Sweet, thanks a lot for your help! 
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I did a bit of listening last night and this morning of the K7XX and the Sundara. Hereās the TLDR:
Not to anyoneās surprise, the Sundara is clearly the technically superior headphone. It extends better on both ends, the separation is better, there is more detail and it is noticeably faster than the K7XX.
For the comparison, I listened to the first four tracks of Pink Floyd The Wall, January Wedding and No Hard Feelings by the Avett Brothers, and Elsie by Nickel Creek.
In all of that music I just felt a little more engaged by the Sundara. It is closer and slightly more full-bodied than the K7XX. The K7XX is definitely wider, but I also feel it starts a bit further out, where the Sundara can be intimate, but the stage also extends out to a reasonable distance (just not as far as the K7XX). Ultimately, the Sundara feels like a more accurate presentation of the music where the K7XX feels like it is trying to be wide.
This is not to say the K7XX isnāt an enjoyable listening experience. I actually really really like the presentation of the K7XX. Honestly, I was shocked how similar the frequency response is to the Sundara (except for the extension on both ends). The Sundara has noticeably more sub-bass than the K7XX and the extension on the high end gives it a more airy sound.
They both sound great, but unless I want the super-wide sound, Iām probably reaching for the Sundara.
All that being said, I think the K7XX is going to be my go-to gaming headphone, as I like the wideness (and for reasons I canāt articulate, I donāt like the Sundara for gaming). Ultimately, I believe I will keep the K7XX over the Beyers that I own (DT880 and 990), or the X2HR.
I hope that helps. Feel free to ask any follow ups, and Iāll help if I can.
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Nice write up! I ended up buying the sundaras last night. Looking forward to them even more now. Thank you!
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If you can, please make the same comparison but to the K712. Iāve been digging mine a lot since Iāve got them lat November, and the Sundara is in my plans for the end of the year.
@MrAyrit thanks for the comparison. If it means anything, I donāt find the K712 unnatural in soundstage except on some electronic music. They seem to me just right in width. But then again I didnāt listened to the K7xx so maybe itās just me.
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Good idea! Yea k712 sure are wide but seems inaccurate. Hoping the bass and accuracy are better on the sundara
To be clear, I donāt think the 7XX sound super unnatural or anything. You can just tell that they wanted it to deliberately be wide.
I donāt think you will be disappointed with the Sundara. A little sacrafice in soundstage, but outside of that pretty much improvements across the board.
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Has anyone here needed to replace their Sundara? I bought mine ~2 months ago and it sounded amazing but for the past few days has just sounded off. There isnāt anywhere near as much detail and the highs are extremely underwhelming in a way that definitely wasnāt a problem a week ago. Just sounds lifeless and flat, almost veiled.
I tried switching the plugs and it sounded the same in both channels. Iām not sure what could be causing the problem. Running off a macbook pro, no amp/dac yet. Tried multiple computers.
Iām past the return window but I can reach out to amazon or hifiman, has anyone had good experience getting a replacement? I love these but if QC is a problem I may need to look elsewhere.
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If both channels have the exact same issue, then itās more likely for the dac/amp to be the cause. Do you have another source you can try?
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hmmmm, is it so noticeable that u think it legit is failing somehow? would it be possible that you just got too used to them? that could happen at times, falling out of love with gear too
switching the plugs as in testing a different cable? if youāve tried multiple sources it could be the cable that has failed
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thatās true, the stock cable in particular that happened now that u mention it with mine. I thought it sounded flat (both) and then i moved in a weird way and i listened to a glimpse of their former glory lol. i think it might be the cable now that u mention it.
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QC is actually a known issue for HIFIMAN products. My last two Sundara broke as well as my 400i within a short period. I had that issue with my last Sundara and the drivers eventually failed on me. Itās possibly either the driver or the cable itself. I would reach out to the companies at that point.
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could be but the chances of both drivers failing at the same time and sounding the same canāt be very high
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Its possible that the cable could have a problem, Iām new to hifi and donāt have any other cables or a amp/dac that I could test it with. It would be weird if it were both divers, but my old hyperx clouds are more enjoyable to listen to now and that should be impossible.
I noticed the 3.5mm connection on the left side wiggles a little and the right side is solid. Itās very slight but noticeable. If that were causing a problem then it should be only the left driver but that doesnāt seem to be it. Is the connection lose for anyone else with these?
I donāt have any other cables but I tried different computers and had the same problem. Maybe I could buy a different cable and return it if that doesnāt solve it.
oh wow, yeah that shouldnāt be to that extreme. and itās not alway about the wiggle, sometimes itās just an actual connection inside the main cable that is messed up. or the main headphone jack area is also usually a weakness that affects everything. i def would try buying a new cable just to see if thatās the issue. of course make sure even then ur in the time window to return them just in case (the sundara)
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Does anyone have a list of good or great replacement cables for the sundaras? The original cable doesnāt look too promising at all. Sorry if this has already been asked. I scrolled through and didnāt find one
I think thatās a good way to move forward here
everything is solid on my sundaraā¦ but again that would only effect one side
the new fantasia dual 3.5 to 3.5 is the cable im usingā¦ I works pretty well for me
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Well I think I found the problem lol, I thought I would test it on the shitty USB amp/dac that comes with my hyperx clouds and it sounded worlds better, the detail came back and the veil disappeared, even though I had to max the volume.
Looks like the mic jack on my MCP is dying and the old iMac I tested on has poor audio overall. So happy my headphones still work and Iām not crazy! Looks like it might be time to buy an asguad haha
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Thank you. Will check it out
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