HIFIMAN - Sundara

I have the Sony XM6, I am happy with it, I had a couple of Boses in the past. I think I would have bought the HDB 630 instead of the Sony if I was about to buy a new one today, but since i travel a lot I really need good ANC for long flights. I also have a Sundara which is alright. I think I am still looking for that pair of headsets that become my end game so I focus more on the music and less in the endless rabbit hole this hobby is :D

Similar issues with my Arya. After going from a Sundara to Arya, the clamping force is substantially weaker on the Arya. The Sundara is like a vice grip in comparison. It isn't an issue anymore, I sort of grew into it and actually prefer it now. But they could clamp a little tighter for my liking.

I’ve got a fairly large head (apparently) - so clamping force was always a big factor for me. Sundara’s are incredibly comfortable. Stopped using them- accidentally ruined the headband by using the wrong cleaner, so small note on that, but overall would recommend.

The new lineup seems specifically designed to address their reputation for bad QC. I've owned several Hifiman cans and the XV are a significant step up in terms of build quality. I remember basically being afraid that my Sundaras would fall apart if I dropped them. If those were a 3/10 for build, these feel closer to a 7 or 8.

Audeze Maxwell is a good all-in-one gaming headset. Otherwise you can get a good headphone then get a boom mic or an attachable mic for it, eg. Antlion modmic. Some good headphones are: Audio-technica ATH-R70x, HiFiman Sundara, HiFiman Ananda, Hifiman Edition XS

I had a Hifiman Sundara for a long time, coming from the Dt990. The Dts can't reach them at all. Get the Sundaras and don't look back.

All so true what you've said here. And oh wait until you get something like a Hifiman Sundara and pair it with a decent DAC. It blows your socks off. The soundstage, imaging, dynamics, clarity is mind boggling. I could not believe what I was hearing. It changed music for me. Sorry about the long upcoming audio journey of mine, but feels like a good space to be able to share my journey as well. I hope I don't come off as snobbish, I have fairly high end gear now. 😅 Now a few years down the line, now my product owned line up is as follows (in chronological order of purchase): ATH-AR3BT (On a trip to Japan, M50 was all the rage, thanks to MKBHD) Sony WF-1000XM3 (refurbished, first foray into TWS, wanted something for general sports, cycling etc) FiiO K3 (Was using BT on the AR3BT for CS:GO first, realized the latency is probably holding me back, plugged in 3.5mm on my laptop, realized it was broken - audio on one side only, so got a dac with a volume knob, initially didn't realize the sound difference between bluetooth and the DAC and panicked that I wasted 8k, until I heard it and could never go back) Hifiman Sundara (Had been exploring audio till I landed on audiophile territory and read plenty about it, initially it sounded meh but when I listened over a few days, it was just OMFG what sorcery is this. This experience made me fairly confident that burn-in is real, whatever people might have to say) Moondrop Aria (read reviews that it sounds similar to the Sundara in a relatively budget category and wanted something portable. Well no, not similar as such but a fantastic warmly tuned IEM, eventually also tried out the SpinFit CP-1, great pairing, opened up the sound even more, better soundstage) Shanling UA2 (wanted an ESS DAC that I can use with the IEM, mainly for travel, that ESS sharpness pairs surprisingly well with the Aria, not so much with the other devices I own, haven't really tried much with the AR3BT) QAcoustics 3020i + SMSL AO200 (Entered speakers territory with a speaker amp, never heard speakers so good and so holographic) 2x QAcoustics QB12 (Well, explored sub bass territory, placed an order, found another place cheaper and ordered from there as well, couldn't cancel first order, ended up with two subs, not that I regret it) E70 Velvet (Moved the speakers to my TV, and needed a DAC there, beautiful AKM chipset DAC, very very smooth and non-fatiguing sound, yet retaining all the nuances in audio) Sony WF-1000XM5 (XM3 started glitching out, one side randomly stopping to work, XM3 also had a poor mic setup, saw good reviews for these and got them. Quite good compact tws with okay sound - spinfit w1 does help the sound a lot, but reduces noise isolation) Edifier MR4 (A smaller active speaker for my office desk, conmected to line out of my K3. While it doesn't come close to the QAcoustics, I was surprised how good these Edifiers can be in a near field listening setup, good soundstage, not the same level of clarity and holographicness, but very crisp and even sounding, good bass without a subwoofer) Cayin RU7 (wanted to know what the R2R buzz is about, this is however 1 bit, not multibit, and by far the most impactful in terms of sound presentation, all the notes are so much, more present and wider. And the soundstage expanded further. The difference in sound is insane, and became my go to for the Sundara) Focal Auditor ASE-165 (got a new car with shit speakers unfortunately, this was the cheapest and easiest drop in replacements for my speakers without needing an amp immediately, pretty good for the price! Lot of clarity in the sound in my car now) ZMF Bokeh Closed (wanted a closed headphone that could do something the Sundara did for me, since I now share my office space with my wife. Not exactly how I imagined it, but ended up liking it a lot, fun and immersive sound, some tracks can literally tickle the ears. This pairs again really well with the K3. I tried the NPR audio quality test - paired with the RU7, finally could pick up the differences in uncompressed and mp3 files. Couldn't do that on the Sundara)

I'll definitely try to be more elaborate the next time I post the ZMF Bokeh 😄 I'd just gotten it and was just getting started last time I posted. Regarding the Sundara, yes it's an old boy now, but still great VFM if you get it at the deal prices it comes at now. Edition XS I've heard is a great next step and the better choice, although it definitely is a bit more plasticky looking. Open back headphones are insane when done right, and these headphones do really well with EQ as well. Very very capable headphones. One thing to note if you are getting into headphones though, the earpad replacement costs. Expect the pads to last for about 2 years will regular use and ageing, and it is worth replacing with the original pads itself. I went for a Brainwavz replacement pad to save on costs and get a bigger earpad than the stock pads, but I kind of ended up using the Sundara less because I started finding it shouty. Finally got the original replacement pads, will do a comparison between the two. Pop is for the masses, and the masses have basic basshead headphones. None of the budget options do mids or trebles well, they just go piercing the ear if you try and tune it. Even bass for that matter, it is there in quantity, but quality, there is no control, it is just bloated boomy bass. People love that. People don't know what they are missing out.

I’ve had the Audeze lcd-x and sold them for both the lcd2 and lcd2 closed. LCD X are fantastic but I can get what I like outa the lcd 2 for 99% of what I use my headphones for, they sound so similar for most things just a little less bass imo, and the other 1% the lcd2 closed does its job (stupid lots of bass lol) I’ve had the sennheiser 660s and gave them to my best friend, I always felt like I was going to break them, But they sound great. I have both the hifiman sundara and sundara closed, these were replaced with my Audezes. They sound good for the price you can get them today but I like my audezes more. I also have the Moondrop Venus, those sit on a stand and I don’t use them. They weigh a damn ton and are no better than a sundara in sound but they’re beautiful lookin lol.

I literally just bought some sundaras (I know I'm years late to the party) as an upgrade to my well used he400i but honestly might return/sell them for these instead, seems to be a bigger jump in fidelity without costing much more

Sennhieser hd650, akg q701, hifiman sundara, beyerdynamics dt1990. All depends on personal preference that only your ears can confirm