[Light - Man]

So you find the Sundara can be a little harsh or irritating but never had that problem with your DT1990’s?

I never found either harsh, I gave both of them serious burn-in time (250 hours + just to be sure).

With the Sundara, it just took away some of the enjoyment because it over emphasized certain aspects (as mentioned) and I felt that I lost out on other frequencies, that is partly what irritated me as well as the irritation itself (hope that is as clear as mud ).

After burn-in the DT1990 never bothered me, I just did not connect with it - like I would expect when paying that type of money, when I have other stuff already that I like equally or even more.

I suspect that those who have problems with the DT1990 could be using mains powered stuff which I try to avoid.

I still think the Sundara is decent/good and probably scales well but I also was not prepared to risk having to deal with HiFiMan after the month ended - if anything went wrong with it.

 

[Light - Man]

Picky picky...

Your problem could be that you have too much money or perhaps too much gear or perhaps the former and the latter at the same time?

I tell my wife that I only have a fraction of the gear that most guys on here have - but she just shakes her head as she surfs her fashion sites looking for more gear!

 

[MarkArtz]

You just described my situation. She is always complaining I spend too much money on "man stuff" as she calls it, but then God forbids I complain she spends too much on her shoes.

I tell my wife that I only have a fraction of the gear that most guys on here have - but she just shakes her head as she surfs her fashion sites looking for more gear!

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I never found either harsh, I gave both of them serious burn-in time (250 hours + just to be sure).

With the Sundara, it just took away some of the enjoyment because it over emphasized certain aspects (as mentioned) and I felt that I lost out on other frequencies, that is partly what irritated me as well as the irritation itself (hope that is as clear as mud ).

After burn-in the DT1990 never bothered me, I just did not connect with it - like I would expect when paying that type of money, when I have other stuff already that I like equally or even more.

I suspect that those who have problems with the DT1990 could be using mains powered stuff which I try to avoid.

I still think the Sundara is decent/good and probably scales well but I also was not prepared to risk having to deal with HiFiMan after the month ended - if anything went wrong with it.

Thanks for explaining that. Many people say the 1990 is very bright and the treble is hot. So if the Sundara is brighter than that to you, they would definitely not be for me.

 

[Light - Man]

Thanks for explaining that. Many people say the 1990 is very bright and the treble is hot. So if the Sundara is brighter than that to you, they would definitely not be for me.

I suppose a lot depends on what the person pairs them with and if people have mains induced harshness or are up-scaling without knowing it then I can see why people can complain.

I have had the Mojo twice (which I got bored with) and the Questyle QP1R DAP (which could be a bit harsh at times and was clumsy to use) and I have never found my Hidizs AP100 (DAP) to be harsh and that could be a reason why I do not find my music too bright.

I think that both are worthy of an audition but some of us have to buy them to try - as we don't have a chance to listen to them locally otherwise.

It is nice to know that I am not missing out on too much and I can now concentrate on searching for new music (for a few hours anyway).

 

[LugBug1]

I also just want to add. Again..

I think the Sundara are a marvel of modern technology - they are arguably much more advanced than the Senn HD650/600 for example. (which I still feel should be their competitors) The Sundara are hifiman's entry level audiophile headphone. And I described them as sounding high end. They are fantastic at what they do. They are better than the HE500 by far - but if some are coming from the more rounded, beefier 400i they may find them tiring.

In all honesty they could have replaced all my headphones (apart from the HD800) if they were only a little shelved down in the treble. As it stands, For someone with my hearing preference I would still recommend the HD600 over them for a closest ally and for someone wanting a rounded sounding - allrounder. I'm a bigger fan of the HD650 but I feel these are too contrasting to compare.

Without sounding too contradictive I do also think it is relevant to compare the HD800 to newer advanced headphones even if they are entry level. But on this occasion they didn't compare on the whole - But even though the treble was too bright for me I thought it was actually better. Smoother and less peaky.

Up to now I've owned from Hifiman: HE500, HE400i, HEXv2, Sundara. (my fave has been the HEX - but I honestly feel the HD650 isn't far off. They are similarly tuned - But the HD650 is a little better behaved in the overall FR. Maybe not as exciting or smooth... But no less enjoying) Suppose I'm just a Senn man. :/

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I also just want to add. Again..

I think the Sundara are a marvel of modern technology - they are arguably much more advanced than the Senn HD650/600 for example. (which I still feel should be their competitors) The Sundara are hifiman's entry level audiophile headphone. And I described them as sounding high end. They are fantastic at what they do. They are better than the HE500 by far - but if some are coming from the more rounded, beefier 400i they may find them tiring.

In all honesty they could have replaced all my headphones (apart from the HD800) if they were only a little shelved down in the treble. As it stands, For someone with my hearing preference I would still recommend the HD600 over them for a closest ally and for someone wanting a rounded sounding - allrounder. I'm a bigger fan of the HD650 but I feel these are too contrasting to compare.

Without sounding too contradictive I do also think it is relevant to compare the HD800 to newer advanced headphones even if they are entry level. But on this occasion they didn't compare on the whole - But even though the treble was too bright for me I thought it was actually better. Smoother and less peaky.

Up to now I've owned from Hifiman: HE500, HE400i, HEXv2, Sundara. (my fave has been the HEX - but I honestly feel the HD650 isn't far off. They are similarly tuned - But the HD650 is a little better behaved in the overall FR. Maybe not as exciting or smooth... But no less enjoying) Suppose I'm just a Senn man. :/

The Sundara frequency response shows it has less treble than its older siblings the 400i and 560. So I don’t understand why some keep saying the treble is too hot. It would seem that Hifiman has toned down the treble. It has more treble energy than the HEX, but I found the HEX to sound too rolled off and preferred the treble of the HEK. According to Fang, the Sundara is supposed to be tuned very similar to the HEX but with less mid bass. I didn’t like the HEX because it had too much mid bass and not enough treble.

