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Hifiman Sundara vs Ananda

somy

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Hi,
Today I heard the sound of Sundara from a local shop and I like it a lot. Looking at Hifiman’s product line there is a big brother Ananda. My questions for those who have either one:
1) If probably driven, does Amanda sound better than Sundara? I ask because Rting gives higher score to Sundara
2) One advantage of Ananda being quite easy to drive. Does it mean I can get decent sound by connecting directly to computer or iPhone?
3) If I go for Sundara, what would be the cheapest portable amp that can drive it to its full potential (or close)? I’d avoid desktop amp as I already own Matrix Element M (assume it can drive Sundara)
Thank you all in advance!
 

VMAT4

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Just my 2¢, those two 'phones are in the same order of magnitude price wise. I'd wait until the dealer had both in to a/b audition the two, then answer the other questions. I'm just assuming this will happen sooner or later. It's not as if you'd be waiting for the dealer to carry the Susvarna.
 

bobbooo

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Just be aware that the Sundara's pads have changed slightly since it was first released, which has seemingly had a significant effect on its frequency response.

Sundara (original):
Screenshot_20201011-041723_Acrobat for Samsung.png


Sundara (revised pads):
Screenshot_20201011-041833_Acrobat for Samsung.png


The smoother, less peaky treble of the revised Sundara has taken it further away from the Ananda's peakier frequency response:
Screenshot_20201011-043304_Acrobat for Samsung.png
 
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GDK

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Thanks for all this. I was going to pull the trigger on a pair of b-stock Anandas to upgrade my Sundaras, but it looks like it‘s not worth it.
 

Patrick1958

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Just be aware that the Sundara's pads have changed slightly since it was first released, which has seemingly had a significant effect on its frequency response.

Sundara (original):
View attachment 87258

Sundara (revised pads):
View attachment 87259

The smoother, less peaky treble of the revised Sundara has taken it further away from the Ananda's peakier frequency response:
View attachment 87263
The Revised pad measurements, were they done recently and not yet published on Dropbox? They are not (yet) in Oratory's list.
 

JohnYang1997

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Ananda is not peaky at all. Original sundara has some 4khz, 8khz and 12khz emphasis but very similar to susvara in tonality. Susvara is more vast and hollow sounding. They are very different other than tonality. Ananda is kinda flawless. Maybe it can be a bit bright for some. Sundara is brighter. But if you tame it down it gets veiled and dark. Ananda has flat bass response which needs some treble to balance it out.
For the pad change. I don't know. Maybe that will make me buy a new pair to see if it becomes better. I don't trust oratory's measurements.
 
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somy

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Is Ananda’ dear pads bigger than Sundara?
 

Veri

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I can tell you Ananda sounds really good. Only complaint is no real bass impact compared to dynamics but the tuning is really good. And bass can probably be tweaked to preference using EQ.
Never heard Sundara to compare, though.
 
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somy

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What do you guys use to drive Amanda? Would i lose lots of sq if I use computer/phone directly? Thanks
 

kkeretic

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Just be aware that the Sundara's pads have changed slightly since it was first released, which has seemingly had a significant effect on its frequency response.

Wooow. Where did you get the fr graph for the new pads Sundara? Thanks for that.

Edit: now testing the parametric EQ data from the AutoEq procedure based on this graph with a week old Sundara (produced early September 2020) and I have to admit it sounds noticeably better to my ears than with the data based on the first graph (original pads). Thanks again.
 
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Eetu

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I have the HE4XX EQ'd with Oratory filters and really liking the sound. Great bass after EQ, mids brought forward. I would love to hear thoughts from folks that have used HE4XX w/ EQ whether it's worth it to get the Sundara or Ananda? I have listened to Sundara only briefly.
 

Jimbob54

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What do you guys use to drive Amanda? Would i lose lots of sq if I use computer/phone directly? Thanks

That depends on the phone/ computer you use. Got to be worth trying without buying a separate DAC/amp. They arent hard to drive though.

And I would have thought one of the super dongles would be more than ample if PC/phone werent.
 
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