HIFIMAN - SUNDARA Closed-Back

I got tired of gaming headsets and the mics breaking so I bought these [HIFIMAN SUNDARA Closed-Back Over-Ear Planar Magnetic Wired Hi-Fi Headphones.](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BF58RZQK) Got a separate mic with an arm and never looked back. I freaking love these so much, best sounding setup Ive ever had. I bought them in 2023 and they are still going strong, I replaced the ear cups once. Highly recommend.

I’ve had the Audeze lcd-x and sold them for both the lcd2 and lcd2 closed. LCD X are fantastic but I can get what I like outa the lcd 2 for 99% of what I use my headphones for, they sound so similar for most things just a little less bass imo, and the other 1% the lcd2 closed does its job (stupid lots of bass lol) I’ve had the sennheiser 660s and gave them to my best friend, I always felt like I was going to break them, But they sound great. I have both the hifiman sundara and sundara closed, these were replaced with my Audezes. They sound good for the price you can get them today but I like my audezes more. I also have the Moondrop Venus, those sit on a stand and I don’t use them. They weigh a damn ton and are no better than a sundara in sound but they’re beautiful lookin lol.

I’ve had the Audeze lcd-x and sold them for both the lcd2 and lcd2 closed. LCD X are fantastic but I can get what I like outa the lcd 2 for 99% of what I use my headphones for, they sound so similar for most things just a little less bass imo, and the other 1% the lcd2 closed does its job (stupid lots of bass lol) I’ve had the sennheiser 660s and gave them to my best friend, I always felt like I was going to break them, But they sound great. I have both the hifiman sundara and sundara closed, these were replaced with my Audezes. They sound good for the price you can get them today but I like my audezes more. I also have the Moondrop Venus, those sit on a stand and I don’t use them. They weigh a damn ton and are no better than a sundara in sound but they’re beautiful lookin lol.

Oh god no, the Sundara Closed are awful. Hifiman doesn't seem capable of making a decent closed back, weirdly. Sorry I missed where you said Sundara Closed. I think people on here exaggerate the differences between planars and dyanmics a bit; I own a lot of dynamic driver headphones and I've rarely had a problem with applying EQ. but, my favorite closed back planar is the DCA x Drop Aeon x Closed and they're in the $400 range new.

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.

add the sundara closed backs to the list

Not many as expensive. Some Abyss and Stax. Some mid price ones. I own both Beyerdynamic Amiron Home and HifiMan Sundara closed back.

HiFiMan is a Chifi brand and sometimes the quality control can be a little wonky, but they're a great value, especially for planars. I have the Sundara closed-backs and love them, recently picked up the HE400SEs for late-night TV and movies, and use their Savnar LE earbuds. I used their cheaper HE-R9s for a minute and the sound was fine but there was something rolling around in one of the ear cups, sounded like a BB, so those went back.

1. Hifiman sundara closed back 2. Sony WH-1000XM6 3. AKG K240 made in Austria 1993

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

Why go $400? I have the fiio ft1, hifiman sundara closed backs and both a great especially if you have a decent amp to pair them with. I primarily use hifiman 1000he stealth paired to an ef400 and use that as a reference. But everytime i listen to the fiio ft1 im blown away at how good they sound for only $150. Sundaras need stronger amplification to get anywhere near the authority of the fiio ft1 or higher end hifimans.

You really need to try them out yourself to know. Closed are going to be tougher than Open. I'd start with maybe the Sundara Closed Back. To me the DT series are a little hot and seem like they would be too much clamp.

Audeze Sine > Sundara Closed Back > DT 700 Pro X > Mobius