[yaby1979]

I haven't read the previous 60 pages, and I'm not sure what the incoherent drama is about, but the Sundara is the best sounding headphone I've ever heard. I returned the LCD2C and sold my E-MU Teak, HE4XX (too bright, sounded nothing like the Sundara), modded M1060 (which I kept for 8 months because it was amazing), and K10UA. My headphone collection has been reduced to just the NFB-11.28->Sundara for home and the DFR->HD6XX in the office.

To my ears, the Sundara is neither warm nor cold but straight neutral (incredible timbre, very rare for planars) with very low distortion throughout the FR (typical of good planars), no ortho wall, incredible transient response, resolve, imaging, and is the first planar headphone I've heard with above average sound stage that has depth and center in addition to width. I literally cannot find fault with its sound.

I cannot overstate how resolving the Sundara is. I hear subtle nuances in breaths, strings, plucks, and in the background that I never hear on any of the above mentioned headphones, sans the K10UA. Yet the detail resolve sounds very naturally retrieved, rather than due to some artificially high treble elevation.

Sundara was a couple of firsts for me. Before the Sundara, I thought my sensitivity to treble meant I would forever favor warm-tilted headphones. The Sundara, on balance, is the most treble forward headphone I've loved because the treble always remains smooth and never becomes harsh, bitey, or sibilant. This experience has made me wonder if I should give the HD600 another try in dethroning my HD6XX. Also, listening to the Sundara was my first experience in actually hearing what "veiled" sounds like first-hand, aside from reading about it, as the LCD2C, the M1060, and the HD6XX sounded veiled in comparison.

The only gripe I have about the Sundara is the same gripe I have for all HIFIMAN headphones I've tried, which is that the 55mm round ear cavity on HIFIMAN ear pads is just too small for my ears. I can, with a higher level of carefulness than I'd like to exert, wear them comfortably, but I'm waiting on a pair of Brainwavz XL hybrid pads to try. To the Sundara's credit, the default pads appear to be a more premium revision of their Focus pads, with the velor part replaced with a perforated cloth mesh.

Finally some sanity. I couldn't agree with you more. Sundara is the best sounding $500 headphone that I've ever heard bar none.

 

[AxelCloris]

We've removed some posts from the thread because they were getting too personal and off-topic. Please keep the posts about the gear and not one another. Thank you, everyone.

 

[buntyster]

As some of you may remember, I returned my sundara to Amazon due to the left channel being unbalanced issue. Now I have ordered Beyerdynamics amiron (with the impacto essential Dac) and a pair of Audeze LCD2. Will compare and give feedback. Still a little bummed out about the Sundara. I have not had any previous Hifiman HPs but this one seemed pretty good aesthetically, build feel (not saying Build Quality) and very near perfect sound, to my ears atleast. Detailed, good Soundstage. If only they bloody did QC properly. Maybe one day in the future I will give them another shot..

 

[Paddy]

While i do love the ear pads on these i noticed as it shows on the Hifiman website that the earpads are known as the ultra pad and sell for $80!!! Which is very expensive especially compared to the focus pads. Does anyone know where i can get them cheaper just for future reference. Also do people think they should drop the price for these earpads as i think they were just priced at this level as they were for a higher market to cater for the HE 1000 V2.

 

[Light - Man]

Oops, I did not cancel my Beyer DT1990 order before dispatch, so they are on their way and I should have them by tomorrow.

I will do a quick comparison with my well run-in Sundara and my Fidelio X2, hopefully by Saturday and I will be very careful in my wording - in order not to get any further posts deleted.

I will try not to say that the Beyers sound absolutely ******* compared to the Sundara!

 

[yaby1979]

As some of you may remember, I returned my sundara to Amazon due to the left channel being unbalanced issue. Now I have ordered Beyerdynamics amiron (with the impacto essential Dac) and a pair of Audeze LCD2. Will compare and give feedback. Still a little bummed out about the Sundara. I have not had any previous Hifiman HPs but this one seemed pretty good aesthetically, build feel (not saying Build Quality) and very near perfect sound, to my ears atleast. Detailed, good Soundstage. If only they bloody did QC properly. Maybe one day in the future I will give them another shot..

