[Rhamnetin]

Yeah the Sundara is very impressive. My only issue with its sound is some mild unnaturalness in the treble noticeable around cymbals, but I don't think it leads to any sibilance so it's very mild. Swapping pads and cables to good quality ones will probably help.

 

[Ripper2860]

Wow. Just Wow. After a few hours break-in on the Sundaras, I can say I am definitely smitten. And I thought my Hifiman HE400S with Focus Pads sounded great. Sundara is on a different level, indeed!! Just a few first impressions of Sundara...

• Wonderful soundstage
• Very quick and precise attacks with a natural decay
• Nice bass and treble extension
• Excellent texture, layers and timbre
• Nice amount of ambiance and 'air' around notes and instruments (especially with small groups in intimate settings)
• Nicely balanced FR -- top to bottom

And now to the HD6XX (arrived a day earlier than anticipated). I spent about 1 hour with the HD6XX and I can definitely see why the Senn HD650 is so highly regarded. It is currently breaking-in for the next 24-36 hours before I give it a serious listen, however, I suspect it will not top the Sundara for my HP rig listening. The HD6XX will likely displace the Audio Technica ATH-M50 on my 2-channel rig.

A forum member is building me a nice litz cable for the Sundara, so I've got that covered. I could use some help with pad replacements. The stock pads seem very,very similar to the Focus Pads', so I don't feel the need to swap out the Focus Pads on the HE400S with the Sundara pads. What are some thoughts on replacement pads -- Dekoni Hybrid Elite, Brainwavz, others? I'm open to suggestions and impressions.

 

[Rhamnetin]

ZMF Ori or Universe pads maybe, those are aftermarket favorites.

I rank the Sundara a tier above the HE-560 which I rank a tier above the HD 6XX/HD 600/HD 650. HiFiMan could have easily made the Sundara a $900 headphone, its sound quality threatens those in that price range and above.

 

[chris.d.m.]

Maybe the AFO have a similar sonic territory but warner & with less impact than Sundara?
I’ve been checking them out but haven’t heard Sundara.

 

[peterzzz]

Could use some help with pad replacements. The stock pads seem very,very similar to the Focus Pads', so I don't feel the need to swap out the Focus Pads on the HE400S with the Sundara pads. What are some thoughts on replacement pads -- Dekoni Hybrid Elite, Brainwavz, others? I'm open to suggestions and impressions.

I've not tried myself yet, but earlier in the thread:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...raded-around-500.860413/page-70#post-14183422

 

[gazzington]

If I was to get my first hickman headphones for listening to Jazz, hip hop and metal, are these the ones to go for? I can spend up to £700. I will be using them at home and at work off an basso dx150.

 

[chris.d.m.]

Curious how Sundara stacks up against similar priced ZMF stuff. Any experiences?

 

[Rhamnetin]

Curious how Sundara stacks up against similar priced ZMF stuff. Any experiences?

I own the ZMF Blackwood and Ori (both are quite a bit more expensive) and have auditioned the Sundara twice in fairly quiet listening environments so I will give my thoughts.

I like all three headphones. The Sundara is considerably more laid back, upper mids to treble transition is lower which pushes the overall sound presentation of the Sundara back. With the Sundara, it is like you are in the audience, while with the ZMFs it is like you are on stage or right in front of it. This gives the ZMF a closer and more energetic sound, the Sundara a bit softer and of course less forward.

Both have really deep bass, never did bass sweep tests with the Sundara so I can't tell if it's quite as deep as the ZMFs which go as deep as any headphone including the LCD-4. Much more bass slam on the ZMFs.

Can't speak for the Sundara's detail retrieval but it most likely wins. Sundara images better and has a better sound stage (which actually says a lot since both ZMFs image better than the HE-560 despite not being fully open). Both sound very musical. The Sundara had slight unnaturalness around cymbals but I could identify no other treble issues during my auditions (zero issues with the ZMFs).

All three are by far the best sub $1,000 headphones I have ever listened to, and all three outperform much more expensive headphones in my opinion. In my mind the next step up from these is the HE1000v2 or Stax SR-007.

 

[329161]

Interesting comparison...

 

[onevstheworld]

Maybe the AFO have a similar sonic territory but warner & with less impact than Sundara?
I’ve been checking them out but haven’t heard Sundara.

They are nowhere similar.

AFO is warm, bassy, higher impact sound, but feels more closed in. Sundara less bassy and impact, but more open and airy sound with more detail. If you've got the money to have both, I think they complement rather than compete with each other.

 

[Paddy]

I feel the reason why Sundara's low response Is so neutral is because any more warmth to it would hurt its large airy signature which really allows it to shine in terms of soundstage and instrument separation.

