[chris.d.m.]

I feel exactly the same way about the LCD X. It has the best bass I’ve ever heard at any price point. I could even get over the weight. But can Audeze tune a damn headphone with some upper mids and lower treble for crying out loud!!! If the X had that it would be my endgame. It’s that good.

I'm with that.

You just need to go up one more level with Hifiman to get incredible sub bass. The HEX V2, Ananda, HEK V2, and Susvara all have it in spades. They also have much larger ear-shaped earpads for greatly improved comfort. I’m sorry but ears are not round.

Only a few hours into Sundara and I have to agree with the others that say it's really pretty good. If it had even a hair!! more under 100, like 30-40hz, I'd probably be able to live with it. Though I'd also be happy to hear a slightly richer midrange. I'm just not into being bothered to eq generally. I'm referencing mixes / studio work much of the time.

I wish I could settle, and might find a way to but, dang wish I could find and then afford, something closer to the LCX bottom/low mid engagement while not making sad not to hear upper mids.
I'm of course asking too much without being willing to cough up a lot more $.

Maybe Auteur gets in that ballpark? Maybe Ananda? On limited budgets one sure as heck can get kinda tired of the search though.
I know I'm preaching to the choir.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I'm with that.



Only a few hours into Sundara and I have to agree with the others that say it's really pretty good. If it had even a hair!! more under 100, like 30-40hz, I'd probably be able to live with it. Though I'd also be happy to hear a slightly richer midrange. I'm just not into being bothered to eq generally. I'm referencing mixes / studio work much of the time.

I wish I could settle, and might find a way to but, dang wish I could find and then afford, something closer to the LCX bottom/low mid engagement while not making sad not to hear upper mids.
I'm of course asking too much without being willing to cough up a lot more $.

Maybe Auteur gets in that ballpark? Maybe Ananda? On limited budgets one sure as heck can get kinda tired of the search though.
I know I'm preaching to the choir.

The sound you just described exists in either the Ananda or Edition X V2. The differences being that the Edition X V2 has the smoothest and least amount of treble and a little more mid bass. The Ananda is brighter than the HEX with less mid bass, and a tad less bright than the Sundara. Both the HEX and Ananda have awesome sub bass in my opinion. And all Hifiman have more present upper mids and lower treble than Audeze.

 

[chris.d.m.]

The sound you just described exists in either the Ananda or Edition X V2. The differences being that the Edition X V2 has the smoothest and least amount of treble and a little more mid bass. The Ananda is brighter than the HEX with less mid bass, and a tad less bright than the Sundara. Both the HEX and Ananda have awesome sub bass in my opinion. And all Hifiman have more present upper mids and lower treble than Audeze.

I'm going to live with the Sundara for a week or so but it might come down to either Ananda or, Auteur. At least some day
It's a moving target!

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I'm going to live with the Sundara for a week or so but it might come down to either Ananda or, Auteur. At least some day
It's a moving target!

That’s what makes this hobby fun!!

 

[Ripper2860]

Hifiman recommends about 150 hours to break-in Sundara. I've found that it starts to loosen up with a bit more extended bass at about 60 hours and keeps on improving moderately up to 100-150 hours. Hopefully you will experience the same and find them even better after a while.

 

[chris.d.m.]

Hifiman recommends about 150 hours to break-in Sundara. I've found that it starts to loosen up with a bit more extended bass at about 60 hours and keeps on improving moderately up to 100-150 hours. Hopefully you will experience the same and find them even better after a while.

I appreciate you mentioning that & it’s good for all to consider that are interested in the value they seem to be.
I’m going to try to reserve judgment & give them those hours.

 

[Paddy]

I’ve never heard the Sundara, but it’s supposed to replace the 560 and 400i. The Ananda definitely has more sub bass than those cans. Frequency response graphs also show the Ananda definitely has less sub bass roll off down to 20 hz and below as well compared to the Sundara. I definitely don’t feel the Ananda lacks any sub bass. It’s actually one of its strengths, in my opinion.

The Sundara has more sub bass I feel than the HE 400i but slightly less mid bass punch however it is still punchy, its just a cleaner snappy punch. I feel it's bass opened up a bit the more I listened. The Sundara sub bass in some house tracks I listen to get so low It almost hurts. I can't imagine how the Ananda would sound if they have more sub bass whether I would like it or not. I may seek out a used set once they are on sale for no more than $1000 NZ

 

[chris.d.m.]

Re Sundara sub bass and fwiw,
one litmus test use is to listen to “Alabama shakes -I don’t wanna fight no more” through my very good studio monitors. The low end on the record is recorded very well.
Tight drum bottom end. Then listen to Sundara in this case.
(I’m trying out Gilmore lite no 2 & a sweet custom tube amp)

There’s a bit of sub energy on the 1 of the beat that’s palpable in the monitors yet, not so much in the Sundara.
I’m goinna give them some more burn in time and reasses.

Fingers crossed as I have too many other studio costs to rationalize coughing up more $$ for either Ananda or Auteur.
This forum is a dangerous rabbit hole! Ha

 

[jsmiller58]

I'm with that.



Only a few hours into Sundara and I have to agree with the others that say it's really pretty good. If it had even a hair!! more under 100, like 30-40hz, I'd probably be able to live with it. Though I'd also be happy to hear a slightly richer midrange. I'm just not into being bothered to eq generally. I'm referencing mixes / studio work much of the time.

I wish I could settle, and might find a way to but, dang wish I could find and then afford, something closer to the LCX bottom/low mid engagement while not making sad not to hear upper mids.
I'm of course asking too much without being willing to cough up a lot more $.

