[yaby1979]

I have to listen next with an amp, to get better levels on the Sundara. However, so far, the DT1990 has the best detail/clarity out of any headphone I've ever heard. Is it harsh? No. Just hyper detailed. If you are used to a HD6xx series headphone, then yes the DT1990 is accentuated in the top end. The Amiron, when your ears adjust, it is a flattering listen, but swapping quick from a precision headphone like the DT1990, you instantly hear where the frequency balance is off. I'm going to test again in the next few days, with an amp and some more headphones.

Every Beyerdynamic hp that I've ever listened to sounds anemic with a harsh unnatural high-end. But this is the Sundara thread not the DT-1990 vs Amiron thread.

 

[MixMasterMan]

Every Beyerdynamic hp that I've ever listened to sounds anemic with a harsh unnatural high-end. But this is the Sundara thread not the DT-1990 vs Amiron thread.

Yep, and in that respect, the DT1990 kills the Sundara. I only shared my experience when auditioning the Sundara. I have no bias or brand allegiance, and have nothing else to say until I try the Sundara with an amp. In which after, I will share my thoughts here. Is that Ok with you? Oh wait, it is...ONLY if I don't mention the other headphones I compare them against, and how they compare. Pfft please.....

 

[Light - Man]

Guys, the HE400i is £180 on Amazon UK at the moment while the Sundara is £450. I am finding the Sundara uncomfortable and will very likely return it.

How does the HE400i compare in sound and comfort and is the Sundara really worth 2.5 times the current price of the 400i?

 

[Light - Man]

Yep, and in that respect, the DT1990 kills the Sundara. I only shared my experience when auditioning the Sundara. I have no bias or brand allegiance, and have nothing else to say until I try the Sundara with an amp. In which after, I will share my thoughts here. Is that Ok with you? Oh wait, it is...ONLY if I don't mention the other headphones I compare them against, and how they compare. Pfft please.....

I agree with you Sir, as you are just trying to be helpful comparing the Sundara to the DT1990 and Amiron which was requested by others.

I have ordered another DT1990 to see how it goes this time and if I don't click the cancel button before dispatch, I will also give impressions.

I had the Amiron and DT1990 at the same time and overall preferred the the DT1990.

What else do we have to chose from guys, any suggestions?

 

[SilverEars]

If yall thought Sundara was a bit on the bright side or a bit lacking in the low impact, I'd give LCD2C a try.

 

[zodiac1234]

Guys, the HE400i is £180 on Amazon UK at the moment while the Sundara is £450. I am finding the Sundara uncomfortable and will very likely return it.

How does the HE400i compare in sound and comfort and is the Sundara really worth 2.5 times the current price of the 400i?

- Sundara is a great HP,
- It has loads of assembly problems. Mine had 4 drops of glew on the left membrane.
- Comfort = terrible
- Sound improves dramatically with way more expensive amps. Not entirely the case with say HD600, or HD650.

 

[MixMasterMan]

Guys, the HE400i is £180 on Amazon UK at the moment while the Sundara is £450. I am finding the Sundara uncomfortable and will very likely return it.

How does the HE400i compare in sound and comfort and is the Sundara really worth 2.5 times the current price of the 400i?

I agree with you Sir, as you are just trying to be helpful comparing the Sundara to the DT1990 and Amiron which was requested by others.

I have ordered another DT1990 to see how it goes this time and if I don't click the cancel button before dispatch, I will also give impressions.

I had the Amiron and DT1990 at the same time and overall preferred the the DT1990.

What else do we have to chose from guys, any suggestions?

In this price tier, the main contenders are the Sundara, DT1990, & Amiron. I'm going to bring my recently acquired 400i when I do my second audition with the Sundara. The shop also has a 400s, so I'll be comparing Sundara/400i/400s/DT1990/Amiron. I will advise...

 

[zodiac1234]

If yall thought Sundara was a bit on the bright side or a bit lacking in the low impact, I'd give LDD2C a try.

- No, Sundara is not bright AT ALL.
- It is on the darker side,
- has higher sensitivity for more compatibility with major electronics equipment.

If your goal is enjoyment = satisfy personal taste (dark, bright, warm, cold, etc)
If HIGH FIDELITY is your goal = then it is another ball park.

 

[Anaz]

- Sundara is a great HP,
- It has loads of assembly problems. Mine had 4 drops of glew on the left membrane.
- Comfort = terrible
- Sound improves dramatically with way more expensive amps. Not entirely the case with say HD600, or HD650.

I’d like to add that the sound changes with burn in. The following is purely subjective, but after 100+ hours the bass and treble seem to have increased a little.

Also, with regard to using an amp, in my experience, the Sundara unequivocally sounds better when driven by an amp.

 

[CoFire]

- Sound improves dramatically with way more expensive amps. Not entirely the case with say HD600, or HD650.

This is a pretty disruptive comment. The HD650 is touted as a highly scalable headphone based on amping and you say the Sundara is more so. I think the previous Sundara impressions might be more colored by chain with this particular headphone. I take this as a big plus in transparency of the chain and this would explain the earlier scattered impressions along with the burn in which I'm not a huge advocate of but I think is more apparent with some headphones.

 

[franz12]

- No, Sundara is not bright AT ALL.
- It is on the darker side,
- has higher sensitivity for more compatibility with major electronics equipment.

