Hifiman Sundara Planar Magnetic Headphones

[@ThomasSielaff]

One of the best reviews I've heard. Thank you! This is gonna cost me.

[@IonShard]

Been looking at these for a while, you may have convinced me, especially as classical is my main genre.

[@Tallnerdyguy]

They are amazing, but will need good amplification

[@ResolveReviews]

Excellent review man. Looking forward to your next one!

[@WheezyTech]

Deva soon :D

[@juanpacheco4603]

Do you recomended Sundara o Monolith M1060?

[@ResolveReviews]

@@juanpacheco4603 Sundara for sure.

[@juanpacheco4603]

@@ResolveReviews thanks a lot muy friend

[@noahdomingo1162]

I think the sort of holographic imaging you talked about is in part caused by the size of the driver

[@RLTrane]

Just got mine today. I'm really impressed! I was worried they would be boring but I feel like it's quite a nice upgrade from my hd58x. Smooth sound but not dry or lacking in depth. Running off my JDS atom at about 12 o'clock on high gain. I'm using a btr5 as my dac. Kind of weird maybe but I like to use the btr5 when portable then as a dac for my atom

[@Njinx_]

How much of a difference does the amp make? I just ordered the Atom and am only running it off of an Audioengine D1 while a wait.

[@slaper44]

Excellent review. I ordered the Sundara's yesterday and can't wait to get my hands on them!

[@FruddyG]

Upgrading from the ATH-AD700x, I get my pair in 2 days! I'm pretty excited

[@canonlon311]

Great review - appreciate your p.o.v.. I used to own the Sundara (stealth revision). A few things that bugged me about the headphones : the fit just didn't suit my head, I felt that the imagining was congested and there was a high frequency harshness > these issues took away from getting 'lost' in the music. Maybe a different amp would have solved the sonic issues (I use a THX789). These were just headphones which I wouldn't want to listen to more than 30 mins at a time, so I decided to sell them. Like your review, I've seen several KZbin reviews which give positive reviews - maybe I just had a 'bad' one.

[@pinoyxbox]

After owning my first "audiophile" headphone the hd 6xx from drop for over a year now and heard the sundara paired with schiit's vali 2 3 weeks ago from my local store and man im blown away. Immediately ordered a sundara and sold my 6xx lol 😂 The sundara will be paired with modi 3+ and magni heresy. And will be getiing a vali 2 😁

[@aqwandrew6330]

i have sundara is it a worth upgrade to the hd6xx?

[@Tallnerdyguy]

I agree, that i hadn't noticed the 6xx was somewhat bright until i got the sundara, which are still my favorite as of now... I do use them for FPS games and have noticed it's imaging shines very well when well amplified.

[@badalrana10]

Which amp would u recommend with the sundara for gaming

[@ammar5400]

nice review! the best upgrade over the hd6xx

[@ruchirpareek]

You deserve way more subs. You are very articulate with your reviews...

[@pascaljean2333]

anandas have a cool sound signature, something completely different than sundara. but the bass extension is almost linear on the ananads, it is fantastic.

[@thego9695]

a much more comprehensive review from quote a small youtuber, thanks!

[@nilanjanbhattacharjee6554]

Pretty spot-on. Only reason i had to give up on the Sundaras is coz of how it sat on my head, specially the area on top of my ears. I guess a review of the Deva is incoming too. :P Have you reviewed the DT1990 yet? I dont see it in your list of videos.

[@WheezyTech]

Yeah Deva review soon. 1990 review some time.

[@uhrjun]

Watching on my brand new Sundaras :)

[@Tesseract9630]

I bought one too. From Amazon india.

[@scott2724]

Are you happy with them after 9mths? I want to use for mixing my nature sounds in my videos - so need detailed revealing headphones. Also want for leisure listening - film scores eg Hans Zimmer and classical etc

[@bigjt37]

I've really enjoyed this review thanks for the details I know I'm late to this one but I'm debating this right now..

[@mattnelson8325]

Excellent review. Thank you for being so thorough.

[@rayleps4576]

Have had Sundara for about 9 months now. Tried driving them with my Sony Walkman which has equivalent amplification as a cell phone. I wouldn't recommend matching them up with a small device. I have found the best sound comes from a 110W amplifier. They still need to be turned up to listen to but this is beyond what cell phones can do.

