[SilverEars]

What Hifiman?! We got to buy the Susvara to get some decent QC?

Hifiman should lay down the rule that if driver goes bad, you get a free Susvara.

Mark it as Hifiman seal of approval.

Thank you,
Silverears

 

[seanwee]

Guess what Guys, the RHS driver has packed it in on my 400i.

I checked with a different source and also changed over the plugs into the drivers and it is definitely *****d!

I heard some weird distortion before it died.

My HiFiman journey ends for a while.

BTW, on a side note, I recently got the RE400 which I think is rather poor and don't understand how people can think that it is good - but such is life!

The Focal Spear S is way-way better (but I could not get it to stay in my ears having tried many tips, I guess IEM's are not for me)

Didn't like the Re400 and 600. The RE00 which they replaced is better imo.

Sorry to hear that. In regards to IEM, I found airpods are superior than a bunch of hyped IEMs. I am not an IEM guy (image of sound is too small to enjoy).

Stock iems don't really get the credit they're due. They have a very agreeable tuning that most people will like. However, they do come up short technically due to the lower quality drivers used. That said, their tuning is better than a lot of IEM's which sound overly warm and mask details in the process.

The stock Akg tuned iems supplied by Samsung on their flagship smartphones are really no slouch and you'll be hard pressed to find anything better than it under 50 dollars. I was quite impressed when I heard them, not bad at all.

 

[Light - Man]

Guess what Guys, it has just gone from bad to worse!

I just took off the pad to contemplate having a look inside to see if there was anything obvious.

I held the driver in my hand and had hesitantly started to unscrew one of the 6 very tight screws and guess what?!

The yoke snapped!!!

I am a bit fluffed off, as I recently bought several headphones on Amazon and it was the only one that I was going to keep.

P.S. I can prove everything that I have said and will take photos (when I make some memory space on my geriatric camera).

 

[rafaelo]

Unbelievable... straight out of the box. They did not even check what the put in the box.

Well done hifiman....

 

[TSAVAlan]

Yikes, might of bounced around like a basketball going from China to USA to UK. Sucks it happened but Massdrop will likely help you out with a new pair.

 

[gonzalo1004es]

Hi! I just bought them and love what I’m hearing; I have one question: Hifiman claims that they’re easy to drive, but I find them quite difficult to drive, as a comparison, definitively clearly much difficult to drive than my HD800, am I missing something? Do they change over time?

Thanks!

 

[franz12]

Hi! I just bought them and love what I’m hearing; I have one question: Hifiman claims that they’re easy to drive, but I find them quite difficult to drive, as a comparison, definitively clearly much difficult to drive than my HD800, am I missing something? Do they change over time?

Thanks!

No. You are not missing anything. Indeed, Sundara is more difficult to drive than HD800 (See Innerfidelity's measurement sections for both). Overall, Sundara is mildly difficult to drive.

 

[gonzalo1004es]

No. You are not missing anything. Indeed, Sundara is more difficult to drive than HD800 (See Innerfidelity's measurement sections for both). Overall, Sundara is mildly difficult to drive.

Thanks! Glad to hear it I do find it a bit misleading from Hifiman's part to market them as "easy to drive" (literally from the manual)... I find them great, everything must be said

 

[Ripper2860]

I think what should have been more clearly stated is that they are EASY TO DRIVE relative to other Planar headphones. Planars are typically not as easy to drive as dynamic headphones.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I think what should have been more clearly stated is that they are EASY TO DRIVE relative to other Planar headphones. Planars are typically not as easy to drive as dynamic headphones.

There are Audeze LCD-MX4 and Audeze LCD-4Z, both of which are fairly easy to drive and top of the line headphones

 

[Ripper2860]

I was merely commenting on the EASY TO DRIVE statement. As a general rule (especially when considering older Planars -- even Hifiman's own older planars), the Sundara and HE400S are easier to drive. Now other MFG's have also begun to design and market easier to drive Planar units -- it's certainly not limited to Hifiman. Also -- 'Easier to Drive' does not necessarily equal 'Easy to Drive'.