If your goal is enjoyment = satisfy personal taste (dark, bright, warm, cold, etc)
If HIGH FIDELITY is your goal = then it is another ball park.

Yes, it is hard to say Sundara bright as it has the slightly recessed presence region. But at the same time, it is hard to say it is dark. Pretty much uncolored sound, but slightly watered and hazy in mids.

Overall, it is a great sounding headphone with no doubt, if it satisfies a personal taste.

 

[ra990]

So after about 100 hours of break-in, they have definitely improved from my initial impressions, but they still don't have the sound I was hoping for. I have listed them for sale if anyone wants them at a lower price than retail (check my signature). I think they're a decent pair of headphones, but I just don't see myself reaching for them. I'm considering trying the AFO or going back to the Edition Xv2 to get the sound I'm after.

 

[peterzzz]

I still have my sundara, that is, I didn't return it, despite my obvious misgivings right after unboxing.

Build quality still isn't what I expect from a 500 eur product, the yoke to headband assembly is wobbly and there is a finish issue with one of the screws that attaches the earcup to the yoke - it's dangerously sharp.

But after a week of use (and the cans have ran 24/7 even when not in use) the earpads have softened and the comfort is lots better. Also, as other people here have said, after 100+ hours of play, these cans have come alive.

I have also gotten a better appreciation for how good my Alpha Dogs really are, but the Sundara is a very nice compliment to the AD. Where the AD is forward and warm, the Sundara is neutral en airy. And unlike some open cans (hd800 and beyers, I'm looking at you) the Sundara still has a very enjoyable bass slam, I need me that bass

The Sundara works really well for classical and opera, especially that latter genre really doesn't work on thr AD, too forward, imagine the soprano right in front of you in a smallish room -- too much!

But the airy presentation also works really well with some live jazz/blues sessions, even though I would otherwise grab thr ADs for that.

So now I need to look at a new cable for these cans, because the supplied one is flexible like a garden hose. Maybe I'll make me some braided occ cables myself.

Also, some people should relax, play some music, enjoy life.

 

[SilverEars]

I've done more comparisons with the LCD2C and to me, Sundara edges it out in treble tonality with LCD2C's upper mids being a bit recessed. Just that 2k area of the Sundara comes off a bit recessed where as LCD2C around 4-5k, in which creates a less full treble tonality for vocals. I personally do not like Audeze mids to upper mids transition.

If I compare costs, Sundara is the better value in terms of sonic performace although, LCD2C has the better build. LCD2C is $300 more expensive, so...

 

[junki]

My preferences and equipment history are up-to-date on my Head-Fi profile. This impression is the result of my combining two different writeups I've done, with some editorial cleaning and updating.

TL;DR: The Sundara is the best sounding headphone I've ever heard. This headphone is the purchase that triggered my selling off most of my other cans, as you can see in my equipment history. My headphone collection has now been reduced to just the Sundara at home and the HD6XX at work. While I am expecting a Focal Elex to join the family later this month, whether he stays in the family is still an open question.

Bass: Bass is taut, textured, extremely well extended, and holographic. Its bass performance is similar to my modded M1060; the M1060 has just a bit more of it, possibly due to its large 106mm diaphragm, but the Sundara has plenty. You'll be hard pressed to hear better bass in any headphone.

Midrange: I was worried that the midrange might feel a bit sucked out on these, but I don't get that at all. In fact, the midrange on these sound super smooth and impart an incredibly realistic amount of body and space to both male and female vocals. Timbre is spot on. This is the area I've had the most trouble with planars in the past, and the Sundara has literally no issues here.

Presence through treble: My disappointment with the HE4XX was that it often strayed into sibilance for me, and when it didn't, high notes sounded compressed / smeared / one-note. Ori pads and felt tape in some key areas helped a lot, but the issue was always there. To my ears, my modded M1060 were just a way better listen due its significantly better transients, bass through midrange technicalities, and smooth listening, but I often wished it had just a bit more at the top end. Listening to the Sundara immediately revealed how veiled and muffled my M1060 was and was my first time hearing the "veiled" sensation firsthand besides reading about it. At the same time, the treble on the Sundara is not sibilant at all. It's just clear, present, smooth, and neither forward nor recessed compared to the rest of the frequencies. The Sundara is probably the most resolving pair of headphones I've listened to. (The Noble K10U are more resolving, but that's sort of an unfair comparison and arguably a bit artificial in its presentation of detail.)

Technicalities & Final Thoughts

To my ears, the Sundara is neither warm nor cold but straight neutral with very accurate timbre (rare for planars), very low distortion throughout the FR (typical of good planars), no ortho wall (rare for planars), 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 cannot overstate how resolving the Sundara is. I hear subtle nuances in breaths, strings, and plucks in the background that I never heard on any of my previous cans, sans the K10UA. Yet the detail sounds very naturally retrieved, rather than due to some artificially high treble elevation.

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 manages to always remain smooth, never becoming harsh, bitey, or sibilant. This experience has made me take a moment and wonder if I should give the HD600 a shake at dethroning my HD6XX.

The Sundara is an incredibly cohesive listen with very good technicalities. I can't find any faults with it. I really like it. I'm surprised by how much I like it. 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, so you may need to undergo some pad rolling with these.