 

[Paddy]

Ok I just got back from testing both the HE 560 and Aeon Flow open. The Aeon flow open is priced at $1300 New Zealand while the Sundara I own are $765 New Zealand. I First compared the Aeon Flow open and was left flabbergasted how unbelievably well rounded and rich sounding the Sundara are in comparison. The AFO have a much smaller soundstage compared to the airy Sundara. There is a heavier presence in the lows while the Sundara punches hard and quick. Due to the AFO feeling more coloured towards warmth I really felt the instruments felt more congested while with the Sundara I heard everything so delicately. The vocals were a little clearer I felt on the Sundara, almost as if they had more presence, this might have been due to the warmth in the AFO. The AFO were slightly easier to drive with my amp which is a FIIO A5 but the Sundara and even HE 560 are easily driven by it. The AFO sound like a closed headphone in comparison to the Sundara which is a shame due to the sound leakage, I feel if the closed version sounds similar they would be of better value. Sundara easily beat the AFO for me which is crazy considering the price difference. I feel hifiman have set the bar at a level noone has nearly matched yet with it price to performance ratio. Fair play hifiman

As for the HE 560, they were very similar to the Sundara, so much so that if I had the HE 560 first I wouldn't see the Sundara as a big upgrade. Yes the Sundara has a small bit of heavier punch to the lows and slightly bigger soundstage but that was really only the main improvements. They were so similar with the Sundara just edging it for me.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Ok I just got back from testing both the HE 560 and Aeon Flow open. The Aeon flow open is priced at $1300 New Zealand while the Sundara I own are $765 New Zealand. I First compared the Aeon Flow open and was left flabbergasted how unbelievably well rounded and rich sounding the Sundara are. The AFO have a much smaller soundstage compared to the airy Sundara. There is a heavier presence in the lows while the Sundara punches hard and quick. Due to the AFO feeling more coloured towards warmth I really felt the instruments felt more congested while with the Sundara I heard everything so delicately. The vocals were a little clearer I felt on the Sundara, almost as if they had more presence, this might have been due to the warmth in the AFO. The AFO were slightly easier to drive with my amp which is a FIIO A5 but the Sundara and even HE 560 are easily driven by it. The AFO sound like a closed headphone in comparison to the Sundara which is a shame due to the sound leakage, I feel if the closed version sounds similar they would be of better value. Sundara easily beat the AFO for ke which is crazy considering the price difference. I feel hifiman have set the bar at a level noone has nearly matched yet with it price to performance ratio. Fair play hifiman

As for the HE 560, they were very similar to the Sundara, so much so that if I had the HE 560 first I wouldn't see the Sundara as a big upgrade. Yes the Sundara has a small bit of heavier punch to the lows and slightly bigger soundstage but that was really only the main improvements. They were so similar with the Sundara just edging it for me.

Interesting, the Sundara and HE-560 sound completely different to me (and this is evident in their frequency responses too). The HE-560 is much, much brighter and more forward (I detect no noteworthy dips in the treble and it is one of the brightest headphones I have ever owned), while the Sundara is more laid back due to some lower treble dips that, to me, push the sound presentation back a few rows and avoids being bright like the HE-560. The Sundara seemed to image much better too. Personally I think the Sundara obliterates all open back headphones I've heard below $1,000 including the LCD-2 and HE-560.

 

[Paddy]

Interesting, the Sundara and HE-560 sound completely different to me (and this is evident in their frequency responses too). The HE-560 is much, much brighter and more forward (I detect no noteworthy dips in the treble and it is one of the brightest headphones I have ever owned), while the Sundara is more laid back due to some lower treble dips that, to me, push the sound presentation back a few rows and avoids being bright like the HE-560. The Sundara seemed to image much better too. Personally I think the Sundara obliterates all open back headphones I've heard below $1,000 including the LCD-2 and HE-560.

I didn't compare the HE 560 and Sundara for long which is evident in my brief comparison so perhaps there is a much greater difference as you rightly mention. I mainly went to listen to the Aeon Flow Open which have been hyped up so much yet to me they sound very overpriced when you compare them to the likes of the Sundara. With the HE 560 I mainly only listened to a few deep house tracks, i noticed the Sundara having a larger soundstage feeling as you said a little bit more laid back however the Sundara still had plenty of punch and went slightly deeper. If I listened to other genres I'm sure I would have noticed more differences but I wasnt really interested in the HE 560. They were also a bit harder to drive with my FIIO A5 than the Sundara. I also have to add however the AFO I tested werent broken into yet i was told due to them being new in store but I don't think they could improve much to change my mind. Their signature is just too coloured for me

 

[franz12]

I didn't compare the HE 560 and Sundara for long which is evident in my brief comparison so perhaps there is a much greater difference as you rightly mention. I mainly went to listen to the Aeon Flow Open which have been hyped up so much yet to me they sound very overpriced when you compare them to the likes of the Sundara. With the HE 560 I mainly only listened to a few deep house tracks, i noticed the Sundara having a larger soundstage feeling as you said a little bit more laid back however the Sundara still had plenty of punch and went slightly deeper. If I listened to other genres I'm sure I would have noticed more differences but I wasnt really interested in the HE 560. They were also a bit harder to drive with my FIIO A5 than the Sundara. I also have to add however the AFO I tested werent broken into yet i was told due to them being new in store but I don't think they could improve much to change my mind. Their signature is just too coloured for me

I had Sundara and AFO. At the first glance, Sundara sounded extremely good. But more I listen to it, it sounded too sterile and too light, so it went back to Amazon.
Ananda is on the way. I hope that Ananda has more organic and fuller sounds.