[soal]

Sundara or HE-560 - that is the question!

 

[480126]

Wearing the Sundara's right now. Build quality on the Sundara's brings a tear to my eye after recently buying the 400i for my wife and being a little shocked that they were once sold for about $450. I own original HE-400 and would have felt ripped off if I paid $450 for the "i" variant. I can see those plastic yoke joints just snapping some day down the road. Sundara is mostly metal BUT lightweight at the same time. Kind of an industrial build but it works. Something to note is there is NO horizontal swivel on the cup yoke. Fits my head fine but it is something to note and I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.

I'm not going to explain the sound because I'm not so good at the terminology. But they do sound very good for the price point. Maybe not so detailed as mentioned before (in the grand scheme of all headphones), but that's fine, considering the price range.

I'm happy with my purchase. I have several higher end headphones (TH900, HD800s, D7200) but these definitely have a place to be listened to casually alongside my HD650s.

I'll wait for someone to chime in about the sound.

If anyone want's my opinion on what they are VS any of the above headphones, let me know and I'll do my best.

Would be on a Dell USB>Yggdrasil>Loki>Lyr2. Also have a Valhalla2 downstairs.

sad Tears or lucky tears? Is it right that the Sundara a good Investment. I have sadly sold my HE-560 and buy a iem, but I´m not happy about the tips in my ears! Sorry for my bad english

 

[glowedroid]

Does it flex forward or back at all?

Not really. The yokes are very stiff metal.

Can someone comment on a sound comparison between the Sundara and the original HE 400 (not! the 400i or 400s)?

I can when I get home tonight.

sad Tears or lucky tears? Is it right that the Sundara a good Investment. I have sadly sold my HE-560 and buy a iem, but I´m not happy about the tips in my ears! Sorry for my bad english

Good Tears. The build quality is much better than the 400i

 

[Trunks159]

HE560 and Sundara came in. Initial impressions (no burn-in at ALL)

HE400i > HE560>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sundara

 

[Venture Guy]

HE560 and Sundara came in. Initial impressions (no burn-in at ALL)

HE400i > HE560>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sundara

So, they are worse than HE560?

 

[Trunks159]

So, they are worse than HE560?

Well right now they definitely are. Only time will tell which is better in the end.

This is with Magni 2 and Modi 2 by the way.

HE560's bass is amazing...

 

[kid vic]

HE560 and Sundara came in. Initial impressions (no burn-in at ALL)

HE400i > HE560>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sundara

Well right now they definitely are. Only time will tell which is better in the end.

This is with Magni 2 and Modi 2 by the way.

HE560's bass is amazing...

Odd that you put the HE400i above the HE560, any comments as to why?

 

[Trunks159]

Odd that you put the HE400i above the HE560, any comments as to why?

Burn-in.
I've used the HE560 for like an hour, while I've used my HE400i for 200<.

HE560 though has better bass presence and soundstage at the moment. Sundara has the largest of the 3. These are dumb little first impressions of Planars so take them with a grain of salt.

EDIT:
Sundara's treble right now is terrible. Like, disturbingly terrible...

EDIT 2:
I'm convinced i got a defective unit. Left driver is the source of this horrendous treble.

 

[Tacanacy]

Wearing the Sundara's right now. Build quality on the Sundara's brings a tear to my eye after recently buying the 400i for my wife and being a little shocked that they were once sold for about $450. I own original HE-400 and would have felt ripped off if I paid $450 for the "i" variant. I can see those plastic yoke joints just snapping some day down the road. Sundara is mostly metal BUT lightweight at the same time. Kind of an industrial build but it works. Something to note is there is NO horizontal swivel on the cup yoke. Fits my head fine but it is something to note and I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.

I'm not going to explain the sound because I'm not so good at the terminology. But they do sound very good for the price point. Maybe not so detailed as mentioned before (in the grand scheme of all headphones), but that's fine, considering the price range.

I'm happy with my purchase. I have several higher end headphones (TH900, HD800s, D7200) but these definitely have a place to be listened to casually alongside my HD650s.

I'll wait for someone to chime in about the sound.

If anyone want's my opinion on what they are VS any of the above headphones, let me know and I'll do my best.

Would be on a Dell USB>Yggdrasil>Loki>Lyr2. Also have a Valhalla2 downstairs.

Whaaat...? How can someone who has several headphones worth thousand dollars and sources worth several hundred to several thousand dollars not be able to describe a single thing about the sound?

 

[glowedroid]

Whaaat...? How can someone who has several headphones worth thousand dollars and sources worth several hundred to several thousand dollars not be able to describe a single thing about the sound?

Well, I don't mean that I can't HEAR vast differences across all of these headphones, I'm just not good at the terminology. I could probably describe how they sound, of course, but it won't be in fancy terms haha.

I can of course give it a shot! I didn't get a change to sit down and do an A-B comparison with the HE-400 someone asked for yet.

 

[BuddhaBruce]

HE560 and Sundara came in. Initial impressions (no burn-in at ALL)

HE400i > HE560>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sundara

You're saying you like the 400i over the 560?!

 

[xSociety]

You're saying you like the 400i over the 560?!

Yeah, I find that hard to trust.

 

[glowedroid]

Can someone comment on a sound comparison between the Sundara and the original HE 400 (not! the 400i or 400s)?

OK, I just listened to several tracks listening back to back with my Sundara and my Original HE-400. Keep in mind 400 has hundreds of listening hours on them, and the Sundaras are new. LOKI was being bypassed, so no EQing done.

Compared to the HE-400, the Sundara has less massive bass, but sounds more "mature" in comparison. HE-400 definitely is the more "fun" sounding headphone. HE-400 sounds wider and less "right next to my ears".

That's not to say the Sundara has no bass, but it is definitely more controlled and accurate than the HE-400.

Mids seem a bit better on the Sundara probably because it wasn't being dominated by bass.

I could probably listen to the Sundara for much longer periods because it is more controlled than the HE-400.

HE-400 was slightly louder than Sundara at same position on volume pot.

I'd say Sundara is closer to what the artist probably intended, but the HE-400 is still sticking around on my shelf when I want a certain sound.

The Sundara should not replace your HE-400. It sounds "different" not "better".

 

[Trunks159]

You're saying you like the 400i over the 560?!

Out of the box, at the moment, no physical/mental burn-in, I'd say yeah. Got so used to the 400i's sound sig that the HE560 will take adjusting to.
Not saying 400i is better...

560 has a larger soundstage, and more bass.

 

[glowedroid]

Sundara sounds pretty close my wife's 400i. Bigger bass on the Sundara though. 400i sounds a little weak in comparison. Not as massive a difference as Original 400 vs Sundara, but there is a difference. It's too hard to pick out the differences switching back and forth between the two.

I'd say the better build quality on the Sundara vs the 400i gives it major points though. Maybe not a $280 difference in points though...

If I had to choose between the Sundara and 400i, I personally like the Sundara a little bit more. 400i may be a really solid "good enough" for someone who might not want to put down an extra $280.