Hi first of all, I would like to say I’m new to HiFi world. I brought Sundara last week and pair with my Samsung Galaxy S8+ and it work quit well. The volume i use is around 90%. However, I’ve read from many place that If i want to use all potential of Sundara I need an amp to drive it. So I looking for many choice available in my region (Germany). I end up get second hand Chord Mojo and will get it by next week. In the mean time I look on other forum in here about Sundara and found out that It really require a constant current amp to drive it. Now, I’m not sure that chord mojo would be able to fully utilize my Sundara or not or do I need an additional amp for it? I need a suggestion on this choice. If i needed additional amp which one is good for pairing it with Mojo with the budget under 500 euros.
This seems to be a split issue on the forum so please note this is the opinion of some Sundara owners including me.
The Sundara will produce sound, even loud sound, out of just about everything. An S8+, apple dongle or 20.000$ amp. But the lower mids, bass and especially subbass only really come to live when you feed them enough power.
And while I don’t know the power the Mojo sends into 32ohms (website claims 720mW in 8 and 35mW in 600) it should be (extrapolating from the earlier data) between 656,25 mW and 180mW (sorry, that’s the best you can get from the limited data they provide) but even if it is on the higher end of the estimation I don’t think it’s enough.
I’m driving them off of my SMSL SH-9 (€269 on amazon de, where i bought it) which can drive them at about 3watts or 3000mW. And they sound bloody amazing! As far as I can tell on this forum most people with amps over 1watt or 1000mW into 32ohm seem to be pretty damn happy!
From what I understand the Mojo does a very good job of current delivery. It might perform very well on its own. I’d say give it a shot once it arrives and see what you think. I’ve been very impressed with mine however I haven’t tried to pair it with a set of planar headphones yet.
Of course! I skimped over some of it and assumed he’d tried already haha
As I said. Some people find the Sundara running better on high wattage. others not and sound is subjective so if you love it on the Mojo that’s some more money saved for buying other mojo (had to do it )
Ok thank you for your replied I will try it with Mojo first and see what is the sound look like. However, if I still feel the low mid, base and subbase is still not come to live (As you said). Could you suggest the good amp that could pair well with Chord Mojo with price range around < 500 euro for me?
Plus it’s a good personal audio learning curve, no matter what others say it’s only you that can decide if a specific “upgrade” is worth it or not…defo the best way to learn…enjoy the Sundara’s and welcome to HFGF
Yes. Mine goes
PC to SU-8 over USB
SU-8 to MT-602 over RCA
SU-8 to SH-9 over XLR
MT-602 to SH-9 over RCA
SH-9 to Sundara over 4-pin XLR
Bit of a mess I admit but I can just toggle the input on the SH-9 from RCA to XLR depending on if I feel tuby or clean
it’s subtle on the Sundara… If you’d say you get a difference of ‘10’ on the KPH’s (which I also run on this setup) the Sundara only change ‘4’. But it’s enough to be clearly noticable and make me click that input toggle a lot to be like ‘huh cool’
Just to note: DMS recommends the JDS Atom stack for the Sundara. The Schiit Magni/Modi stack should perform similarly. I’m currently using the iFI Zen Dac/Can stack for mine and that sounds great to but it’s supposedly warmer than the others (I haven’t had an opportunity to check). Others like m0n have recommended the Schiit Asgard 3 for the Sundara.
While I love his reviews, he seems to be a bit of ‘nothing needs a good amp except the 1266’ sometimes
JDS ships to Europe though keep in mind import duties. It puts it still well under the $500 mark but if you pay more you might as well get something better IMO.
I shall refrain from going on another Schiit rant but… no. For as long as I live in Europe I won’t buy Schiit. Never in stock, outrageous pricejumps ‘coincidentally’ as they get in stock and a customer support that treats non-americans like trash!
I think you probably don’t need to jump into the $500 amp tier until you upgrade your headphones. Can you get Monolith stuff easily? The Liquid Spark actually has a good bit of power and sometimes the Liquid Plat has been known to drop sub $500 before as well.
I have just got the Mojo today and feel the voice come out from Sundara is so sharp especially some track that the male vocal is push their voice out too hard (ex. Shallow). This make me feel a bit uncomfortable when listen it for a long time. Is this a sound signature of this headphone or I do something wrong. I’m not sure that adding additional amp would help in this case or not. I’m newbie to this hobbies so I’m be able to use much of a technical word. I hope you will understand
Current setup: Deezer hifi (Iphone) + camera adapter → Chord Mojo → Sundara
I’m sure it also has something to do with the headphone tuning.
But probably not so much.
Go into your iPhone under Settings, Music and then Equalizer.
There are pre-programmed settings that will possibly soften the sharpness.
Less treble or loudness should bring improvement.
Otherwise, it could be related to the chord, which is quite sharp.
A small amplifier could certainly help.
A Lake People G103 or Ify can would be a plus, but you’ll probably need a cable with a 3.5 mm connection that goes to Rca so you can connect your headphones to your Mojo’s 3.5 mm to the amp via Rca.
As in this picture here.
This is my Ipad mini connected to the Nuprime Hi mdac and the headphone output of this cable connected to the Little Dot 1+.
Logically, you plug the headphones into the amplifier.
Hi!! Thank for your response. I’m considering adding addition amp also from my research I end up several in my mind. Which one do you think is the best pair with sundara:
ifi zen can
SMSL SH-9
I open for any suggestion my budget is around 200-400 euro can also consider second hand.
** I heard that plana is not good with tube amp but also heard that I give the sound to be warmer. Can I use to as a preamp after mojo and before new amp? If can will it make the sound signature warmer?
You can’t say that planar headphones don’t harmonise.
It depends on many factors.
The Feliks Euforia I have could only drive the Lcd 2 C with a somewhat expensive tube replacement.
Warm sound also depends a bit on the dac, and dacs with Akm chips tend to be the warmer ones that produce this sound signature.
I’d cross out the Smsl Sh9, which will certainly be too sharp, if you’ve already more or less mentioned that.
I think the Ify can meet your request.
As well as the Lake People g103 which @Mon has also mentioned several times in the Sundura headphone section.
I’m sure you’ll find other pairings there too by the way.
The 2 headphone amplifiers can be purchased in Germany without any problems, so you can have them sent to you and try them out. If you don’t like them, you can return them within 14 days.
Mon has already left several tips in the Sundura area, which will certainly help you.
Of course, in the end it is a matter of taste what you like or don’t like and what you want to aim for.
)
