Today is the day when I have to expressly apologize to @Resolve :
Andrew
My previous experiences with Hifiman headphones have been rather negative, due to poor workmanship and exaggerated tonal tuning, I wasn’t really able to gain anything from Hifiman products.
With the Sundara, since years of abstinence from this brand,
I have dared a “fresh start” for the first time and found it from the beginning, in connection with my Rebel Amp and a Questyle DAC, above average in its price class, but the total enthusiasm of Andrew, I couldn’t quite understand this intensity, especially since there are some really good headphones in this price range.
I’ve had to revise that since last Friday;
I dare to say that the Sundara is REALLY superior to any headphones in this price category.
Why?
Well, because of this little “helper”, which really proves again how important the interaction of hi-fi components really is!
I paired it with the sundara for the first time on that day and tried out various settings.
And lo and behold:
Suddenly the, xBass & 3D switch really make sense.
Before, I only used them on one or the other of the in-ear headphones and on my GRADO’s so far.
And it made:
Such a large number of details,
precise spatial representation,
pronounced selectivity in the imaging of the various voices and instruments,
the possibility of exact localization of each reproduced tone in the room,
the ability to reproduce low bass frequencies and controlled with a powerful slap and punch (a skill that many of these talk about headphones)
and hardly overwhelmed with really busy tracks.
And the whole thing, almost across genres,
you really rarely don‘t have the feeling that you have to reduce the volume during a song.
I’ll give you a few examples from my test track list to support these statements:
1.)
A challenging busy track:
After 48 seconds a deep bass starts in the background, which comes across as really grumbling,
from minute 1:22 the violins play their way into the foreground and Björk’s voice is inserted into a ring of instruments, so to speak.
At no time does the voice get lost or is “overplayed” by the orchestra around Björk.
(The concentrated Sennheiser 6xx series presents a certain “mushy” at the latest, and is a bit overwhelmed in these passages)
Nevertheless, you can always focus on each individual instrument if you want.
Even my beloved Grado SR2e doesn’t get the 3-dimensionality and airiness between the instruments shown in this form .
2:)
A track with a lot of small details that only a few headphones, especially in this price range, are able to reproduce so clearly.
Practically from the first second, the foot pedals of the piano can be heard, from second 20, onwards there is one or the other mechanical noise of the cable pulls.
In addition, the strength of the touch of the keyboards is wonderfully perceptible, and the quality of the tonal decay of the played tones is fabulous spatially available.
From a second 38 onwards, Sara’s breathing technique starts audibly.
After 1:10 minute you can hear the lips moving apart and sticking together slightly.
From minute 1:15 it gets interesting, from then on there are a few words that contain the letters S, F, T, and the recording shows that these, with most headphones, cause stabbing on the ear drum, not like that with this AMP headphone combination.
The Sundara is able to convey this passage extremely refreshingly and sparkly to the listener.
The highly acclaimed Focal Clear in particular absolutely disappointed me with this song, all of these details were only roughly hinted at with this one.
3.)
An example of the deep bass capabilities of this Can.
First the very crisp depiction of the falling stones / pearls, then the spacious echo of the singing bowls.
Then in 11 seconds the powerful bass element swashing in from left to right in the background.
Which strikes ryhmically and very deeply from the second 23 onwards. Before 35 seconds the bass gets really intensely punchy.
Here, in turn, the Focal Clear has its “shining moment”, it masters this genre like hardly any other headphones in my collection.
4.)
A wonderful example of how the size of the room can be perceived by simply reproducing a few tones (piano strokes) and their fading away in the room.
When Lou after 43 seconds just loosens her lips and opens her mouth, the arc of tension literally rises, in anticipation of what will be presented next.
This kind of emotionality that can be created by simply reproducing the recordings and the headphones is what I talk about when I rave about my GRADO’s.
Especially the GS3000e and the RS2e are fantastic at it.
Again, the Focal Clear is unable to do this, it just sounds too mechanical / technical for that.
This is where he has his qualities.
The same applies (technically sounding), with the exception of live recordings and classical music performance, also for the Sennheiser HD800s, in this genre it is (for me at least) the master of all classes.
5.)
Here we have an example of detail, spatiality, bass and a “difficult voice.”
Right at the beginning, you hear very brief mechanical noises, then the tones that sound in the room, at a tonal frequency that can hurt one or the other headphone.
From 18 seconds onwards, the bass drum, which with other headphones
(Sennheiser 6xx series),
sounds rather washed-out, but is reproduced in a somewhat structured manner due to the recording with my combo…
At 1:13 the sudden fade-in of the audience, where every viewer can be clearly located.
At 1:24 am Emiliana starts singing, her voice is just as “borderline” for me as the lady following in the next example.
The Sundara, together with the signature, actually makes it possible for me to endure this voice with a Planar magnetic headphone, even with a certain enjoyment factor
Until then, unthinkable for me in the planar headphone sector.
Compliment
If you want to know what I’m talking about, you should listen to this song on a Beyerdynaic DT1990 pro, then this peron will probably have to consult an ear doctor.
6.)
One last example of how this combo, and thus of course the headphones themselves, can shine with a very busy, high-pitched, fast song with an intense vocal range.
First the reproduction of the double bass (where the focal clear occasionally starts to clip), which is reproduced here cleanly, accompanied by Petra Magoni, who is sharply separated from the rest of the instruments.
(Here Dan ClarK headphones have time and again problems separating them)
The track lives from a constant increase in intensity, from minute 3:18, the voice register is then in the high range that drives many headphones crazy,
if not even before the driver through the vibrations of the bass, the drivers have started to flutter.
With many headphones, such pieces of music can only be played at a very limited volume, otherwise mechanical problems arise with the drivers.
Here at the latest, my beloved Koss absolutely reach their limits, to present this kind of music cleanly.
So here too, compliments to Hifiman
For all these reasons I tried the Ananda in the same pairing, and lo and behold:
An increase in what I have experienced with the Sundara is absolutely noticeable.
Now I am considering whether to buy the Susvara, but I still have such slight inhibitions for this price, based on my previous experiences.
Possibly just an Abyss Diana Phi, with V2 pads, is probably the more solid choice,
let’s see