[lugnut]

As some of you may remember, I returned my sundara to Amazon due to the left channel being unbalanced issue. Now I have ordered Beyerdynamics amiron (with the impacto essential Dac) and a pair of Audeze LCD2. Will compare and give feedback

Looking forward to your impressions of the Amiron vs the Sundara ! I have not heard the Sundara as of yet. I did have the Hifiman he 560 and returned them due to poor quality control and the sound was not as good as the Amiron, at least in my opinion.

 

[buntyster]

Its a bit early to give detailed impressions but comparatively, Sundara has a pretty different sound signature, lot airier, more energetic, and clarity is pretty good, perhaps due to being planar, not sure. Amiron are bit laid back, and for some reason, at least my pair which I got, tend to be very SHRILLY at high volumes. At low to mid, they are smooth and enjoyable. I have noticed that the low end is pretty good for an open can, better than Sundara. What I can say for sure about the comfort (of course different people, different head & ear sizes & shapes) is that the Sundara were pretty good (much better compared to my Sennherier 660s) but the Amiron are slightly better. They have very little clamping pressure and weight pretty balanced on your head. Built like a proper high quality German product, they dont creak, like ahem some brands, despite being plastic. As a side note, the Beyerdynamic Impacto Universal DAC I bought together with the Amiron are fantabulous. For being so tiny, they drive the 250 ohm Amiron VERY well. There are supposed to be for Amiron, T1 and 1990 but since the cables coming out of them are left and right channel terminated in standard 3.5mm jacks, I plugged them into my Sony MDR-Z7 headphones and frankly cant tell a difference between them and my 900 dollar Sony PHA-3 dac, albeit, the Sony day does have a better amplifier built in. I listen to my music quite loudly and the Sony DAC is overkill even for me. So the Impact Universal I am keeping for sure. Amiron on the other hand, still undecided whether to ship back to Amazon or not. Need more auditioning. On a side note, I am going to place an order for the Sundara once again today and unless they are again defective, I plan to audition them longer before posting a comparison with the Amiron.

 

[Brahmsian]

What kind of music do you listen to? I was told the HE560 was better than Amiron Home for classical. Disagree?

Looking forward to your impressions of the Amiron vs the Sundara ! I have not heard the Sundara as of yet. I did have the Hifiman he 560 and returned them due to poor quality control and the sound was not as good as the Amiron, at least in my opinion.

 

[lugnut]

What kind of music do you listen to? I was told the HE560 was better than Amiron Home for classical. Disagree?

Sorry I cannot give any advice on classical music. For what I listen to, jazz, rock, indie the Amiron was just a better headphone. From time to time the he 560 would output sibilance that I just did not want to deal with. The Amiron does have a treble peak however it is never harsh or sibilant. Even at $350 I still sent the HE 560 back. However everyone's ears are different and we all use different equipment , so take what I say as just my opinion.

 

[Brahmsian]

Sorry I cannot give any advice on classical music. For what I listen to, jazz, rock, indie the Amiron was just a better headphone. From time to time the he 560 would output sibilance that I just did not want to deal with. The Amiron does have a treble peak however it is never harsh or sibilant. Even at $350 I still sent the HE 560 back. However everyone's ears are different and we all use different equipment , so take what I say as just my opinion.

Thanks. The sibilence comes out with heavily processed music but not once have I heard it with classical or jazz.

Anybody want to compare the HE560 and Sundara with classical, maybe render a verdict on who's better?

 

[Paddy]

After a good week of heavy listening the Sundara's are to me the best sounding headphone i ever heard, it is to me wide, airy, neutral and fun. Bass is neutral and booms if the song is made to boom, it's quick, heavy and clean, it punches hard and fast if need be while doesn't feel too invasive on the other instruments, the details and sound-stage just open up this headphone so you can enjoy the flavor of each instrument in what feels like a spacious environment. It's slightly brighter than neutral because i feel with it feeling quite spacious you would feel more disconnected from the music otherwise and it's done to give it that airy sparkle to the vocals and instruments

 

[Vero Golf Champ]

After a good week of heavy listening the Sundara's are to me the best sounding headphone i ever heard, it is to me wide, airy, neutral and fun. Bass is neutral and booms if the song is made to boom, it's quick, heavy and clean, it punches hard and fast if need be while doesn't feel too invasive on the other instruments, the details and sound-stage just open up this headphone so you can enjoy the flavor of each instrument in what feels like a spacious environment. It's slightly brighter than neutral because i feel with it feeling quite spacious you would feel more disconnected from the music otherwise and it's done to give it that airy sparkle to the vocals and instruments

Had mine for a week or so too Paddy, and I think you've summed them up well.

