact you and Chodi via PM to get your take on the Sundara...and why I'm still interested in buying one.

I didn't tell cirodts to stay away from the Sundara, I told him to be aware of possible issues. Those issues exists and they are real.

EDIT:


I read this again and I misunderstood what you were trying to say.

Yeah, some do say "I heard"...but other write stuff like, "I opened the box and the left driver started to cut off and now it is dead".

There are less reports of dead drivers lately, sure.

Problems do happen, but the Hifiman gear is not failing at an alarming pace. They likely can't match Sennheiser or Beyer for uniformity, but it's not real bad, IMO.

Didn't mean to cause dissension, but I wouldn't want people to miss out on a great value 'phone (Sundara's) because of, IMO, overblown quality problems.

 

[elvergun]

Problems do happen, but the Hifiman gear is not failing at an alarming pace. They likely can't match Sennheiser or Beyer for uniformity, but it's not real bad, IMO.

They are not failing at an alarming rate now, which is why I'm still interested in picking one up ( and then running off to knock on some wood ).

The only reason I have not done so yet is that I'm reading up on the Deva. I might be giving up on some SQ with this one, but I will gain bluetooth functionality. Do I need bluetooth functionality though????

 

[ruhenheiM]

Problems do happen, but the Hifiman gear is not failing at an alarming pace. They likely can't match Sennheiser or Beyer for uniformity, but it's not real bad, IMO.

Didn't mean to cause dissension, but I wouldn't want people to miss out on a great value 'phone (Sundara's) because of, IMO, overblown quality problems.

the problem with hifiman headphones, this isn't the first time. this things already happened since they released the first jade headphone( their fist stats headphone ). and then back when they released hifiman he5le ( their fist ortho, the one with wood cup) in 2008/2009/2010, i forgot how long that was. and if you keep following their released headphones on each time, there was always problems with the driver failures, let alone how many revisions they done to each models. the last time i followed their news was when their released hifiman he1000mk2 and edition x mk2. so maybe things already start improving now, who knows. there was always some cautious when you buying hifiman headphones, that's why it's kinda hard to recommend their headphones to others but if people don't mind, go ahead. personally i don't want to take that chance, i have more confidence buying vintage headphones than hifiman headphones, i have few headphones older than myself, and they all still works fine, no problem, the only problem i had was with pioneer se700, faulty cables, that's all

grado also not great with their quality control, there always some inconsistency with their assembly from time to time and people complained about it, which is still fair arguments, grado was never a gold standard for quality control, i think everyone old enough in the hobby knew that already but then again, i rarely know about their headphones having driver failures, the last time i read was with the original gs1000, other than that, hardly read one

 

[cirodts]

Aside from reliability issues, I wanted to know if it has a more fun and lively sound than rs2e or sundara.

 

[elira]

This Grado thread has almost 2800 pages and seldom (if at all) do you see a complaint about QC issues (no dead drivers, no channel imbalances). Yeah, you do see many complaints about comfort, but there are ways to get rid of the itchy pads problem.

To be fair I had a couple of issues with my PS2000e, they were broken out of the box, the round thing that holds the cup was separated from the stick thing that goes to the headband. They got replaced by B&H, took like a month. Then the 1/4 inch connector failed in the first couple months (lost one channel), I just fixed it by replacing the connector with a 4 pin XLR. But no issues with all the other Grados I have had.

 

[bbophead]

I've been enjoying my new HEMP. Nice looking tho' the pads are uncomfortable (no news there). I'll sub some flats or G-cush soon. Sound? You know, I don't hear very well anymore, but, I would be hard pressed to describe the differences with my SR-60e and SR-325i. I'd like to hear from other owners. What do y'all think? Also, the packaging was flimsy, no more pizza boxes I guess. At least Grado included a T-shirt that helped the FedEx packing but the box was still not in great shape.

 

[gregorya]

Try anything that will keep the scratchy pad from touching your ears

You could always grow your hair.... works for me!..

 

[elvergun]

You could always grow your hair.... works for me!..

Ha...the natural method.