Yeah, i really hope that the Pali pads and the balanced cable will increase the bass a bit
Pretty sure the Pali pads are exactly what the ānewerā Sundara has standard already.
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It is. And they donāt in my opinion. I had a set of the old pads from a friend to try em out and the bass didnāt sound different enough for me.
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I dont think so either. The balanced cable didnāt change the sound for me just gave me more headroom for volume.
Iām lazy to find the reddit posts but im sure someone confirmed the ZMF ori lambskin pads increased both the bass and the treble considerably, also their foam is tougher so more clamp. This probably should also apply to auteur and eikon pads, and cowhide material but thereās not enough info on the net.
I tried the sundara with brainwavz xl pleather pads which did increase the mid-bass punch but it threw off everything else, I really disliked what it did to the mids, the highs were bouncing all over the place. Personally, for more bass I use EQ and/or other headphones.
EDIT: I got the ZMF universe (hybrid, perforated) pads today on the sundara, I didnāt test them back and forth but I did my best to analyze the changes after the swap. Super nice suede and more space for the ears, similar clamp.
The frequency response feels pretty much the same, but the presentation feels different, I perceive a little bit larger soundstage but not larger sounds, for instance the vocals are just a little bit further and the instruments have a little bit more room. I wouldnāt say it sounds better, just different. Yours May Vary.
Wow, an exhaustive comparison! There are things I agree with you, but for me, I seem to prefer the M1070 vs the Sundara ( I know Iāll get a lot of hate for my opinion, as it seems the Sundara is everybodyās darling), but for me the Sundara feels the disabled, malnutritioned stepbrother of the Anandaā¦ The M1070 is heavy, the headband is a joke, but I like the sound of it. And maybe just me, but I sense a larger soundstage than the Sundara (smaller than X2HR). You say you miss the warmth, excitement and personality from the T50RP and M1070. Planars are different to dinamics, but thatās what I love about them. I have the T20RP and I think youād find what you miss from the T50RPs. When I got the T50RPs I thought, heck itās no need for the T20RP, just add some bass to the T50RPs, and youāre done. Nnnnnnoooooo, itās something else. Maybe you lose some clarity and detail (5%) but you get that velvet like warm bass.
Regarding the X2HR and a possible DT1990. I love my X2HR, but if you like it, another step up is the DT1990. Itās brighter, and at the same time goes deeper as well, itās like the X2HR on steroids.
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Cool thank you for the feedback.
Yeah, maybe iāll try the t20rp one day. I had them on my watch list, but after my experience with the t50 not with the highest priority.
Ok, that sounds really cool. You say that the bass is deeper on the 1990 pro, but what about bass quantity? It would be interesting to have tighter and deeper bass and equal quantity.
Do you have any experience with the Dt 1770 pro?
DT1990: for me it feels similar quantity, but goes deeper, and gives it slightly more authority to it. The bass quality is better. There is a higher clamping force on it, then the X2HR. All these are related to the balanced earpads. Iāve still to try the analytical pads.The build quality is even higher as well.
I have no experience with the DT1770, I only have the DT770 (250OHM)
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Iām a relative noob when it comes to headphone. I wouldnāt say I am an audiophile but rather just like listening to music. I had a set of he400ās back some years ago and loved them. They were my first introduction into planar headphones. I have given them away and now I want another set to replace them. I keep seeing people rave about the Sundara but I am also looking at the M1070ās and the HE4xx. Are the Sundaraās worth the extra cost over the others? Are the issues with the monoprice headphone really that big of deal to live with? I have a set of OPPO PM-3ās that I am using now but donāt like them as much as I did my old he400ās.
Canāt say about the 1070, but I have both the 4xx and Sundaras. The 4xx has a bit deeper bass, but the Sundara is overall a much better headphone, imo. Greater detail, a bit better soundstage width, but also has AMAZING depth. Also the midrange clarity is much better, thus vocals are more present and defined.
They are a bit brighter but I find the top end is never harsh. Also the instrumental timbre is spot on. For me at least they
are definitely worth the extra money.
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To my ear the m1070s are overly warm and āveiledā. I am told they should improve with burn-in ā I am not sure I buy it, but to be honest havenāt given them enough time to know for sure.
