[ManuLM]

I suggest you spend a bit of time on this section of ASR, a lot of winners listed for very reasonnable price:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nation-audio-dac-and-headphone-amplifiers.53/

 

[ardilla]

hey there is usb dac recommand ?

I ran it from speaker taps - but you don't have to

https://www.headphoneer.com/hifiman-sundara-review/

 

[fragzone]

Took the ~2khz slider in the Oratory 1990 harman target from ~5db to ~2db today and wow does that make vocals and timbre shine.

 

[ardilla]

The Sundara handles eq quite well I believe

 

[fragzone]

I don't have experience with Audeze planars, and I wasn't comparing planar to planar. There are some planars that clearly don't have very low distortion in the lowest octaves, such as the Ananda. Sundara doesn't have the lowest distortion, either, if you look at the measurements of many planars. Audeze's offerings are quite good in this aspect as well. When it comes to dynamic drivers, however, they always do poorly in comparison. My ATH AD1000x has a massive 54mm driver. It should be able to push a lot of air, and Tyll's measurement shows that it has pretty low distortion below 40hz, relative to 98% of other dynamic headphones. Compared to the Sundara, however, the AD1000x is not even close, and that is audibly so. To get a dynamic driver to rumble as hard as a planar, I think you would have to take desktop speakers and seal them around your ears. lol

To get planars whose efficiency are rated between 89-94dB to audibly distort, you would have to pull a lot of power, which is probably why this aspect of these planars don't get mentioned much. People also don't do bass boost EQ much, because this would easily require their (already beefy) amp's output capacity to quadruple easily. I've tested that my Sundara can pull up to 9W from my Crown XLS 1502. Nine. Freaking. Watts! These are transient subbass slams, and of course you can only safely do this with a few tracks and movie scenes if you like to keep your hearing. It's very, very fun. These kinds of rumbles and thick slams would damage 99% of dynamic drivers.

Wow that was a fascinating read. 9W Holy Moses. I got the heavy sub-bass EQ as per Harman, maybe I should upgrade from an atom.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Wow that was a fascinating read. 9W Holy Moses. I got the heavy sub-bass EQ as per Harman, maybe I should upgrade from an atom.

The Atom is basically a mini THX 789, minus the balanced output. In balanced mode, I believe the THX 789 can output almost x4 more power than the Atom (unless the Atom has been updated) through the Sundara, and x6 max if the load (headphones) has low enough resistance. Yet, I'd managed to clip the 789 with the sundara several times. Yes, I use a subbass EQ, and only certain passages/scenes would trigger the clipping. Again, I'd be very careful when messing around with such output levels. Massive subbass and bass content is fine, but make sure your audio doesn't contain enough higher frequency information to damage your hearing. Here's the setting I've been using for years for normal listening:

For movies and music, I sometimes use a beefier one:

Many would assume my Sundara should be dead by now. Nope, still going strong after 3 years.

 

[.Sup]

I don't think I've read a comparison between these two headphones that is more detailed and thorough than this. Thanks for sharing. It seems to me by your write up that the XS resembles the HE-6se v1/v2, except with more bass warmth/body. The 6se is also quite lean. I definitely think the Sundara has more bass and midrange warmth than the 6se, even though the Sundara has been measured to have a bass roll off. If what you're describing is true, I reckon the XS is superior to the 6se for those who enjoy a lean/dry coloration. To me, the Sundara is neither lean nor thick; however, it will deliver body if paired with a fuller sounding amp, and sound thin and analytical with an analytical amp.

That the XS is leaner sounding is a definite hard pass for me. Over time, I've developed quite a distaste for the lean/clinical/analytical/dry coloration, regardless of how "technically superior" it is.

Hey, do you own both the Sundara and HE6 se? How do they compare? I am considering of trying out the HE6se and will put Sundara for sale. Been wanting to try the 6s since 2010(?).

 

[tigon_ridge]

Hey, do you own both the Sundara and HE6 se? How do they compare? I am considering of trying out the HE6se and will put Sundara for sale. Been wanting to try the 6s since 2010(?).

