Sundara or alternatives
Oct 11, 2020 at 7:25 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12
Ash Telecaster

Ash Telecaster

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Hi all,

About to click buy now on a pair of Hifiman Sundara's and thought I would get a few thoughts from the forum before I committed.

I have some cans already I use for the home studio: m50, hd250, and 7506. I even bought a used pair of hd650s but they are really beat and I also bought used a pair of dt990s that are in excellent condition.

I have a humble Schitt stack: a Modi, Loki, and Magni.

What I had in mind was to get something with a little more audiophile level performance for casual listening.

I read some great reviews on the Sundara. Its retailing for 350.

While it's for casual listening I tend to thrive on detail. From what I hear the Sundara rates good for detail and decent for sound stage. I have never listened to planar headphones and I'll admit I'm curious to see how they change the game.

Interested in your thoughts on the Sundara or potential alternatives. I could spend a little more if it would make a big difference.

Thank you

Edit: It dawned on me I should add my music tastes. I listen to a pretty wide range of music but my core is 70s Era rock, Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, etc. Though lately I have been listening to more vocal oriented music, Niko Case, Norah Jones, especially if it involves some interesting instrumentation like acoustic slide and upright bass, etc.

Edit: I forgot to mention I was looking at the Aventone Planar as well.
 
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Oct 12, 2020 at 1:31 PM Post #2 of 12
I use the Sundara with the same stack as you, and I am quite pleased with them. I use them in a dedicated room, so open-backed bleed is no problem. They make me want to put them on and enjoy music again. I do bump the 20hz and 400hz up just a bit on the Loki, because that’s what I like. I am 65 yo with health concerns that have robbed me of sound above 8khz, but it still sounds great! If you get the Sundara, I suggest letting them burn in for 24 hours before you critique the sound. It sure helped mine. Good luck!
 
Oct 12, 2020 at 2:24 PM Post #4 of 12
Thanks Wideload, Ozz.

"They make me want to put them on and enjoy music again." You can't get a better endorsement than that! I appreciate the advice on burn in!

I understand the idea many have have suggested of avoiding eq, it adds distortion, but to date I haven't heard a headphone that sounds good without it. I tend to like strong detailed highs but not to a crazy degree. I like to hear a bit of the room, assuming there is a room, and overtones in vocals, string instruments, etc. I usually need to bump the treble a tad.

I've read a lot of posts on the Sundara and they seem to be the current favorite for the money. The Aventone Planar has gotten some love too and its in the ball park.
 
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Oct 12, 2020 at 3:01 PM Post #7 of 12
goodleechanghwa said:
Sundara has one of the best build quality for the recent Hifiman, and is decent enough even compared to other brands'. In the worst-case scenario, if you are within warranty, they tend to respect that quite well. So, buy new if possible!
Click to expand...
I was planning to buy Sundara but decided not to because I read all of those negative comments saying about driver failure etc...
 
Oct 12, 2020 at 3:03 PM Post #8 of 12
limaaa said:
What about build quality?
Click to expand...

A lot of the posts I've read said they solved a lot of their quality issues with the Sundara. I think that bad quality reputation is one of the things that Makes the Aventone Planar a contender. Its designed to be a studio tool with a nuetral presentation and the build quality looks pretty impressive.
 
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Oct 12, 2020 at 3:16 PM Post #9 of 12
I have a couple questions...

1. Are Planar head phones better or just different?
2. Sundara is top contender for the price category but what if I spent another $100?
3. What about used, few that come up are....
..........a. Aeon Flow
..........b. Audeze LCD-2
..........c. HE-560
..........d. SendyAudio Avia
..........e. Blue Ella

Thanks!
 
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Oct 12, 2020 at 5:43 PM Post #11 of 12
limaaa said:
I was planning to buy Sundara but decided not to because I read all of those negative comments saying about driver failure etc...
Click to expand...

I understand your concern. From my knowledge, the three main issues with hifiman QC are: 1. yolk; 2. driver failures; 3. cheaply made other parts (like headbands or pads or cables). From what I experienced directly with Sundara for around 3 months (I don't have it anymore), I felt solid in build quality and did not feel like yolks are gonna fail in anytime soon. Driver failures: I haven't experienced directly with it, but heard from a local audio shop owner that complaints about driver failures have been dropped for the last couple of years. So I think I can safely say that their issues with driver failures have been improved relative to the past, although I can't say if they are on par with other brands. I personally think that they should be fine enough, and that a part of the reason for seeing so many complaints about Sundara's QC is because we all know that hifiman's QC is not generally good and we'd like to talk about it. Irrespective of my opinion on the QC, I think hifiman is relatively active in addressing with QC issues if you are within the warranty. For the last item, well, Sundara again feels better than other hifimans, but I'm not sure how it compares to other brands. They are definitely not as good as Senn's and Focal's which I owned before, but I think it's a bit unfair comparison.

In summary, for hifiman, it's always a wise idea to buy from your trusted seller, so that you will be under protection if there is a QC problem.
 
Oct 12, 2020 at 6:21 PM Post #12 of 12
Sundara is easily the best headphone sub 500€ that you can buy. Punches way above it's pricetag
 
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