[Novice2020]

Guys sorry for asking it again, what is good/best 4.4 balanced cable for sundara with fast shipping?

 

[Tripokaridos]

Just listen Sundara with a warmer dac amp and ...now yeah they are what i want it , amazing just amazing

 

[Tripokaridos]

Sorry for the late impressions, customers bought out my first batch of sundaras before i could test them! Back in stock, better late than never. Tried out the Sundaras for an extended period today with the ifi Nano dsd Black Label, and was perhaps a little let down as I had very very high expectations for this headphone.

Very balanced tuning with an unfortunate edge towards 6k. To my surprise, side by side with the HD660S, I found myself preferring the HD660S in every scenario paired up with the ifi. HD660S also sounds decent straight through subpar devices, whereas the Sundara is very thin sounding and requires an amp.

Over all, Sennheiser sounded a tad bit more musical and less peaky, which really surprised me coming into this. The Sundara is faster in the bass, less mid bassy with slight more attack. Not as smooth.

Note the black label is forward sounding so I think the Sundara paired up with warmer electronics could be a sweet little set up. Just don’t expect these to compare to Mrspeakers Aeons guys!

True Sundara need a lot of power for not sounding thin. I also have that ifi black and Sundara maybe sound loud but not thick i can hear it when bass hit. Fiii k5 pro makes Sundara sound better for me.
At the end of the day after alot of headphones for me HD660s are the best for the vocals the smoothness the imaging and warm tight character and they also are fast... Next to them i will also put Sundara because the sound is also amazing way more clear but not fatigue also very fast and way bigger soundstage and air between the instruments something that is perfecr for movies and some types of music .
I like both of them i can give away all the others but no way those 2 they are different and beautiful at the same time.

 

[Tripokaridos]

I have to report that Hifiman has amazing support. I had a small problem and they reply to me very fast very kind and with the will to solve it.
Truth is that all these years i didnt have the same support from other companies.
So about Hifiman Support from me its a big YES they are good, and honestly because of that now its clear to me that i can trust them and buy another headphone to.
Thanks Hifiman.

 

[fljoe]

Just got the Hifiman Sundara after reading about it on what a great value it is. I have a SMSL M500 DAC/AMP combo that I mainly use to listen to Tidal MQA tracks. The Sundara is slightly hard to drive from the M500, so I connected my JDS Labs Atom amp and that drives the Sundara in high gain mode perfectly for me. I do listen to my music loud and volume knob cranked to 2'oclock position gives me the loudness I desire with adequate bass. Reading through the threads, I do see that people recommending EQuing for more bass. What software Equalizer do people mostly use here? My audio chain is Dell XPS Windows10 laptop -> SMSL M500 -> JDS Labs Atom -> Hifiman Sundara

 

[Hirdy]

Sorry to ask this again (it was asked many pages ago but no answer was supplied) but how does the Sundara go with the iBasso DX160? I have a balanced cable for my Classic 99 that will plug into the Sundara (if I need it) but I'd still like a real-world opinion for both SE and balanced.

Cheers,
Graeme

 

[descloud]

The Sundara is slightly hard to drive from the M500, so I connected my JDS Labs Atom amp and that drives the Sundara in high gain mode perfectly for me. I do listen to my music loud and volume knob cranked to 2'oclock position gives me the loudness I desire with adequate bass

A bit surprising since the M500 seems to have adequate watts overhead to get you to very loud volumes. If you were really looking for mainly the bass region to reach a certain level with the Sundara and increasing the volume gets you there, maybe the Sundara does not have the quantity of bass you're looking for with its stock tuning so you might need to use EQ instead.

I do see that people recommending EQuing for more bass. What software Equalizer do people mostly use here?

Equalizer APO + Peace GUI is the common parametric EQ used for Windows.

I'd still like a real-world opinion for both SE and balanced

Assuming both SE and balanced have equal distortion peaking numbers, the most you'd get is an increased volume overhead when using balanced.

 

[Tripokaridos]

Wouldn't expect a $499 headphone to compare to a $799 headphone .Obviously. You seem to like the HD-660s. Tyll in his review trashed them and stated ' replacing the HD-650 with the HD-660s is a disaster'. That's his exact quote .He also states that they are 'screechy' and they have poor resolution . And you think the HD-660s is better than Sundara? Ok.

That was something i read also Tyll review was a disaster and the worst i have seen. Dont know why he do it and what was the purpose of this bad review.
Anyways every other reviewer like them (me also that i have all 6 series)and now after time everyone knows that Sundara and HD660s are amazing headphones.

 

[Tripokaridos]

Well I had both Aeons and Sundara and I much more prefer the musicality of Sundara to Aeon (closed).

How do these compared about warmness on midrange soundstage and fastness ? I.never heard Aeons closed or not.

 

[jasswolf]

I've heard of people driving the Sundara with a smartphone, so not sure how any amp worth its salt would struggle...

 

[genck]

I've heard of people driving the Sundara with a smartphone, so not sure how any amp worth its salt would struggle...

driving off a cliff no doubt

 

[Tripokaridos]

I've heard of people driving the Sundara with a smartphone, so not sure how any amp worth its salt would struggle...

Not true... I have LG v30 with sabre and with high gain mod the sound is loud but thin.
In my opinion Sundara can sound loud but thin on none powerful dacs amps.
For example ifi zen sound thin v30 also dragonfly also etch etch ... Ifi micro ,nano and K5 pro sound amazing both with body and when low end hits its there . Ifi has more soundstage better imaging more exciting and k5pro sounds thick and dull but i can surely say that they can drive them.
I have say it before that side by side the Sundara need way more power compare to HD650 or HD660 . For example hd660 and 650 on sabre LG v30 no high gain mod need it because it unlocks the high gain it sound great and full sundara dont.
I dont have other planars to make a test... But i will in some days on 400i 2020.

 

[bagwell359]

For example hd660 and 650 on sabre LG v30 no high gain mod need it because it unlocks the high gain it sound great and full sundara dont.
I dont have other planars to make a test... But i will in some days on 400i 2020.

There are several ways to make the v30 think it's in high gain mod. Check google.

I have a v40 and I was shocked that anyone thinks the chip sounds good direct. Yucko. Great as a streamer however

 

[Tripokaridos]

There are several ways to make the v30 think it's in high gain mod. Check google.

I have a v40 and I was shocked that anyone thinks the chip sounds good direct. Yucko. Great as a streamer however

Thats what i said it doesnt need the mod...for hd 6 series and it does need mod for Sundara and there is only 1 way without mess up with software... So again with mod high gain its Not enough for Sundara... The same with V40 .

 

[Miataudio]

Hey all, what pads do you guys run? The glue on my stock pads is just completely falling apart, which is the second time a pair of hifiman pads have done this to me. Curiously, the rest of the pads are in perfect condition, so I'm almost considering just using hot glue to put them back together. Any suggestions/recommendations welcome.

Thanks