[phthora]

Their high end cans (I own all of them - except the Susvara) are - not better
in terms of sound quality.

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.

 

[EternalChampion]

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it is safe to say that Sundara is not an airy-transparent headphone unlike the HD600 for instance but rather dark and withdrawn in its presentation similar to the HD650?

 

[Light - Man]

^ Good question as I am also really confused what they sound like.

So far all I am getting is that they are veiled with recessed mids and that is the only bit that I am not confused about.

I don't really know why the heck I am following this thread, any ideas why I am and am I the only one who feels this way?

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

^ Good question as I am also really confused what they sound like.

So far all I am getting is that they are veiled with recessed mids and that is the only bit that I am not confused about.

I don't really know why the heck I am following this thread, any ideas why I am and am I the only one who feels this way?

I feel you. I tried to reign it in, in earlier posts, but the only thing that happened was someone got a moderator to delete my posts. We really need some new people with a new perspective to chime in on the Sundara...

All I can say is, as an owner of the HEK V2, I couldn’t disagree more with some of the opinions on these headphones. I’ve never heard better. But my problem is, I’ve never heard the Sundara.

 

[Hedonism]

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.

 

[franz12]

^ Good question as I am also really confused what they sound like.

So far all I am getting is that they are veiled with recessed mids and that is the only bit that I am not confused about.

I don't really know why the heck I am following this thread, any ideas why I am and am I the only one who feels this way?

Don't get this wrong. They might be somewhat strong words to describe Sundara. All of these impressions are relative to some other cans. I am biased toward mid-centric, forward-sounding cans. In absolute terms, however, mids might be just slightly recessed. If my audio memory is correct, Sundara sounds more forward compared to hd800s or ie800.

 

[phthora]

All I can say is, as an owner of the HEK V2, I couldn’t disagree more with some of the opinions on those headphones. I’ve never heard better. But my problem is, I’ve never heard the Sundara.

Wouldn't it stand to reason that if the Sundara outperformed the HEKv2, they would have priced it accordingly? Things can perform better or worse than the average at their pricepoint, but I've never heard of anything that has legitimately bested things 6 times its price. If it did, HiFiMan would have given it a more "premium" look and slapped a ~$3000 pricetag on it. It would be foolish not to. Market disruption like the kind imagined here is a fantasy.

EDIT: Hifiearspeakers, I wasn't responding to your post so much as as continuing in a similar line of thought. I hope you didn't take that as me berating you.

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.

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

Yep. All opinions have equal merit, so long as they are well-informed, stated clearly, and not passed off as fact. The opinions in question meet zero of those conditions, as far as I can tell. It would be very easy to remedy each of those issues in a single post.

 

[TheoS53]

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.

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

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'm not a basshead by any measure, but I do prefer a presence of the entire spectrum. Flipping up the 3D+ bass boost on my Micro iDSD BL the Senns really seems to wake up, but for the Sundara there's no need for that.

 

[czy6412]

Sundara only sounds veiled when I compare it to my Susvara

 

[EternalChampion]

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.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Wouldn't it stand to reason that if the Sundara outperformed the HEKv2, they would have priced it accordingly? Things can perform better or worse than the average at their pricepoint, but I've never heard of anything that has legitimately bested things 6 times its price. If it did, HiFiMan would have given it a more "premium" look and slapped a ~$3000 pricetag on it. It would be foolish not to. Market disruption like the kind imagined here is a fantasy.

EDIT: Hifiearspeakers, I wasn't responding to your post so much as as continuing in a similar line of thought. I hope you didn't take that as me berating you.



Yep. All opinions have equal merit, so long as they are well-informed, stated clearly, and not passed off as fact. The opinions in question meet zero of those conditions, as far as I can tell. It would be very easy to remedy each of those issues in a single post.

No offense taken, and I agree with your line of thought here.

 

[bowei006]

Let's be friends here everyone.

 

[yaby1979]

^ Good question as I am also really confused what they sound like.

So far all I am getting is that they are veiled with recessed mids and that is the only bit that I am not confused about.

I don't really know why the heck I am following this thread, any ideas why I am and am I the only one who feels this way?

Anyone that says Sundara is veiled with recessed mids might want to visit an audiologist for a hearing exam.

 

[yaby1979]

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?

Nothing at all like the HD-650.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Nothing at all like the HD-650.

Please continue! A different perspective here is refreshing!