[@MyouKyuubi]

"I have found the best sound comes from a 110W amplifier." Isn't that basically a speaker amplifier? xD Bruh, i have an overkill headphone amplifier with the Sundara, the FiiO K9 Pro (Which has 1.1 watts into 300 ohm via BAL, more than i would ever need for anything, really), and i have no idea why you would plug the Sundara into a speaker amplifier. I get that headroom is important for purity of the sound signal, but at a certain point, more power is just redundant. The Sundara has 94 dB/mw, at 37 ohm... It uses 4 mw at 100 dB, and uses 1 mw at 94 dB, both of which is far louder than anyone is going to listen to, especially over extended periods. Phones and such can drive the Sundara's perfectly... The difference between a phone/walkman and your amplifier, is most likely either the DAC, or the use of modern knowledge in the circuitry... in terms of amplification, basically anything can perfectly power a Sundara at acceptable listening volumes. Old amplifiers tend to have very high distortion numbers compared to today's amplifiers, for example, and if that tech is used in old portable devices such as, a sony walkman, that problem is even worse, for the same reason a modern smartphone doesn't compare to a modern amplifier. What the fck are you going to do with a 110w amplifier? Fry the Sundara into dust? xD

[@kona328WH]

Sundaras were on Amazon for £149 on Saturday 27th Jan 2024. Waiting for them to be delivered.

[@thomaskohler5181]

Hi Wheezy, if I'm listing to clssical music, I always use my DT880 600 ohm. I also own the Sundara. But for strings nothings beats the DT880. You'll hear every f****** detail ;-)

[@CardinalsFanever]

I absolutely confirm!

[@WheezyTech]

I'm picking up the 880's soon, I'm super curious to put them alongside the 1990.

[@thomaskohler5181]

@@WheezyTech Just make sure that you get the 600 ohm version. And you'll also need a lot of voltage 😉

[@MRFUTURETECHNOLOGYGAMING]

15:07 basically your saying that the sundara shows you detail in a smooth and harsh free way in a very natural in a effortless fashion in a very focused way without sounding forced upon

[@kokovox]

Excellent review! Thank you!

[@JohnMarshall-NI]

I just picked up a pair of these on an Amazon warehouse deal for £230. I was playing a bit of Elden Ring with them earlier and was impressed with the detail and how natural they sounded. I took a break to listen to some Clutch and Faith No More music through them and was very impressed. This evening and tomorrow I will be testing them for audio engineering, paired with Acustica Sienna software to be used for mixing. I have a feeling that they are going to be great for tracking vocals with as well. I agree with your review. My other open backed headphones are HD599 SE. They just don't have the musicality or the detail of the Sundara.

[@raulsantos7126]

I am a classical music lover that aim to upgrade my openback headphones. Currently I own the Sennheiser HD 598 and I feel quite pleased with them; soundstage is quite ok and the sound feels quite warm. Even though this headphones can be easily driven even with a phone, I use the amp-dac EPH-O2D which improves the signal dramatically. I was thinking to upgrade to Sennheisser HD 650 at first but tons of reviewers are praising the Hifiman Sundara. Do you think the Sundara has a good profile for classical music or I should stick to Sennheisser HD 650?

[@Xbox360mIRC]

Mine came in today in just a plain box similar to what Drop uses sometimes for their headphones mostly brown with a little strip that indicated it was Hifiman Sundara and no booklet and a QR scan box with warranty and a serial and if you follow them on Facebook an extra 6 months warranty no booklet though. I can't figure out which version I got. I bought mine from Newegg.

[@krisvojna7269]

Thank you sooooo much for this video!!!

[@jonharvey6295]

underrated reviewer

[@TomBabula]

It’d be interesting to see if they sound a lot better if one hooks it up to a more powerful amp like iFi CAN or Schiit Magni than portable ones like hip-dac. I can confirm with hip-dac using balanced output, they are already plenty loud at 10 o’clock pot volume.

[@testek3053]

i wish my dt1990 had the smooth treble of the sundara, or the sundara had the bass extension of the dt1990.

[@WheezyTech]

Yeah 1990 is able to put out some serious bass especially after a bit of EQ, its pretty impressive for an open backed dynamic in that way. That treble is a bit of an acquired taste tho.

[@jessreggae]

@@WheezyTech I would like to tame the 1190 treble with EQ, can you give me some advice? Thank´s in advance

[@nilanjanbhattacharjee6554]

@@jessreggae One easy hack is to use Dekoni Elite Velour pads.

[@JTB--]

I put the Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads on the DT1990 Pros and it smoothed out the treble and added some nice Bass. Way nicer/fun sound signature now imo

[@giorgosapo4508]

Excellent review 👍 I can't wait for mine to arrive , may I ask which Beethoven Around the world album you're referring to? It has many versions bases in different countries.

[@abuanwp]

Sundara - very musical and wide soundstage but less on bass extension this can be powered easily mojo is pushed to 70%. HD660s - Good Bass but lack musicality also narrower sound stage than sundara and very difficult to power mojo is pushed to 90%. DT1990 - Best of both above but too difficult to power mojo is already on 100% but still whispering and battery drains fast. I have The Sundara and it pairs well with my Chord mojo you can bring it outdoors like relaxing on a shady tree, those 2 only indoors.

