I had sooooo very many motherboards die with bloated capacitor cans back in the 1990s. The deaths followed current draw from CPUs, video boards, audio boards, etc. I eventually started shopping for motherboards based on having a lot of large capacitors (and then switched to Macs).
Yes! Keep the power supply separate from hostile PC innards.
It says 135db and 130 dB mono something in those terms. It comes with a 6.3 mm jack built in, no other motherboard I believe has a built in 6.3 mm jack on the IO. Itās not PCI connectivity.
Also, Iāve never seen any 6.3 mm gaming headset besides the Audeze that comes with 6.3 mm jack from there gaming headset line up. So I really doubt that the manufacturer assumed people are so dedicated to a 900 dollar gaming headset.
Thatāll be SNR and has nothing to do with how loud/well it can drive a specific headphone.
Then Iād assume itās an MSI X99A board/variant (why you canāt just STATE what the board in question is, which would make this MUCH easier, is beyond me). Which means itās running dual OPA 1642s for the headphone output. Which means itās still either going to be a bit light on power to drive the Sundara to their best. Better than LME49720, but not by much, and with more need for buffering to avoid losing 1/4" the power internally.
Thereās nothing particularly special about a 6.3mm plug/socket. Itās just the most common termination for non-gaming headsets.
Either way, without knowing exactly whatās on the motherboard and how itās built, or having the voltage rail spec, current capacity and thermal limitās, output impedance/or knowing if the output ICs are buffered or not (and what with/how), no one can magically tell you how itās going to drive ANY headphone.
And once you have that information, you also need to know the impedance and the sensitivity of the specific headphone to see, on paper, how well (or at least how loud without clipping) it will be driven by that amp/output.
I wonāt be responding again unless you state the specific motherboard, or provide the stated output specs for it.
I totally understand, I am sure you are very accurate, but the sundara isnāt a very high end headset to consume all that power and I know or assume my power supply plays no role role with the capacitors, but I do have a 350 watt extended power capability, itās a 1000 watt platinum plus rated and my entire system on full blast is 650.
This board is 2019 edition, and as you read below the system has a built in on the IO a 6.3 mm jack, not pci sound card. Itās probably the only PC that has that, most people are required to get a sound card.
I do very much appreciate your advise and everyone elseās as well, will be glad to follow.
Something that maybe more appropriate would be what other information would be needed to reach a sufficient conclusion about this built in DAC/AMP
Dude. SMH.
What is the motherboard make & model? Itās not hard.
Also, Sundara not being āa very high end headsetā has NOTHING to do with how hard it is to properly drive, and the rating of your power supply means absolutely nothing in relation to what the power delivery of the audio board can deliver.
Read Torqās reply above. Quit fighting with us on this. We are trying to help.
Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I have no* desire to hide the motherboard. Just that is where I am knowledgeable and could not find any information on it besides what was provided to me by the manufacturer. That is all they knew.
I did not want to waste your time to end up at a dead end like I did.
But hey if you guys want too I would be even more grateful.
I just provided what I knew and hoped it may mean something.
I hope you guys can understand I was just being considerate and do not want to frustrate or anger anyone.
MSI Z390 MEG Godlike is my motherboard
YES, with that board youāll need an external amplifier to get the most from the Sundara. Theyāll work without one, but based on how literally all-but-two gamers Iāve come across tend to run their headphones, youāll be hitting clipping limits without an amp.
Which is pretty much 100% consistent with every other āhigh-end audio equippedā gamer-type board out there. They have 100x more info in their documentation on the RGB illumination features than they do the audio.
Schiit Magni 3+ or Heresy or JDS Labs Atom. Personally Iād go with the Schiit Magni 3+ for this case.
Youāll need a suitable 3.5mm or 6.3mm to dual-RCA cable to connect the board to the amp.
Hey Sundara fans, Iām new here and I just wanted to share my thoughts and experience with the Sundara so far.
I got these back in May, and I only recently have been experimenting with EQ to improve them even greater than they are. Compared to my HD650 and Focal Elex, the Sundara is noticeably brighter and can even get harsh with the more treble oriented recordings. With well recorded classical stuff, this brightness brings out the overtones of the string instruments and cymbals more than what I am used to, despite what measurements suggest. There are a few main areas I use EQ with the Sundara, mostly in the upper mids and treble. Take a look at my current EQ profile below for EQ APO:
Preamp: -3.5 dB
Filter: ON LSC Fc 80 Hz Gain 2 dB Q 0.7
Filter: ON PK Fc 4100 Hz Gain -2.5 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 4500 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 5800 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 7000 Hz Gain -2.5 dB Q 4
Filter: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 4
Filter: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain -2.5 dB Q 5
I know some may look at these settings and wonder why the EQ at 4 kHz and 12-13 kHz? Well, Iām not just using graphs to EQ, Iām also using sine sweeps and doing my best to volume match an even level at each frequency. To my ears at least, 12 to 13 kHz sounds just a little boosted compared to the Sennheiser HD58X, 600, and 650, and 4-4.5 kHz plus 7 kHz also sounds higher in volume relative to 3 kHz. I think some of these frequencies could be unit variance plus just differences in ear canal resonances. I still hear a bit of edge to the sound in some recordings compared to the Sennheisers, I donāt know if this is a planar timbre thing or if there is an emphasized frequency I missed.
Anyway, with these EQ settings, I think these are a great technical upgrade I was looking for to the HD650, 600, 58X, etc. I still think the Sennheisers beat them in natural tonality and overall smoothness, but the performance jump you get with the Sundara in terms of soundstage, detail, imaging, and sub bass extension is huge.
Can the topping NX4 drive the HifiMan Sundara? I currently have a portable setup so I canāt use a dac/amp that needs a power supply. If itās not enough any suggestions?
If itās the NX4 DSD, then it has enough power, in high-gain, to push the Sundara to a peak of 115 dB/SPL. Itāll clip beyond that. So it should be fine at sensible listening levels.
Hi, did you get a reply from Hifiman in the end saying whether you can buy the new Sundara pads separately anywhere?
The Hifiman Sundara has recently been named Headphone of the Year by Wheezy Reviews! Wooooooo
I agree with almost all of his commentary. Subscribed!
Looks like the new ones to me with the bulge on the side? Hard to tell.
Not exactly, when/where did you buy it?
I think most people got the newer revision if they bought it within a year. Iād worry more about the used market with these.
Itās an online store. I havenāt bought them yet because I want to be sure theyāre the new ones, so I asked them for photos. Itās not really a well known store so Iām just concerned they might be old stock (i.e. the original version) thatās been lying around for a while. Hereās another photo:
Yeah Iām not sure really. They do look like they bulge similarly to the new version on the sides but then they also look a bit thicker in the front.
