Iâm just happy that I ended up with something I really like. I thought I would be making a few compromises here and there but these are only upgrade from everything I have heard.
Itâs the first open back I hear as well and I prefer them to closed back, although I thought they would sound completely different from each other.
I bought anandas few weeks ago and I have to say⊠Because of that purchase I have more respect to sundara than I had before. Theyâre not lacking behind anandas sound wise at all, except the âbig sound partâ which is obviously even bigger in anandas.
Sadly sundaras donât fit my ears too well and Iâm much more comfortable in anandas.
But sundaras, for ÂŁ300 are amazing value, especially if they fit you well.
Just needed to praise them.
Good point and thanks for sharing. Really at their price and a little above Sundara is worth respect. And i am happy that more and more people discovers Sundaras potency. I was thinking of anandas also but as i love my Sundaras and they are most comfortable to my ears decided to stop yet. Ananda are really good but as you said sundaras is not lacking at all. They need better cable but if this is the decision that hifiman made to give us such affordable price for such sounding headphone then i completely suport them.
Hifiman with sundara let so many people to taste what they eve didnât knew was possible in this price tier. Aleluja for that 
I am having a really great session with them right now. I know there are many sets out there that are far superior, but damn I like these phones. And how they pair with this hybrid tube is spectacular! It was a lucky hunch but it worked out really well. I love the detail and separation they give. You can hear everything. And the stage is very large and deep. Things happen above my head and so on. Often times you can get a sense of the room. I feel this is a solid performer. I am enjoying them with extreme prejudice! 
And, as you have probably discovered, the Sundaras are Great for the complexities of orchestral music! Big difference for me though when moving from the jds atom to the Asgard 3. That extra power just brought them to life, increased that SS depth and took the harsh edges off, without losing clarity. Have fun.
You are spot on, Sir. This is now my go to set for âAll Things Classicalâ! I think these phones are also a bit more versatile than they get credit for. I say that because they sound pretty great with both amps I have here. These do love some power for sure, and if you donât have it you do miss just a little bit. But both these amps provide more than enough and the Sundara leverages that power beautifully. At times I experience a little harshness on the upper end when going through the SP200, it all depends on the music. You can EQ it out pretty easily, so itâs certainly no deal breaker. But going through the hybrid tube is an absolute joy. That wonderful bit of âtubinessâ that the TA-20 brings to the party gets accentuated by the Sundaras and what you end up with is a fantastic listening experience.
You know, I havenât had the opportunity to listen to a headphone in the 1K plus price point or above, so I have no idea how these stack up against headphones of that ilk. I do feel however that the Sundara delivers excellent performance and value for the price.
is it possible to manually loosen the hinge where the earcups pivots?
My review for the Sundara (2020): HIFIMAN SUNDARA - Reviews | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
Possibly my endgame headphones.
Yeah, theyâre pretty amazing!! Love mine.
Nice review. I listen to a lot of Orchestral and female vocals. Emilie is my favorite.
Try this oneâŠand be sure to catch the timbre on the fluegelhorn solo. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgRuK6LIvYHow would these compare to the koss 958x?
If you wonder why I ask such a weird question, itâs because although I LOVE how my koss sounded, the right cupâs wire has issues despite me getting them repaired once (life warranty) and I am getting a bit tired to deal with that again so I would like to settle on a pair of headphones that has 2 main things:
Would planar at least give me close to this?
If itâs not these that I am looking for, open to suggestions, would spend up to like 400-500 usd.
Oh right, I will be getting a THX AAA one, my jds labs atom seemed to have died so getting a better amp.
I think speed, openness and separation are things that you admired.
Sundara should be a nice step in the right direction at the pricing theyâre at.
A bit over-budget, but the Ananda might be worth a look too. Gives the giant oval driver experience that might be familiar.
So these are 350 usd and they are good, but thereâs something much better at 700 usdâŠdo you have something in between in that same direction?
700 usd isâŠa lot
Youâre reading more there than I wrote.
If youâre set at your budget, buy Sundaras.
Itâs not a product market where there is a new answer at every price internal.
Ended up doing a compromise: I got the ananda, but open box to save 100 usd.
Weâll see how that goes when I get them, but I do look forward to it because everyone have been saying theyâre very open, good highs and decent bass (which is actually something that lacked in the koss and itâs the main reason I still use my 58x which have excellent bass)
Is there such a thing as too much power for the Sundara? What happens when you run these on a 4W capable balanced output? Does the volume knob stay at 9 âo clock? Do they have a wattage sweet spot?
They are mine⊠well⊠with my current budget 
Would LOVE to get Aryaâs (non stealth)
Good question. When I put the Sundara on my SP200 which delivers 6W/Ch I can get the volume knob up to the 11:30 position. And that is LOUD. I realize the SP200 is not technically a true balanced amp, but it does produce much better sound when connected to the XLR input/output and it is a high power unit, so there is perhaps some kind of reference for you. I wouldnât want or need any more power than that.
The Sundara asks for power, but you donât need to turn up the volume.
I donât know how to describe it or why this is.
Sure. One of the benefits of power is loudness.
But letâs say my PC at 90% produces the same volume as my SH-9 at 15. It will still sound way better on the SH-9. Eventhough itâs the same loudness, it has more slam, more bass, itâs fuller, itâs wider,âŠ
So yeah. It needs more power than you will use because it will just sound better.
4 Watts? Plenty! Will do the job just fucking fine 
From personal experiences Sundaraâs need at least a watt to sound like Sundaraâs
For further reference, my Asus laptop sets at 100% > Topping e30 (2 v. output) and my
Asgard 3 I typically run at 10 or 11 o"clock. Plenty of room to spare. Compared to my earlier JDS Atom, the Asgard really brought the Sundaras to life!
I know exactly what you are saying. The Sundara does require adequate power (I generally put that value at about 2W/Ch) but it has this ability to sound wonderful even at lower volume levels. So you get all the soundstage, width, depth etc. without having to abuse your ear drums!