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...aded-around-500.860413/page-263#post-17181116

I'm not about to recommend anyone buy a Crown XLS 1502 just to pair with their Sundara, but if they are crazy enough to do it, they'd be well rewarded with one of the best pairings they'll ever enjoy under $1000. I'm very confident of that statement. With some EQ to tame the stereotypical treble of the Hifiman neutrality, it would be even nicer. Needs custom DIY speaker-outputs-to-XLR connector. Mine is banana plugs to 4-pin XLR. There isn't any on the market for a decent price. For a reasonable fee, anyone can PM me if they want me to make one for them. It's very basic and cheap to make, but it also looks cheap and it'll do.

 

[texx2818]

Man, I picked up the closed backs for $150 on Amazon, and I know everyone poops on them, but for $150, I'm pretty happy with these for an office headphone. Especially because with Hifiman's horrific build quality, I would never spend more than $150 on a pair of any of their headphones.

 

[ardilla]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...aded-around-500.860413/page-263#post-17181116

I'm not about to recommend anyone buy a Crown XLS 1502 just to pair with their Sundara, but if they are crazy enough to do it, they'd be well rewarded with one of the best pairings they'll ever enjoy under $1000. I'm very confident of that statement. With some EQ to tame the stereotypical treble of the Hifiman neutrality, it would be even nicer. Needs custom DIY speaker-outputs-to-XLR connector. Mine is banana plugs to 4-pin XLR. There isn't any on the market for a decent price. For a reasonable fee, anyone can PM me if they want me to make one for them. It's very basic and cheap to make, but it also looks cheap and it'll do.

The Sundara shines with power indeed!

 

[tigon_ridge]

The Sundara shines with power indeed!

I'm still not sure if it's the amount or quality of power. Many people have also said the HE-6se shines with power, but I've not found that to be the case.

 

[ardilla]

I'm still not sure if it's the amount or quality of power. Many people have also said the HE-6se shines with power, but I've not found that to be the case.

It's both. You have to have sufficient power but it has to be a good match as well. You need quality power. Fast power.

 

[Flognuts]

Chord Mojo for Sundara - Best match I heard for them.

 

[Lindholdt]

The Atom is basically a mini THX 789, minus the balanced output. In balanced mode, I believe the THX 789 can output almost x4 more power than the Atom (unless the Atom has been updated) through the Sundara, and x6 max if the load (headphones) has low enough resistance. Yet, I'd managed to clip the 789 with the sundara several times. Yes, I use a subbass EQ, and only certain passages/scenes would trigger the clipping. Again, I'd be very careful when messing around with such output levels. Massive subbass and bass content is fine, but make sure your audio doesn't contain enough higher frequency information to damage your hearing. Here's the setting I've been using for years for normal listening:



For movies and music, I sometimes use a beefier one:


Many would assume my Sundara should be dead by now. Nope, still going strong after 3 years.

Holy moly that's a lot of bass
Do you really feel the Sundara is so thin sounding?

 

[tigon_ridge]

Holy moly that's a lot of bass
Do you really feel the Sundara is so thin sounding?

It's mostly subbass, and information below 15hz is virtually nonexistent in 98% of any audio content anyway, even very bassy tracks. The midbass increase is barely there. At 80hz, for example, there's only a 3db increase in the second setting. At 100hz, you can hardly hear a difference.

"Thinness," or the antithesis of body, is not determined by the bass frequency response, as experienced users would understand. You can test this by using a bass boost for male vocals; mostly, more bass doesn't make his tone any richer, and at some point it just sounds weird/off. Body is more a function of decay and timbre. The Sundara on many amps does sound thin, for sure. On my XLS, it is full-bodied without being bloated. It's natural/transparent, in other words.

I also have a separate midbass setting, but only occassionally use it, because I find it affects vocal clarity and accuracy, though it does fall in line with the Harmon curve. It really depends on the recording.