[529128]

One thing I don’t see mentioned that often on here is the wearing comfort. It’s very high..like in you literally forget you’re wearing headphones inside a period of 3 minutes. I find it more comfortable than most other headphones in fact and add to that: it’s very open and airy aka it doesn’t get hot!
The only other full-sized headphone I can wear during summer without melting the upstairs compartment completely is an AKG...but it doesn’t sound as good as the Sundara.
Another little thing about form and fit: I see a lot of comments regarding the fixed design of the cups (no swivel What aaaaaarrghhh!!!!). I presume some folks just aren’t getting a proper seal? Well not to worry then. The Sundara sounds the same even when you don’t get a good seal...in fact if you break the seal enough you’ll actually get a slight increase in subbass. Ahh the wonders of janitor magnetics

Soundwise I still feel this headphone hits the sweetspot. Now where the Amanda and Arya ever so slightly develop and refine the sound signature already found in the Sundara, they both still cost way too much for what they bring to the table imho...and they’re not as comfortable as the Sundara to those of us who like to lie down and listen ie they slip off my head/ears very easily. I also prefer the round cups actually, but maybe that’s just me. I don’t enjoy having something pressing down on my jawbone and cheek. It’s very slight but ultimately ends up reminding me about the headphone instead of letting me sink into the music.
On top of that I find the more present mids of the Arya to underline the brightness even further...and if I am dishing out 1600€ for a coconut I pretty much want perfection. Call me crazy.
The Amanda doesn’t do this though..but then again I’m hard pressed to view it as anything other than a slightly more linear sidegrade to the Sundara. Mostly because the latter’s tuning offers up dynamics to the sound that is missing from it’s much pricier brethren. It’s like the most sneaky “v-shape signature” hidden inside what on the surface appears to be an ever so slightly bright leaning but neutral headphone.
The Sundara comes with this wonderful dynamic character to it that has a way of introducing ‘punch’ and ‘liveliness’ to the music that I personally find rather addictive.
For the price - hell even the original price - I think it’s a steal. I still prefer it over the LCD-2..and I really dig the Audeze!

As a new ‘Sundarist‘ I can definitely second those observations. Sold off my HD650s in favour of the Sundaras and I have no regrets whatsoever. Sundara is both a great place to start and to stay in the world of head-fi.

 

[cirodts]

One thing I don’t see mentioned that often on here is the wearing comfort. It’s very high..like in you literally forget you’re wearing headphones inside a period of 3 minutes. I find it more comfortable than most other headphones in fact and add to that: it’s very open and airy aka it doesn’t get hot!
The only other full-sized headphone I can wear during summer without melting the upstairs compartment completely is an AKG...but it doesn’t sound as good as the Sundara.
Another little thing about form and fit: I see a lot of comments regarding the fixed design of the cups (no swivel What aaaaaarrghhh!!!!). I presume some folks just aren’t getting a proper seal? Well not to worry then. The Sundara sounds the same even when you don’t get a good seal...in fact if you break the seal enough you’ll actually get a slight increase in subbass. Ahh the wonders of janitor magnetics

Soundwise I still feel this headphone hits the sweetspot. Now where the Amanda and Arya ever so slightly develop and refine the sound signature already found in the Sundara, they both still cost way too much for what they bring to the table imho...and they’re not as comfortable as the Sundara to those of us who like to lie down and listen ie they slip off my head/ears very easily. I also prefer the round cups actually, but maybe that’s just me. I don’t enjoy having something pressing down on my jawbone and cheek. It’s very slight but ultimately ends up reminding me about the headphone instead of letting me sink into the music.
On top of that I find the more present mids of the Arya to underline the brightness even further...and if I am dishing out 1600€ for a coconut I pretty much want perfection. Call me crazy.
The Amanda doesn’t do this though..but then again I’m hard pressed to view it as anything other than a slightly more linear sidegrade to the Sundara. Mostly because the latter’s tuning offers up dynamics to the sound that is missing from it’s much pricier brethren. It’s like the most sneaky “v-shape signature” hidden inside what on the surface appears to be an ever so slightly bright leaning but neutral headphone.
The Sundara comes with this wonderful dynamic character to it that has a way of introducing ‘punch’ and ‘liveliness’ to the music that I personally find rather addictive.
For the price - hell even the original price - I think it’s a steal. I still prefer it over the LCD-2..and I really dig the Audeze!