[@isakstorm7373]

Great review, not only because I agree wholeheartedly with your assesment (although it helps a lot i guess) but also because of the comparisons to the 4xx, 6xx and the dt 1990's which are spot on even though I haven't yet owned a pair of 6xx(650) and only demoed them. I have the 599 and the 58x's which I have loved extensively until I got the sundaras. (old love vs new love I guess) Would really like a proper review of the 1990´s which I also myself pretty much only use for gaming these days, which bugs me since they are almost too expensive to only have hanging around for playing games with. And before blableka comments with more black&whiteisms, this hobby is literally the definition of the grey zone that exists between blanket statements one way or the other. It's audio, it's subjective. it's not real vs fake, it's opinons about something people are suppose to be enjoying and not to be hating on eachother about. At the end of the day the differance between already good headphones (sennheisers, hifimans, akg, beyerdynamics and so on) are measured in tiny percentages and not simply terms of good vs bad.

[@WheezyTech]

Thanks. I will do the DT 1990 Pro at some point but I'm holding off because I feel like I can't judge them well enough at that price point yet. I wanted to get the Sundara review done and I'm going to get the DT 880 Pro review out first as well. I do like the 1990 but I do wonder why I paid over £400 for them when I could have gotten an 880 for £150 or the Sundara for £350... I need to try a few more things before I can be truly objective about them. Saying that, so far they are the best headphones I've ever used for first person shooter gaming. I try other headphones for gaming always go back to the 1990. PS I blocked blableka at this point, I have no time for people that are just going to comment over and over trash talking and adding nothing of value to the discussion.

[@isakstorm7373]

@@WheezyTech Looking forward to that 1990 review, I understand why it's hard to review them since they're an odd pairing for most anything but FPS-games. I tend to use the k702 for soundstage in all other games, which I guess is a poor man version of the k712 pro's. Blocking blableka is propbably the only right move to make, a healthy discussion can be good if arguments are put forward instead of simple good vs bad statements. Thanks again however for the Sundara review. I've watched pretty much all of them I could find and I really like that you go deep into the details. Now I'm off to buy I pair of used 6xx's. Have to compare them myself to the sundara and the 1990 pro's.

[@nicholasmorrill4711]

The cables ridiculously short & I did'nt think much of them when I listened to them.

[@r00s.]

I'd recommend Focal Elex or Audeze LCD Classic.

[@kvnngkronos]

Nice review. Have you ever considered reviewing the Boss Katana? I'd love to hear the perspective of an audio enthusiast about it. Cheers.

[@WheezyTech]

I'm not a good enough guitarist to review it properly. But as a beginner or practice amp this thing sounds great and has all the effects you could want built in. Pretty good buy for the price.

[@colingordon0986]

So from what it sounds like! Seems like these are only good with certain music like classical, with a good amp will other music like rock and hip hop sound good on these? Paired with something like hidizs DH80s thanks

[@N3ukenInD3K3uken]

I love lips moving at 60 fps

[@WheezyTech]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@disforia1]

Did you try to eq Your headphones? I wonder how different will the Sundara will be from the 4xx when eq'd and how would they compare with and eq'd 1990 (because of the treble spike). I ordered the 1990 and think about getting 1 of the hifiman, it will be for mixing purposes

[@lukepatto4366]

Hey man, could you link me that hat you're wearing? looks sick. Ima buy it.

[@nroytv]

Aaaah.... someday. I just ordered a pair of refurbished HD 599SE (~122USD) and a Fiio E10K (74.95 USD). I will mostly use these for competitive FPS and movies etc. Did I make a good choice?

[@SoundWaveTrax]

You use the 1990 regularly? That treble peak looks scary. I have the 990 600 ohm and they're definitely piercing.

[@WheezyTech]

Only with EQ it's far too spicy stock lol

[@dcoelhog]

any suggestion on how to plug a mic into this or the he400i model?

[@TiagrajI]

Loving the sundaras since I bought them. I also have the focal clear. @wheezyHave you tried them?

[@ethanloy]

How do these image for fps compared to the HD58x?

[@hal9xxx321]

Should i sell my HD650 for 250 bucks and buy the Sundara? Cuz someone is offering one for 230 bucks for me...

[@jamesthoma4927]

I have both and love both. Do it if your sure that the Sundara is in good shape. There can be issues with Hi-Fi Man although not nearly as bad now. Sundara is extraordinary at any price point below $1000.

[@WheezyTech]

I don't wanna make that call for you, I love the HD6xx/650 its still a great headphone today but the Sundara is really in another league to anything else for that price. Like James says there, just make sure its in good shape.

[@jerryliu4763]

I've done exactly this. I don't regret it though since the Sundara has exceed my expectations

[@StrikitRich]

Yes. The Sundaras don't have the muddy sound of the HD650.

[@jonathanwills4726]

thank you for your beautiful review. I am trying to decide between a k712 or a Sundara which is tough - I currently own a Nighthawk Carbon and I am not sure which of those two would give me a good variety compared to them. Any thoughts? I game and listen to j-pop a lot but value comfort above sound.

[@r4zn.]

If comfort is a big deal for you, I would go with the k712. It’s super comfy and super lightweight for long gaming sessions.

[@jonathanwills4726]

@@r4zn. nice. thanks for the thoughts. i ended up not getting either. I have some nighthawks that are good to me.

