Hifiman Sundara worth the extra 50$ over the he400se?

[llmercll]

Well the JT9 has arrived and is reviewed.
Basically a much more sensitive and improved JT7.

JT9

back to Jade Audioback to measurementshome Published: Aug-14-2026 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

For the FR plot gazers the JT9 versus some other FiiO open planar magnetic models.
Note: a horizontal line is my target on my test fixture. The plots are not made on any industry standard test fixtures nor targets.

channel matching: (left, right)

Thanks for the heads up! I purchased the JT9 to compare with my Sundara. I will end up returning whichever I find worse.

How would you say the JT9 is better than the Sundara?

 

[solderdude]

JT9 is more 'neutral' and does not have a sharpness peak.

For some reason the Sundara was not included in the comparison plots is fix now.

Below the difference between both headphones ... tonally.

 

[llmercll]

How do they sound to your ears though? What do you think of the timbre on the JT9?

 

[solderdude]

The tonal balance is more 'correct' on the JT9.
'Timbre' perception differs from person to person as timbre is something that is reconstructed in the brain.
So I can't say if your perception timbre is the same as mine.
For me the JT9 is more 'accurate' than Sundara.
Of course I can't guarantee you will prefer the JT9 over the Sundara or vice versa.

 

[Chanur]

I am incapable of hearing sound-stage on headphones, even when using trickery.
Imaging is fine (stable place in the stereo image for instruments).
The treble area can be fixed in the Sundara.
Thid could also affect sound-stage a little. The 'elevated' treble gives a 'highly detailed' impression and often goes with the impression of wider sound stage as treble is often stereo.
I have the JT7, JT9, FT7 and Sundara here (the rest of hifiman are all sold).
Preference is (filtered) FTT > JT9 > JT7 > Sundara but not everyone will hear them in that order.

There is no fatigue with the JT9 nor any sharpness.
Bass can be a tad on the woolly side with some recordings.

What is the FTT?

 

[solderdude]

FT7

back to FiiOback to measurementshome Published: Apr-06-2026, updated May-01-2026 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sh…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

 

[zonk]

The Sundara has no sharpness peak.

Sundara measurement by oratory1990
Fiio FT7 measurements by oratory1990

For me the Sundara looks much more balanced.

 

[zonk]

Well the JT9 has arrived and is reviewed.
Basically a much more sensitive and improved JT7.

JT9

back to Jade Audioback to measurementshome Published: Aug-14-2026 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

For the FR plot gazers the JT9 versus some other FiiO open planar magnetic models.
Note: a horizontal line is my target on my test fixture. The plots are not made on any industry standard test fixtures nor targets.

channel matching: (left, right)

For me your measurements are worthless. You don't say which measurement rig you use. And there is no target curve to see the deviation from your measurements to the target.

When I see the measurements of oratory1990, I find everything what's important.

 

[solderdude]

For me your measurements are worthless. You don't say which measurement rig you use. And there is no target curve to see the deviation from your measurements to the target.

When I see the measurements of oratory1990, I find everything what's important.

They are worthless to those who find it worthless.
The DIY dirt cheap measurement fixture is shown on the website and so is my target curve.

I suppose you will need to wait till someone sends a JT9 to Oratory and hope that your head/ear is exactly the same as the fixture he uses.

The Sundara has no sharpness peak.

Sundara measurement by oratory1990
Fiio FT7 measurements by oratory1990

For me the Sundara looks much more balanced.

Then by all means you should not buy the FT7 and use the Sundara.

(filtered) FT7 with fabric pads on my fixture (and ears) as I use it.

and below the FT7 with lambskin pads:

Sundara 2021 on my fixture:

Opinions differ, standards differ, targets differ, taste differs, measurements differ. Pick your poison.

 

[artins90]

For me your measurements are worthless. You don't say which measurement rig you use. And there is no target curve to see the deviation from your measurements to the target.

When I see the measurements of oratory1990, I find everything what's important.

The peak is there.
It shows in Amirm's review (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hifiman-sundara-review-headphone.22529/) and it's definitely noticeable just by listening to a simple frequency sweep on my own pair.

If you own them try it yourself, you will notice the volume rise in the 7-9k range compared to other frequencies : https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

 

[zonk]

The peak is there.
It shows in Amirm's review (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hifiman-sundara-review-headphone.22529/) and it's definitely noticeable just by listening to a simple frequency sweep on my own pair.

If you own them try it yourself, you will notice the volume rise in the 7-9k range compared to other frequencies : https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

There is no peak

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/an30....pdf?rlkey=8tv01b47ewrqeh2k99btkcdhw&e=1&dl=0

Sorry, I don't see a peak at 7-9kHz

 

[solderdude]

The fact that you don't see it on a specific test fixture does not mean it isn't there.
It only means it does not register on that specific test fixture in a particular position.
It can be seen on other test fixtures.

 

[zonk]

The fact that you don't see it on a specific test fixture does not mean it isn't there.
It only means it does not register on that specific test fixture in a particular position.
It can be seen on other test fixtures.

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There was a revision of this headphone in 2020. Not one of this says which version was measured.

All measurements of the 2020 version that I saw with GRAS or B&K5128 don't show that peak.

Usually I use this headphone with EQ, but sometimes without EQ. And if there should be a peak somewhere, it doesn't bother me. And if it doesn't bother me, I am sure many other people are happy with it too.

 

[solderdude]

Good point.

2020 version versus newer 2021 pad version on the exact same fixture:

As can be seen the peaking in the 2021 version has peaking higher up.
Then have a look at all these industry standard test fixtures, look at all of them... notice the 10kHz dip in all their measurements ?

Do you think it might be possible that dip 'obscures' any peaks in that 9-10kHz range?

Humans also have a dip in that area but not everyone has one in the same frequency band so some folks might be bothered by it while others might not or like the 'highly detailed' treble which the emphasis brings overall.

 

[llmercll]

I actually hear a pretty significant dip in my Sundaras between 7.2-7.6k. with or without Oratory EQ. The other frequencies are mostly flat.

Bought them two weeks ago

 

[solderdude]

Could very well be your hearing that does that.
The dip seen in HATS is usually around 9-10kHz but on human heads this could be as low as 7kHz and as high as 12kHz simply because not all human heads/ears have a similar concha and ear canal as test fixtures have. Above 6kHz the response becomes a crapshoot on human heads when measured at EDRP.
This is the fun part of industry standards ... they are constant over fixtures complying to the same standards. Actual heads are not.

 

[llmercll]

I considered that but i don't hear the dip on my studio monitors so i don't know

 

[Jeromeof]

Here is what I am getting for the JT9, JT7 and the Sundara:

I really like the Bass and Treble on the JT9 - the midrange might need some EQ

And against Harman:

 

[lopez40]

I have ordered a set of JT9. I will be comparing them against the Ananda and keeping the ones I like better.

 

[llmercll]

I have ordered a set of JT9. I will be comparing them against the Ananda and keeping the ones I like better.

What did you think?

After trying out the JT9 I can confidently say my Sundara are superior, particularly in the soundstage department.