There’s some emphasis on treble which is mostly concentrated between the lower area and the middle one; this, together with the good extension, gives treble a primary role in the scene. Treble is in fact forward in the mix, up to the point that the overall signature is bright. This emphasis is however devoid of peaks, so it is not fatiguing or harsh. The aforementioned extension makes treble airy and sparkly enough. The level of detail is rather good and one can even hear some micro-details, though those are an exception more than the norm. HiFiMAN Sundara Comparisons Hiroyuki Sawano &Z (02:18-02:57), a lot better tonality, clarity and detail with the Sundara with similar timbre. As a verification, I asked my son to come over and without looking at the measurements and EQ, listen to the headphone plain and then with EQ I had built above. After about half hour of listening he said there was no sub-bass and the there was something missing in the sound. With EQ he found the sound to be much improved causing him to say he likes it. So good correlation with my findings. Midbass has a nice texture and impact for a planar. Transience is fast but not the fastest. There is the slightest hump in the midbass making them suitable for most of the genres from classical to EDM.

Mids are more recessed than the 560S, but not bad at all. Similar level of midrange detail at first listen. Doesn't have the same awful midrange shout of the 560S. (Yay!) Tonality: Bass-boosted neutral. That is pretty balanced between warmth and brightness. Timbre is very good, although a step down from well-tuned DDs.Conclusion: Bass that can be elevated to match your taste with EQ, godly vocals and extremely well-tuned but detailed treble and VERY technical that punches way above this price range. Highly recommended. Thanks for reading. The Sundara is reputed to have a build that easily crushes previous budget Hifiman ‘phones, especially including those the Sundara replaces (the HE-400 series). These impressions are partially correct and partially incorrect. While an ideally-built Sundara would certainly be a nice product, the Sundara, unfortunately, finds itself plagued with the typical Hifiman quality-control issues. The most notable new feature of the Sundara is its ultra-thin diaphragm – 80% thinner, to hear Hifiman tell it, than the diaphragms of its successors, the HE-400i and HE-400s. In the mids, it doesn't play "in your face", but a bit distant. You don't sit in the front row, but 1-2 rows behind. The stage seems sufficiently dimensioned in depth as well as width. Instruments sound natural and voices also not nasally discolored. You have to go into the > 1000 € class to hear clearer differences here. Very solid!

With a chassis constructed from sheet metal, not plastic, the SUNDARA headphones are durable and long lasting. Despite this, the slim, aluminium chassis design means they’re comparatively lightweight – especially given their enveloping design. Excellent. Very excellent. Everything is metal and feels premium. Its odd that HiFiMan has such a well built headphone in comparison to Sennheiser not having a well built headphone with the 560S. The adjustment mechanism does scratch the metal though, not a huge deal. Hiroyuki Sawano – Lose (string version) (01:22-01:59), Cello tonality could be a bit warmer, more textured but is clean and detailed with good timbre. Violin tonality could be brighter, but good treble-extension and detail with good timbre. Score -1.5dB@ HF: default Harman curve decreased by 1.5dB at HF. looks closer to the initial response But when I first listened to his album Ravedeath 1972 played through the Hifiman Sundara while standing in the mid-fi aisle at the famed E-earphone in Akihabara, I heard a kind of synergy between music and equipment that was entirely new to me. I was amazed, almost to the point of tears.Isolation: Next to none, also leaks a lot, to the point where you can listen to it on the other side of the cup. HIFIMAN Sundara vs Sennheiser HD660S–Sennheiser HD660S is quite a bit more expensive than Sundara, especially if you find Sundara on sale, but I know many of you were wondering how the two compare. Now, on comfort, both are comfy, but sundy is a bit more heavy, yet feels less hot, you sweat less with Sundara, and it is less tight on the head. On the other hand, the sound is considerably different, Sundara is quite a bit wider in the soundstage, and both are similarly hard to drive, although Sundara may get louder a bit easier than HD660S, which is both hard to drive and control properly, but also hard to get loud. The soundstage is wider on Sundara, and also deeper, while it is more intimate on HD660S, at least when using most portables. When going to a full blown desktop DAC/AMP, HD660S can get a bit wider, but only with very specific ones. HD660S cannot be used outdoors at all, since it comes with pretty proprietary connectors, comes with a long cable, and gets hotter than Sundara in the summer, plus is harder to drive. The detail is actually similar, but Sundara exposes more detail overall, while HD660S is smoother in general, with a bit more emphasis on a more liquid sound, where Sundara is slightly splashy and also slightly soft, but still bearing a touch more detail. The bass is deeper on sundara, with more impact, and tighter on HD660S, with slightly more precision. The treble is actually a tie between the two, in terms of detail and overall clarity, but I could say that the treble of HD660S is more dry, and more revealing as well, while with Sundara, the treble is a bit more splashy, which also makes it more fatigue-free. Overall, both are excellent headphones, but each is made for a slightly different public.

Since the unit I’m reviewing is mine, I can successfully evade certain suspicions that I’m being encouraged by a distributor or manufacturer to give a positive review for some kind of monetary gain. I hope it becomes more of a tool for artists rather than something that replaces art,” he added. “It’s a philosophical question at the end of the day: are we ready, as humanity, to embrace art that isn’t human at all? Is that something we’ll find appealing? Or will it be something that really doesn’t sit right?”

Metallica – fight fire with fire (01:11-01:52), cleaner on the HD560S due to the lower bass quantity and very peaky treble. Amplifiers are required to provide adequate power to your headphone or IEMs to perform at their best. Simply put, amplifiers allow a weak audio signal to be boosted to a powerful one.