[ian91]

Great to get some validation on that detail. Means it was not imagination.
Not sure what the deal with HFM saying no silent revision via customer support..something happened to that can.

Something did happen, atleast to my ears, whether it was intentional is another matter... Ah well! Atleast its an improvement for our tastes!

 

[Lohb]

Holography, cohesion and layering are what is standing out with the Sundara now with pad rolling.

 

[Krassi]

I still bloody love my sundaras...
Still my Homeoffice always on workhorse with simple e1da 9038s and some personal peace eq preset.
Zero space needed on my packed desk.

 

[DivineCurrent]

I still bloody love my sundaras...
Still my Homeoffice always on workhorse with simple e1da 9038s and some personal peace eq preset.
Zero space needed on my packed desk.

I'm also going to use the 9038S with my Sundara once I build a 2.5mm balanced cable for it. I also have a 9038D that powers them just fine, but I could always use the extra balanced power.

The Sundara really is amazing. I've had them for a while, but ever since I got an HE-500 they didn't get much use until now.
I was A/Bing the Sundara with the HE-500 this week, and to my surprise they are more similar than different. Using stock Pali Pads with the Sundara and Hifiman Velpads with the HE-500, the tonal balance between the two is very balanced and natural. In terms of technical performance, I need to give the edge to the HE-500 though, because it is more dynamic and hits harder. Granted that is a double sided magnet design. But something the Sundara does better in my opinion is the sense of openness and effortlessness. You can throw anything at the Sundara and basically every genre sounds great! While the HE-500 is a very tight and focused experience, you lose out on some of that "surround sound" type of thing the Sundara does. You can hear deeper into the recording on the Sundara, and the midrange is more natural. Also, even with an Audeze headband swap on my HE-500, the Sundara is definitely the more comfortable headphone. But I did have to bend the top spring steel part of the headband to lower the clamp force.

Something I don’t see mentioned about the Sundara is an elevation around 12kHz, not necessarily a peak but a broad bump. Maybe because it is in the very high treble, but it adds some sharpness and shimmer quality to instruments that otherwise would not be there. It actually reminds me a little of the "metallicness" of the Focal Clear, but to a lesser extent. Using EQ to bring that area down makes things sound smoother to me. They also destroy my Sennheiser headphones (HD600, HD58X) in technical performance, and with EQ they are nearly as good tonally. Certainly a much more immersive and open experience than any 600 series Sennheiser.

 

[MayaTlab]

Something I don’t see mentioned about the Sundara is an elevation around 12kHz, not necessarily a peak but a broad bump.

This can vary depending on sample variation (which seems an issue for Hifiman, albeit channel matching is alright-ish according to DIYaudio) or depending on how exactly the headphones interact with your anatomy, particularly at these frequencies.

The first copy of the Sundara I received had a fairly strong resonance at around 1.2-1.3kHz (and its multiple at around 2.5kHz) on the right channel that shaped the FR in a way that was quite unexpected given the measurements available of the 2020 revision, which didn't change with pad compression / position, etc.
The overall FR curve was quite jagged and in the 6 to 7kHz region the jaggedness had such narrow bandwidths that the DIY probe tube I'm using to measure them at higher frequencies can't accurately represent the succession of very narrow bandwidth resonances and nulls that happened with my sample on my head in that area.

As measured with in-concha mics (absolute values not representative below 50-60Hz and above 800Hz or so, comparative values somewhat valid up to around 3kHz for larger over-ears).

The H-400SE I now own is better behaved throughout the FR spectrum except around 9000kHz where it exhibits a monstrous treble spike of doom on both channels that third party measurements didn't show to such a degree (but SBAF's measurements seemed to show some indication that at least their sample also had some troubles up there).

So your experience may not always match others' in that regard.

 

[Rahmaniac24]

Hi guys. Do you guys think that the Fiio FH3 will complement my Hifiman Sundaras?

The FH3 from what I read seems to have a v shaped sound signature while the Sundara has a balanced sound. I think if you want a fun kind of sound then the FH3 could be a good option. I could be wrong though

 

[Lohb]

2021 Sundaras just great with my new 100mm flat (vs angled) velour pads with round hole (still trying to track down source of them just now), it's almost like 80-90% near LCD-X '21 now...bass extension and quantity/quality...mids placement and treble. Audeze just got that next level of muscle behind the sound.
Actually vs the LCD-XC 2021 the upper mids and treble are easy to listen to on sundy...XC '21 is quite saturated in that region that makes it OTT intense as you go loud. Glad I pad-rolled these as they were going to go with the icyness/and tizz I felt they had with stock pads and my gear.

