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Recommend Amp and DAC for Hifimen Sundara

zyghom

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Feb 2, 2021
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I used Sundara with ZEN Can - superb quality indeed. The only problem with CAN (as well as with ZEN DAC): from minimum to about 8 o clock there is imbalance between left and right channels (potentiometer issues) - apart from that they match perfectly IMHO
 

sauhamm

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from an owner of too many dacs and too many amps over too many years. i wouldn't get lost in the woods of bits and measurements. (i'd say we're knocking on the door of 35 years and probably $50,000 total... that may be leaning to the cheap side...)

all that being said - whomever said "...will be perfectly adequate..."- listen to that person...

hifiman has some interesting cans - i currently have: deva - 400i - sundara

and i'll be damned if those deva's aren't as wide as my aunt suzie's backside (her name isn't suzie but her butt is huge...)

hip dac - soundblaster x6 - schiit vali - dark voice - jds atom - thx 888 and a topping or two before i made up my mind... you will be happy with any dacamp combo you try including the apple dongle (yes the volume has to be near 80% but it "works" and works beautifully)

all the other details are fine for this forum or hashing it out with your buddies over a cup of audiophipresso - but when it comes to "enjoying what you are listening to" ... literally none of it matters. if you get the atom instead of the schiit multibit - you are going to hear "exactly" the same thing.

flip a coin or throw a dart at anything we've listed.

(please don't let my opinion tarnish anyone else's - no one here is wrong in my eyes. all of the above is my 3c... i gave you a little extra cause we're friends)
 

zyghom

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...but when it comes to "enjoying what you are listening to" ... literally none of it matters. if you get the atom instead of the schiit multibit - you are going to hear "exactly" the same thing.
...
(please don't let my opinion tarnish anyone else's - no one here is wrong in my eyes. all of the above is my 3c... i gave you a little extra cause we're friends)

I AGREE IN 100%
 

domijack281

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Jul 2, 2021
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I used Sundara with ZEN Can - superb quality indeed. The only problem with CAN (as well as with ZEN DAC): from minimum to about 8 o clock there is imbalance between left and right channels (potentiometer issues) - apart from that they match perfectly IMHO
Thx. this could be problematic when using tidal in exclusive mode to process MQA, or any source on mobile phone connected to DAC. Some genres I enjoy such as rock can get too loud at 10'o clock on my hip-dac the cutoff before I notice slight channel imbalance between 9.5-10 o'clock and at 9 it cuts sound completely. Although its no problem when using on my MAC where I can use digital volume allowing me to normalize volume. This allows me to use my fairly bright IEMs such as FH5 that need bass boost,

Anyway, I decided to go first for versatility before investing more money into dac/amp gear. I will probably get a pair of closed headphones in addition to my open back Sundaras which will allow me to listen in the office, thinking of going DT770 80/250Ohm or ATH-MSR7. Then desktop DAC/amp combo for my desk office in my bedroom using a nice stack stand to allow me to fit it in my crowded desk already ;).

I am leaning toward:
- Zen DAC + CAN: having 4.4mm output which I already utilize is nice but for short cable 5ft there shouldn't really any difference between balanced and SE.
- Schiit Modi + Magni - I love that they don't take a lot of space
- Schiit Modius + Magnius with 4.4mm-XLR adapter or XLR cable: definitely will need careful space desk organization as these things look huge :D
 

resync

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Sep 2, 2021
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ive had the ifi zen dac + can combo for a while here to test against my soundblaster g6 and i honestly couldnt tell a difference using sundaras listening to many different songs (lossless) switching between them. (and different gain levels)

what do people mean by driving sundaras "correctly"? <--- is this a real thing or just voodoo?

is there an amp or test that i can do -> where i can tell the difference easy?

sundaras sound really nice on low gain (volume level around 40) on my g6....
 

domijack281

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Jul 2, 2021
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ive had the ifi zen dac + can combo for a while here to test against my soundblaster g6 and i honestly couldnt tell a difference using sundaras listening to many different songs (lossless) switching between them. (and different gain levels)

what do people mean by driving sundaras "correctly"? <--- is this a real thing or just voodoo?

is there an amp or test that i can do -> where i can tell the difference easy?

sundaras sound really nice on low gain (volume level around 40) on my g6....
Since asking last time, I already got Schiit stack Modi3+ + Asgard3 and honestly I am a lot happier with this set than I was with just hip-dac. I feel that I can listen to longer listening sessions without ear fatigue, signifinactly better volume range to adjust to volume to lower level that does not result in noticable channel imbalance and dont need to play with EQ, they sound just right without need to boost bass. The most noticable
Improvement is that I can boost range across whole spectrum without vocals screeming in my brain.
I also only use low gain only. These headphones do not need high gain IMO.
 

Rayman30

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Talk about paralysis by analysis!
 
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