[HELP] Need Amp & DAC suggestion for HifiMan Sundara

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
21

Well said. I have ordered my 4.4mm balanced cable. Hope to see the magic ahead!

22

Hello again if your looking for an amp with balanced output I would recommend the schiit magnius or the smsl sh-9

but I would recommend trying the ifi zen dac first as its a combo unit and costs less than buying a dac and amp separately and if you find it isn’t up to your standards then buy all means buy one of those amps I recommend and then get a dac to go with it again hope this helps

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23

Schitt Stack would be good. Pending budget you can get a solid Dac/Amp combo

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24

Hello to everyone. I am also looking for Amp & DAC suggestions for the HifiMan Sundara’s. I recently upgraded from the HifiMan HE-350’s. I am currently using a Schiit Hel and was wondering if I need to upgrade to get the most of the Sundara’s? If so, I was considering a Schitt Stack consisting of a Magnius & Modius. Or perhaps a RebelAmp, but not sure which DAC would go with it.

25

Hello,
What‘s your budget what would you spend?

26

I would like to keep it under $1000.00, but the I am flexible with the amount.

27

I would think the hel would be solid enough to get a good idea of the sundara to start off with. Maybe just get the sundara for now and then upgrade dac/amp afterwards?

28

As for a good balanced cable I went with (Periapt) for my balance Sundara cable. It’s there (Type 8) :metal:

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20210502_1842373264×2448 1.51 MB

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29

My bad, I guess it wasn’t clear, but my current setup is the Hel & Sundara combo.

30

Hey guys, most of you seem to recommend the ifi stack for sundaras wether balanced or not. How do you feel this compares to the liquid spark stack?

I wanted to go liquid spark but from recommendations it seems like the ifi is better? I just hate the ifi DAC, I would prefer if it honestly where a dac and not a dac/amp.

Also maybe a mix and match would be better? How does the e30/l30 stack play here?

31

FWIW I am very happy with my e30/Asgard 3 combo.

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32

Is Zen dac alone enough for sundara?

33

Just tried it, with power match On, the Sundara gets loud enough at ~1 O’Clock position of the knob. Sound quality is better with Zen CAN though.

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34

Thank you very much. What’s the main difference? The bass?

35

Most notable difference is increased stage size. The overall sound from Zen DAC’s Headphone out is a bit muddy when compared to Zen CAN’s output which sounds cleaner and effortless, it’s not a big difference and Sundara still sounds good if a little congested/intimate. It’s also somewhat easy to notice difference in the Bass impact which is better on the Zen CAN.

The other difference is the Zen DAC’s “TrueBass” muddy’s up the sound and feels distorted and boomy while the Zen CAN’s “xBass” is much better sounding and not as boosted as “TrueBass”.

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36

I recently got my Sundaras and thinking of buying a dac/amp for them. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the ifi DAC/CAN stack, but I can’t currently afford both. So my options are either to get just the DAC and get the CAN later, or alternatively, just the CAN with something like the Apple dongle, and maybe get the DAC later.

37

I know it’s a month later but I can tell you that the zen dac works really well on it’s own with the sundaras. It’s got plenty of power and the bass boost is a nice option to have.

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38

Have to say the zen DAC & Asgard 3 is a good combo cause if you want a bit more slam from the sundara the bass boost from the DAC through the Asgard is a welcomed addition :wink: