[Kneel2Galvatron]

The build was also a step up from past products. I don't remember all the details of the sound but I walked away very impressed.

 

[esm87]

Thanks for impression, appreciated

 

[yaby1979]

I heard the Sundara yesterday at Can Jam. I thought it was the best value open headphone at the show. If your in the market for sub $1000 can, you should check them out. If you like the hifiman house sound, you will probably love them. They have great clarity and are easy to drive. I thought they were better than the 560 or 400i. I didnt find them harsh but that could depend on the pairing. My ears did get a little warm from the pads. The Aeon open would be the closet competitor imo.

The new spandex type pads do get a bit warmer than the velour type on the 400i's.

 

[hollis7]

I heard the Sundara yesterday at Can Jam. I thought it was the best value open headphone at the show. If your in the market for sub $1000 can, you should check them out. If you like the hifiman house sound, you will probably love them. They have great clarity and are easy to drive. I thought they were better than the 560 or 400i. I didnt find them harsh but that could depend on the pairing. My ears did get a little warm from the pads. The Aeon open would be the closet competitor imo.

what about bass quantity? i find he-400i a bit lacking in punch and impact,... does sundara improve that?
sub $1000 category is increasealy crowed lately with LCD2c, zmf headphones, elear,...

 

[Kneel2Galvatron]

what about bass quantity? i find he-400i a bit lacking in punch and impact,... does sundara improve that?
sub $1000 category is increasealy crowed lately with LCD2c, zmf headphones, elear,...

To be honest, I don't remember. Can jam was ridiculous. So many damn headphones at once is hard to take in. You really just remember your impression when you walk away. I went in looking for the sundara so I spent a little more time with it. I noticed the overall clarity, vocals and sound stage were really good. I had a limited playlist on a portable player. I doubt the player would have done the bottom end justice.

 

[franz12]

Retracted

 

[bradbort]

what about bass quantity? i find he-400i a bit lacking in punch and impact,... does sundara improve that?
sub $1000 category is increasealy crowed lately with LCD2c, zmf headphones, elear,...

I compared with the 400i and felt the base quality was more extended and better. I have not, however, compared them to the Aeon’ open backs...which cost 300 more....

 

[Mark Up]

Tested at CanJam NYC 2018. Great fit, build, weight, comfort. Smoother highs than 400i & 560 siblings. Similar mids, warmer low mids, and as said, great bass, lacking only lowest subs.

 

[Geezer Rock 001]

OK ladies and gentlemen, I just got a tracking number on my Sundara's and I should have them tomorrow. I will try to get some impressions posted by Wednesday evening for sure.

I picked up a gently used and burned in pair of 400i's off the board a few weeks ago and have been very impressed at how great the planars sounded. Won't bore you with the details, but I decided to step up to the Sundara.

Will be comparing the Sundara out of the box vs 400i and HD 800S all driven by a Little Dot Mk II and using the same song selections.

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified audio expert, but I know what I like. So be gentle with your critique and specific with your questions.

 

[franz12]

OK ladies and gentlemen, I just got a tracking number on my Sundara's and I should have them tomorrow. I will try to get some impressions posted by Wednesday evening for sure.

I picked up a gently used and burned in pair of 400i's off the board a few weeks ago and have been very impressed at how great the planars sounded. Won't bore you with the details, but I decided to step up to the Sundara.

Will be comparing the Sundara out of the box vs 400i and HD 800S all driven by a Little Dot Mk II and using the same song selections.

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified audio expert, but I know what I like. So be gentle with your critique and specific with your questions.

as far as i remember, it is at least on par with hd800s, if not better. I bet you will sell your hd800s soon. my audio memory may be incorrect, though.

 

[franz12]

I compared with the 400i and felt the base quality was more extended and better. I have not, however, compared them to the Aeon’ open backs...which cost 300 more....

Aeon flow open hits harder on bass. It has more slam and more engaging. Female vocal tonality is better and mid is more present on Aeon flow open (tested with Zombie, Cranberries)
Sundara is more open sounding. Wider soundstage. It has a lot of air more than focal Clear and aeon flow open. Its tone is lighter and soft. More non-fatiguing laid back sound. I guess Sundara is hard to be beaten in the $400-$600 range.

+ Sundara is harder to drive than Clear and Aeon flow open. I drive it from Hugo, but I need raise volume all the way up to reach 78-93db.

 

[Geezer Rock 001]

The 800S will be keepers. In many ways the 400i's were very close to the Senns. That is what got my attention and got me interested in the Sundaras.

More to follow.

 

[franz12]

So far, I have mixed impressions about sundara. But its strength is obvious.
Very good build quality. Very light. Wide headstage. It literally disappears on my head like hd800s.

 

[Geezer Rock 001]

I only had about an hour to a/b the 400i and the Sundaras. The first two changes had me thinking that there really wasn't much difference. After about the fourth switch the Sundaras as started to differentiate themselves. I will delve deeper into that on tomorrow's post. My short take is they are a positive step up from the 400i s. In bass, sound stage and clarity.

Build/fit and finish is a step up from the 400i. And they devoted a lot less effort on a garish presentation box that ends up getting stuffed into a closet or under the bed.

More details to follow after I get more time to compare them. At this point I would say if you like the way the 400i presents your music to you, you will find the improvements in the Sundara to be very pleasing to your ears.

Just my opinion, and you know what those are like.

 

[franz12]

After spending about 10 hours with Sundara, I decided that it must go straight back.
I have no doubt that it is extremely good for its price point. But after listening aeon flow open for a few months and focal clear for weeks, I happened to have a high expectation about openback headphones. I know that it is unfair to compare Sundara to much more expensive ones ($1500, $800), but they are only ones I spent substantial time with recently.

Here are some of my impressions. I drove all of them from my Hugo (original).

1. Very good build quality and comfort. Its comfort is on par with hd800s, aeon flow open. And much more comfortable than focal Clear.

2. In terms of width, its soundstage is better than focal Clear and aeon flow open. Sundara literally disappears on my head. However, in terms of depth, I think focal Clear and aeon flow open are at least on par, if not better, than Sundara. Despite this, folks who value wide soundstage/spaciousness might prefer Sundara to them.

3. Lots of air. Soft tone. smooth treble, good amount of bass, though it lacks sub-bass extension.

4. Good instrument separation, but not the best.

5. Good dynamic punch, but it does not slam as much as focal clear or aeon flow open.

6. Sundara is power hungry. In contrast, focal Clear is extremely easy to drive. aeon open flow is somewhere in the middle.

Here are deal breakers for me.

1. Vocal is too light/lacks weight (little density). Vocal is too windy. It does not deliver fuller sound like aeon open flow or focal clear. Also, vocal tonality is not as good as them. Hollowness would be a strong word to describe it, but it is there like hd800s. Thus, I felt emotional disconnection with a singer and felt a little bit flat after all. How vocal sounds is the most important factor to me, so Sundra is unsatisfactory in this regard.
2. While treble is smooth overall, there is some wonkiness. Violin in Thais Meditation/Itzhak Perlman sounds too sharp to my ears.

However, I would say Sundara would do 95% of what hd800s can do at the 1/3 price.
or Sundara would do 85% of what aeon flow open can do at the 5/8 price, or it would do 75% of what Clear can do at the 1/3 price.

So if someone asks me how to drop $600 on audio gears, I would suggest spending on Sundra ($500) and Magni ($100) without hesitation. But if someone has $1500 budget, I would suggest to buy focal Clear and drive it from your IPhone. Right out of your IPhone, Clear sounds so good.