 

[Dawgfish]

2021 Sundaras just great with my new 100mm flat (vs angled) velour pads with round hole (still trying to track down source of them just now), it's almost like 80-90% near LCD-X '21 now...bass extension and quantity/quality...mids placement and treble. Audeze just got that next level of muscle behind the sound.
Actually vs the LCD-XC 2021 the upper mids and treble are easy to listen to on sundy...XC '21 is quite saturated in that region that makes it OTT intense as you go loud. Glad I pad-rolled these as they were going to go with the icyness/and tizz I felt they had with stock pads and my gear.

Awesome! That sounds great! Please let us know what the pads are and where to get them once you track down the source. I would love to hear that.

 

[Kevintj604]

I recently got a 2020 Sundara and I love them. I had an Ananda before them and I prefer the Sundara. That being said i am now looking at possibly acquiring an HiFiMan Edition X V2. Has anyone done a comparison between the Sundara and Edition X V2?

 

[Knightyear]

Picked these up a few months ago as my first real pair of headphones and still use them daily. Love them.

 

[Krassi]

I'm also going to use the 9038S with my Sundara once I build a 2.5mm balanced cable for it. I also have a 9038D that powers them just fine, but I could always use the extra balanced power.

The Sundara really is amazing. I.......

Yes and with peace eq you can elevate them to your taste. they really benefit from the 9038
I have a bling blong overpriced cable for it that i really like and its nice that i need zero space on my cramped desktop. Any crap cable would do the same but looks improve the psychedelic acoustic placebo effect.

 

[Sheza]

Hey all

I just bought these after trying them out in a store, liking them so far. I have to say though, I think the cable is ass. I think I have the 2020 version as it's 3.5mm to each ear cup. But the cable is kinda chunky and stiff and getting in the way a lot. I read somewhere that the 3.5mm design of the cable means it should be easy to get replacements. I must be a dumbass, because I can't find replacement cables anywhere. Plenty of RCA connector cables everywhere, but not what I need. I must be searching for the wrong thing.

Can anyone recommend some cables? Thanks!

 

[damintoell]

Hey all

I just bought these after trying them out in a store, liking them so far. I have to say though, I think the cable is ass. I think I have the 2020 version as it's 3.5mm to each ear cup. But the cable is kinda chunky and stiff and getting in the way a lot. I read somewhere that the 3.5mm design of the cable means it should be easy to get replacements. I must be a dumbass, because I can't find replacement cables anywhere. Plenty of RCA connector cables everywhere, but not what I need. I must be searching for the wrong thing.

Can anyone recommend some cables? Thanks!

Hart Audio cables are pretty popular, and I can personally recommend them. https://hartaudiocables.com/products/hc-9-dual-3-5mm-mono-ts-balanced-headphone-cable

 

[DivineCurrent]

Hey all

I just bought these after trying them out in a store, liking them so far. I have to say though, I think the cable is ass. I think I have the 2020 version as it's 3.5mm to each ear cup. But the cable is kinda chunky and stiff and getting in the way a lot. I read somewhere that the 3.5mm design of the cable means it should be easy to get replacements. I must be a dumbass, because I can't find replacement cables anywhere. Plenty of RCA connector cables everywhere, but not what I need. I must be searching for the wrong thing.

Can anyone recommend some cables? Thanks!

I got this NewFantasia one from Amazon a while ago, it's really nice for the Sundara. It's thin and doesn't get in the way:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PY5YYZN/

 

[Strat1117]

Hey all

I just bought these after trying them out in a store, liking them so far. I have to say though, I think the cable is ass. I think I have the 2020 version as it's 3.5mm to each ear cup. But the cable is kinda chunky and stiff and getting in the way a lot. I read somewhere that the 3.5mm design of the cable means it should be easy to get replacements. I must be a dumbass, because I can't find replacement cables anywhere. Plenty of RCA connector cables everywhere, but not what I need. I must be searching for the wrong thing.

Can anyone recommend some cables? Thanks!

I’m using these and they look/sound/feel great, at a reasonable cost:

https://www.audiophileninja.com/

Also pretty sure they have their own thread somewhere on head-fi.

I agree with the earlier poster who said he liked these better than his Anandas. I just sent a pair of Anandas back to Hifiman because, as beautiful as they sounded, they bored me to death - just too soft and smooth. The Sundara is voiced much more to my liking. I am also very curious to hear details on the pad rolling mentioned above.