Am going to go listen to some metal and see if they’re appropriate.
Can confirm these cans are good at rock/blues/reggae/jazz/swing/acoustic folk though.
Depends on how big your ears are and stuff.
Google Andover Audio PM-50s. Reviews are still coming out so there might be new stuff.
Kinda hoping they do like the sundaras and go around $350. Would definitely consider picking them up at that price point. $500 for me is incredibly steep especially right now. Id say if they are as similar as I am reading then theyd have to be on point pricing… I cant see paying extra for a minor side grade due to a headphone pad issue lol
Yea. The Sundara’s original price point was somewhere around $450-500 I think. Hifiman is a bigger company though, so it’s easier for them to drop the price on a mass produced successful product. They’re definitely direct competitors, but since the PM-50s are a smaller and newer company they are going to cost more for now.
Sidenote, I’m liking the way these guys treat Five Finger Death Punch right now. Will switch to sundaras in a bit. Running them through a Liquid Platinum Hybrid + Enog2.
Okay. So based on your use case I don’t think they are a minor upgrade at all. If it’s metal + gaming I’d hands down choose the PM-50s. Like holy shit these things are more engrossing for metal comparatively.
If you were listening to classical or orchestral or going for laid back or really analytical listening I’d go with the Sundaras. Been using the PM-50s for playing Planetside / squad. I’d call them a solid upgrade.
I really don’t think the pads are an issue. They will be coming out with bigger ones in the near future if you are that concerned.
Regardless you won’t go wrong with either IMO.
Just read the reply. So I looked over the reviews and it seems while the pm50s offer a higher bass and its just a harder beat overall with warmer tones the sundara offer the airyness while maintaining a more realistic sound approach. For gaming over the top audio can become a nuisance meanwhile in music this is welcomed and analytical approach can be a blessing in some games. From just reading all the reviews it definitely seems like the pm50 is better for the music approach while sundara is better suited as a gamers approach. Least from what I am reading. Price tag particularly dictates me to skip these but I will be keeping a close eye on these for the time being especially if I cannot find a way to fix my issue with the sundaras. at the price point the pm 50 is sitting in it’s in competition with not just the sundara but the Hifiman Edition XX as I just searched it and it showed in the $500 range as well. It honestly feels like as far as headphones go in the $350 range or less as it can go to $250 these are like the supreme headphone right now as I have yet to find anything better in that price point
I would call it the reverse. Having used both for games I would hands down go for PM-50s. Especially so for shit like Tarkov where it’s live or die by audio.
The sundaras are the better analytical music listening cans for certain genres along with a more traditional earcup fit.
Anyways, keep both cans on your radar.
Most definitely.
just a question. Was looking at Thieaudio Phantom and wondered how they measured to the Sundara since they are in the same price bracket of the planars. They look comfortable as hell
Phantoms are an interesting set. Personally they will need to be modded to get the best sound out of them. A short way to compare the sounds would be a much darker congested sound to the Sundaras.
This review from Headfonia does a good job at describing the sound
And there is a long thread you can read on this board about them as well
Ah thank you so much! I will take a look
I mean, if I had to way to audition them with these mods implemented in order to directly compare and see which I preferred… I would. Pretty sure modifications voids any refund if there even is a proper trial run. However, the fact they are considered “congested” kind of turns me away as I like an airy seperated sound with wide staging and imaging
Hmm, so I was thinking of trying to find a way to Audition the Verum 1. Does anyone happen to know where one can go to do such a thing? Verum 1 does offer returns but its a 50% return which is extremely hefty. I did consider the PM - 50s but I have to much under the belt right now to factor this in at this current point in time. At the very least is there anyone out there who either has these or at the very least TRIED these out and has some experience with these? What kind of sound signature is it, how is it truly compared to the sundara, they are the same price point, how is the build quality, whats the pros and cons, etc
The issue with the Verum ones is the return and for that matter the repair policy are pretty egregious, especially given the number of reported issues.
Having said that one of the guys over on SBAF lists it in his top 5 headphones.
Yeah, I keep seeing it as being highly recommended even amongst planars and they LOOK visually stunning… my issue is that damned return they have… Been looking around to see if anyones even willing to sell one at the very least for a cheaper ended price point not having much luck… I would love to know how it stacks against the Sundara
so i looked them up and i found a sale of verums but uhh… whatsup with that earcup? isnt that the wrong earcup?
They changed to a new headband and other changes with a v2 model
ah alright so yeah… dont buy v1 that makes things even MORE complicated to get these lmao
The v1 was solid from my experiences, but I did listen to an almost prepro unit with different pads, so I can’t comment too much on that
Well, unfortunately, this is my second Sundara and I won’t be buying another. First one the right ear cup completely fizzled out. This time it seemed okay… couple days in and now the wiring components in the left ear cup and the wire itself are causing alot of sound issues and fizzling distortion. I was really hoping they were past this crap. Going to look more into the verum and pm-50s if you guys have any other recommendations outside of that I am all ears… I love the sundaras sound its truly incredible imo but I won’t sit there and have to worry about when these will just out of nowhere break on me not for that much money being spent.
Where are you purchasing from? Curious if someone is reselling gen1 headphones that still have the issues.
