Something more comfortable than Sundara for marathon sessions?

[gmounce611]

Hi, everyone! I got a pair of Hifiman Sundara about a month ago. I'm loving the sound qualities, but I find them to get a bit uncomfortable after marathon sessions. As a copywriter, I do nothing all day but sit at my computer, write, and listen to music, so I really need a pair of headphones that can go 8+ hours without giving me any sort of hotspots, headaches, ear pain, etc.

I'm going to keep the Sundara for when I'm really paying attention to the music, but I'd like to buy another pair (cheaper, preferably) that are lighter and more comfortable for all-day listening.

My top two contenders are the Grado sr80e and Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX. Can anyone weigh in on the comfortableness of either?

Thanks!

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

The 6XX is undoubtedly the most comfortable of the two. Grados are generally not for long sessions unless you dig the on-ear design. The Sennheiser does come with a bit of clamp force out of the box (also depending on the size of your noggin), but it fairly quickly eases up with use.
If you dig the Sundara I think you’ll like the AKG K612 Pro as well. That would be my first rec tbh. One of the most comfortable headphones out there...and it’s cheap!

 

[silent-circuit]

I'll second the AKG recommendation.

 

[ThanatosVI]

The Sennheiser is really comfortable, doesnt get much better than that in this price region

 

[SilverEars]

Yes, AKG K7 series is fairly comfortable, and even over the 6XX. I like the feel of 6XX on the head though, and I really dislike K7 sounds.

Also the Hifiman teardrop shape headphones are shaped for comfort over the ones like thw Sundara.

Pads make a big difference. Old Hifiman pads were terrible for comfort, and for round ones, you'd want angled shaped pads to fit better to the contour of your head. I wasn't satified with Sundara pad's fit.

Avoid Grado for comfort.

 

[TubeStack]

Sennheiser all the way. I got my first pair of 600s last week and I’ve been listening several hours a day, total comfort. I love them.

I’ve had the Grado 80s for years and they’re ok, but not super comfortable and make your ears sweat. Headband also hurts after a while.

 

[NA Blur]

I wear the Philips Fidelio X2HR/27 for hours each day and love the comfort and sound. I have an HE-400i next to it and it doesn't really come out for a listening session now that I have the X2HR. The Philips' have more low end impact while maintaining the treble making it a very enjoyable headphone with my entire hi-fi collection.

 

[cycloverid]

I purchased the Sundara specifically for all day listening. I've only been wearing mine a week and they've been getting more comfortable each day. The first couple days I started getting pretty bad clamping pressure fatigure. I do hope all these issues are completely gone after a month, but for you I'd say after a month that's unlikely to resolve! I do wish they'd go with a slightly oval pad opening shape rather than perfectly circular though.

You just can't go wrong with the 6XX, it's very comfortable after the medium clamping force loosens up a bit.

Out of curiosity, is there a specific comfort issue with the Sundara that stands out the most to you?

 

[gmounce611]

I purchased the Sundara specifically for all day listening. I've only been wearing mine a week and they've been getting more comfortable each day. The first couple days I started getting pretty bad clamping pressure fatigure. I do hope all these issues are completely gone after a month, but for you I'd say after a month that's unlikely to resolve! I do wish they'd go with a slightly oval pad opening shape rather than perfectly circular though.

You just can't go wrong with the 6XX, it's very comfortable after the medium clamping force loosens up a bit.

Out of curiosity, is there a specific comfort issue with the Sundara that stands out the most to you?

Thanks for the 6XX rec! I think I'm going to go with these. Everyone seems to love them.

The clamp force is the most uncomfortable part of the Sundara for me. I've been getting "jaw fatigue" after a couple of hours, even after stretching them out. Hopefully they'll loosen up with some more stretching?

Thanks again!

 

[bland125]

For comfort alone, I would recommend Dan Clark Audio Aeon series, RT or series 2. Those are the most comfortable headphone I ever had (I own RT closed and open versions). Well ahead of Sennheiser HD series (I own the HD58X), Audio-Technica, Sony MDR-Z7M2 and some more I had.

It's just incredible, the pads, the headband, the weight. If you have comfort issues with headphones in general, try them out.

Oh, they sound great too!

I had so much comfort (and bass) issues, I went back to IEMs. I will keep the Aeons though because I can wear them long enough if I need to use headphones.

 

[NA Blur]

If you need to stretch headphones out just place them over a full-sized tissue box lengthwise. Takes about a week.

 

[buke9]

Thanks for the 6XX rec! I think I'm going to go with these. Everyone seems to love them.

The clamp force is the most uncomfortable part of the Sundara for me. I've been getting "jaw fatigue" after a couple of hours, even after stretching them out. Hopefully they'll loosen up with some more stretching?

Thanks again!

The HD-6XX’s have incredibly high clamping force but can be relieved by bending the metal sliders . They are a 100 grams lighter than the Sundara and not incredibly hard to drive with their 300 ohms as sensitivity is 103 dB and for me they are fantastic out of a Bottlehead Crack or CTH and just meh from a Atom or Magni3 . I just got the new Drop HE-5XX’s and I find them fairly comfortable as well 40 grams less than the Sundara and 60 more than the 6XX but find them just as comfortable and hardly any clamping force for me but I don’t tend to wear headphones that long as I’ll go with a iem for that.

 

[VRacer-111]

I'm going add a different suggestion. It's the most comfortable headphones I have, which I can wear for the entirety of a full day and even forget I have on (due to comfort, openess, and weighing virtually nothing). They are also one of the most euphonic and pleasing headphones for me to listen with... nice prominent, solid, and punchy low end, vocals about as forward as HD650 but with much more soul/life and solid bodied presentation with an overall bit more open spacious sound, and nice relaxed treble with just enough detail. Absolute great headphone if you want to listen to a beautiful lively, organic presentation of music and not ever be fatigued or sore.

What is the headphone? It's the on-ear Koss Porta Pro drivers with Yaxi pads and Parts Express headband for a total $50... more comfortable for me than any Sennheiser - even the extremely comfortable HD700 (More comfortable than HD800 series due to better fitting pads and lighter weight). Stock pads on HD6 series is not even comparable in comfort, takes the Yaxi Alcantara HD650 pads to get them close to an HD700 in comfort. With the Yaxi pads for on-ear Porta Pro the ears totally breathe compared to any over-ear openback headphone and the Yaxi pads are so soft and comforming to the ears they don't form hotspots.

...modded Porta Pros...