HIFIMAN - Sundara

Personally, I wouldn’t jump from the Sonys to a $500 headphone until you know what you like. I’d recommend starting with the Sennheiser x Drop HD 6XX; they’re on sale right now for $180 and they’re a really, really great pair of audiophile grade headphones for you to see if that’s even something you like. Alternatively, the Hifiman Sundara is under $200 right now and it’s a great example of an entry-level planar magnetic headphone. If you’re committed to going all out, I’d recommend the Meze 105 AER at $399 and a JDS Atom Amp+ for $99. Reviews: - 6XX: https://daemonxar.com/2025/01/27/sennheiser-x-drop-6xx-review-seven-years-in-the-making/ - Sundara: https://daemonxar.com/2025/10/26/hifiman-sundara-a-classic-in-open-back-headphone-design/ - 105 AER: https://daemonxar.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/

Amex has (had?) an offer where they'd give you 50% off on something (discount up to $80) if you paid in points. I have ... like 200,000 Amex points because I basically don't ever use them. So really I didn't pay anything, but I used $79.50 + tax worth of points for them. Which was maybe the single biggest no-brainer of my audiophile journey. Do I think I'll use them very much? Nah. But having them on my wall for that price? Totally worth it for review comparisons.

I tried them six years ago and they weren't for me, then a friend lent me a pair to review this summer and damn. What an exceptional pair for the value.

The way I have to wear them to be comfortable on my ears means that most of the weight rests on top of my head; I don't find it super problematic (and they're far from my heaviest headphones, but I wish they had a little of adjustment on the suspension strap. It's a ... weird design, even for Hifiman. If I were wearing them for a long period of time, I'd probably put on a hat. But I'm also the guy who prefers the older style 5XX strap or the single-band from Edition XS or HE6se v2 over the Arya-style headbands.

If you really want closed, the FT1 is the only one I recommend without reservations under $500 (for gaming, the fractal scape at $200). If you’re open to open backs, the Hifiman Sundara is on a great sale right now and is a great gaming headphone.

I would definitely skip the Beyers; they're funky tunes. Honestly, in that price range I'd probably go with the Fractal Scape; they're a great pair of wireless headphones for music and games, and the EQ is incredibly well designed. If you want to go wired, I'd recommend the Hifiman Sundara or Fiio FT1 Pro plus a $9 dongle (Apple in the US, JCALLY elsewhere) and a Schiit Magni/Topping L30/JDS Atom Amp.

Over the last decade or so, I’ve collected quite a few low fi and mid fi headphones. In a given month, I listen to all of them and a number of IEMs besides. For the price of one $1000 US headphone, I have a wide range of choices, depending on the music I’m listening to. All of my headphones have been purchased used or at a steep discount. They were purchased off of FBM, craigslist, eBay and various retailers who do sell some used items. Most of the headphones I have were $100 a pair and none over about $150. Also, I don’t sell something once I’ve acquired it. I just keep using it or repurposing it. In closed backs, I have the FIIO Ft1 and HiFiman HE R10D. In open backs, I have the Sennheiser HD 58x, GRADO 80e, the FIIO 350 ohm FT3 and the Audio Technica R50x. In planars I have the Monolith m1060c and the HiFiman Sundara. I’m running all of these balanced with the exception of the Grado. Also, I mix and match with my headphone amplifiers that are both balanced: IFI Zen Can solid state class A and Apos Gremlin tube amplifiers -each of which cost $150 or less. I believe I get more enjoyment out of my group of headphones then I would from one “ endgame” headphone - which rarely turns out to be an actual endgame headphone based on what I’ve seen in Reddit. Anyway, what I’m listening to the most right now is the FT3 on the Apos tube amplifier and the R50x on the solid state amplifier.

Closed back go for Fiio FT1, if you don't mind an open back (no isolation) Hifiman sundara

Welcome to the chase, my friend!!! I've never heard the EdXS, but I've had these: OG Sundara, HE4xx, and Arya v2 - while still owning these: HE400i 2020, OG Ananda, Arya Stealth, and HEKSE. The first HFM can that I bought was the OG Sundara - and OMG, they blew every other dynamic can that I'd heard before then out of the water! That was until I bought the OG Ananda and then quickly said: "Effit, I'm taking the plunge" - and bought the Arya v2. Prior to the Aryas I couldn't fathom spending ~$500+, then ~$750+ and THEN ~$1,000+ on a headphone....that is, until I heard the Ananda and wondered "What if"? When I got the Arya and first heard them I was very impressed, but still kinda "Is this it"? Until I read that they took a few days or weeks to burn in before they'd sound their best. I let them marinate over the nights with some pink noise and bass heavy music for a few nights and then listened. HOLY MOLY - they had totally transformed and expanded in every direction (HxWxD + midbass, subbass, texture, and smoothness)!!! Like a "Shaking your head because this is TOO GOOD - my goodness!!!" kind of emotion, LOL. Of course, then I had to buy the requisite source chain to "maximize their SQ" - so I bought a used Gustard H20 Class A BAL amp and later on a Gustard x26pro DAC to stack with it - both working together to mitigate the roughest treble edges from both my Arya Stealth and HEKSE. I'm still in Bliss..... As you can guess, I'm still stuck - but I think I'm holding off right now on even hearing the HEK Unveiled and sticking with my HEKSE. They offer me literally everything there is to offer, IMO - not lacking in any facet of SQ, especially after experimenting with ZMF hybrid and perforated lambskin ear pads for the "cherry on top" effect. Happy listening - and keep us posted....

