The Sundara of 2 years ago has this problem including the latest batch? Because that's the only one that exists, I think? There is no new revision of it from what I read (
read this on headphone review site that asked Hifiman about whether the newer stealth revision had anything different, but all they said was that they changed the dust filter and pad glue or something else cosmetically). Is the yoke fragile with Sundara? I thought the whole thing is metal? Sry about my confusion here.
In general, it's so hard to tell from pictures or video what the materials are because they make it
look like metal, even if it's not. Sure, nice eye foolery! But someone out there knows the
truth.
Really? I thought Sundara has LESS treble? At least this is what frequency response charts show. Or maybe it's the bump around ~6k that we're talking about (IIRC)? (What's that, lower-mid treble?)
Would you say it has more bass or less than the HE-400i? I've seen contradictory graphs, but it appears that it has more noticeable bass because its response is less rolled off? The diaphragm is apparently 80% thinner of the HE-400i which means it should be "better" for bass? I'm not sure what a thinner diaphragm is supposed to do. That should in theory actually INCREASE the treble, no? Thinner would be more resonant with higher frequencies?
Is it a worthy upgrade though? Maybe not at this price point, but if they have some tweaks (for quality) and a more comfy headband maybe? I'm thinking that at some point that I may want to get it w/a better headband. When that will be, I don't know, but that's going to not be cheap (considering the headbands are already something like $100+). I know I'd like durable, metal cans though. That's a big thing for me. I'm OCD with things that last. I hope I don't come off as too OCD with these questions... this stuff or the thoughts of something like that literally keep me up at night, no joke.
Unfortunately, one of the reasons I'm NOT going for Sundara (even though I want to) has to do with import duties/taxes of where I currently reside (will be moving away soon enough, though)
and the problem of returns if it does happen to break. Those costs will kill my budget. If I were in the U.S., I would have definitely gone for it because it'd be a lot easier to handle issues. There are
plenty of complaints (from a year and two ago) about driver failures and
even more recently about all Hifiman headphones like Sundara and other series.
Haha, that's pretty funny. I think it has to do with weight distribution compared to the new band.
Dang, I'd really like to, but nowhere in sight is there a music store or anything that carries this stuff. It's pretty much a rarity (I'm in Eastern EU currently, although I intend to move to East Asia in a year or two and that'll make access much easier to this sort of stuff).
Clamping force of the Deva headband? How was the clamping force of Sundara vs the HE-400i? Is it similar? I mean with the new headband? Is the HE-400i not too hard? I heard it's not so bad now?
That's awful. I hate cost-cutting stuff like this. The main reason this is an issue is that it's like shoes: if you buy cheap shoes, you gotta keep buying them because they wear out too fast. That means in the long run, you actually spend more than if you just spent more originally. And that means more waste and more profit for the company. I just don't believe the materials even cost anything close to that to make. I know it's mostly R&D, but still... even Bose is less expensive (and I know it's not an audiophile thought, but I do really like the sound of them... if only they made them metal and with durable cables! Their freq response is amazing--I've never seen any headphone with such a lack of peaks/troughs based on third-party tests).
Yeah, I saw the reviews on the band. It has SERIOUS issues. Not only is the sliding mechanism kinda crap (I hear it can get stuck or not move at all), but it breaks easily (at the plastic part where you said).
Yeah, I guess I have to for now... even though I could do the Sundara, I'd probably end up needing to buy different pads and doing all kinds of extra stuff that would bump up its price another $200. I just need something to get me through until I have the funds for the Sundara. Then I'll use the HE-400i unamped for remote applications (I don't listen to music loudly) and Sundara for mixing and producing music stuff.
That is odd. Maybe the people that are attracted by that sort of thing will give 5* naturally? The thing that I look at is longevity (say, 20 years), and I am going to guess the Deva will not last that long. What's worse is having a battery that cannot be easily replaced. Plus, battery tech has been lagging behind forever (the fact that phones don't last a good week or two on a single charge is an obvious testament to that). I also don't like wireless much because you can't just plug it into hardware. I just like tactile stuff more.
I've definitely settled for the 2020 at this moment. You've convinced me that it's worth getting over the HE4XX. I like the design of them, but they're neglected in their problems...
.