 

[LugBug1]

Haven't heard the the 560 my friend. The HE400i is rolled off as much as the HD650, but they have a a peak - and its a biggy

What you have to understand about FR (and this is only IME) FR charts mean absolutely nothing compared to your ears response.

Can't say it any clearer than that

 

[junki]

For those with large craniums, I just did a mod that I'm extremely pleased with.

Junki's Big Facking Head Mod for the HIFIMAN Sundara

This is a mod for those with large heads who love the Sundara. As a reference, I am 12 clicks on each side of the headband on a HD650.

The Sundara's suspension strap remains too limiting a factor for those with tall or wide craniums. Compared to Sennheiser and Focal headbands, the Sundara's stock headband supports only roughly 50-60% the head size. Personally, even at the the most extended setting and without desire to further bend any metal, the Sundara remains too small for me.

Even more counter-intuitively, this suspension strap limits how wide one can separate the cups before one begins to bend the metal legs on the headband. The nature of the strap's design is such that it expects those with tall heads to have extremely skinny heads, and affords those with short heads to have very wide heads. This design makes no sense whatsoever.

If any of the above rings true for you, then this mod is for you.

WARNING: This mod is DESTRUCTIVE. Proceed at your own risk.

Step 1: Acquire x1 HIFIMAN Sundara



Step 2: Acquire a suitable headpad and a sharp knife. The headpad I'm using was $12 on Amazon and designed for aviation headsets, which commonly feature a spring steel headband just like the Sundara's.



Step 3: ...



Step 4: Profit



I am immensely pleased with the result. The spring steel portion of Sundara's headband is the perfect material for a shape-keeping headband, and this makes the headband infinitely more usable for all head sizes, in my opinion. I can't help but wonder if this was meant to be the original design for this headband, but HIFIMAN decided to place an unadjustable, fixed length strap just for looks?

 

[jsmiller58]

I have a SERIOUS question for those here... I just got the Sundara and am letting it burn in... in the meantime I have an opportunity to return the Sundara and purchase an LCD-MX4 for around 2K. I know completely different beasts. The question is will it be worth the upgrade in sound?

My other cans include, among others, NAD Viso HP50 (my sound signature reference cans), AKG 7XX, heavily modded M1060 (fazors, honeycomb grills, Eikon suede pads), AudioQuest Nightowl, modded Fostex th-x00 (Lawton driver only mod, Alpha pads), DT 1990 Pro, Elex, and the Sundara. Others on order include Massdrop 6XX & Massdrop 58X.

One of these days I will post some comparison reviews, I promise!

Thanks

 

[franz12]

I have a SERIOUS question for those here... I just got the Sundara and am letting it burn in... in the meantime I have an opportunity to return the Sundara and purchase an LCD-MX4 for around 2K. I know completely different beasts. The question is will it be worth the upgrade in sound?

My other cans include, among others, NAD Viso HP50 (my sound signature reference cans), AKG 7XX, heavily modded M1060 (fazors, honeycomb grills, Eikon suede pads), AudioQuest Nightowl, modded Fostex th-x00 (Lawton driver only mod, Alpha pads), DT 1990 Pro, Elex, and the Sundara. Others on order include Massdrop 6XX & Massdrop 58X.

One of these days I will post some comparison reviews, I promise!

Thanks

Probably no. I haven't seen many positive comments about the MX4. I would instead be eyeing on lcd4z.

 

[jsmiller58]

Probably no. I haven't seen many positive comments about the MX4. I would instead be eyeing on lcd4z.

For 2x what I can pick up the MX4? GULP!!!

 

[jsmiller58]

For 2x what I can pick up the MX4? GULP!!!

What about the LCD-X?

I know, I know, I should have asked these questions before buying the Sundara. But due to the generous return policy of Amazon I can afford to impulse shop and have second thoughts!

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I have a SERIOUS question for those here... I just got the Sundara and am letting it burn in... in the meantime I have an opportunity to return the Sundara and purchase an LCD-MX4 for around 2K. I know completely different beasts. The question is will it be worth the upgrade in sound?

My other cans include, among others, NAD Viso HP50 (my sound signature reference cans), AKG 7XX, heavily modded M1060 (fazors, honeycomb grills, Eikon suede pads), AudioQuest Nightowl, modded Fostex th-x00 (Lawton driver only mod, Alpha pads), DT 1990 Pro, Elex, and the Sundara. Others on order include Massdrop 6XX & Massdrop 58X.

One of these days I will post some comparison reviews, I promise!

Thanks

I’ve never heard the MX4, and there doesn’t seem to be much chatter about it either. There’s also not a lot of chatter about the LCD4Z. For 2K, you ought to look into the He1000 V2 and skip the Sundara altogether.

On a side note, how are you liking your DT1990’s? Do you find their treble piercing?

 

[jsmiller58]

I’ve never heard the MX4, and there doesn’t seem to be much chatter about it either. There’s also not a lot of chatter about the LCD4Z. For 2K, you ought to look into the He1000 V2 and skip the Sundara altogether.

On a side note, how are you liking your DT1990’s? Do you find their treble piercing?

I actually like the dt 1990 headphones. It’s treble is not nearly as piercing as what I have heard other beyers are supposed to be. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely a bright and clear headphone, though. Punchy bass, but no bloat / incursion into the mids.

Now, not to write anything about the Elex headphones, yet, as they only have a day of burn in... but I just had to sample them... and they seem to be even brighter and clearer than the 1990s... let’s wait till everything is nicely cooked...

As to the Sundara vs LCD-X... I may keep the Sundara AND get the LCD-X... or something else...

I clearly have more dollars than sense...!