Sorry I'm a bit confused. First you say that because of Hifiman's lack of QC you had to return your Sundara's because of a left channel unbalanced issue. Confusingly, you go on to say that the Sundara had 'very nearly perfect sound' with a 'detailed good soundstage'. This is with a bad left channel? Ok. So rather than exchange a headphone that according to you had ''very nearly perfect sound' even though that according to you it was defective makes no sense. And I see that you joined Head-Fi last Friday to share this tragic news. And Lastly, you just happened to order a Beyerdynamic Amiron and Audeze LCD 2 (which I've seen no reviews that claim either has a very nearly perfect sound as you claimed your defective Sundara did)? But you promise to let us know On The Sundara Thread how the Beyer and Audeze sound? What nonsense. Is Anyone on here gullible enough to believe this illogical post? In closing, if most people received a defective headphone that even though defective had a 'Nearly Perfect Sound' for $500 I think they'd probably exchange that perfect sounding defective headphone for one that isn't defective. What bs.

 

[Light - Man]

Yabby, be careful Bro as we don't want to lose strong opinions like yours who also has a forensic mind.

I also have a bit of a forensic suspicious mind but I try to give people the benefit of any doubt. I am able to allow the bs to float over my head and if someone only a few posts to their name, I do not allow it to influence my decision making process.

But we all have to start somewhere on HF and a bad experience with a product can compel us to join HF.

Regarding the Sundara I reckon the headband web/strap is not long enough and that is a major factor in my discomfort in wearing it. It is too tight on my head and I have no adjustment left.

I just had to change over to my Fidelio X2 (from the Sundara) and I am still surprised how good it is, it is available on Amazon UK for £129 at the moment (an absolute bargain).

 

[yaby1979]

Sorry I'm a bit confused. First you say that because of Hifiman's lack of QC you had to return your Sundara's because of a left channel unbalanced issue. Confusingly, you go on to say that the Sundara had 'very nearly perfect sound' with a 'detailed good soundstage'. This is with a bad left channel? Ok. So rather than exchange a headphone that according to you had ''very nearly perfect sound' even though that according to you it was defective makes no sense. And I see that you joined Head-Fi last Friday to share this tragic news. And Lastly, you just happened to order a Beyerdynamic Amiron and Audeze LCD 2 (which I've seen no reviews that claim either has a very nearly perfect sound as you claimed your defective Sundara did)? But you promise to let us know On The Sundara Thread how the Beyer and Audeze sound? What nonsense. Is Anyone on here gullible enough to believe this illogical post? In closing, if most people received a defective headphone that even though defective had a 'Nearly Perfect Sound' for $500 I think they'd probably exchange that perfect sounding defective headphone for one that isn't defective. What bs.

Yabby, be careful Bro as we don't want to lose strong opinions like yours who also has a forensic mind.

I also have a bit of a forensic suspicious mind but I try to give people the benefit of any doubt. I am able to allow the bs to float over my head and if someone only a few posts to their name, I do not allow it to influence my decision making process.

But we all have to start somewhere on HF and a bad experience with a product can compel us to join HF.

Regarding the Sundara I reckon the headband web/strap is not long enough and that is a major factor in my discomfort in wearing it. It is too tight on my head and I have no adjustment left.

I just had to change over to my Fidelio X2 (from the Sundara) and I am still surprised how good it is, it is available on Amazon UK for £129 at the moment (an absolute bargain).

Thank you dear sir for your concern. My point of view is that many folks here obviously have ulterior motives for posting. I'm sure you would agree that listening to any hp with a defective left channel and stating that it has a wonderful sound stage is absurd. And also that a headphone with a defective channel would be the best hp that someone has heard would be equally ludicrous. Unless one is deaf in one ear. I'm sure that my great kinfolk in Ireland don't have to suffer with Judge Judy Sheindlin put please allow me to quote one of her common sense sayings. ' If it doesn't make sense it's Probably not true'. That post made no sense. Now if the thought/opinion police on here have a problem with that Delete Away. Many in this industry are Very Upset that little Hifiman has produced a $500 headphone that is being praised by so many folks. Thanks again and good listening.

 

[buntyster]

I got the headphones, loved the sound, WHILE it worked.I never said they were defective "out of the box". All this writing and forensics, for what? Surely you have something better to do like go listen to some good music.

