HiFiMAN Sundara Headphones

Product Information

Hiroyuki Sawano – Scapegoat (00:57-01:17), vocal/instrument tonality and timbre are a lot better on the Sundara. The midrange is extremely sweet, and at least for me, it is the highlight of the Sundara. It is not a forward midrange, and I really love that, it is neutral in the overall presentation, ever so slightly cold rather than warm. This compliments pretty much everything I have in my library, especially metal and guitar notes, and when paired with a high-quality DAC/AMP or DAP, you can hear a ton of detail from Sundara, in fact, making them just one step below Arya or HE6SE, both of which are uber expensive flagships. If you’re using an iBasso DX220 + AMP7 from iBasso, there are moments when you wouldn’t be able to say that Sundara is a 500 USD Headphone, especially for how dynamic, detailed, punchy, and clear the midrange is. The midrange is ever so slightly on the cold side, but this compliments guitars quite well and gives the entire sound a very dynamic and snappy presentation, compared to a lush presentation which usually imposes more weight on each musical note. Mids: Hiroyuki Sawano – OldToday (01:25-01:52), vocal tonality is slightly better on the Sundara, more detailed and more refined, timbre is similar. Instrument tonality is a lot better on the Sundara and more micro-details while the timbre Is similar. The Sanskrit word “sundara” means “beautiful”. HiFiMAN’s latest models are all named after some Sanskrit word, but this one appears to be spot on. The HiFiMAN Sundara are in fact beautiful headphones, though more importantly they sound good.

The approximately 5-foot cable is a little short. If you aren't sitting close to your sound source, small movements are likely to yank the cable free or at least pull it taut. The good news is that it's detachable, so you can swap it out for whatever cable you prefer. Grado's SR325x headphones have a slightly longer cable that measures a little over 5.5 feet, but its hardwired design is limiting.

Reviewed - finally​

Evanescence – Bring me to life (01:18-01:35), more relaxing and non-fatiguing on the KPH30i but a lot more detailed and cleaner on the Sundara. Hiroyuki Sawano – Lose (string version) (01:22-01:59), Cello tonality could be a bit warmer, more textured but is clean and detailed with good timbre. Violin tonality could be brighter, but good treble-extension and detail with good timbre.

PS:- Now I am looking for a case for this one, along with the headset and mic combo i talked about above. As a verification, I asked my son to come over and without looking at the measurements and EQ, listen to the headphone plain and then with EQ I had built above. After about half hour of listening he said there was no sub-bass and the there was something missing in the sound. With EQ he found the sound to be much improved causing him to say he likes it. So good correlation with my findings.I have been using them at least 75% portably, since I keep most flagships for at home and indoors usage, but I still take sundara on my head after taking a batch, when I have wet hair. On the other hand, while outside, the main complaints I’d have are that they don’t isolate and leak quite a bit, although I don’t seem to annoy people around me, and the few times someone asked me something about my headphones, they were genuinely interested in purchasing a pair, and at least 2 of them actually did. So how does the Sundara sound? Without much to anticipate I can already say that I have never heard such a good tonality for under 500 € in headphones. That surprised me more than positively. It plays very coherently from the bass up to the treble. In the process, it follows the Harman curve with the exception of a linear bass (magnetostatic typical) and a drop below 50 Hz. Due to the linear bass, the mids run about 3-4 dB below the Harman curve from 1.5 Khz up to the highs to achieve a coherent presentation. If I listen to a HD820 in comparison, I immediately notice a clear difference open vs. closed. The 13 Khz boost also contributes to the Sundara sounding very open, much more open than an HD820 and also more open than an LCD-2, for example.

Process and analyze the NFS data yourself, including the Preference Score, Correct Spinorama, Directivity 2D and 3D live etc. : Despite fairly typical impedance, the headphones don't get as loud as many other models we test. For reference, when I listen to lossless Apple Music audio on an iMac via a McIntosh stereo receiver, they only start to get uncomfortably loud after I max out the volumes of both the app and the receiver. Those same levels with the Grado SR325x are extremely loud, to the extent that they could potentially damage the headphones. The Sundara’s soundstage is natural, with relatively precise imaging and good instrument separation. It doesn’t typically get congested – although the treble can get a bit blurry in very bright recordings, most sounds seem to hold their particular positions in space, even during fast or loud passages.

HiFiMAN Sundara Comparisons

Ground-Zero’s Consume-Red, for example, ends in a nearly 30-minute assault of constant cymbal crashes. Heard through the Sundara, these cymbal crashes are quite bright, and also clearly hazy and blurred-together. Detail in the treble becomes hard to make out because of the ringing here. Thanks to my friend Melissa for tossing her blue coat on my couch, providing me the perfect photo op Sound All products sold on Headphone Zone carry a GST compliant invoice and all products sold include an 18% GST.

Sundara (सुन्दर) is a Sanskrit term meaning beautiful, lovely (of a person), or generally, noble; well, right. As a personal name, it may refer to: That was still relatively early in my audiophile journey, and I’ve since gotten a bit harder to impress, a bit less susceptible to “audiophile magic.” But I was left with a pervasive desire to eventually get my hands on the Sundara, and a few months ago, I finally did. Midrange is the real star of the Sundara and it is presented with a slight accent on the upper region which gives it added clarity and sparkle. Violins, trumpets and female voices shine, but not to the detriment of other, “warmer” instruments which sound as good as them. This bit of emphasis makes some details pop up more than others: the vibrations of guitar strings, the air moving inside trumpets and flutes, or the small fluctuations of the harmonica (e.g. in Max De Aloe Quartet’s L’aria in mezzo). Tonality is approaching neutrality with a touch of brightness, which many find ideal. The Sundara offer great clarity that goes hand-in-hand with the good amount of detail that the driver offers. Technicalities: Shiro Sagisu – Hundred years war (02:24-02:57), soundstage is slightly wider on the HD560S but a lot deeper and more holographic on the Sundara. Imaging, micro-details and timbre are a lot better on the Sundara while macro-detail is a bit better on the Sundara. Without EQ, I would not be a buyer as I love my deep bass response and highs that are a bit more sedated. With EQ, the Sundara transforms beautifully providing excellent spatial effect with respect to instrument and channel separation while providing the deep bass response that I crave.Hiroyuki Sawano – Pretenders (01:18-01:47), a bit more bass quantity on the R70X but similar texture while it is faster and tighter on the Sundara. A bit more tonally correct on the R70X and better timbre but cleaner and more detailed on the Sundara (treble is also more refined on the Sundara and less peaky). Since the unit I’m reviewing is mine, I can successfully evade certain suspicions that I’m being encouraged by a distributor or manufacturer to give a positive review for some kind of monetary gain. Sound​I’m not sure if I want to keep this part short or describe every part one by one. After all, Sundaras are one of the best tuned headphones out there. Every aspect of the frequency response is how it should be, except… My experience has always been with wireless over-the-ear headphones( Sennheiser PXC 550-II, Sony WH-1000XM3, Bose SoundLink—the Sennheiser’s are for me the clear winner of these threeby the way). I had no need for wired headphones and the amp to drive them. I’ve had wireless headphones exclusively—some Apple AirPods Pro earphones as well because they are just so practical.