[NoMongoose]

I'm glad that you think that but since you never gave any description of the actual pads or sound I guess we will never know. I have however tried Focuspad-A which are also hybrids, made by Hifiman for the 560 that look exactly the same as the Sundara's and they changed the sound drastically so I remain skeptical until I hear from another party, feel free to actually post which pads you bought though.

I got the Dekoni Elite Hybrids, I can't tell any differences in sound from the stock pads. The Focuspad-A doesn't have a perforated inner wall so they aren't the same design.

 

[539465]

I got the Dekoni Elite Hybrids, I can't tell any differences in sound from the stock pads. The Focuspad-A doesn't have a perforated inner wall so they aren't the same design.

good ot know, also they really don't have a separate inner wall it's an extension of the velour

 

[10000days]

Ok, lately I've read so many comments on the internet where people claim the HE400i 2020 and HE4XX sounds extremely similar to Sundara, to the point that the Sundara is not even an upgrade over them. Now I'm starting to regret my decision of ordering Sundara before even getting to hear them.

Can someone reinforce the opinion that the Sundara is a better headphone soundwise? I want to sleep at night again.

PS: I've owned both HE4XX and HE400i and gave up on them in order to get the Sundara.

 

[rlanger]

Can someone reinforce the opinion that the Sundara is a better headphone soundwise? I want to sleep at night again.

Yes. Sundara is better. Go to sleep.

 

[JamminVMI]

Ok, lately I've read so many comments on the internet where people claim the HE400i 2020 and HE4XX sounds extremely similar to Sundara, to the point that the Sundara is not even an upgrade over them. Now I'm starting to regret my decision of ordering Sundara before even getting to hear them.

Can someone reinforce the opinion that the Sundara is a better headphone soundwise? I want to sleep at night again.

PS: I've owned both HE4XX and HE400i and gave up on them in order to get the Sundara.

Good gods yes. Sleep well!

 

[539465]

Ok, lately I've read so many comments on the internet where people claim the HE400i 2020 and HE4XX sounds extremely similar to Sundara, to the point that the Sundara is not even an upgrade over them. Now I'm starting to regret my decision of ordering Sundara before even getting to hear them.

Can someone reinforce the opinion that the Sundara is a better headphone soundwise? I want to sleep at night again.

PS: I've owned both HE4XX and HE400i and gave up on them in order to get the Sundara.

never heard the 400 or even 4XX but the sundara for dramas and other spoken stuff legit just sounds like ur not even wearing headphones like ur there....
You cannot really do that "better" and +/- 10 in any direction tuning wise destroys the effect..... The Sundara has a special place and honestly (this is coming from a cheapo who payed $300 for DT1990) is worth it at 500.... no idea how the Ananda and 4xx and Arya fit in but it's basically a tuning miracle at $350 so whatever is better for things like maybe resolution and detail and has that same effect is legit rolling toward endgame for a specific segment of audio ex. "This headphones is perfect for X" X being dramas, spoken stuff etc..... I still prefer my DT1990 and even modded DT990 for music tho. but yeah I doubt the 4XX or 400i sound like you are literally there bud, go to sleep and worry about monsters and burglars

 

[damintoell]

Ok, lately I've read so many comments on the internet where people claim the HE400i 2020 and HE4XX sounds extremely similar to Sundara, to the point that the Sundara is not even an upgrade over them. Now I'm starting to regret my decision of ordering Sundara before even getting to hear them.

Can someone reinforce the opinion that the Sundara is a better headphone soundwise? I want to sleep at night again.

PS: I've owned both HE4XX and HE400i and gave up on them in order to get the Sundara.

Just another vote here in favor of the Sundara from an HE-400i 2020 owner. Sleep well, preferably after drifting off to sleep while enjoying the impressively wide soundstage on the Sundara.

 

[MalinYamato]

I have listened to Sundara for a year now and I am very happy I got em. Getting Sundaras is a bargain wrt sound quality and as I heard Sundara has better-built quality than other HifiMans.