[@nonchalantd]

detailed review

[@tecno4u31]

Hi! For you BEST sound under 400€? Thxs

[@bandhanjha8563]

Do you consider it better than K712 ?

[@fixxxer4234]

i am planning to replace my 712 pro with Sundara after 1 month. Using it with magni 3+ as amp and k5 pro (i know its bad, its temporary) as DAC. I Listen mainly to Psytrance and PsyChill and hip-hop, but i come from metal background so i listen to metal and rock also. I love all music, prefer all arounder and k712 is not very good with bass response. It sounds like mud even with Tool and a bit missing bass at some songs. How will they match in electronic music (Infected mushroom for example)?I will replace the DAC with something else (no ideas for now, probably EL II or shiit modi 3 or modius) and i plan a Loky to match it to my taste, but i think i will be ok with them without EQ either. Do you find this reasonable? Just your 2 cents :) Haven't heard them personally and i see you share some love for the 712 (as i do) :) Great review, btw! Good compare models.

[@chrisbianchi8876]

What's bad about the K5 Pro? I have one and love it. I think it sounds great.

[@fixxxer4234]

@@chrisbianchi8876 does not even get close to even a magni 3+ for vocals

[@jasonfranciosa]

I'm listening to this on Sundaras but I find them to be a bit piercing and fatiguing. Am I crazy?

[@Saul_Goodman_Criminal_Lawyer]

The DT880 600 ohms or these?

[@carlog234]

good stuff

[@tonydillinger2553]

i think I will save up another 300 and go with GL2000...

[@TheSteve57]

Just got these and I must say I find the vocals a bit "shouty" and thin, like a strong ballad singer just can't get there !!!! Will burning in help this, the book says 150hrs, the problem is by the time I have done that it will be too late to send back 🤣🤣🤣 If not which one's would you recommend with punchy bass, forward vocals and not too much treble, easy question yes !! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@iridescentgherkin]

Regarding the DT1990 being "the most detailed headphone you've ever heard", this is pretty much as detailed as any 'normal' headphone gets, even alongside the usual suspects like DT880 600 ohm etc, all the way up to the stupidly expensive flagships which might have INCREMENTALLY better detail, like HD800, Pioneer Master 1, Focal Utopia etc... Those 'top tier' flagships only usually have bigger improvements in other areas, like bigger/different soundstage, better dynamics, improved/different sub-bass response. The ONLY true "high-end" headphone I've ever heard is the Sennheiser HE-1. When people nitpick between different headphones between $150-3000 saying "oh this has better separation"... the HE-1 makes all of those opinions pretty much completely invalid. I've only heard about 3-5 headphones below $3000 with 'separation' that you could describe as 'OK'.... but even those don't even reach HALF the HE-1's ability of separation. HE-1 just defines everything uniquely, as though each sound is played individually on it's own transducer/system, and every other headphone sounds congested by comparison. There are some very expensive headphones well over $1000 that cannot separate bass from mids and treble - what I mean, is that when a heavy bass note kicks, the mids and treble suffers greatly, the volume and definition goes down every time the bass kicks... meanwhile, there are some much cheaper headphones that only suffer a little. HE-1 does not suffer such trivialities. But it costs stupid money. My point is... stick to the $50-300 price range, because anything above that is just swag.

[@WheezyTech]

I've been holding off making a final judgement and a review of the 1990 til I have a few more upper midfi tier reviews in the bag, particularly this Sundara and the DT 880. I get the sense that the 1990 is good, although that treble spike is an acquired taste. But judging where is fits in price performance and versus competition theres still a few more headphones I need to hear first. Gonna pick up the 880 next month I think.

[@garygriffiths7353]

Wheezy Reviews I’m considering the dt1990 but am nervous because of the treble. Saying that, I think my 42 year old ears don’t hear treble as well as they used to!

[@MeteoraEra]

I owned them, The goods: Extremely good lows Good highs (never harsh) I used them with ifi zen dac but ifi micro black label is better for them. The bad: Bad mids (not full, boring) Good texture and high quality bass Borring sound overall and ONLY exciting and pleasurable for Instrumental stuff, not for songs. Badly made top headband... super cheap Hotspot on top of head becomes annoying. Verdict: overrated, sold them and I think 660s would be better because of more exciting mids and vocals and better build quality.... obviously.

[@wcg66]

Noel, you are nailing these reviews. Not only with the content but timing. I’ve just been looking at these plus the Blons you just reviewed. Uncanny ;)

[@WheezyTech]

And now you have to buy both XD

[@jonmarinos7170]

I agree with you about the Sundara when it comes to gaming and music. I own the Sundara, DT 1990 Pro, K712 Pro and 6XX and, of the bunch, I find the Sundara to be my favorite when it comes to music (some genres I prefer the DT 1990). But, I do find them to be rather lacking for gaming. Like you said, the imaging (when it comes to gaming) seems to lack of depth and accuracy, despite those attributes being the opposite for music. Probably a planar quality, like you said. The DT 1990 and K712 are absolutely amazing for gaming. I too use the DT 1990 for fps and K712 for open world games. I do think the DT 1990s are better than the K712 pro overall just because they, in my opinion, do music better. The DT 1990 is a great all around headphone and Id probably recommend the DT 1990 over everything else I mentioned if you had to choose only one. I love my 6XX, but now that I've been listening to the Sundaras and DT 1990 Pros extensively, It's really hard for me to go back to them. They just seem so dark and slightly muddy by comparison. I never really noticed the Sennheiser veil before but now I do.

