Hi. I am a Newbie here. Have a Masters in Electronics, so I know the science. But never had the money or the time to indulge in this expensive sport. Now nudging the age of 50 am attracted to this lovely addiction.
Read a lot of reviews and decided to go in for the Hifiman Sundara. Amazon delivered it last week and I run it off my OnePlus 7T Android phone and an AudioQuest Dragonfly Red. I am comparing it solely with my previous, decidedly plebeian headphones - the Bose QC25, the Jabra Elite 65T and OnePlus Quad Driver IEM's.
No issues with product quality or build so far. Comfort is fine, albeit my listening sessions do not extend beyond 30 minutes at one go.
The Good
The first thing that astonished me was the sheer detail audible. Music that I have been listening to for almost 3 decades revealed new details to me - be it Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, the Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls, Phil Collins Another Day in Paradise, Dave Brubeck's Take Five or Louis Armstrong's Its a Wonderful World.
The next thing that struck me was these headphones are Fast. When I read the reviews before buying them I didn't quite know what to make of 'Fast'. Well the thump feels like someone slapped you hard on your cheek when you least expected! That is what Fast means. Don't get me wrong - the Sundara is by no means bass heavy. If you are a bass lover, you will be possibly underwhelmed. But me, I feel it is so right! The slam of every beat is incredible.
The mid-range could have been a little more upfront for my liking, but oh the treble is sooo good. I remember the first time I walked out of an optometrist's with my spectacles. Suddenly, the world appeared so much clearer, the colours so much richer that the whole experience left me a little giddy. The Sundara's treble gives me the same feeling for my ears. It is not shrill or harsh . . . just so incredibly detailed.
Having only listened to in ears and closed backs, the next revelation was the wide soundstage of the open back Sundaras. My kids complained of the sound leakage but the experience for me was being front row, centre stage in a jazz concert.
The Bad
I had read that the cords that come with the package feel rubbery like a stethoscope and that is exactly what they feel like. They have a mind of their own and coil up at the least excuse.
The bigger issue for me is that the cardboard box that these came in is likely not going to last very long. The box doesn't even have a hinged flap, so one has to hold the top half and shake so that gravity drags down bottom half of the box, undoing the vacuum created as the space expands once the top of the box is pulled up. Wish they had at least offered the extra cost option of a proper case. So need to find myself a hard shell case to buy.
Despite having seen the reviews on YouTube and the pictures before buying, I was not prepared for the sheer size of these things. While I know it is socially acceptable these days to be seen wearing seriously, ridiculously large headphones in public places, I am unlikely to venture out of my home wearing these. That is a pity because I travel a lot. Nothing ameliorates the sheer boredom of a long, red eye flight, stuck in cattle class, with bawling kids as a good pair of headphones!
Advice Needed
At comfortably loud levels, my Dragonfly Red is at 80 - 85% of peak volume. Question to the Gurus: Would the sound quality benefit from a dedicated desktop amp like the Schiit Magni Heresy or the SMSL SP200 THX 888?
Conclusion
Based on my experience (or rather the lack of it), I am quite happy with the Hifiman Sundara. I wholeheartedly recommend it as a decent value priced purchase.