So do you think the sundara has more dynamics in the sound than ananda?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

So do you think the sundara has more dynamics in the sound than ananda?

That’s what I wrote yes
The Amanda and Arya are more linear sounding cans but at the expense of dynamics. It’s a fairly easy experiment actually. If you eq your Sundara to be more like it’s pricier big brothers..well you end up with a similar result: a flatter sounding headphone but with less dynamics and ‘punch’ to the music.

 

[cirodts]

That’s what I wrote yes
The Amanda and Arya are more linear sounding cans but at the expense of dynamics. It’s a fairly easy experiment actually. If you eq your Sundara to be more like it’s pricier big brothers..well you end up with a similar result: a flatter sounding headphone but with less dynamics and ‘punch’ to the music.

so for rock metal listening is sundara recommended?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

That would depend on your tastebuds
The longer I stay here the more convinced I am about the fact that there is no such thing as the ‘best’ headphone. It entirely depends on your own sound preferences. If you look at what fans of rock and metal generally go for...well then you realise that there is no real preference. Some folks dig the HD650, others the SR325...or perhaps even a K702 - all very different sound signatures.
I gather you already own the Sundara and am pondering whether or not an upgrade would be worth it? If that is the case, then I recommend a testdrive before a purchase. It isn’t worth it for me personally, simply because I slightly prefer the Sundara. My friend feels the other way and upgraded to the Amanda from the Sundara...but we’re different like that. He digs the Clear while I prefer the Elear. I dig the K7XX over the Nighthawk..he is the opposite...and so forth

 

[cirodts]

That would depend on your tastebuds
The longer I stay here the more convinced I am about the fact that there is no such thing as the ‘best’ headphone. It entirely depends on your own sound preferences. If you look at what fans of rock and metal generally go for...well then you realise that there is no real preference. Some folks dig the HD650, others the SR325...or perhaps even a K702 - all very different sound signatures.
I gather you already own the Sundara and am pondering whether or not an upgrade would be worth it? If that is the case, then I recommend a testdrive before a purchase. It isn’t worth it for me personally, simply because I slightly prefer the Sundara. My friend feels the other way and upgraded to the Amanda from the Sundara...but we’re different like that. He digs the Clear while I prefer the Elear. I dig the K7XX over the Nighthawk..he is the opposite...and so forth

thanks for your considerations, they were useful, I keep the sundara that I like very much with rock.

 

[joshUKUSA]

Writing in this thread because I'm not sure where else to put this query, but I've got a really strange specific issue that I haven't seen be posted anywhere before

So when I first bought my sundaras I complained in this thread about a channel imbalance with the left channel being a few dB louder than the right, however after some burn in this issue was completely gone and I thought that was the end of it. After a couple weeks use the problem returned, but only for a couple of minutes when I first booted up my system before audibly returning to normal for the rest of my listening time, and this got me thinking it was an issue with the amp instead of the headphones.

Sure enough when this happened again I tried swapping the L/R Cables around and there was an imbalance with the right channel being louder this time, I'm using a Massdrop LCX + SDAC and this problem happens with both the balanced and SE outputs. Further tests with my phone and other outputs have shown this issue is only happening with this amp but even more strangely, tests with other headphones have shown this problem is only showing up with the specific pairing of this amp and the sundaras.

I'm writing about this now because for the last couple of days it's stopped switching back and forth and seems to be only playing with a channel imbalance once more, like when I first got the headphones.

Does anyone have any insight into what on earth is going on?

 

[Kevin.T]

Writing in this thread because I'm not sure where else to put this query, but I've got a really strange specific issue that I haven't seen be posted anywhere before

So when I first bought my sundaras I complained in this thread about a channel imbalance with the left channel being a few dB louder than the right, however after some burn in this issue was completely gone and I thought that was the end of it. After a couple weeks use the problem returned, but only for a couple of minutes when I first booted up my system before audibly returning to normal for the rest of my listening time, and this got me thinking it was an issue with the amp instead of the headphones.

Sure enough when this happened again I tried swapping the L/R Cables around and there was an imbalance with the right channel being louder this time, I'm using a Massdrop LCX + SDAC and this problem happens with both the balanced and SE outputs. Further tests with my phone and other outputs have shown this issue is only happening with this amp but even more strangely, tests with other headphones have shown this problem is only showing up with the specific pairing of this amp and the sundaras.