I am a huge advocate for Sennheiser. The HD650 is my favorite headphone and I usually recommend it to everyone at that price point. But based upon what you listen to/preferences, I’d say for $300, buy open box/refurbished Sundaras from HiFi Man’s official website and a Schiit Magni. With cables, you’ll probably land right around $300. Edit: get the cheap $120 Magni without the DAC. Buy a $9 USB-C to 3.5mm from Apple only. Computer/phone USB-C port > Apple Dongle ($9)> 3.5mm to RCA cable ($10) > Magni ($120)> Sundara ($160)

Closed back the FiiO FT1 will blow your DT 770 Pro away, and they're just USD $130, complete "open box" on [ebay.com](http://ebay.com) Open back the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro have great low bass extension, not as strong as the FT1, but it's good, great in an open back, and open backs will aways be my favorites. Costing a little less, the Sennheiser HD 550 and HD 560S, with outlet pricing on [crutchfield.com](http://crutchfield.com), also have fairly good bass, not quite as much as the HD 490 Pro, but close. On a tighter FT1 type budget, the open back HiFiMan Sundara are great sounding and comfortable planars, either new, our outlet priced at [HiFiMan.com](http://HiFiMan.com) It's subjective and promotes a lot of argument, but other larger 400 grams or more HiFiMan headphones annoy my temples and jaw. Some folks love them. If you found that you didn't you'd want a good return policy.

Philips Fidelio X2HR are great for music well built and oh so easy to power so, whatever the specs of your DAC/Amp are, the should provide the full headroom and dynamics that it is capable of. The HiFiMan Sundar are more demanding of amps, but if yours can go there, you should find them to be even better, and on my head, they are not unwieldy, like I find all the larger HiFiMan, even with a Capra strap addition. If you love your low bass movie effects and can raise your budget, find a great outlet deal or used, like new, The Sennheiser HD 490 Pro are great for music, movies, and even a huge favorite for soundstage and clarity among audiophile gamers. The Sennheiser HD 550 and HD 560S are also great headphones, my most comfortable long wearing choice, and nearly as good in the low bass as the HD 490 Pro. If I were going to hold tight to your target budget, and knew my amp was up to the task, I'd get the Sundara. Approximately USD $160 for open box or refurbished, direct from [HiFiMan.com](http://HiFiMan.com) If I thought, hey, I get restless after a time and raise my expectations so why not just raise them today and shoot for the best bargain on something a little more expensive, then I'd save alerts from an ebay search, and keep watching the rest of the 'net for a great price on the HD 490 Pro. They're only just behind the X2HR for efficiency, and so should also keep your amp sounding like a thoroughly muscular engine. The Pro Plus is just an extra, long cable, a spare headband pad, and a case. It's a nice case, you still have to collapse the headband adjustment to use it, and you lose nothing in quality by shopping for the headphones without it. With the default producer ear pads, they have the most thump of all of these. For more thump, I have to swap over to closed back FiiO FT1, but the HD 490 Pro are the first open backs I love listening to heavy special effects movies with more than I had been reaching for the FT1 for. USD $300 outlet priced would be a great price. and the closed back and even more efficient than the X2HR, FiiO FT1 are also great for bass heavy music and movies. USD $130 new or open box on ebay, with both balanced and unbalanced cables and a travel case. [Crutchfield.com](http://Crutchfield.com) has had great open box and refurb pricing on some of these Sennheisers.

