[K.J.]

Earlier today I replaced my busted Sundara pads with the Brainwavz Angled Hybrids. Getting the mounting rings in took a bit of finesse but wasn't overly hard at all.

Man they are so comfortable. The velour and memory foam are a significant upgrade over the stock Hifiman PaliPads

Having the much thicker pad definitely widens and increases the depth of the soundstage like @Atgm1 mentioned with his Aliexpress pads. It's just having that extra space between the ear and the driver. Sub-bass is slightly improved. I know this because I use James Blake's Limit To Your Love to test everything and it actually has a little but of wobble to it now.

I can't say I notice any other differences at this point, and I'm not really going to look for them. I'm really satisfied and it's time to just enjoy music again. When Hifiman sends me the next pair of replacement pads I may A/B them with the Brainwavz.

 

[Dobrescu George]

We mentioned Sundara in a little podcast we made about flagships yesterday

This is the trailer of the full podcast, which is about 1 hour long, so you know if you want to watch the full thing

You can find a link to the full thing as well in the video

 

[Dobrescu George]

Also, it is time I give my first impressions of Sundara

- First off, they are build amazingly well. Full Metallic body, leather pads with velou contact sides. Amazing overall craft from HIFIMAN
- Very very comfortable
- A bit heavy at first, but they are lightewr than most planars I tested to date
- Very beauitful design
- Good quality cables, and detachable cables
- Hard to drive. Eats power like a champ, I need to get some higher powered sources to drive them properly. They sound amazing with Brooklyn DAC+, but also work wonders with XD10 Poke from xDuoo
- Sound is extremely detailed
- Huge soundstage. Very large even for planars.
- They already had the detail for 500 USD or better, they are basically causing slaughter being priced at 350 USD...
- So much freaking space for instruments to breate
- Amazing detail and clarity, again, I am shocked at how much detail those have!
- The overall tuning is pretty colorless, pretty balanced. Midrange feels slightly more forward than I typically listen to, but it is darn enjoyable.
- Those, priced at 350 USD are absolutely a steal. I mean, man, I should have done more comparisons with LCD-2 C because I have a feeling that Sundara may do even more, and it is 1/3 of the price.
- The dynamics of Sundara are out-of-this world. Period. There is no contest, they easily outmatch Ultrasone Sig DXP in both soundstage and dynamics (which is a personal favorite of mine in the 500 USD price range, and basically my previous benchmark for whgat a 500 USD headphone should be able to do) Like, Sundara blows them out of the water on an overall sonics.
- Of course, their wonders come at a price. To get this amazing sound, I am using much more powerful DAC/AMPs than most 350 USD HEadphones require. Sundara is a real Planar, don't take that lightly, they are very power hungry. To get you an idea, I listen to them with Mtek Brooklyn DAC+ at -6dB, so almost the max that can do, and that's a 2K USD DAC/AMP. For reference, a portable like Ultrasone Sig DXP needs about -23 dB to be as loud as Sundara, so yep, Sundy is hard to drivy.
- Sundara has absolutely no isolation. None. They are the most leaky and most penetrable headphones I heard. This helps with their sound for sure, but you need to take this into account when purchasing them.
- Like, with more listening, I am enjoying them more. I can't say whether they need burn-in, I really don't know if Planar tech needs it, but man I am in love with the sound the more I listen to them
- Very versatile headphone, listening to black metal, then to EDM, then to J-Idol songs is all enjoyable.
- Really, pricing this at 350 USD should make them go out of stock quickly
- Man, voices in metal, female vocals in Jazz, voices in pop, all voices are pure love for the ears with Sundara
- Use Sundaras for Gaming, use them for music, use them for movies, it is like a very very capable and universal headphone for 350 USD. Does everything really well.
- They are so revealing and detailed, you could easily master music using them. EASILY
- HIFIMAN build quality and warranty seems to be golden nowadays

 

[chris.d.m.]

I'd be curious to know if a relative consensus could be drawn from a pad replacement for them that,
moderately increases sub bass (20-60 ish), ...Without interfering with their very nice overall detail and extension.
My guess is that everything is a tradeoff however. And a touch of eq may be the best approach.
I'm just not a fan of eq-ing HP's.

 

[jsmiller58]

I'd be curious to know if a relative consensus could be drawn from a pad replacement for them that,
moderately increases sub bass (20-60 ish), ...Without interfering with their very nice overall detail and extension.
My guess is that everything is a tradeoff however. And a touch of eq may be the best approach.
I'm just not a fan of eq-ing HP's.

I have spent several hundred dollars on replacement pads... virtually never satisfied with the SQ changes (I think the best experience I’ve had was changing the pads on my Monoprice M1060, but that was an outlier). That is just my experience, and yours may vary greatly.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

^^^^^

So your conclusion is trust the manufacturer?

 

[pjyi]

Which amps are you guys using to power these? Has anyone tried these with hybrid tube amps?

 

[Module]

Which amps are you guys using to power these?

O2 Amp. Runs perfectly.

 

[promenix]

Which amps are you guys using to power these? Has anyone tried these with hybrid tube amps?

Jotunheim

 

[drey101]

I inquired with Hifiman regarding warranty claims, as I'm purchasing from a different country, and they said warranty is still valid. They also claimed that they have solved the issues with the Sundara, which if true, is very encouraging. Attached is the email I got.



Would the FiiO Q5 on SE be enough to drive the Sundara or do I need to get a balanced cable for it as well? If so, what cable would I need to get?

 

[Wheel Hoss]

If they really have solved the QC issues than this is one of the best values in audio period at $350.

Mine keeps sounding better and better. And burn in is real—returned my first after driver stopped and started, and the new one sounded closed at first after burning in the old one.

 

[kiwivda]

Which amps are you guys using to power these? Has anyone tried these with hybrid tube amps?

Lyr3

 

[duppex]

What's the bass like with these. Thanks

 

[Atgm1]

Which amps are you guys using to power these? Has anyone tried these with hybrid tube amps?

Audinst HUD-DX1

 

[Wheel Hoss]

What's the bass like with these. Thanks

Goes low
Very fast
Great detail
Decent quantity
Smooth and musical—acoustic bass sounds incredibly lifelike