I'm in search for some headphone advice/recommendations

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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So I’m planning on getting new headphones in the 350-450 euro price-range to replace my current headphone next month (April). I’m currently set on the HiFiman Sundara for 350. Having another month before I’m buying one, I thought it’d be a good idea to ask for some advice on this since I’m not sure if there’s anything in this price range that does it’s job but better, or if there are any alternative choices to also look at.

I’m currently using a (nearly 14 year old) Sennheiser RS130 (Basically this, but with a nearly useless 7.1 switch) on the daily, together with some Shure Se215 IEMs.

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If you have an amp and the sound signature seems appealing to you the sundara should be a good choice :+1:

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Yeah, I do have one. Had to drop it off at the store because it might be broken, though. So that might have to be replaced.

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What amp do you have? What music do you listen to? And what are you looking to get out of the headphones?

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I have a really old Phillips amp which I think is actually supposed to be used for speakers, but has a 6.3mm output on the front. Probably not the best solution… I’m looking into buying a dedicated headphone amp if I need to replace it, which I’ve also slightly looked into.

I’m going to use the headphones mostly for listening to music and some gaming. I’m not really into anything serious for both, just pleasure (wow-factor, if that makes sense).

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Ah ok. You could always grab a schiit magni heresy, that would be a great upgrade for an amp

So what do you find pleasurable in a headphone? Like what aspects do you want to be wowed by?

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Solid, intense bass, though not overpowering (make sense?). I feel like the Se215s pull this off quite well. Big sound, sparkly highs, clarity, and though I listen to a lot of instrumental songs when I do have vocals I want them to pop out. Zeos used Amber Rubarth’s Novocaine in a few of his demos which sounds absolutely amazing on my Se215’s, it feels like the Sennheiser doesn’t quite pull off the vocals as well, but that could also be it’s age.
I’ve heard the Sundara does all of this pretty well.

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I’ve looked into the Sennheiser HD660 as well, and got out of it that the HD58X is basically the same thing. Looked at the Beyerdynamic DT1990 as well, but I’ve heard that the highs on it can be rather sharp at times and I’m rather sensitive to that.

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Hmmm, I think the sundara is up your alley, but it doesn’t have the most bass slam, but the new revision sundara has plenty of bass for my taste

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The 1990 can be a bit much in the high end imo. Also from what you want the 58x/660s might be lacking in separation and sparkle compared to other options (not a huge wow factor either imo)

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Thank you very much for the feedback! Can you maybe send a link to that new revision of the Sundara? Didn’t know there was one. Maybe that’s why it’s on sale from 500 to 350 at the moment…

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It’s a silent revision so it really depends. 350 is the right price, they were never meant to sell at 500

I think if you buy from headphones.com they will have the newer revision. Amazon could be hit or miss for if it’s not a newer revision

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My fingers are crossed… i ordered from amazon… I’ll know tomorrow

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The site looks amazing! A shame they apparently don’t ship to my location… Thanks for the link, nontheless!

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Ah assuming you are outside of the US?

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Yes, I am. Netherlands, to be more specific.

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Indeed, I’ve always been kinda skeptical about Amazon in general. It looks like an expensive version of Aliexpress to me… Never really liked that.

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I dont mind rolling the dice with amazon because their return policy and customer service is pretty great

I’ll let you know though

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It’s good in the US but outside the US apparently it’s hit or miss.

Unfortunately I’m not super familiar with stores over there, so I would just order from a store you trust with a good return policy. The new revision is mainly for comfort and a slight bass bump from better sealing pads, otherwise they are similar

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Return services in the EU are generally pretty sketchy. Some more specialized webstores tend to be pretty good, but others will very likely do anything to get out of any kind of ‘unfortunate’ situation. That’s my experience at least…

About the newer revision, I’ll have to look into that. The stores in my country and stores like Thomann don’t specify whether it is or isn’t the newer revision.