 

[phthora]

Thank you dear sir for your concern. My point of view is that many folks here obviously have ulterior motives for posting. I'm sure you would agree that listening to any hp with a defective left channel and stating that it has a wonderful sound stage is absurd. And also that a headphone with a defective channel would be the best hp that someone has heard would be equally ludicrous. Unless one is deaf in one ear. I'm sure that my great kinfolk in Ireland don't have to suffer with Judge Judy Sheindlin put please allow me to quote one of her common sense sayings. ' If it doesn't make sense it's Probably not true'. That post made no sense. Now if the thought/opinion police on here have a problem with that Delete Away. Many in this industry are Very Upset that little Hifiman has produced a $500 headphone that is being praised by so many folks. Thanks again and good listening.

It seems very logical to me. He liked the sound, but the build quality concerned him. I've been burned by QC with other HiFiMan headphones and am also concerned about long-term durability despite loving the sound of them. It's a relatively common reason to return, rather than replace, a lot of different headphones and earphones.

 

[Light - Man]

Guys, points very well made and as I have said before, HF is just a bunch of opinions and the only one that really matters is yours.

 

[junki]

While i do love the ear pads on these i noticed as it shows on the Hifiman website that the earpads are known as the ultra pad and sell for $80!!! Which is very expensive especially compared to the focus pads. Does anyone know where i can get them cheaper just for future reference. Also do people think they should drop the price for these earpads as i think they were just priced at this level as they were for a higher market to cater for the HE 1000 V2.

I'm waiting on Brainwavz XL Hybrid pads, which seems to be very similar to the stock pads, but not angled, with memory foam, and with a 65mm ear cavity instead of 55mm. Will report back.

On another note, the drama here is insane. This ought to be a thread for owners and prospective owners of the topic-level headphone in question to discuss the headphone, mods, pads, source pairings, etc. But recent posts are just people flaming each other back and forth. I can see why a subset of more informed Head-fi-ers have left this community. I hope individuals on both sides of the drama can just leave this thread.

 

[yaby1979]

It seems very logical to me. He liked the sound, but the build quality concerned him. I've been burned by QC with other HiFiMan headphones and am also concerned about long-term durability despite loving the sound of them. It's a relatively common reason to return, rather than replace, a lot of different headphones and earphones.

Like the sound with a defective channel? Nobody is talking about build quality. And I know that you don't own Sundara but the build quality is Nothing like their older products which weren't great. But we're talking about now not yesteryear. And anybody that talks about a great soundstage' with a bad channel is probably not being truthful.

 

[phthora]

Like the sound with a defective channel? Nobody is talking about build quality. And I know that you don't own Sundara but the build quality is Nothing like their older products which weren't great. But we're talking about now not yesteryear. And anybody that talks about a great soundstage' with a bad channel is probably not being truthful.

I could be wrong here, but he seemed to be talking about a relatively minor channel imbalanced issue. Often, that's the sort of thing that goes unnoticed for a while and then, once it is noticed, is impossible not to hear. Perhaps he formed his opinions about soundstage prior to that. Then again, perhaps not. Maybe he just has a different understanding of 'soundstage' or sound altogether. Maybe there is a simple miscommunication here. There are a number of possibilities.

Whatever the case, we should invite @buntyster to clarify and share more of his impressions. Then we can decide whether or not he is full of crap and proceed accordingly. But, give the man a fair shake first.

 

[buntyster]

I clarified already, my impressions (whatever they were) were made before the imbalance was noticed. I still do not think the imbalance was there in the first few minutes to an hour. It came later. Imbalance is not something one needs to be a Head-fier to hear So I am pretty sure I heard it as soon as it developed. Like @junki & @Light-Man wrote, I believe most of us join this forum to share thoughts on headphones we own or plan to buy and read opinions of others. I am NOT an audiophile per se, but love music and my newly developed passion for headphones got me on this forum. My suggestion to everyone is that there will always be someone who is here for additional reasons, or simply happens to be an aggressive and/or disgruntled person with a strong, preconceived notion. As much as I appreciate @ phthora jumping in to respond on my behalf, I suggest we dont entertain such comments altogether. This is presuming we all have better things to do, I know I do. Therefore this is my last post on this back and forth.