[@mikeshinwa3398]

Can you tell me what it is you like about the Sundara when listening to music vs. the 1990? I own the 1990 but was eyeing the Sundara as well; can't try it out as my local audio shop doesn't have any.

[@MyouKyuubi]

"Like you said, the imaging (when it comes to gaming) seems to lack of depth and accuracy" Depth i get, accuracy though? nah, bro... I use my Sundara as a daily driver, which means i always use it for gaming... And in games with PROPER AUDIO DESIGN, i've been able to headshot NPC's at night, in THICK MIST on Red Dead Online, if you're not familiar, that's basically a 0 visual situation, you can't see sht... I couldn't SEE them, but i could hear them, i aimed where the sound came from, the crosshair turned red, i shoot, bright red hitmarker = headshot (Well techncially it's a kill, but since only one shot was shot, that means it's a headshot, dark red hitmarker is heart-stopper shot, bullet to the heart, guaranteed kill, but bleed-out, so the NPC keeps kicking for a bit before dying). FYI, i'm on PC, and i don't have a controller, so, i only have the free-aim option, and if you're faimilar with RDO, you'd know, free-aiming on that game with Mouse and Keyboard is NOT easy. :P What do you mean "lack of accuracy"? Any more accurate than this, and you can literally extrapolate people's entire silhouettes through walls, "wallhacking" like a fking bat using echo-location. xD

[@skyshade9106]

How is the soundstage on the sundara vs the k712 pro?

[@metal571]

lol yeah it's planars like this with great upper mids that do not kill you with distorted guitars that make the Sennheisers sound increasingly dated. The EQ I put up on my GitHub is what I use now for HD 650 - I think it has one 3k and one 5k peak actually. This is what happens when you "trust" a headphone to be "correct" for so many years...which doesn't exist. 6x0 mids are just still not quite right. I apologize for all the pain this caused countless viewers of mine over the years 😂

[@WheezyTech]

I think if the 6xx wasn't a thing, the HD6x0 are in big trouble with the Sundara at this price

[@metal571]

@@WheezyTech don't say that too loudly, you'll upset some forums that believe the HD 650 scales forever and is the best headphone ever made at any price

[@InvisibleIink]

The HD650 scales forever with better equipment and is the best headphone ever made regardless of price!!!

[@metal571]

Define "musical" in precise terms

[@WheezyTech]

This guy! I will await your review of these on your channel, @blableka until then, you are derailing my comments section with your bs. Yeah you dislike the Sundara, we get it already. Enjoy your new opportunity to talk as much bs as you want without response from anyone....

[@TiagrajI]

Jumped ship and bought the sundara. Superb sound and the added detail makes a difference. I am getting used to the signature as I'm used to dynamic headphones. Great value and no quality issues (touch wood). I did register for additional warranty.

[@StormNinjaPenguin]

I recently upgraded from 4xx to Sundara and with all the benefits, I found it a little dry (I used the 4xx with oratory1990's EQ to bear to highs). Then I tried cheap a tube preamp that I inserted between my (D30) DAC and (Atom) AMP and it moved it to a whole new level. The added thickness, warmth and space is quite incredible. I highly recommend it to try. Aside from that, I found the Sundara to be better than the 4xx in everything except one thing which is the sensation of space. Yes, the Sundara sounds like you are in the room with the performer, it still has a sense of "finiteness" compared t the 4xx's infinite hug of sound. For me, when the music is of high-quality, with amazing performance and good recording, the Sundara is unbeatable with its clarity, focus, and authoritative impact. But when I listen to electronic music then it sounds ridiculous, like watching a cartoon on an 8K tv. Then I put on the 4xx for the same electronic music and it brings me to this cloudy dreamland where I just drift with the sound. But at the same time, vocals and instruments sound out of focus on the 4xx (except guitar plucks that are super emphasized on the 4xx for some reason). I wonder if I will find something that does both. I also must notice that the Sundara is never fatiguing. For example, the same highs on Jean-Mitchel Jarre's Oxygene album that killed me with 4xx (even with the EQ) are just some smooth angelic tinkling on the Sundara. Amazing.

[@WheezyTech]

Yeah I think I agree, the 4xx has some good space, in some ways I find them a bit too spacey depending on the track and on some tracks that's actually a really good quality, quite immersive. I would say the Sundara is just a bit more refined.

