Paul Mohr
100+ Head-Fier
Hello, my name is Paul and I'm new here. I finally decided to dip my toes into the world of Headphone listening. I'm normally a two channel speaker kind of guy, or home theater type stuff. I belong to various audio, computer, tech and weapons forums but this is my first headphone forum. So this is how I got bit by the headphone bug.
A while back I decided I wanted a better microphone set up for doing Second Life voice (yes I am one of those nerds), doing voice work and making video tutorials. So I went down that rabbit hole researching different types of microphones, interfaces and all that jazz. I ended up getting a E835 XLR stage mic and a Focusrite 2i2 pre amp/interface. Then I added a dbx 286s pre amp/processor. "What does that have to do with headphones Paul? We don't care about your microphone obsession you weirdo.". Well as it ends up I needed some decent headphones to monitor things for setting it up, mixing and editing stuff. Most of the headphones I had were cheap garbage or gaming headsets. I ended up getting some AKG K371's. I thought 150 bucks was a bit much for a pair of headphones, but what the heck if I didn't like them I could take them back. I ended up liking them. They accuracy and detail was far better than other headphones I have used. I'm not a headphone guy, but these sounded pretty good. I was mostly running them off my 2i2 which also doubles as a dac/headphone amp, although a pretty low powered one. It sounded pretty good though compared to the computer jack.
So then I started researching other headphones, just out of boredom mostly. And I started reading and seeing reviews about these things called Sundara's from HifiMan. Never heard of that before. Magnetic planar headphones? Hmm, I always wanted a set of planar speakers, what are these about I wonder. And people were saying how awesome they were and they had no right sounding this good for 350 dollars. I thought, so I can get headphones that sound like 500+ dollar headphones for 350 bucks? Mind you that is a lot of money for someone that is on SSI and makes 800 bucks a month. Then the government gave me a 1400 dollar stimulus check! Guess who suddenly decided 350 bucks wasn't so much for a pair of headphones lol. So after doing some more research on them I decided to order a pair. And you know what, they sounded pretty darn good. I was actually impressed. I tried to plug them into my cheap NUU G5 phone and it pretty much said "FU". You could hear it, but barely. Then I learned what headphone impedance and sensitivity was. 37 ohms and 94 db planar drivers are not a good match for a cheap phone I guess. My 2i2 would drive them, but you had to turn it up pretty high. Still sounded great though. They were better yet on my Denon receiver but I had to crank that up pretty high too. Remember this is compared to my K371's that are 32 ohm at 114 db. Those are pretty easy to run.
However I couldn't help getting the feeling these sundara's had more to offer somehow. Like something was holding them back. Then I read how AV receivers have pretty poor headphone outputs and they put about the least amount of effort into it as they can. They are pretty much just there because people would freak out if they didn't put them in them. So that started me down the rabbit hole of looking at headphone amps.
This gobbled up weeks of time and had my head spinning on whether it was worth it or not. Do I bother with it all, do I get a cheap one, do I get a decent one, do get an amp/dac combo or separates? How much power do I need, how important is the dac? Do I listen to headphones enough that I even care? Keep in mind at the same time I am my Moms full time care giver and legal guardian because she has full blown dementia. So I am dealing with that craziness and its just getting worse. And here is a downer for everyone. She ended up breaking her hip, going into a home and passing away a few days later. So I lost my mom in July. On the up side the lady that handles her money said after all the arrangements were done she had some money left over and she was going to pay me for taking care of her 5 years and never asking for anything. She cut me a nice little check and said to treat myself to something nice, I deserved it. Ok, guess who is getting a headphone amp now. Thanks Mom. And it was my birthday to boot. So now I really dive into researching these things. Reading everything I can find and watching tons of videos. Including lurking on this forum and others.
I finally narrowed it down to trying Schiit Audio products. I just couldn't decide if I wanted the Modi3+/Magni3+ stack or an Asgard 3. I waffled for a while on that and while doing it the Asgard's price went up 50 bucks, figures lol. I finally went with the Asgard 3 with a Modi 3+ and some of their cables. I also ordered a new cable for my Sundara's from Audiophile Ninja because the stock ones kind of suck and they were too short.
How did that process go? Not bad really. I tried emailing them a few times with some questions but they never got back with me. They were not super important questions really and they are probably really busy right now with everything that is going on. Or maybe they just got lost in the internet somewhere, who knows. I ordered them anyway. Super easy to order off their website. I got them in the silver finish with some 1 meter snake oil cables. After taxes and shipping it was like 470 bucks. I paid for next day shipping. And I made the order in the middle of the night. When I woke up the next day I had an email saying the stuff was shipped already. The next day by 3pm it was at my door. Like the company states, they don't waste a lot of money on packaging. It was pretty nondescript boxes but packaged well. Nothing got damaged or anything. I have to say, finish and build quality on this stuff is stellar. Especially in the brushed aluminum. These look and feel way better than they should for how low the price is. I have seen products that cost much more made out of thin stamped tin and plastic. Like something that should be mounted under the dash of my 72 buick or stuck in a cheap 2001 computer case. Not these. They look and feel like something my dad would have owned back in the 60's and 70's. And I do love the retro look of the switches and knobs with no displays or flashing lights. And there was not a mark on these things. Not even a fingerprint or smudge when I pulled them out of the plastic. Nor did they have that weird smell some electronics have when you get them. A+ on build quality and design Schiit audio. Especially for a product in the 100 dollar price range. You could have made these out of plastic and they still would have been a bargain, but you didn't.
How do they sound? Well, that is another story people. And you will have to wait until the powers that be decide I am worthy enough to post in the headphone amp section to find out lol. Right now it won't let me do it. So I am boring you to death in this section to see if I can change their mind.
Spoiler, I am happy and I will not be sending them back.
Have a great night everyone and I hope you enjoyed my story.
A while back I decided I wanted a better microphone set up for doing Second Life voice (yes I am one of those nerds), doing voice work and making video tutorials. So I went down that rabbit hole researching different types of microphones, interfaces and all that jazz. I ended up getting a E835 XLR stage mic and a Focusrite 2i2 pre amp/interface. Then I added a dbx 286s pre amp/processor. "What does that have to do with headphones Paul? We don't care about your microphone obsession you weirdo.". Well as it ends up I needed some decent headphones to monitor things for setting it up, mixing and editing stuff. Most of the headphones I had were cheap garbage or gaming headsets. I ended up getting some AKG K371's. I thought 150 bucks was a bit much for a pair of headphones, but what the heck if I didn't like them I could take them back. I ended up liking them. They accuracy and detail was far better than other headphones I have used. I'm not a headphone guy, but these sounded pretty good. I was mostly running them off my 2i2 which also doubles as a dac/headphone amp, although a pretty low powered one. It sounded pretty good though compared to the computer jack.
So then I started researching other headphones, just out of boredom mostly. And I started reading and seeing reviews about these things called Sundara's from HifiMan. Never heard of that before. Magnetic planar headphones? Hmm, I always wanted a set of planar speakers, what are these about I wonder. And people were saying how awesome they were and they had no right sounding this good for 350 dollars. I thought, so I can get headphones that sound like 500+ dollar headphones for 350 bucks? Mind you that is a lot of money for someone that is on SSI and makes 800 bucks a month. Then the government gave me a 1400 dollar stimulus check! Guess who suddenly decided 350 bucks wasn't so much for a pair of headphones lol. So after doing some more research on them I decided to order a pair. And you know what, they sounded pretty darn good. I was actually impressed. I tried to plug them into my cheap NUU G5 phone and it pretty much said "FU". You could hear it, but barely. Then I learned what headphone impedance and sensitivity was. 37 ohms and 94 db planar drivers are not a good match for a cheap phone I guess. My 2i2 would drive them, but you had to turn it up pretty high. Still sounded great though. They were better yet on my Denon receiver but I had to crank that up pretty high too. Remember this is compared to my K371's that are 32 ohm at 114 db. Those are pretty easy to run.
However I couldn't help getting the feeling these sundara's had more to offer somehow. Like something was holding them back. Then I read how AV receivers have pretty poor headphone outputs and they put about the least amount of effort into it as they can. They are pretty much just there because people would freak out if they didn't put them in them. So that started me down the rabbit hole of looking at headphone amps.
This gobbled up weeks of time and had my head spinning on whether it was worth it or not. Do I bother with it all, do I get a cheap one, do I get a decent one, do get an amp/dac combo or separates? How much power do I need, how important is the dac? Do I listen to headphones enough that I even care? Keep in mind at the same time I am my Moms full time care giver and legal guardian because she has full blown dementia. So I am dealing with that craziness and its just getting worse. And here is a downer for everyone. She ended up breaking her hip, going into a home and passing away a few days later. So I lost my mom in July. On the up side the lady that handles her money said after all the arrangements were done she had some money left over and she was going to pay me for taking care of her 5 years and never asking for anything. She cut me a nice little check and said to treat myself to something nice, I deserved it. Ok, guess who is getting a headphone amp now. Thanks Mom. And it was my birthday to boot. So now I really dive into researching these things. Reading everything I can find and watching tons of videos. Including lurking on this forum and others.
I finally narrowed it down to trying Schiit Audio products. I just couldn't decide if I wanted the Modi3+/Magni3+ stack or an Asgard 3. I waffled for a while on that and while doing it the Asgard's price went up 50 bucks, figures lol. I finally went with the Asgard 3 with a Modi 3+ and some of their cables. I also ordered a new cable for my Sundara's from Audiophile Ninja because the stock ones kind of suck and they were too short.
How did that process go? Not bad really. I tried emailing them a few times with some questions but they never got back with me. They were not super important questions really and they are probably really busy right now with everything that is going on. Or maybe they just got lost in the internet somewhere, who knows. I ordered them anyway. Super easy to order off their website. I got them in the silver finish with some 1 meter snake oil cables. After taxes and shipping it was like 470 bucks. I paid for next day shipping. And I made the order in the middle of the night. When I woke up the next day I had an email saying the stuff was shipped already. The next day by 3pm it was at my door. Like the company states, they don't waste a lot of money on packaging. It was pretty nondescript boxes but packaged well. Nothing got damaged or anything. I have to say, finish and build quality on this stuff is stellar. Especially in the brushed aluminum. These look and feel way better than they should for how low the price is. I have seen products that cost much more made out of thin stamped tin and plastic. Like something that should be mounted under the dash of my 72 buick or stuck in a cheap 2001 computer case. Not these. They look and feel like something my dad would have owned back in the 60's and 70's. And I do love the retro look of the switches and knobs with no displays or flashing lights. And there was not a mark on these things. Not even a fingerprint or smudge when I pulled them out of the plastic. Nor did they have that weird smell some electronics have when you get them. A+ on build quality and design Schiit audio. Especially for a product in the 100 dollar price range. You could have made these out of plastic and they still would have been a bargain, but you didn't.
How do they sound? Well, that is another story people. And you will have to wait until the powers that be decide I am worthy enough to post in the headphone amp section to find out lol. Right now it won't let me do it. So I am boring you to death in this section to see if I can change their mind.
Spoiler, I am happy and I will not be sending them back.
Have a great night everyone and I hope you enjoyed my story.
Last edited:
