I dunno. I wasn’t exactly involved in the hobby when the term showed up–only tried to make sense of it after the fact. And it always boiled down to “fine detail” for me. Just did a quick compare of 58X to Stellias, and I hope it’s no surprise that fine detail on the Stellias are a sight better than the 58X. The Senns do still sound like a sheet over speakers to me by comparison. But apologies if I used an “archaic” term incorrectly.
FWIW, the Stellias are still my favorite cans, and HD650s were my first love (circa 2004). I’ve liked the 58X well enough that I’ve bought several for friends as their first “good” headphones.
Thanks @LeDechaine for the frequency comparison between these two. They wouldn’t have been my first thought to A-B, but I enjoyed the similarities in presentation.
And now so I contribute something relevant, looks like the Newegg price on DT 1990s jumped from $409 to $499. Bummer, but still seems cheaper than everywhere else.
I haven’t heard the Stellia, but comparing any Sennheiser to them would definitely 100% make them sound duller. Fair point. That’s awesome you have a Stellia. Hope you are enjoying them.
I can vouch that these are really solid. They are on my short list of future iem purchases, and the sale price is tempting, but I’m holding out for now
if that open box sundara ever comes back in stock, I might just have to get it. Been debating if I want that or go bigger with the ananda. but then the elex also looks nice…
I had the Ananda but i didnt like it. too much treble. If you wanna get one of those i would go for the Edition XX on massdrop. But the Arya seems to be the best of them. other than the HE1000
I’ll probably get a sundara, ananda, edition xx or elex depending on which of them I find for an irresistible price first. All of them sound like they could be great for me, but I just can’t be sure without trying. Without auditioning, there is always some risk I won’t like what I get.
I’m coming from the 4xx and love them. Sundara seem like a good next step and ananda an even better step if I am willing to pay more but maybe they won’t have enough bass and will have too much treble. The Edition XX would probably be quite good and have enough bass for me but might not do most other things as well as the ananda. Elex isn’t as safe as an option for me as someone who knows he loves the 4XX, but I auditioned the Utopia and found them to be pretty much perfect for me. Therefore, the Elex might be more of what I would like. I might just like the 4XX as much as I do because that is one of the few headphones I have and have gotten used to it.
Well you’re definitely taking a step into a bigger world. The 4xx is ok but its lacking. When you move to something like say the Sundara you’ll hear the difference. i envy you. this is the time you’ll really hear the difference in headphones and enjoy that difference. I’m at the point where i have to A/B test everything and think about it lol.
But yeah if i remember correctly I moved on from the Sundara to the Elex and there was a big difference. Elex was a much more detailed headphone with great imaging and dynamics. It was a W signature so it was more a fun/exciting headphone. I believe the Sundara is a more neutral/natural headphone and doesn’t have the detail of the Elex. But a lot of people have noted the similarities of the Elex to the Utopia.
I have let detail be the guide. Like you i had the benefit of hearing really great sound before starting my hifi journey. First headphone i got was lacking in detail. the Grado 225e. Then i got the HD600. Detail was good here but i wanted clarity. So i moved on to the Sundara. It had even more Detail. But it had this airiness to it. so i moved on to the Aiva It had even more detail. detail was incredible. And here is where it started to get hard to tell lol. I hit the 1%-5% improvement curve point. I got the Elex from a recommendation from Mon. But i didnt hear more detail. the Detail was the same. so i thought it wasn’t that good. but I began to hear all the other stuff: controlled treble, bass, midrange, imaging, dynamics, soundstage. all the stuff the Aiva lacked it had and after a while i began to see it as a upgrade to the Aiva. Now i have the Arya and the detail sounds almost the same as the Elex. I’m always thinking its too expensive lol.
Most people consider the Sundara a good upgrade for the 4XX. Although I find the 4XX to have an overall nicer Frequency response and a little better vocal presentation. So I end up preferring the 4XX often, depending the particular song.
Interesting, my understanding was that although the sundara has some differences in the FR, it is technically superior to the HE4xx across the board. Thus, a user would prefer the Sundara to the HE4XX everytime.
Yeah I’m in the minority with that option. If you end up getting the Sundara I’d interested to hear your thoughts.
Edit: If EQ out the treble peak on the Sundara, then I would almost always prefer the Sundara.
This cannot be remotely true. If you’re comparing a planar and a dynamic and saying they sound the same… something is sincerely wrong with your gear or your testing practice. I strongly suggest you give a few days using each headphone exclusively (not bouncing around so much) before making such claims.
but then the elex also looks nice… 