[@StormNinjaPenguin]

​@@WheezyTech I agree with that sometimes the space is overdone on the 4xx. A few weeks ago I came across an interview on the audiophiliac's channel with a mastering engineer and his description of overdone stereo width (watch?v=TfIT9wydCCk&t=7m32s) fits perfectly my sensation of space of the 4xx - lots of space, lost focus. I'm curious if the sense of a huge space and the focused sound can exist in the same headphone.

[@WheezyTech]

Bob Katz is a legend. Yeah super wide soundstage can sure throw off the imaging. I don't like the K712 Pro for first person games because it sounds too spacey too, even though I find its imaging is great they work better for open world games than close in shooters where imaging needs to be pin point accurate, same goes for the 4xx which I think imaging can be a bit blurry. I think both the 712 and the 4xx are wider than the 1990 and I think that's at least part of the reason they don't do as well for FPS.

[@Tripokaridos22]

@@WheezyTech Very true , years ago i thought the same thing chooce Headphones because of the Soundstage and after hours of PUBG with different headphones it felt that something was going wrong for example i used DT770 ,990 ,K702 , HD599 and they feel more open that for example HD660 and R70X but omg with both 660 and R70 i could pin point directions without even looking , even my friends told me that i could tell exactly the enemy firing position . Imaging is the most important on FPS games.

[@cshangjie]

What tube preamp did you use?

[@jamesbittle2138]

HiFiman should definitely let you keep those. Come on Dr. Fang!

[@WheezyTech]

🙏 a man can dream

[@homerjones3291]

I loved the Sundara in its ability to add fastness and detail to the top end, so I thought I’d get the same characteristics but even more so with the Ananda, but that wasn’t the case for me - the Ananda was closer to my HD600 in top end resolution than to the Sundara, IMO. The egg-shaped pads also made the Ananda sit lower on my small head and causing a pressure point on the top of my head (lack of hair up there). So probably going back to the Sundara.

[@varunsrivastava]

I never considered difference in shapes to have that effect, thank you for pointing it out.

[@shanksisnoteventhatstrongbruh]

i don't know if this was said before but i apreciate you for using 60fps on your videos, it is so smooth look at.

[@taskhunters5245]

Man you're gooood😉 Every one is saying AKG K7XX are the best do movies and gaming. I am very i interested what you feal abaut this. Let me know please.

[@JohSno]

Currently on eBay UK these go for £240 with a code - PURCHASE20. 20% discount. Kinda deal of the year me thinks. And I ordered it to supplement my K712pro.

[@ELJefeReviews]

Awesome work bro! I never had a chance to try ANY Hifiman products but I've heard so much good that I'm a few days away from ordering the HE4XX.

[@WheezyTech]

Its really good value for the price for sure

[@ELJefeReviews]

@@WheezyTech I need to add a good Planar to my collection.

[@WheezyTech]

A good planar and a good dynamic is all you need. Well 2 good planars and 2 dynamics, no make that 3, or 4..... XD

[@gabsriel]

Althought I do not like my Aeon closed, it is way more detailed than the Sundara. Maybe the Aeon X could be a good challenger to the Sundara ;-)

[@albertovicinanza]

Finally, been waiting for this review! Fantastic! Will pick one up as soon as possible! Oh and thanks for the album recommendation shoutout

[@WheezyTech]

Thanks for the recommendation

[@moondragon5630]

God damn it mate. Now i need to get them. I trust people like you that belongs to "midfi" territory.

[@WheezyTech]

Thanks. Yeah these are definitely worth it.

[@danielwu7238]

Today I learned a new word, "Midfi." I also learned that I am a "Lowfi" (HD 58x). But not for long because my next headphone will be a Sundara and I wil level up to Midfi! 😲

[@sproket343]

Awesome review and comparison. Looking forward to listening to the Sundara tomorrow when I get them.

[@kimbersaw]

So the question is... what the Best dac/amp for drive sundara?

[@WheezyTech]

I don't know if there is a 'best' amp/dac its more about budget. But a great place to start is the JDS Atom.

[@woopygoman]

This is an excellent review and very accurate and I agree with all your statements. Thank you for your honesty! You've earned a subscription! Will you ever consider a wall of fame? If you update it with every review like Tyll did, I think you could reach his level of notoriety!

[@WheezyTech]

Awesome thanks. Yeah I may well create some kind of hall of fame. Sundara would be on it for sure.

[@JL3001]

Sundaras are absolutely amazing for the price bracket and really one of the new go-to for cans under $500 USD, especially if you want to try a planar. Not really much competition for it in that bracket, unless you're looking at used cans that are higher priced new (like used LCD-2s that can go for as low as $400). The Ananda is a nice step up in several ways, except bass impact to my ear, and you can possibly find it for as low as $550 used.

[@WheezyTech]

When Resolve said this should be the new benchmark rather than the HD650 I was sceptical, but now I see what he meant. I mean you can't beat the HD6xx for value but the Sundara basically shames seemingly everything else in its price range.