I think if you like a warm and ārelaxedā sound you might appreciate the m1070s more than I do. To me, the Sundaras are far more listenable. Not close.
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The M1070 is a step forward in terms of build quality for monoprice hp. The metal of the headband could be a little bit thicker, but i donāt think that build quality is problematic on the 1070.
I think it depends which sound signature you prefer. But i think like wagstaff and others above- that sundaras performs stronger in most acoustic categories.
Read my post #691 for a comparison between the sundara and the M1070
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TLDR at bottom:
Hey everyone. Tried searching through comments and many threads but still canāt come to a conclusion. New to headphones, always been a speaker guy. Picked up the Sundaraās recently. There was a lot of debate on if these needed to be powered or not. Some poeple said absolutely, others said the could get away playing them on their phone. I have a solid motherboard, Sabre ES9023 DACs and I thought would have enough power if poeple were getting good sound on their phones. Sadly for whatever reason, while they sound good, I just cant get volume that high. Ironically I can get higher volume and more depth of sound on my Samsung Note 8 than my expensive Motherboard. I have no idea why but thatās just how it is.
Anyways as I really didnt want to spend this much for headphones I was going to return them and just order some 500 series Sennheiserās. When I got the Sennheiserās I was immediately turned off by how forward the mids ( and I thought I liked mids ) were and thereās just this subtle feel about the Sundaras that makes listening to things feel like more of an experience, and now I canāt go back to using anything lesser. Which brings me to my main point of the post.
I need help picking out a DAC. I was originally going to go the Modi/Magi route, but after reading some threads on this form Asgard 3 seems the way to go. I was pretty excited as I saw you can get it with a DAC built in, until further research it appears the DACs included are a bit shit. So Iām looking for the best DACs to pair with the Sundara and Asgard 3 for 100-200 dollars. Preferably closer to 100, but Iām sure thatās a stretch, 200 I can do if itās really worth it. If it helps, I have a pair of LS50s with a Marantz SR7010 Powering them and I like teh sound signature of that. I like bright speakers with a touch warmer power/processing behind them to dull them down juuust a touch. One reason I got the Sundara is it actually reminded me of the LS50s from everything I was reading. So yes. 100-200 dollar DACs recommendation for Sundara + Asgard 3. Thanks!
TLDR: Looking for $100-$200 DACs to pair with Sundara and Asgard 3.
For what you describe you could get the modius to stack with the asgard if you have the budget, a solid upgrade and nice compact stack imo. If you didnāt want to do that, imo a liquid spark dac or topping e30 tend to be pretty solid for the money imo and fit your sonic goals. Thereās also the new modi 3+ which looks interesting but I havenāt heard it yet so canāt comment there
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Appreciate the quick reply! I looked at the Modius but came across one of your posts actually about the implementation of the 4493 in the Modi, made me think to look other than Schiit for the DACs. Is the Modius actually decent? and a solid step up from the LS and E30? Are there any others in the Modius price range you prefer, my preferences aside? Thanks again, I really appreciate all the assistance.
So yes, I donāt like the internal dacs in the amps, and I also am not a fan of the modi 3 at all, but the modius is a pretty different step from when I tried one out imo, they did a much better job there. I really like the higher end schiit multibit stuff the most but thatās out of budget here. To me it is a solid step above the liquid spark and the e30, not massive but a noticeable one.
So honestly not too many, there is the geschelli jnog but I havenāt heard that yet but I have heard the enog and that was pretty great and the jnog seems to be an upgrade from that. I really really like the allo revolution dac but thatās more around 300 than 200
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Thanks again! Iāll be on the lookout for one of those. If I could get my hand on a used good condition enog do you think it would pair well with A3 or would Modius pair better with it?
Hmmmm, so the enog is more of a neutral brighter dac, it is resolving and capable, but personally from what you descrive you like your source gear to be, the modius better fits that more warmer relaxed signature without going overboard, the enog + a3 would more lean towards just pretty neutral toned imo
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Great insight. A3 + Modius it is then. Iāll report back my subjective thoughts when I get them. Hopefully the convo helps others n00bs in the future.
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Will be curious to see what you think 
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I have 4XXs. I love the sound but cannot stand the comfort. For me, the headband presses on my head to much and the earpads are itchy. Are the Sundaraās better in comfort compared to the 4XXs?