[yaby1979]

Please continue! A different perspective here is refreshing!

From my perspective the mids on Sundara are slightly forward especially as compared to the HD-650 which I own . I do agree with Tyll that they are slightly on the bright side of neutral . To my ear they are better than the HD-650 at everything. The folks on this thread recently seem to have lost the fact that the reproduction of recorded music is more of an art than a science . No matter What you buy it has to be pleasing and Musical to your ears . There is no such thing as the perfect headphone because perfection is in the ear of the listener . When this ceases being fun one should find another pastime.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

From my perspective the mids on Sundara are slightly forward especially as compared to the HD-650 which I own . I do agree with Tyll that they are slightly on the bright side of neutral . To my ear they are better than the HD-650 at everything. The folks on this thread recently seem to have lost the fact that the reproduction of recorded music is more of an art than a science . No matter What you buy it has to be pleasing and Musical to your ears . There is no such thing as the perfect headphone because perfection is in the ear of the listener . When this ceases being fun one should find another pastime.

Have you heard the 800S? If so, how would you rank the Sundara’s brightness against it? I haven’t heard the 650 in years

 

[yaby1979]

Sundara only sounds veiled when I compare it to my Susvara

It's so great to hear that the Susvara at $6000 sounds better than the Sundara at $500. If I may ask why would someone that owns a $6000 pair of headphones purchase a $500 pair? Did you think they would sound better??

 

[czy6412]

It's so great to hear that the Susvara at $6000 sounds better than the Sundara at $500. If I may ask why would someone that owns a $6000 pair of headphones purchase a $500 pair? Did you think they would sound better??

Cause I cannot drive Susvara out of a DAP

 

[yaby1979]

Have you heard the 800S? If so, how would you rank the Sundara’s brightness against it? I haven’t heard the 650 in years

No I've never listened to the 800s.

 

[franz12]

Y'all have to realize he's very biased and clearly prefers a diffuse-field curve type sound signature. Relative to today's headphone market and general public's taste, his impressions will not line up very well at all. But they're also just as valid as anyone else's opinions, because that's exactly what it is; an opinion.

To my ears, the Sundara seemed like a slightly cooler than neutral, slightly v-shaped response. Very open and airy sounding with a nicely large soundstage. Vocals seemed a bit recessed/distant. Sounded crisp and detail was good for the price. Pretty much polar opposites to HD650.

Now that I think about it, it kind of reminded me of HD800. Imagine if the HD800 took a few steps back from the bright/analytical sound signature, creating a slightly meatier tone (but still thin-ish and bright in absolute terms), and lost a bunch in technicalities, but gained in a slightly funner experience overall. That's how I'd describe the Sundara.

I much prefer the Edition X v2 / HE1000 v2. They have a more organic, richer and more upfront tone in the mids, while retaining the stunning Hifiman soundstage and larger-than-life sound image.

For the record, my impressions line up much closer to Tyll's than the impressions going on this thread lately.

I pretty much agree with your impressions, especially about your comparisons to hd800s.

To add a few things, Sundara was hard to be categorized either as warm or bright to my ears. I felt Sundara was slightly warm because of slightly elevated mid-bass responses. Also, I felt it was slightly dark because of recessed or laid-back presence regions. On the other hand, I felt Sundara was slightly bright because there were bright regions somewhere around 5-7k.

 

[Anaz]

My Sundara just came in...first impression: perfect - exactly the sound I was looking for. I've only listened for a couple of hours on the Sundara and it has had no burn-in, but the following are my quick reflections:

My comparison to HE-560:

• Treble is noticeably less than the HE-560: I think the treble on Ed Sheeren's Thinking Out Loud is perfect on the Sundara but is too bright on the HE 560
• Mids seem slightly more recessed on the Sundara - could that have something to do with it being less bright?
• Bass extension is on par with the HE-560 but bass volume seems slightly less: on Michael Jackson's Dirty Diana you can feel the low frequency reverberation from 0:05 to 0:12 on both Sundara and HE-560, but slightly stronger on the HE-560
• Overall, I think the Sundara has a flatter, more balanced sound signature and I prefer that; however, if you liked the HE-560's brightness, you may find the Sundara too warm

My comparison to the HD 6XX:

• The Sundara is airier and has bigger sound stage: listening to Ed Sheeren's I See Fire on the Sundara you can hear the soundstage expand at 3:58 but the same transition is underwhelming on the HD 6XX
• The Sundara is more detailed than the HD 6XX: listening to Eric Clatpton's Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton - Unplugged), you can hear the difference in each and every pluck of the guitar strings with the Sundara...not so much with the HD 6XX
• And of course, the Sundara has much more extended bass
• Overall, I think the Sundara beats the HD 6XX in every category

 

[SilverEars]

My Sundara just came in...first impression: perfect - exactly the sound I was looking for. I've only listened for a couple of hours on the Sundara and it has had no burn-in, but the following are my quick reflections:

My comparison to HE-560:

• Treble is noticeably less than the HE-560: I think the treble on Ed Sheeren's Thinking Out Loud is perfect on the Sundara but is too bright on the HE 560
• Mids seem slightly more recessed on the Sundara - could that have something to do with it being less bright?
• Bass extension is on par with the HE-560 but bass volume seems slightly less: on Michael Jackson's Dirty Diana you can feel the low frequency reverberation from 0:05 to 0:12 on both Sundara and HE-560, but slightly stronger on the HE-560
• Overall, I think the Sundara has a flatter, more balanced sound signature and I prefer that; however, if you liked the HE-560's brightness, you may find the Sundara too warm

My comparison to the HD 6XX:

• The Sundara is airier and has bigger sound stage: listening to Ed Sheeren's I See Fire on the Sundara you can hear the soundstage expand at 3:58 but the same transition is underwhelming on the HD 6XX
• The Sundara is more detailed than the HD 6XX: listening to Eric Clatpton's Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton - Unplugged), you can hear the difference in each and every pluck of the guitar strings with the Sundara...not so much with the HD 6XX
• And of course, the Sundara has much more extended bass
• Overall, I think the Sundara beats the HD 6XX in every category

I like the sound of treble being less than the HE-560(as long as it's not too much less), and I'm thinking you mean around 7k. I don't like the sound of Mids being slightly more recessed than the HE-560. HE-560 sounds like upper-mids are a tad shallow, and combination with around 7k sparkle, throws off the upper frequencies balance a bit, although overall a good performing headphone for articulation. By mids sounding recessed, meaning the whole mids that provides body? Which part? Upper mids? I like the sound of it being comparatively warmer than HE-560 as I Know how HE-560 sounds like. If this is the case, I may not perceive it being cooler side of neutral, but the opposite.

If HD6xx is like HD650, I think the treble rolls slightly downward as its going to toward 10k.

 

[Light - Man]

Thanks guys for your replies and giving us more clarity on the sound signature!

Just in case you have not noticed Tyll's video, since his written review a few days ago.

 

[zodiac1234]

As they say on interwebs... pics or it didn't happen.

Your opinions are so wildly divergent on the Sundara compared to others, that I simply do not believe that you have heard, let alone own, all these other HiFiMan cans. So, post a pic and make me look like a jerk. Until then, I cannot take anything you say seriously and feel that you are just diluting the SNR of this thread.

I'm in the middle of moving
But i'll ask the ladies if they'd like to model for you
stand by.....

 

[zodiac1234]

.... I simply do not believe that you have heard, let alone own, all these other HiFiMan cans. So, post a pic and make me look like a jerk.....

I am in the middle of moving and haven't unpacked everything.
But here are a few pics:

Audeze LCD XC:

Audeze LCD-3:

Sennheiser HD800 S:

Sundara:

HE-1000V2:

Sundara with reference Amp:

 

[zodiac1234]

So from what I understand in this thread it is safe to say that Sundara is not an airy-transparent headphone unlike the HD600 for instance but rather dark and withdrawn in its presentation similar to the HD650?

It is ariy. but on a darker scale.
HD800 and 800 S sound much more detailed, cooler and in all, a little boring compared to Sundara

 

[zodiac1234]

Now that I think about it, it kind of reminded me of HD800. Imagine if the HD800 took a few steps back from the bright/analytical sound signature, creating a slightly meatier tone (but still thin-ish and bright in absolute terms), and lost a bunch in technicalities, but gained in a slightly funner experience overall. That's how I'd describe the Sundara.

This is a pretty accurate description.

 

[zodiac1234]

Not sure if this will help, but Sennheiser recently sent me the 660S to review (and 650 to compare). For what it's worth, I'd pick the Sundara any day over either of the Senns....

I totally agree.

 

[zodiac1234]

Wait a minute....So now they are brighter than neutral?? Ok...Don't tell me these sound colder than the HD600 too!

Anything colder than that = Not my cup of tea.

This thread is a mess. I'm going to wait for some time before I make my decision.

They are much warmer sounding than HD800 S which is more balanced, warmer and less bright than HD800.
These are just opinions. You have to make your own decisions.