[@JL3001]

@@WheezyTech I wish I had heard the Sundara earlier, to be honest. I would've saved a good bit of money in my audio journey. It's quite difficult to find anything better from here without a massive jump in price.

[@johnt7993]

Cool video Wheezy!

[@WheezyTech]

Thanks!

[@frankwalders]

This headphone changed my producing life. I have it on for most of the day, it's so relaxed, when it sound good on your Sundara's you are on 98%

[@TheCujo1956]

Just bought the Sundara 2020 version and zen dac version 2 and not yet impress when listening, the sense of space seems rather closed in. When while listening if I physically stretch out each side it sounds like the best Soundstage I've heard. Suggestion to solve this problem is pad swap with kennerton lambskin pads. The information I'm getting is swapping these pads is very difficult but according to the directions contain in box it seems quite simple My long winded questions to you are : 1. Are these newer version on the Sundara simpler to exchange than the older version? 2. I'm a older gentleman and I my hands don't work well enough to exchange any pads simple or not. Is there a place I can send them preferable in the USA to get the pads exchange? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated

[@tomdavis6371]

Excellent review on an excellent headphone! I have three minor squabbles with the Sundara, however. First off, I hated the cable. It was too short for my personal needs. And I didn't care for the right angle. Cheap, easy fix. I just replaced the cable. Second, I too wish that the ear cups would swivel a little bit. It's not a deal breaker but it would be nice. Lastly, I'm not a huge fan of the pads. They aren't horrible but they aren't premium and could be softer. I may be spoiled but I have always loved the HD-600 pads of my Sennheiser's and shortly after purchasing the Sundara I bought a pair of Audeze LCD-2, a much heavier pair of headphones but my gosh, the pads are pillows for your ears. They are just outrageously comfortable. Still, the Sundara is an exceptional sounding pair of headphones and especially given it's cost comes in at nearly 1/3 that of the LCD-2. I can't recommend them enough if one wants to hear what a Planar Magnetic headphone has to offer.

[@grungefire]

Great review. Could you please help me on a query i have? I am in between the HD 600 and Sundara. I cant decide which way to go. I am a singer somngwriter and i write acoustic, pop or soft rock. Which would suit me better you reckon?

[@ReederBee]

Would you pair the Hifiman Sundara’s with the Magni Heresy amp? I’m new to sound quality and they’ve been recommended, but separately. Thanks mate

[@Tesseract9630]

Try focal elex. Then compare it with sundara.

[@PapaPapaD]

I was excited about your recommendation on "Beethoven around the world"... Listened to the first song... somebody panting ... the whole song. Skipped to the next song.... same thing. What a bad recording! Who put the mic next to the guys mouth? So distracting. And I heared it with my WF-1000XM3... that is a TWS, not even full size headphone. That is not detail you want to hear during the music.

[@WheezyTech]

Well it's a live recording from a show so it's a warts and all recording from a concert hall with an audience

[@JosFlos.]

You comfirmed my experience on gaming with these, at least for shooters.

[@bgad1114]

Could either you or wheezy elaborate on that? I personally enjoy the HD650 for a variety of reasons, but mostly due to how good they are for my three main purposes (I hate headphone swapping): movies/tv, gaming and music. They do music great, gaming good and movies/tv good (while not having the stage, they sound very "correct"). That being said, for competitive games, I do notice the HD650 being far from perfect in terms of imaging, which I feel like it has gotten a lot of undeserved praise for int this regard--it's not really that good. How well does the Sundara fare here in comparison to it? Wheezy talked about K712 for gaming, but I'm not sure if that's for staging alone, or also imaging. I've only heard the K7XX, and those were pretty mediocre in gaming I would say.

[@WheezyTech]

HD650 I enjoy for pretty much everything but for gaming its not all that great. Soundstage and imaging are not a strong point of the HD6x0 range. The K712 Pro has great staging and imaging but I think for games the wideness of the staging can be detrimental to accurate imaging for first person shooter games where imaging is more important than staging. I didn't find the Sundara to be all that great for open world games versus the K712, the 712 sounds more wide and open which suits those casual titles better. And in terms of imaging I find the images to be a little distant or hazy for those first person competitive titles.

[@VickyLovesHeadphones]

Hi Noel, You're spot-on about Sundara being exceptional with classical music (for its price). If you can, please grab an LCD2C to review. It is completely opposite of Sundara, so these two headphones are natural mid-fi companions. IMO, LCD2C brings out the best in punk-rock/grunge the same way Sundara does with classical music. It would be interesting to see your impressions of an LCD2C after you have experienced the Sundara.

[@WheezyTech]

I'm dying to try out the Audeze stuff. Why the LCD2C and not the regular Fazor version btw?

[@VickyLovesHeadphones]

@@WheezyTech Before finally purchasing an LCD2C, I had about 3-4 hours with an LCD2F and LCD2C side-by-side at a local store. The portable gear I used at the time was an LG V30 smartphone and an OPPO HA-2SE. With that, the audible differences between LCD2F and LCD2C were honestly negligible. LCD2C is like the HD650 to the LCD2F more HD600 sound, if that analogy makes any sense 😄 Ultimately, it came down to aesthetics. I preferred the black plastic one.