Maybe Auteur gets in that ballpark? Maybe Ananda? On limited budgets one sure as heck can get kinda tired of the search though.
I know I'm preaching to the choir.

Question for you... Are you getting a good seal with your Sundara? I find that the lack of the rotational adjustment of other headphones leaves me with less than an ideal seal. When I push on the front edge of my headphones to force them to be more flush gives me what I think is a bit more bass... But that might just be my head (and the fact that I wear glasses, which only exacerbates the seal problem)... When I manually force a better seal I perceive a bit better bass...

 

[TWerk]

I feel exactly the same way about the LCD X. It has the best bass I’ve ever heard at any price point. I could even get over the weight. But can Audeze tune a damn headphone with some upper mids and lower treble for crying out loud!!! If the X had that it would be my endgame. It’s that good.

I'm with you there on the Audeze tuning. I had an X and didn't think the bass was all that special, but I don't recall if my setup was any good at that point... Need my treble crunch though and Audeze just doesn't deliver there.

Have you heard an HE-6? It has some outstanding bass.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I'm with you there on the X. I had one and didn't think the bass was all that special, but I don't recall if my setup was any good at that point. Need my treble crunch though and Audeze just doesn't give me that.

Have you heard an HE-6? I think both the 500 and HE-6 have some great bass.

I haven’t heard an HE 6 but have heard that they’re very hard to drive and very heavy.

 

[TWerk]

I haven’t heard an HE 6 but have heard that they’re very hard to drive and very heavy.

They are on heavier side, but not overly so for me. The Audeze headphones are heavier from memory, but I also think the Hifiman headbands fit my head shape much better to distribute the weight whereas the Audeze headbands always had a hot spot where all the weight sat.

They are hard to drive though... indeed. I'm going to see how they do with the Emotiva A-100. It was not a lot of money so worth a try, it will give them all the wattage they could possibly need.

 

[TWerk]

I'm with that.

Only a few hours into Sundara and I have to agree with the others that say it's really pretty good. If it had even a hair!! more under 100, like 30-40hz, I'd probably be able to live with it. Though I'd also be happy to hear a slightly richer midrange. I'm just not into being bothered to eq generally. I'm referencing mixes / studio work much of the time.

I wish I could settle, and might find a way to but, dang wish I could find and then afford, something closer to the LCX bottom/low mid engagement while not making sad not to hear upper mids.
I'm of course asking too much without being willing to cough up a lot more $.
.

The HE-500 has a nice rich midrange with excellent bass and deep bass extension. Of course, it also depends on your DAC/AMP setup. Run from an O2, and it will make them sterile and lean out the bass. But hard to say exactly... you really need to hear these things to know, and not only hear them but hear them in your own setup.

Advice is helpful, but it's ultimately your own ears that will tell you what sounds best to you and that's how you know.

Sometimes you can find a cool member who will swap with you a week or two if you've got something they want and that way you can hear hear how it sounds in your setup.

From my experience, that's a good way to do it!

 

[promenix]

While preparing to check these out in a few days, wondering...are there and Sundara fans out there that prefer it over there other options in the under 1k region ? Or, maybe not such a fan of them after living w them for a while ?

I’ve had the Sundaras for a couple of weeks now. While deciding on what cans to settle for I tried the Sundaras, the LCD-2Cs and the Clears. I also tried the HE1K V1s, HD800s LCD-2s and 3s a couple of years ago.

Out of the three I tried this time I found the Clears to be the ones I liked the least. Their highs were too sharp for my taste and they lacked what I’ve come to call the “magic sauce” which I found to be present in both of the planars. When listening to some types of electronic music - like Infected Mushroom - magic things started to happen. I heard sounds that I’ve never heard before, and I was enjoying it a lot. The Clears felt slow and incapable in comparison.

When it comes to the Sundaras vs the LCD-2Cs I got quite surprised. From what I’ve read people seem to perceive the 2Cs as warmer and the Sundaras as brighter when comparing the two. Ironically, I chose the Sundaras because I found the 2Cs highs to be too sharp, and Sundara’s to be smoother and more forgiving. With the 2Cs I would have to stop increasing the volume because of the highs getting too much, but the Sundaras I could just keep pushing further and further until my ears were about to explode from just pure volume.

The lows and mids I found very enjoyable and snappy on both.

I do find the Sundara clamp to be a bit much for me, might try to bend them a bit later if it gets too much for me.

However, I’m convinced that it really matters what music you listen to and what preferences you have personally. For the music I listen to (lots of metal and some electronic and early music stuff) and for what I seem to value and enjoy in sound, the Sundaras were really really nice. They seem to manage anything I throw at them. I still find myself bursting into laughter now and then when listening to them. I find them to be very fun, engaging and smooth sounding, yet clear and surgically precise. Not sure how that works but apparently Hifiman figured it out.

By the way, the imaging on the Sundaras is mental. My wife felt motion sick after I played some Infected Mushroom for her. Good stuff

 

[Paddy]

I find the Sundara to have the most neutral bass response I have ever heard on a headphone. This is proven to me whenever some deep house and techno tracks I listen have powerful deep bass that you feel intensely while other more lighter house tracks feel almost light on the bass with a much lighter punch. A headphone that is north of neutral when it comes to bass will still make you feel the punch even on lighter mid bass tracks. The Sundara's really do represent music how I feel they are meant to sound. There is no colour added to the low end. It's quite strange at times to go from such powerful lows In some tracks to be caught off guard by another track that can be perceived as having weak bass when its merely being represented neutrally. I can understand why some would prefer more colour to the low end