HiFiMan Sundara or alternative?

Cromulent

Cromulent

Cromulent

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I'm looking at the HiFiMan Sundara and am tempted to get them but before I do I was wondering if there is anything else that might be better in the £200 to £500 range?

I have the FIIO JadeAudio KA3 DAC and will only be using the headphones on my desktop computer.
 
That's a pretty wide price range, and the Sundara sits at the lower end of it.

"Better" in the world of headphones can also be massively subjective, depending on your preferred sound signature and what you're listening to. For example, I could easily suggest the Ananda Nano's, which are at the top end of your budget, but you could try both and possibly prefer the Sundara.

It's much better to try a few pairs first (although this is very difficult in the UK as there are almost no shops with a good selection). The next best thing is to order a couple of pairs from somewhere with a no-hassle return policy and keep the ones you like best.
 
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Ayahuasca said:
That's a pretty wide price range, and the Sundara sits at the lower end of it.

"Better" in the world of headphones can also be massively subjective, depending on your preferred sound signature and what you're listening to. For example, I could easily suggest the Ananda Nano's, which are at the top end of your budget, but you could try both and possibly prefer the Sundara.
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Thank you for the reply. I guess I should specify a few things.

I mainly listen to metal and rock but enjoy classical, baroque and electronic music as well. I like the AirPods Max which I currently have but would like a bit of a stronger bass. Obviously I'm looking for wired headphones so that narrows it down somewhat. If you need more info let me know and I'll try and narrow it down.
 
You need to factor in your power rating. At 130mW into 32ohm it's very low. I run my Sundara off an RME ADI-2@1W unbalanced and still need to crank the volume a fair ways.
 
What headphones are you currently using or you have experience with? the budget you've stated could afford you a suitable amp/dac and headphone, I agree that you could be limited using that dongle @ 130mW, I know the 'Audio Science Review' crew (an audiophile forum) believe that everything can adequately run off a Apple Dongle but I really believe you need more power and headroom,

Fiio K11 desktop amp £120
Hifiman Ananda (orignal) £348

Comes under the top end of your budget, if you go for the Sundara's just make sure they are the 2020 model.

IEMs are another whole ball of wax, I find them harder to recommend as the tuning of them have a bigger impact on you and potently less tolerable compared to headphones, I love IEMs but find many of them too harsh sounding for me in the upper mids and lower treble region, a safe 'cheap' IEM I would recommend would be something like the Truthear x crinacle zero red (£50), I promise you'll be impressed if it's your first IEM, they've came a long way compared to the earbuds of yesteryear, but be warned, they can be quit addictive, I have about ten of them lying around lol
 
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Flor_Fina said:
You need to factor in your power rating. At 130mW into 32ohm it's very low. I run my Sundara off an RME ADI-2@1W unbalanced and still need to crank the volume a fair ways.
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Thank you.
Things change I've changed said:
What headphones are you currently using or you have experience with? the budget you've stated could afford you a suitable amp/dac and headphone, I agree that you could be limited using that dongle @ 130mW, I know the 'Audio Science Review' crew (an audiophile forum) believe that everything can adequately run off a Apple Dongle but I really believe you need more power and headroom,

Fiio K11 desktop amp £120
Hifiman Ananda (orignal) £348

Comes under the top end of your budget, if you go for the Sundara's just make sure they are the 2020 model.

IEMs are another whole ball of wax, I finder them harder to recommend as the tuning of them have a bigger impact on you and potently less tolerable compared to headphones, I love IEMs but find many of them too harsh sounding for me in the upper mids and lower treble region, a safe 'cheap' IEM I would recommend would be something like the Truthear x crinacle zero red (£50), I promise you'll be impressed if it's your first IEM, they've came a long way compared to the earbuds of yesteryear, but be warned, they can be quit addictive, I have about ten of them lying around lol
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I see. Thank you. That looks like a decent configuration. I'll wait for prime day now though just incase there is a sale on.
 
Since the budget is up to 500, Ananda Nano.

I have owned the Sundara and the Nano is just better in every area and well worth the extrta.

And if you do decide on a Fiio K11, then get the new R2R model which is about £150 as it has a smoother/warmer signature better suited to planar headphones.

I powered the Sundara from a Topping MX3S, also briefly a Topping DX3 Pro+, no issues with either and plenty of power, but if I was looking again then I would get the ONIX Alpha:

onixhiend.co.uk

Alpha - onixhiend.co.uk

onixhiend.co.uk

Cheap, amazing sound and enough capability to drive basically anything.

The Ananda Nano is a large step above the Ananda standard.

Whichever you get, also couple it with the Voarmaks memory foam velour pads, they are infinitely better quality than the stock pads and are more comfortable in the process whilst removing that treble peak brightness that planars have:


Edit*
I've ordered myself the ONIX at £87, worth having in my collection either way at this sort of price lol.
 
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Flor_Fina said:
You need to factor in your power rating. At 130mW into 32ohm it's very low. I run my Sundara off an RME ADI-2@1W unbalanced and still need to crank the volume a fair ways.
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I run my Sundaras off a Qudelix 5K on 4V output (240mW) with a balanced cable and don't get anywhere near max volume... and I like my music loud at times. And that's even with an EQ with a baseline of - 6 dB!

So I'm confused at why you feel it needs a shed load of power. They sound absolutely stunning on the 5K with Oratory's EQ.
 
I usually run them at around -20db which is 3/4 power on the RME which maxes out at +6db and goes down to -83db (nothing is audible below 60 though). That's with high power engaged.

Currently running IEM @ -4db. Though no high power engaged. Hearing is fine as I pass the 20 to 20 test easily.
 
Things change I've changed said:
I love IEMs but find many of them too harsh sounding for me in the upper mids and lower treble region, a safe 'cheap' IEM I would recommend would be something like the Truthear x crinacle zero red (£50), I promise you'll be impressed if it's your first IEM, they've came a long way compared to the earbuds of yesteryear, but be warned, they can be quit addictive, I have about ten of them lying around lol
Click to expand...

Whilst things have changed since i last was into this, balanced armature drivers were the one for smooth sounds. I think many IEMs then were only just starting to mix driver designs into one IEM, so not sure what they're like now. I still have some Westone UMX3s that nobody would ever mention harsh or bright when describing. Now i'm tempted to give them a dust off and relisten again :D
 
I ended up ordering a really cheap IEM just to see if the form factor suites me. I went with the Linsoul SIMGOT EW200 and they should arrive tomorrow. If I like them I'll look into something a bit more expensive.
 
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