HiFiMAN Sundara Headphones

Product Information

The Sundara is a dual entry headphone as with all of their full-sized headphones. However, the connectors have changed from 2.5mm TRS mono to 3.5mm TRS. By doing away with the numbering sequence Hifiman has been able to craft a specific pitch for the Sundara that breaks the numbering chains of their previous headphones. The only thing we have to go on is the price. Included in the box was also a HIFIMAN Owner’s Guide for the Sundara specifically. Most people gloss over these as who needs instructions listening to a headphone? I strongly suggest you don’t as this guide contains a complete overview of HIFIMAN ’s methodology, a message from Dr. Fang Bian, a run down of the technology used on the Sundara, and recommended usage and care. I am in two minds about that because whilst I recognize the 3.5mm TRS plugs are a setup in quality over the 2.5mm mono plugs it does mean aftermarket cables previously used on the likes of the HE1000 are now redundant on the Sundara. The Sundara is not just an iterative upgrade on either though. Hifiman is pitching two key areas that I think will resonate with Hifiman fans; build and sound quality. All of this is wrapped around the phrase “beautiful” which is the literaltranslation of the word Sundara (Sanskrit).

HiFiMan Sundara review - SoundGuys

Previous issues with this area breaking on the HE400i and HE560 prompted a slight rethink in headbandform and function to prevent this. As a result, Hifiman is pitching the new design to be their best and most durable quality build to date. To get the ruff out first, the lower bass response needs some assistance to be up to my taste since it seems almost absent until you use some equalization and turn those frequencies below 50Hz up at least by 5 decibels. The Sennheiser HD 600 (and later HD650) changed the playing field of headphone audiophilia in 1997 for what you should expect for five hundred dollars. Exactly two decades later in 2017, HIFIMAN has done exactly that with the Sundara; a beautiful legend has been born. Despite both having a similar weight the Sundara is a bit easier to work with and handle. A lot of that has to do with the redesigned headband and pivot system. Hifiman has actually gotten rid of the swivel function of the older HE series headphones so it no longer folds flat.It is a brand new headband system which in my eyes is much simpler in functionality and also a lot sturdier than the old HE series headbands. The headband has what I would describe as a more normal curve and is less extravagant than the older headband. Right around the second iteration of the Sundara, something changed with the headband manufacturing and I think it was particularly with the steel spring section of the headband assembly. I had the first Sundara version plus the second version and the clamping force was increased on the second version. The HIFIMAN Sundara, while not a flagship by any means, hits every flag in my book for an excellent sounding headphone and at an absurd value as well. It’s sonic reproduction is ludicrous for its price point and it simply works with every genre and type of music I have thrown at it. It’s neither an analytical set nor a fully transparent one but it hits the right note by being perfectly in between. It has the detail and enough transparency for me to sit down with my eyes closed and listen critically but also the mellowness to be a forgiving daily driver. I have sat with the Sundara’s on my head for hours watching common Youtube videos to Netflix movies without feeling fatigue or discomfort.

HiFiMan Sundara (2020) Review: The Planar Standard HiFiMan Sundara (2020) Review: The Planar Standard

As part of that neutral bright tuning, there is a good helping of lower treble energy on the Sundara. Yes, it does get sibilant at times and yes, certain notes have a piercing quality to them. But note that this is different from the 7 kHz peak on the HE400se that’s clearly prevalent. On the Sundara, it’s a general spiciness without a specific culprit. I personally don’t think this is an issue but if you’re especially sensitive to treble it is a point of caution. While I like the Sundara’s treble as it continues the lively, energetic sound of the mids, there is a brittleness the timbre that’s noticeable on the hats and cymbals. It can be a little immersion ruining when it appears. Not a deal breaker for the Sundara as a whole but it does diminish the experience for me. Presentation I long since campaigned for the coax system of the older HE4/5 series cans to be ditched and thankfully they did but the transition to 3.5mm is another running change that cable rollers might prefer not to have happened so soon. Materials From the outset, the build quality of the Sundara is leaps and bounds above that of the HE400se. While the overall shape of the headphone is the same, the Sundara has a full metal build that feels substantial in hand. Here we get a large leather suspension strap that spreads out the weight of the Sundara over a wide area to minimize pressure spots. As such, I find the Sundara to be very comfortable, moreso than the HE400se. The pads of the Sundara are a perforated fabric/pleather mix that’s soft to the touch. The metal connection between the yokes and the cups is significantly more robust than the HE400se’s plastic to metal approach. I don’t expect any snapped cups here unless a user is careless with setting them down after use.

I think comfort is more attributed to the new pad design which has the same sized 100mm round shape but it seems much softer and moldable. In one of our previous writeups, particularly the Edition XS review, we casually mentioned within the comparison section the thought-provoking possibility of a Sundara Stealth Edition. Nice comparison Marcus! Just a small typo under the image of the 600’s in the performance section. It says HE600. I think you meant to say HD600. I think most will recognize that but just thought I’d gently throw it out there. Keep up the great work.