It's marketing, which means it likely falls somewhere between an absolute lie and the absolute truth.

 

[Vero Golf Champ]

Got the Sundaras hooked up to a new amp I picked up. Locally made vacuum tube class A mosfet hybrid. Must have power to burn as the pot is sitting at 9 O''clock and Sundara isn't that easy to drive. Needs around 1 with the bigger German solid state amp, albeit on one of its lower gain settings.

I knew going in the little Lambert was slightly coloured, with a strong low end and some warmth, but I think it helps the Sundara, which can be a touch cool or dry with a strictly neutral amp. It has certainly helped the Z7s, which I've been favouring over the Nighthawks lately for times an open can is inappropriate. Some may say the treble is smoothed over, but I think the detail is mostly there. Sundara may be technically superior, but it's also a bit brighter.

I pride myself on rejecting audioo woo, but fell for a matching (definitely not a) power conditioner for the hybrid amp. Guess I'm a sucker for a V(irtually) U(seless) meter. Doesn't even work with the amp it turns out lol, so it's supplying the stoic solid state instead.

Probably won't get any more gear for a while. I'm really a budget audiophile and bargains become harder to find the further you climb in this hobby. Air gets thinner too I reckon. Elears would have been nice, but a bridge too far at the price down here.

Edit: Right channel just gave a very brief crackling sound and then failed. This is my second pair and I've handled them with kid gloves, figuratively. Not looking forward to returning them, again. Might see if I can pay the difference and get the Elears.

 

[SoundSquare]

never understood all the hype about hifiman headphones... they are built like toys, i had 560 and 400i.. 560 sounded thin and anemic, very airy but without any sort of impact, the 400 was like a broken hd650 (to me it's still the best headphone around 300 euros)

If HD650 is your reference i strongly advise you to stay away from planars.

Everyone is flaming the Hifiman build quality but to my experience after owning a HE-400 and a HE-400i and treating them quite harshly sometimes (i'm not the kind to pamper my headphones, i use them, travel with them, even take them hiking) both are still intact.

I'll receive a Sundara tomorrow and will post some impressions here asap. I'm surprised to see no proper reviews of it here actually.

EDIT : I received the Sundara as expected, i was impressed by the shipping box from the Hifiman factory, well padded box with anti moisture bags, and the Sundara product box inside with more padding, my local dealer added another box around with more padding, to damage the headphones it would have needed a truck to drive over it. Well done.
None of the quality control issues i saw mentioned on various websites and youtube videos, everything is fine with my Sundara, headband, pads, all fine.
Now time for a listen....

 

[Vero Golf Champ]

If HD650 is your reference i strongly advise you to stay away from planars.

Everyone is flaming the Hifiman build quality but to my experience after owning a HE-400 and a HE-400i and treating them quite harshly sometimes (i'm not the kind to pamper my headphones, i use them, travel with them, even take them hiking) both are still intact.

I'll receive a Sundara tomorrow and will post some impressions here asap. I'm surprised to see no proper reviews of it here actually.

EDIT : I received the Sundara as expected, i was impressed by the shipping box from the Hifiman factory, well padded box with anti moisture bags, and the Sundara product box inside with more padding, my local dealer added another box around with more padding, to damage the headphones it would have needed a truck to drive over it. Well done.
None of the quality control issues i saw mentioned on various websites and youtube videos, everything is fine with my Sundara, headband, pads, all fine.
Now time for a listen....

Good luck bro. Both of my pairs arrived well packaged and worked fine for a while before sucking the kumara as we say down here.

 

[JamesCanada]

Edit: Right channel just gave a very brief crackling sound and then failed. This is my second pair and I've handled them with kid gloves, figuratively. Not looking forward to returning them, again. Might see if I can pay the difference and get the Elears.

Oh my...
I'm so sad to hear all these bad quality issues... This headphone seems so check all the boxes for many people.
Especially considering the price/performance ratio...
I just hope they fix up their act, or they will run themselves out of business...