Someone just made a post showing that they’re now $150 on amazon. For that price are they actually that bad? The name only goes against them because I know they sound nothing like sundaras. But with eq, are they really worse value than other $150 closed backs? K371?
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Great with a little EQ and when I can’t use my Aryas
They’re pretty bad. I don’t think you can salvage the sound even with EQ.
I can’t see any reason to buy them over any of the competitors
I think they’re pretty good for a closed headphone at their price. I mostly use them out of my 5k and the EQ isn’t essential for casual listening
google sundara closed review it’ll blow your mind
Just recently got them at a discounted price. I also have the open Sundara and the LCD-X.
I took the closed ones over to my girlfriend’s place so I don’t bother her with open cans while she works and the closed ones are about the same as you would imagine CLOSED Sundara to sound. I haven’t heard anything better at this price. After a few hours of burn-in they don’t bother me at all.
I run them with either Fiio K7 or the Zen stack.“after a few hours of burn-in”
Yes, that’s how it works. If you had 2 pairs of the same headphones or speakers you would know.
You know burn in is just bullshit right? It was a thing in the 70s when the material was way stiffer and needed time to reach its peak, now the “burn in” is done when the manufacturer tests the driver for QC.
If you had 2 pairs of the same headphones or speakers you would know.
2 pairs of the same headphone or speaker don’t ever sound exactly the same.
So you can tell a difference between two pairs of the exact headphones but not tell which is the new one?
There is a pretty big difference between closed back and open back. If people prefer open back, all closed backs will feel “off.” If people in here prefer the open-back sundaras, they will probably not like the closed-backs.
Personally, I much prefer a close and intimate sound of a closed back. I have sensitive hearing, and open backs are too distracting for me. I still hear subtle things around me, even at loud volumes, so I can’t get into the music the same. I’ve tried a few and they feel too far away. Just personal preference is all. I don’t want to feel like I’m in a concert hall, I want to feel like I’m in a recording studio.
I have ordered these Sundaras and they arrive tomorrow. I very much enjoy the Monoprice 565c, and I’m trying to repair one side even now. I can try to come back and report what I think.
My main pair is Sony 1AM2, and some Koss headphones. While I’ve not tried a lot of higher end headphones, I’ve tried $900Focals and $900 Sonys. I returned the Focals because they had zero bass, and the the highs were not even that good. The Sonys were great, but so were my $300 Sonys, they had such a close sound signature I couldn’t justify keeping them so I sold them. I prefer a slightly W sound signature for reference, and I can’t stand sibilance.
I also have my son’s Dakoni Blues that are nice, and he has 2 watts on them so they are powered well. I’ll compare to these and see.
I also just ordered a pair of the closed back sundaras. At that price they’re too interesting not to. I have a pair of anandas that I really like, but I completely relate to what you’re saying about open back. I live in an apartment in central London and it’s rarely actually quiet. Background sounds are often so distracting that regular speakers or open back headphones can’t really be immersive.
how did they end up sounding?
Very mid forward, which is good for vocals and classical. Treble can be a little harsher than I had hoped. Bass is good and clean, but not bass cannons like the HE-R9. They hit a little harder than I had thought, which I like.
Overall I like it, but I ordered the mods from custom cans in the UK to tame the treble and mids some. I wanted a replacement for my 565c since they are not fixable, which is a warmer/smoother sound. Perfect for classical and less intense music.
For more involving music like electronic, the sound is too intense and feels almost sibilant at times which is still enough to make me feel uncomfortable. These are very good, but they are special use. I wouldn’t consider them good all-around headphones since the sound profile overly emphasizes the mids.
Thanks for the response— I actually ended up getting em too before I saw this. I found the bass to be really nice, but mids I felt a little muddy. Somehow the treble is muddy and sibilant at the same time for me haha. I actually really like it with some eq though
Bad, better to get DT700 pro X for $269 today
that is almost double the price lol
Can’t comment on the sundara closed or k371s, but if you’re searching for value at that specific price point for more options and willing to look in the second hand market then Sony MDR-1AM2 for example can be commonly found under 200 and even around 100 sometimes. As for brand new I recall Meze 99 neos on sale before at 150 as well.
I love how this post starts with, “someone just made a post about this”
It’s not worth it, shure 840s would sound better.
I tried them at CanJam SoCal and found them to be decent. For 149, I may pick a set up
I commented on another post about these so I’ll just copy paste what I said.
I have them. People say these are dogshit but I’m not sure where they’re coming from. Though I’m probably not qualified to talk about sound as I struggle to pickout the differences betwren all my various gear unless they are extremely obvious.
But anyway, my thoughts. They are fine. For $150, they’re not bad. I have found no problem with the sound. Nothing stood out to me as bad whilst listening to it. Bass is fast, and phonk songs like DVRST are enjoyable on it to me. I run it off my Topping DX1 fine on low gain.
My previous headphones were some coolermaster mh752 and the he400se, and whilst I don’t have those anymore. I’d say the sundara closed is at least better than both of them imo.
Comparing it to IEMs, I have tried the Moondrop Aria, which I personally hated due to how bright it was to me for some reason and how it doesn’t fit my ear properly. I have also tried the Truthear Zeros and EPZ K5s, and I vastly prefer the Sundara Closed over them (which I would hope so considering these IEMs are cheaper anyway)
I have not tried the original sundara but that’s probably why many were disappointed by the closed. For 150, they’re not bad and aesthetically speaking they’re quite nice.
They are terrible without EQ. With EQ, they are very decent, and the stock FR while really weird the issues with it are quite broad, it’s not narrow peaks, so it responds quite well to EQ. Technicalities are good.
Don’t go near them if you aren’t willing to EQ, but if you can EQ, absolutely. They’re also super easy to drive so can easily run off a Qudelix or even a Moondrop FreeDSP cable.
I bought them, and while I don’t think they are spectacular, they are very good. They don’t deserve the negative press they got. I say this for the price of $150. For $400, I’d be a little bit disappointed. But I also have the Ananda, which I paid that much for, and they don’t perform as well as that headphone, mostly because they are a closed back. On their own, and if you have nothing else to compare them to, they are solid in every sense of the word for $150. They’d be a great gift for someone who wants to try a planar but needs closed back.
I would hesitate to recommend them for on the go, running off your phone or even a Bluetooth dongle. They will get enough volume, but they won’t have the same impact as any powered amp would. I would say that running balanced or with a 6db gain makes them sound the best. This is just the nature of planars. They run best with power, but they’ll still sound fine without the extra juice it you want to use them like that. Fine isn’t really good enough for me, though.
I think they are visually quite beautiful. I didn’t think much of them from the pictures, but they are quite attractive in my hands and I am drawn to that lovely wood. They really stand out on my desk!
I have other closed backs, including the R9 which I bought recently because Hifiman dropped the price down to $109. I haven’t done a close comparison, but I think the R9 has much wider soundstage than the closed Sundara and definitely more bass. They are tons lighter and have a softer clamp force as well. I like the looks of the Sundara way more, but ultimately I can’t see these things on my own head and I’m not wearing either one of them in public so it’s not an issue. I think the R9 is a more fun headphone, but less sophisticated. If I were a billionaire, I’d rather display the Sundara closed on my desk. There a certain elegance to them you have to see in person to understand. “Sundara” means “beautiful, lovely” in Sanskrit. The closed Sundara really deserves the name. They really do sound and look beautiful,but it’s unfair to directly compare them to the open back version. I think this is really where Hifiman failed the closed version. They should have gone with a different name because it’s inevitable that the reviewers were going to do a direct comparison, and it’s pretty apparent that they are aren’t the same thing.