Can't add much, bass slam and punch might be their weakness for me, but the low frequencies are never muddy. You can't have everything in one 'phone and I'm not short of basshead certified cans.

The giant soundstage and fast but almost soft presentation give somewhat of an ethereal effect. You could accuse them of sounding a bit thin or dry, but I think it's more that the sound doesn't carry an ounce of excess fat, if you will. Sibilance is sometimes there if you listen for it, but hasn't bothered me.

All in all a great alternative to my darker cans. Not the best cans I've ever heard, that honour goes to the new Orpheus the store where I bought the Sundaras had. Pop in to Dominion Rd if you're up in Aucks Paddy, they've got one there permanently now. Not even sure I prefer the Sundaras to my Nighthawks, which are more comfy, but very happy with them nonetheless.

 

[Selfish Android]

Now that there are many people who have tried the Sundaras i have a question.
I have the HE400i and i really like them, but i am looking for more of the same but better i am looking for a 400i's with huge soundstage and extremely detailed in the treble, i favor neutral to bright sound signatures, i am interested in the Edition XV2 or the Sundaras, which would be the best bet according to my tastes?
btw i have the HD800 in my sights too.

 

[TokenGesture]

Is this a baby HD800?

 

[junki]

Can someone recommend cost effective balanced cables for these?

 

[Dystasia]

Can someone recommend cost effective balanced cables for these?

These non-balanced cables for the Beyerdynamic T1 worked perfectly for me: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XDVW1C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00
The same guys do have a cost effective balanced cable for the same models which might work for the Sundara as well: https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...ation-headphone/dp/B075BZ585B/ref=pd_sbs_23_2

These balanced cables from another vendor should probably work too: https://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic...Cable-Connector/dp/B07233Z5X4/ref=pd_sbs_23_8

 

[ThanatosVI]

Edition X is a great pair of HPs, way more comfortable than Sundara.

If you favor the warmer leaner quality of sound, I think you will really enjoy Edition X.
Just remember that bass notes on the Ed X is a little "loose" and soft compared to HE1000v2 or Sundara which both have more vigor and drive in that region.

Try it, it wont hurt.

I finally had the opportunity to compare the Sundara and the Edition X V2.
Turned out that I really prefer the Little darker Sound of the Edition X V2.

Thx again for your comparison earlier. Ultimately that was the trigger for me to test the Edition X.

I also had the opportunity to compare both to a Beyer Dynamic T1, Sennheiser HD 800S and Focal CLEAR, to make sure that this is really the right pair for me.

 

[Vatnos]

After Tyll's measurements my fears are now confirmed. That glitchy peak at 6k from one of the sides (in my case the right side) when combined with the high distortion at the same frequency is the biggest problem this headphone has for me. No wonder I felt the treble had some random sibilance on one or two piano notes at somewhat high volumes.

Although I have to say this is not a killer issue for me (specially at this price) considering that almost all high-end headphones that cost 2-5 times as much have very similar issues somewhere else.

That is something I've been rather bummed about. After listening to a decent sampling of high end headphones I was surprised how all of them had really basic problems still, that I'd expect from $100 headphones, not $1000 ones. Problems like missing an octave, or sibilance, or unnatural timbre.

Just have to find the problems that you can live with and roll with it.

 

[yaby1979]

After a good week of heavy listening the Sundara's are to me the best sounding headphone i ever heard, it is to me wide, airy, neutral and fun. Bass is neutral and booms if the song is made to boom, it's quick, heavy and clean, it punches hard and fast if need be while doesn't feel too invasive on the other instruments, the details and sound-stage just open up this headphone so you can enjoy the flavor of each instrument in what feels like a spacious environment. It's slightly brighter than neutral because i feel with it feeling quite spacious you would feel more disconnected from the music otherwise and it's done to give it that airy sparkle to the vocals and instruments

I think that the fact that so many people continually compare Sundara to headphones costing two to three times as much and even comparing to Susvara at over $6000 speaks volumes as to the incredible achievement of Fang and company for producing this incredible headphone at $500. No headphone is perfect but for $500 I don't think Sundara can be beat.

 

[yaby1979]

After a good week of heavy listening the Sundara's are to me the best sounding headphone i ever heard, it is to me wide, airy, neutral and fun. Bass is neutral and booms if the song is made to boom, it's quick, heavy and clean, it punches hard and fast if need be while doesn't feel too invasive on the other instruments, the details and sound-stage just open up this headphone so you can enjoy the flavor of each instrument in what feels like a spacious environment. It's slightly brighter than neutral because i feel with it feeling quite spacious you would feel more disconnected from the music otherwise and it's done to give it that airy sparkle to the vocals and instruments

Glad to say ' I told you so ' Paddy. To me this is the best $500 headphone on the planet! Once Sundara is broken-in it's incredible.