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HIFIman Sundara - upgrade from 660s

nguye tuan

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Hi Guys

I curretly own 660s paired with ATOM and want to have an upgrade.I looked at Ananda which has lot of praise,good p/p.But I heard It sounds the same SUNDARA.Is it worth for an upgrade interm of detail,imaging sound stage, beside ananda prices =2x sundara in my country.
 

Jose Hidalgo

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I have a Sundara and a HD600, among other cans.
I'd say that it's not worth it.

Comfort-wise, the Sundara is significantly heavier (or should I say that the HD6-- are particularly lightweight, which is amazing).
Sound-wise, the Sundara is slightly bright. It has better bass extension, but that can be dramatically improved in the HD6-- simply by EQ.
Vocal-wise, the HD600 is better than the Sundara. I don't know about the 660S.
Soundstage-wise, the Sundara has a bigger soundstage, but it's nothing to be amazed about. I like the intimate soundstage of my HD600.

I think the Sundara would be a side-grade from your Sennheiser cans. It has great reviews, but that's not what my ears feel for the moment.
Currently if I had to choose between my Sundara and my HD600, I'd keep my HD600.

What type of sound are you looking for ? Neutral ? Bright ? Warm ? V-shaped ?
What type of comfort are you looking for ?
Do you have access to EQ ?
Is imaging very important to you ?

Those are four major questions IMHO.
 
OP
N

nguye tuan

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I have a Sundara and a HD600, among other cans.
I'd say that it's not worth it.

Comfort-wise, the Sundara is significantly heavier (or should I say that the HD6-- are particularly lightweight, which is amazing).
Sound-wise, the Sundara is slightly bright. It has better bass extension, but that can be dramatically improved in the HD6-- simply by EQ.
Vocal-wise, the HD600 is better than the Sundara. I don't know about the 660S.
Soundstage-wise, the Sundara has a bigger soundstage, but it's nothing to be amazed about. I like the intimate soundstage of my HD600.

I think the Sundara would be a side-grade from your Sennheiser cans. It has great reviews, but that's not what my ears feel for the moment.
Currently if I had to choose between my Sundara and my HD600, I'd keep my HD600.

What type of sound are you looking for ? Neutral ? Bright ? Warm ? V-shaped ?
What type of comfort are you looking for ?
Do you have access to EQ ?
Is imaging very important to you ?

Those are four major questions IMHO.
Hi bro
Sory for lacking infor,I will keep 660s and buy one more,in my opinion sundara align with 660s,my point here is about ananda,if ananda is much more better than sundara,i will go on it because i saw some opinion the two sound the same,a little bit diffenrent, i plan to use 660s for vocal,and the other for metal,other type,
 

solderdude

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Sundara is a bit closer to HD660S. Sundara has a bit more treble.
Ananda has a tiny bit less clarity.
Both Hifiman have a bit lower bass extension compared to HD660S.
Whether it is worth the price difference to YOU only you can tell.
What's a huge difference to person A may be no difference to person B.
 
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nguye tuan

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Sundara is a bit closer to HD660S. Sundara has a bit more treble.
Ananda is a tiny bit less clarity.
Hifiman have a bit lower bass extension compared to HD660S.
Whether it is worth the price difference to YOU only you can tell.
What's a huge difference to person A may be no difference to person B.
I like the vocal of sen,but i need one more hp for other genres like metal,gothic metal or kind of music like 2 strep from hell,should i go with sundara or ananda
 

Sak

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Jose Hidalgo

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v5cvbb

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I've owned the HD600 for over 18 years. I received the Sundara just before Christmas.

I've listened to the Sundara mostly since opening them. Yes they are heavier, and felt less comfortable at first. Now I find them more comfortable when wearing for several hours. The headband is far better on the Sundara.

Sound quality is similar between the two. I was afraid I would miss the mid-range and vocal quality of the HD600, but the Sundara never disappoints. The one thing I didn't like about the HD600 was that in your head feeling. I can't say I notice a huge sound stage with the Sundara, but it's definitely better than the HD600.

I consider the Sundara to be a slight upgrade to my HD600.
 

Jose Hidalgo

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Yes they are heavier, and felt less comfortable at first. Now I find them more comfortable when wearing for several hours. The headband is far better on the Sundara.
If your HD600 are 18 years old, then they are the first-gen HD600, with the "marble" look . The HD6-- series are known for possible excessive clamping pressure. I have the 2019 restyled version, which is identical sound-wise. I didn't notice any clamping nor comfort issues at all, from day one, so maybe the restyling corrected such issues ? I agree, the leather headband on the Sundara is nice. :)

My HD600 are every bit as comfortable as my Sundara, with two major advantages : (1) the HD6-- are much lighter (260g vs. 372g - that's only measurements, the Sundara are 43% heavier) and (2) the HD6-- have bigger ear-shaped earpads that are extremely comfortable and give a nice impression of space... around your ear, not soundstage-wise.

Sound quality is similar between the two. I was afraid I would miss the mid-range and vocal quality of the HD600, but the Sundara never disappoints.
Could that be age-related ? The Sundara is slightly brighter than the HD600 in the 500-1500 Hz region, as shown by measurements. If you're old enough, maybe that doesn't bother you because of natural age-related loss of sensitivity to treble frequencies ?
 

thewas

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Jimmy

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That's my experience, too. As HD600 earpads wear, the foam degrades and gets flatter, the sound changes altogether, sounstage decreases, and the sound gets more "in your face". With fresh earpads I find the soundstage to be more than adequate and realistic.

The HD600 was the first good headphone that I purchased, about 20 years ago, and to be true, I could have stopped there, after spending a lot of money and trying many things, I still find them not the most technically proficient, but the most enjoyable headphone in my inventory, that also includes HD800S.

The Sennheiser velour pads get flat after some years and also were slighty changed through the years which changes their comfort and also frequency response https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd650/

Too high clamping force can be reduced by careful bending.
 

BARDUKE

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I have both, use the 660S 99.9% of the time. They are more comfortable and more detailed than the Sundara. Sundara has a circular ear cup that makes them uncomfortable for me after a little bit. Sundara also has more bass than the 660S, but at the sacrifice of clairity.

I say stick with the 660S.

I haven't heard the Ananda, but the Arya is AMAZING!
 
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