 

[Benaudio]

HE4XX as good as Sundara ?
Yeah right..,
Not even in the same league, and I had both.
they are also very different in many aspects.
whoever says that is not very discerning IMO.

 

[Dawgfish]

Ok, lately I've read so many comments on the internet where people claim the HE400i 2020 and HE4XX sounds extremely similar to Sundara, to the point that the Sundara is not even an upgrade over them. Now I'm starting to regret my decision of ordering Sundara before even getting to hear them.

Can someone reinforce the opinion that the Sundara is a better headphone soundwise? I want to sleep at night again.

PS: I've owned both HE4XX and HE400i and gave up on them in order to get the Sund

I have the HE4XXs and Sundaras and as the others have alluded the Sundara is a significant improvement to my tastes.

 

[10000days]

Awesome. Thank you all. I have to remind myself more often to steer clear from r/headphones.

 

[SilverEars]

Ok guys, looking at pics of the initial released version of Sundara and compared to the recent, I see the difference is indeed in the pads. The first released was with Focus (not sure if A or not) pads, and recent is Pali.

This has me question how much would HE560 would change with Pali pads.

 

[SilverEars]

^That rather depends on what pads he’s got fitted on his Sundara. The Oratory settings only work for the older styled pads. Implementing them on the new pads is nuts.
The purple one is the one Oratory has made some great EQ advice for...the brown is the frequency response of the ‘new’ pads:

This one is causing me some confusion.

Just out of curiosity, what is default pads? I notice the current ones look like Pali pads, and images of the early version looks to have Focus pads.

Can you link me to the article where the image was obtained?

 

[SilverEars]

I'm gonna say it. I'm quite impressed, what Hifiman has put out at this price-point. Sundara is the bench-mark at the price-point for sure!

I know he put out more cheaper options like 5XX and 400SE lately, and this one seems to be the transition point Hifiman planar. It seems to be the one that hits the natural timbre (depends on the recording) compared to the lower models. I'm impressed what this thing can do at this price-point.

I recall the old model it first came out, and after hearing that Sundara has been revised, it caught my interest. It does seem to have been improved signficantly. The first model I believe had the old Focus pads that seemed a bit shallow in seal, and I didn't like how the mids were presented back then.

One genre, I'm not too fond of with these is pop. It seems to bring out the shouty treble a lot pop mastering can have. If the mastering is fairly good, it does seem to express much more realistic timbre present in the recording however.

Electronics, it's amazin. Jazz, it's very good. Pop is usually the problem area for most audiophile headphones except few exceptions. This one has some slight problems with pop, but sometimes it goes with strengths in most other genres I guess. Very good technical chops at the price-point. Hifiman killin it at at these price zones. Fang knows how to make planar drivers!

 

[yassdaboss]

I'm gonna say it. I'm quite impressed, what Hifiman has put out at this price-point. Sundara is the bench-mark at the price-point for sure!

I know he put out more cheaper options like 5XX and 400SE lately, and this one seems to be the transition point Hifiman planar. It seems to be the one that hits the natural timbre (depends on the recording) compared to the lower models. I'm impressed what this thing can do at this price-point.

I recall the old model it first came out, and after hearing that Sundara has been revised, it caught my interest. It does seem to have been improved signficantly. The first model I believe had the old Focus pads that seemed a bit shallow in seal, and I didn't like how the mids were presented back then.

One genre, I'm not too fond of with these is pop. It seems to bring out the shouty treble a lot pop mastering can have. If the mastering is fairly good, it does seem to express much more realistic timbre present in the recording however.

Electronics, it's amazin. Jazz, it's very good. Pop is usually the problem area for most audiophile headphones except few exceptions. This one has some slight problems with pop, but sometimes it goes with strengths in most other genres I guess. Very good technical chops at the price-point. Hifiman killin it at at these price zones. Fang knows how to make planar drivers!

I agree