HIFIMAN - SUNDARA Closed-Back

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.

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

I have the Sony XM6, I am happy with it, I had a couple of Boses in the past. I think I would have bought the HDB 630 instead of the Sony if I was about to buy a new one today, but since i travel a lot I really need good ANC for long flights. I also have a Sundara which is alright. I think I am still looking for that pair of headsets that become my end game so I focus more on the music and less in the endless rabbit hole this hobby is :D

I'd probably recommend Drop/ Sennheiser PC38x for multiplayer/ directional audio and HiFiMan Edition XS (or perhaps Sundara if you have small ears; not comfortable for me) for cinematic single player games for fairly affordable headsets within a few hundred bucks. I've read good things about the Audeze Maxwell. Going much higher will probably require an amp and get MUCH pricier. For PC and listening to music, I use an HE1000SE, which will challenge your statement about budget not mattering. It's by far the best set of headphones I've ever used for gaming (including the also excellent Sennheiser HD 490 Pro, which I also own) or music but definitely not low budget.