I'm writing about this now because for the last couple of days it's stopped switching back and forth and seems to be only playing with a channel imbalance once more, like when I first got the headphones.

Does anyone have any insight into what on earth is going on?

My first thinking was the headphone cable being the culprit. But then, you mention the issue happens on both the balanced and SE outputs of your amp. Are you saying you have two different cables for your Sundara, and this issue happens with both of them? Or is it the same cable, with an adapter?

 

[joshUKUSA]

My first thinking was the headphone cable being the culprit. But then, you mention the issue happens on both the balanced and SE outputs of your amp. Are you saying you have two different cables for your Sundara, and this issue happens with both of them? Or is it the same cable, with an adapter?

Yeah ive got two different cables and it happens with both, the SE cable is the same I used to plug it into my phone where the imbalance wasn't present so definitely not a cable issue.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

Sitting here listening to the Burson C3P/Sundara,playing The Sad Salamandres "Operator Give Me A Wrong Number"& a cheshire cat grin a mile wide!
Senn HD800S due tomorrow(tuesday PST)...Life is good tonight...

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I must’ve plowed through 4 Kate Bush albums last night before I realised that I was sweating profusely under my knees..but my head felt cool and collected. Well shiver me timbers!!!
Now to all of you folks out there who are used to tropical temperatures..bear with this Scandinavian viking because it probably won’t make any sense to you..but yeah realising that the Sundara can be worn in a sauna and still feel comfortable, well that is just magnificent to a guy that is way more suited for the tundra amd subzero temperatures. I’ve probably felt cold under 10 times in my life...but I’ve often been very close to completely melting like a nob of butter in a hot trying pan.
Headphones that take lava-like Scandinavians into consideration are few and far between. I salute you Hifiman.

Edith: I highly recommend Kate Bush’s The Dreaming to anyone out there with the Sundara. There’s an experimental delicacy to the album that the Sundara fully captures..and does so beautifully well.

 

[MrCatharsis]

Hi folks!

What did you think about the best amplifiers or DAC's working well with the Sundara? Which are the most recommanded things next to her? Mojo said a lot of times but what about JDS Atom, O2, Schiit Heresy, AAA-887, AAA-789, or any Topping (A50, A90) or SMSL (SP 200 maybe)?

Any recommendations?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

If you can hear a difference between those amps/dacs in a blindtest..my hat’s off to you
Basically just my way of saying: go with what you like. Amps and dacs are extremely overrated on Head-Fi and the differences between said boxes are most often associated with volume or impedance mismatching.
Then again I am somewhat of a lone reed on this coconut branch. I bet most others in this thread can provide you with reasons as to why you should go for X over Y. Personally I’d recommend you save your dough for something that genuinely makes a difference sound quality wise...like fx better recorded albums or maybe a headphone that suits your tastes even better.
Good luck

Edith: This video paints a good picture of what you get in terms of ‘differences’ when you switch amps/dacs. Sure it’s not as good as being there in person, but trust me being there in person pretty much amounts to the same result. I know, I’ve attended quite a few by now.

 

[bagwell359]

I must’ve plowed through 4 Kate Bush albums last night before I realised that I was sweating profusely under my knees..but my head felt cool and collected. Well shiver me timbers!!!
Now to all of you folks out there who are used to tropical temperatures..bear with this Scandinavian viking because it probably won’t make any sense to you..but yeah realising that the Sundara can be worn in a sauna and still feel comfortable, well that is just magnificent to a guy that is way more suited for the tundra amd subzero temperatures. I’ve probably felt cold under 10 times in my life...but I’ve often been very close to completely melting like a nob of butter in a hot trying pan.
Headphones that take lava-like Scandinavians into consideration are few and far between. I salute you Hifiman.

Edith: I highly recommend Kate Bush’s The Dreaming to anyone out there with the Sundara. There’s an experimental delicacy to the album that the Sundara fully captures..and does so beautifully well.

The Dreaming is her best and one of the great LP's of the 1980's.

I like her on the HEX v2, HE6se, and the HE-500...

 

[jwong]

The Dreaming is her best and one of the great LP's of the 1980's.

I like her on the HEX v2, HE6se, and the HE-500...

I prefer Hounds of Love (slightly), but it's probably because it was an early CD purchase of mine that I listened to a lot back in the day. She does sound great on the Sundara!