None of these are as challenging to power as many more demanding headphones. The Beyerdynamics are a bit power hungry, the HiFiMan planars, and the early Sennheiser 600 series, but most any dedicated headphone amp feeds them easily. If you have a 3 watt into 16 ohm rating, that's well better than average and feeds most any headphone well. I love the modest priced Schiit Magni, but there are even lower powered amps that can do well with the headphones mentioned. The FiiO FT1 are a great closed back. drivers in their size are not average, but they managed them well. Few to no one weighs in as their bass being excessive, but they are bassy, with a very slow pleasing curve and so even career audiophiles love them. and rank them as preferable to some other closed back headphones commanding prices in excess of USD 1k. Open backs have a hard time competing for low bass reproduction. Their strongest operating principle is dependent on them letting energy escape rather than holding it all in and reflecting it back at the ears, and so when I say that the HD 490 Pro have great bass, versus the FT1 I have to say great bass in an open back. There is only one absolute way to get the full benefits of a strong stereo soundstage and that is to use a complementary room environment with stereo speakers.. That gets into anechoic chambers vs the reality of a room functioning in support of a living organism, golden room ratios promotion of sound, room treatments to lessen ringing, placement that best tames the inconsistencies of direct versus reflected waves, and so on, but given all the limitations and issues that can still make that go wrong, there are no headphones, anywhere, that deliver a truly open and origin recreating soundstage that well placed speakers can. Nearest to doing that though is not any closed back headphones, nearest are the open backs, which leave space all around the drivers for the energy to be both directed at the wearers ears and also out into the room, with that sound also returning to the ears and enhancing that soundstage, making the experience approach speakers, as close as headphones can HiFiMan is doing the job of promoting a very wide soundstage by using very large planar magnetic drivers, sort of like the nearest thing to strapping room speakers onto the head as one might get without completely destroying the physical limits, but... They're largest headphones are still very large, I hate wearing them on my head, experiences are very subjective, but I'm always chasing hot points of discomfort, in my temples and jaw, shifting and shifting their 400 gram plus models to tr to rid that discomfort. And they have had major production issues and many failures with their drivers, always, I think, getting better. I can't argue with the results others obtain, and so if they say they love them and can always wear them for hours, there may still be some production risks, but I'd have to say sure, get some large HiFiMan The HiFiMan Sundara have fairly large drivers, versus average dynamic headphones, but not as large as their more elite models. They still have a great soundstage reproduction, and if a system lacks the ability to equalize headphone frequency response they are one of the smoothest performers, out-of-the-box, and so can get by without EQ for most users. given their assembly line production issues, I actually see selecting from their open/box/refurbished offerings as a great benefit, since those products receive extra handling and testing. I'd rather have them on my head than any of HiFiMan's larger models and heartily endorse. I have no crystal ball, but I do believe that over time HiFiMan will heavily revise their product line toward smaller driver and engineering refinements that are present in so many Sennheiser models. Sennheiser has been making open back headphones since their first, the HD 414, in 1968. To date, those are still a world record holder for most of a model of headphone ever sold. Today the height of their refinements can be seen in models like the HD 800 S and the very exotic USD $60,000 Sennheiser HE-1 None of the early open backs had much bass, but I fell instantly in love with the HD 424 and then for the next 17 years, they were all I ever wanted to use. Newer better headphones were being created, but I never felt compelled to search. It's only after those 17 years, when the coil lead on one driver failed, that I started listening to and acquiring other models and brands.

You use closed back headphones when recording with sensitive mics. You can use closed backs for mastering but open backs are a better choice and great studio monitor speakers can be better still. Your open back HD 560S can handle the mastering duties, and for me they're a better choice than the open back HD 600 or the closed back ATH-M50x, though those are nice too. The HD 490 Pro, the HD 550 and the HiFiMan Sundara can also provide great reference sound. The Sundara usually need a headphone amp to dliver their best Save the HyperX for gaming only. They're not good recording or mixing headphones. The ATH-M50x are much better for that and are easy to power, or the closed back Beyerdynamic DT 1770, which need more power and so are best used with a headphone amp. When away from a live mic, the open backs above are still better.

i have too many headphones, it became a hobby, when i get up in price, i think the biggest differences are between "types" so is it Closed or open, is it Eletrocstat, Planar or normal.. and i love to play around with it.. but must be honest, before sound there is 1 thing that is KEY for me.. Comfort, are they comfortable, can i wear them for a long time.. comfort is SO important, and yeah most modern headphones wear "okay" but some are just a different world.. That is the key, then after, Sound. and yes, some people cannot hear the difference, and to be honest, i stopped collecting many years ago, i know there a many other headphones today, and i kinda just "switch" between the same pairs, my Stax for my Recordplayer (have the MK700II) for my PC i usually just use either my TR-0X Fostex which are OLD massdrops, a pair of Sundera (open back) i have both open and closed the closed was a failed buy... And yes the old K712pro or K240studio, those are SO light, and i still like them. (and the K240studio are like my REALLY old first pair of decent headphones) and for me that ended up being the endgame, even though i still look at cool new editions ... (and then i just have like a bag of old first gen X2 fidelios, bunch of AKG´s and Hifimans and to be honest i don´t know why) And my wife cannot hear ANY difference between any of them, and hates them all because they are not airpod pros.. so we are different :-D

Simply Sundara Silver. Outstanding and effortless sound 👌🏻

Same happened for me with my Sundara and iFi Zen stack 😅🤝🏻 Especially instrumental songs with violin hits different!

Amazed that my sundara is ranked that high! 😮

they have both the closed and open varients for serious money off - a well worth it pair - i have the open as my PC headphone and really enjoyt them

HD 560s. If you don't mind possible QC issues, Hifiman Edition XS is crazy value. Even sundara for a little cheaper.