Imo the sundara was a way better value for sure
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Cool, maybe eventually. Will have to wait for the right moment to strike. Maybe this year’s black Friday.
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hifiman sundara review
What really surprised me when i first got them was the timbre, im a bit of a timbre freak and i hated the 4xx (for many reasons but mostly due to the timbre) and was SCHOCKED when i listened to ludovico einaudi and actually could hear the violin sound actually sound like a violin. which was missing on the 4xx. one of the reasons i like warm headphones is for how they kind of hug you and sound so much like the tone of a real human and while this headphone isn’t warm it definetly has a real human sound while sounding maybe a bit less realistic than something like the nighthakws or micca rb42 since they sound a bit cleaner, less warmer. The timbre i would describe as just as natural but less true to life. And even though i couldn{t initially tell that it was a planar, after a few hours i could definitely hear that distinct planar sound that i heard from the 4xx.
I’ve put some old ballads from artists like olga tañon, Lost Bukis and newer stuff like Busker Busker, stella Jang and they have excellent midrange with pretty linear vocals, while they are not vocal forward they are not recessed again with very very natural sounding timbre. Vocals are pretty rich but pleasant and light at the same time. I understand why some people call the sundara airy as they have a light and open sound that{s very transparent but i think the ksc 75 is still the airiest headphone i have heard.
Getting into bass requirements i listen to alot of hip hop like kanye west, injury reserve and Nujabes From the sick bass on the hip hop sounding tight and fast i was shocked to find out how GOOD the bass was on these headphones. I also have the carbon nighthawks and these are the second best bass i have ever heard (different type of bass that i am enjoying alot). The hawks have a more boomy, colored bass (i think the word bloated dosent do the hawks justice) while the sundara feel more proper, less excessive intrusive and more balanced.The imaging while listening to Injury Reserve was crazy nice as I hear the changes from left to right and center channel. Listening to some kpop just like when i wear the ksc 75 i am able to enjoy the treble! Feels nice and smooth which surprised me since i come from te dt 770 and Tin t2 which aren{t as controlled sounding. I feel like they have a more refined less piercing treble from most things that i have heard while still maintaining great treble for kpop and other brigther sounding music from artists like kishi bashi, oliver tree and many korean indie artists. For some reason on songs like Red Velvets power up, dumb dumb etc alot of the vocals are a bit stronger but not piercing or sibilant, just seems to be a bit more stressed which i don{t think ive heard in any other headphone atm. But ultimately the treble is rather smooth and the She’s fine album by Heize is not sibilant at all (which is the first on any of my headphones including the nighthawks!) in addition to boogyman by hong jin young being perfectly fun and exciting without being sibilant. those two things really let me notice how smooth the headphones are. Altho there was no saving some Leessang albums lol. (edit: listening to the leessang albums again I take that back, they don’t sound sibilant! And I can enjoy them really really well)
These are the most neutral cans i’ve ever heard, i can’t call them warm, dark or bright. They are the most balanced headphone i have atm and so far they do justice to every genre and artist i can find (if you want to be technical, most balanced sounding instead of maybe neutral since alot of people cant agree on these wether they call them neutral or neutral bright) The treble is never lacking when i hear kpop or brighter sounding music and always comes to life, midrange sounds good with actually great timbre for every instrument and voices. And even tho its not boomy the fast, tight bass is extremely enjoyable. i would suggest that every single frequency is just very pleasant and almost basic sounding but good. its a very simple sound signature that does everything very very well. Generally i like warm for indie and hip hop and bright for kpop and other stuff, and when i wrote the Carbon Nighthawks review i even said that they still make me more inclined to hear hiphop and indie but since getting these i am inclined to listen to every single genre and artist on these. Everything dosen’t just sound good on these, everything sounds great. Jack of all trades and master of all is what i really want to charactarize these headphones as.
Imaging is pretty dang great and i think surpasses that of the nighthawks . Seperation is pretty clean without sounding too analytical and the headphone is surprisingly laid back while still being rather engaging.
10/10 would recommend to anyone
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if you haven’t already, you should check out the Modern Times Epilogue album by IU with these.
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So I just read about how the Sundara got a stealth revision this year. Are the pads fully responsible for the change in tone? I’d be really interested in hearing how they sound since I found the Sundara to be too bright for my liking. Does anyone think it’s worth buying the new pads? Of course that’s if I can even get them anywhere.
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https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/palipad.html (u could get them off this link)
so the stealth revision, to my knowledge the pad change was indeed the one and only thing responsible for the change in sound. As someone who has owned smooth things like the 58x and sharp things like the dt 770, tin t2, i can say that these headphones do have the smoothest treble i’ve heard without really missing out on some frequencies like you do with warm headphones. it’s not a miracle worker but i think really smoothed out certain albums i got. I can seriously say that these don’t sound bright at all to my ears, and i’m more or less treble sensetive
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Ughhh these sound perfect for me…my birthday is coming up…hmmm
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Anyone here have the Sundaras as well as the Elex and can give me an overall comparison of the two?
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these are pretty perfect, and actually i may borrow an elex from a buddy in a few weeks just to do a comparison lol. if that happens i can share my thoughts on them
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I own both but I can’t say that much about the Elex since I hardly use it. They sound pretty different, so I wouldn’t be worried about the Sundara being redundant. The two biggest differences to I notice are (aside from FR) the Elex is overall more natural sounding and dynamic.
Here’s a couple posts from M0N.
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ah i see you have the focal elex. from what i hear they are better, the elex. what exactly would you be looking for? speed?
Really just want to experience the difference of dynamic to planar sound. Right now I only have dynamics. Only planar I’ve heard was the t60rp and argon mk3 and I wasn’t a fan, and I’ve been told they’re not the greatest example of what planars can do.
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Happy birthday and happy sundaras in advance. 
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The Elex and the Sundara’s are the most similar cans in my collection.
When I first got the Elex’s I found them addictive and wore them for 21 straight days. They truly have a W shaped sound. Lots of bass (more than I was expecting), lots of mids and lots of top end. They are very exciting, but can be fussy on bad sounding material. Very close to perfect, IMO.
The Sundara’s had a pretty low bar to clear: Just be better than the HE4XX’s. These were less than half the price of the Elex’s. These are not as exciting, but are much more relaxed sounding. The sound is VERY full and the 'phones are not as fussy as the Elex’s regarding amps or music.
I find the Elex’s are much heavier and easier to drive than the Sundara’s.
I like both of them for different reasons. If money is tight, the Sundara’s are a great pick up. If you can afford (and can get) the Elex’s, they are amazing. With these two and my Grado’s, I just feel like I have open backs covered.
I am listening to my Fostex’s for the last few days and I must admit that I am itching to get back to some open backs.
I haven’t really compared them since Monday. I got my new amp on Sunday and immediately put on the Elex’s. They were perfect and on Monday I put the Sundara’s on. I wanted to cycle through all my headphones on the new amp, but it took me several days to take the Sundara’s off. 
That is my overall comparison. To really compare the sounds, I would have to A-B them for an afternoon. Both are awesome though.
Not sure if that helps anybody though. I love both of them.
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Yeah we owe Massdrop big time for the Elex. Can you imagine the Focal line-up without it? There’s just be the Eligia, Elear and the Listen.
Which fostex do you have?
The Liquid Platinum from Monoprice. Also referred to as a Monolith or as a Cavalli amp.
Plays nice with EVERYTHING! What an amp.
I put in some Amperex tubes today and didn’t notice much of a difference.
TH-610’s. I will be doing a driver tune-up on them tomorrow.
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Have heard good things about it. Enjoy!
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