Hey everyone, been lurking on the site for a while, first time posting. I’m about to get a nice tax return and I’m looking to get some new headphones. I currently have a fiio k5pro, nighthawk carbons, and iKKO oh10.
I’ve been testing out a sundara the last couple weeks, but Im planning on returning them. They sound exceptionally smooth and clean, and for certain genres they are incredible (folk, idm, ambient, classical, anything acoustic). But they are too polite for punk and garage rock, at least for my taste. And the bass is just a bit too soft for rap. There’s no bite to the sound. I like 80s/90s college rock (husker du, the replacements, dinosaur jr etc) and lo-fi music that utlizes tape hiss and distortion(grouper, early mountain goats), and the sundaras seem to smooth the texture out of the music. There’s something a little off about them for movies and casual gaming too.
Any recommendations? I don’t have a strong preference to open or closed, and my budget is max $400. I absolutely adore the oh-10, any headphones with a similar sound? Sorry for the huge wall of text, and thanks in advance for any help
I think you may want to look into the Sennheiser HD58x or Beyerdynamic DT 880. They both have more bass than the Sundara. The Beyerdynamic DT 880 are brighter than the Sennheiser HD58x…but both sound like they may be a better alternative to the Sundara for you.
Oh shit, my first post got a reply from the famous and prolific M0N, it’s an honor (thanks to you too Hazi). I was considering the 880 and the 58x, guess ill try out the 880s first. I’ve been eyeing the massdrop 177x and the 1990 too. Would either of those be worthwhile upgrades to the 880? Or should I take it slow and try something cheaper until I figure out the sound I like?
The 1990 is pretty awesome, but I would first start with the 880 600 ohm and go from there, unless you already know you like the beyer signature, than it might be worthwhile to just move to the 1990
Yee nighthawk gang! I got them a couple years ago and they were my first serious “audiophile” headphones. Super comfy and I still love them especially for movies and games, but also certain music genres
I think the oh10s are a lot of fun. They sound a lot bigger than any iems I’ve had before, and they just have a nice tone. They’re versatile, like they can be sweet with soft folky music but then I listen to certain songs and the bass rattles my brain. Really comfortable too. I’ll look up the sivgas, I’ve never heard of them. Are they one of the sendy/blon chi-fi clones?
Yeah they are in the same vein as the aiva, the sendy driver types (sivga owns sendy I think). It’s not my favorite but they are nice. They are fairly intimate and detail forward, treble heavy, but also mildly v shaped. More aggressive than the sundara
yeah they are. they’re bright but not painfull and the bass has a good punch. great imaging but a close soundstage. not sure if thats good for what you want it for
The Sivga/Sendy also have a significant drop in the mids at 1.2 KHz, which some people really dislike. It effects vocals depending on the vocalist obviously.
They certainly are pretty headphones. More aggressive than the sundara sounds good since my main problem with sundaras was that they were a little too gentle and smooth for some of the music I listen to. I’m thinking I should try something cheaper until I figure out exactly what I like though
well the thing is i doubt the 58x will be good for what you like. its a little vieled not sure how punk is gonna come through with that. it lacks clarity. and the DT’s have a lot of treble but its a big step down from the sundara. i had the sundara and the soundstage bugged me, or was it midrange? it was too airy. when i moved up to the Aiva it really felt like a upgrade. not a downgrade. something to think about.
I still think the Beyerdynamic DT 880 are a solid choice. They arent as expensive, so if by chance you don’t care for them, you arent too invested financially.