[@WheezyTech]

That's good to know, the classic is a good bit more affordable. I do like the wood look of the LCD2F though.

[@razorsedge1]

Worth the upgrade from a Hifiman 400S?

[@noelshaffer9609]

@Wheezy Reviews I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the Thieaudio Phantom (similarly priced planar headphones) Always enjoy your reviews by the way. Keep up the good work 👍

[@WheezyTech]

A planar with a Beyerdynamic style headband has got to be worth checking out. From one Noel to another.... Nice name ;)

[@noelshaffer9609]

@@WheezyTech haha yeah I kept hearing you introduce yourself in your intros and didn't know if I was hearing you right. You pronounce it the same and everything apart from the accent. Cheers from Noel in the States!

[@estenray6685]

Wheezy Reviews just another vote for a comparison of these (Hifiman Sundara’s) to the Thieaudio Phantoms! Thanks for the excellent review! I’ve subscribed and I’m looking forward to your next one👍

[@StrikitRich]

If you have the appropriate balanced cable, give it a try. There was a just a little more there when I used the balanced output on my THX AAA 789 vs the single-ended output. Waiting to try them on a truly balanced amp.

[@north08]

I use these on the iFi Zen dac v2 and Can Amp with the balanced connection and there is a notable difference.

[@rayleps4576]

Just purchased a pair of Sundaras last night. Haven't seen a bad review yet. Looking forward to receiving them. Cheers!

[@limmingjun7930]

@Ray Leps hi can i know .. can sundara really can be driven by phone?? I'm really thinking to buy it

[@呀咧呀咧]

Is w2-131 enough for this headphone?

[@p3chv0gel22]

One thing, i just can't understand is for companies to translate their prices 1:1 between Dollar and Euros. 300$ is usually not the same as 300€ (currently 300$ are equal to round about 251€). I mean, i could understand, if the taxes make them more expensive in europe, but most of the time it feels like stuff is sold at s Premium here🤔

[@WheezyTech]

Yeah same here. $100 in the US, £100 in the UK as if the exchange rate is the same. I do feel a bit ripped off when I see US prices next to UK prices.

[@r00s.]

I just bought some of these. I'm stoked!

[@pragyan_aryal]

सुन्दर review

[@bigjt37]

You're probably the right guy/reviewer to ask, have you tried the Ollo S4X? I think being under 500 dollars, it's up your alley of review products and I hear it's a much better bass extension and stage and version, of the Sennheiser HD650/6xx. Just wondered if you've heard of it..I'm debating it right now..It vs Sundara is what I'm debating, as I surely don't doubt Sundara is legit good; but have been highly recommended the S4X. Good review 🙂👍🏼✌🏼

[@WheezyTech]

Yeah I've seen those and I've been wondering if they were any good. I had initially assumed they were planars due to their style but they are dynamics. Might be worth checking out at some point.

[@bigjt37]

@@WheezyTech Yeah, exactly I thought the exact same thing, that it was planar initially when I saw it, but ended up being a Dynamic. So, yeah few ppl around the discord servers (not the knuckle-heads the decent ones haha) and what not have got em lately and have really been impressed. So just thought I'd check with you if you heard of it; but yeah could be cool in the future as possibility. I enjoy the content. 🙂👍🏼

[@Janfey]

I have Sundara and AKG K712. I know that you mean with that holograph metaphor. I use the AKG's for gaming, where sound position is important. I guess planars can't really potray sound direction accurately.

[@iridescentgherkin]

Sundaras's (and other Hifiman headphones) have a prolific and well documented fault of the ear pads exploding after a year or so. One day, the pads will just split at the seams and the foam will pop out. It happened to my friend's Sundara, many others (easy to search for online) and happened to my new HE-500 pleather pads that were just IN STORAGE not even being used. Hifiman seems to ignore this problem for years.

[@WheezyTech]

Hopefully the changes Hifiman made to the pads will have fixed this issue

[@EGH666]

i had this exact issue, but it came 1 1/2 year after purchse, couldnt replace under warranty so i got perforated sheepskin from dekoni.

[@towsifshahriarshovo]

Monoprice m1060 and m1060c is also a great great option, around $300 range. By the way great review ❤️ Can we drive Sundara by our phones?

[@jessreggae]

Yea, the m1060 I get did not work for me to shouty, but my m1060c really impress me the bass is awesomely fun and I get that holographic experience that he´s talking about

[@WheezyTech]

Sundara can work off of a phone but it won't be ideal depending on how loud you like to listen

[@enkrypt3d]

does it take time to break these in? I'm trying to compare them to my HD650's with XLR balanced cable on my SMSL SH-9 off an SMSL SU-9........ pretty sweet but not a huge difference compared to the HD650's.... help me understand!