Recommend Amp and DAC for Hifimen Sundara

[Nedaroth]

What is good pairing for these Sundara

 

[Weeb Labs]

Any of the popular budget amplifiers will be perfectly adequate for the Sundaras and the vast majority of other headphones on the market.

For example:

• Schiit Magni Heresy
• Schiit Magni 3+
• Topping L30
• JDS Labs Atom
• Topping A30

 

[Nedaroth]

Any of the popular budget amplifiers will be perfectly adequate for the Sundaras and the vast majority of other headphones on the market.

For example:

• Schiit Magni Heresy
• Schiit Magni 3+
• Topping L30
• JDS Labs Atom
• Topping A30

Thank you for the quick response, my first planar.

 

[Grotti]

What is good pairing for these Sundara

My answer will actually always be the same: RME ADI-2 fs or Pro fs.

 

[Nedaroth]

My answer will actually always be the same: RME ADI-2 fs or Pro fs.

Thanks Grotto I was worried about price.

 

[Grotti]

Thanks Grotto I was worried about price.

It was a lot of money for me too but I never regret the purchase.

 

[Weeb Labs]

Thanks Grotto I was worried about price.

The ADI-2 is a lovely piece of engineering and few would regret the purchase but any of the amplifiers listed above are equally transparent and perform just as well (if not sometimes better) in a technical sense.

 

[Nedaroth]

The ADI-2 is a lovely piece of engineering and few would regret the purchase but any of the amplifiers listed above are equally transparent and perform just as well (if not sometimes better) in a technical sense.

Yes it's nice for sure but to deep for my pockets I'm going for that JDS lab's Atom stack.

 

[Weeb Labs]

That's a good option. If a simple amplifier and DAC is all that you are looking for, there is no need to spend more than that.

 

[brachypelma44]

I have a Monolith THX 788 for each of my Sundaras. It's a simple all-in-one package amp/DAC/EQ, and it has the inputs and outputs that work for me. Sounds phenomenal to my ears.

 

[Nedaroth]

They are game changers for the industry that's for sure. That combo will be my end game. I hate using that term as lm an old man

 

[Cahudson42]

Slightly different suggestion: anyone of the amplifiers recommended - but the $110 Qudelix 5k for the DAC.

You get PEQ. You basically get an ADI-2 on the cheap.

Yes, yes Amir dissed the DAC performance of the Qudelix. But 'believe me' you will never hear any difference. It performs just fine.

 

[Rayman30]

+1 for Modi/Magni pairing, In my experience power output makes a audible difference with Sundaras, and the Schiit Magni Heresy produces a ton of it for the money.

 

[shmagoogly]

Amp: SCHIIT Magni Heresy
DAC: SCHIIT Modi Multibit

An affordable R2R DAC like the SCHIIT Modi Multibit allows your Sundaras to open up in sound stage a bit more.

It provides what I can only describe as more auditory spatial information or what most describe as a "holographic" sound. This pairs very well to the Sundaras because these cans have a great sound stage (for the price), but it can really excel paired to an "airy" R2R DAC.

For reference, I use a have the following setup: PC > USB Line to SCHIIT Bifrost 2 (DAC) > Balanced Output to Topping A90 (Amp) > HiFiMan Sundara

 

[Cahudson42]

An affordable R2R DAC

Uh oh.. here we go!

 

[Weeb Labs]

I'm sure that it does open up the soundstage.

All sorts of magic happens during sighted listening and/or comparisons.

 

[shmagoogly]

I'm sure that it does open up the soundstage.

All sorts of magic happens during sighted listening and/or comparisons.

lol I am new here so I think I am learning that I may have to be careful with the way I describe sounds.

In terms of my personal taste, I have settled on the R2R sound production. I don't know what else to say. Listening is subjective and I hear an appreciable difference in sound dimension when switching between R2R and Delta-Sigma technology - something I can't unhear.

But this is about the OP's question - don't want to lose sight of that lol.

My final recommendation: SCHIIT Stack (Modi MB + Heresy). It will run you for about $350 ($249 + $99).

 

[devopsprodude]

Based on Amir's measurements, I would avoid anything multibit from Schiit for now. Get the Modi 3+ instead, if you're going to get the cheaper Schiit stack.

 

[shmagoogly]

Based on Amir's measurements, I would avoid anything multibit from Schiit for now. Get the Modi 3+ instead, if you're going to get the cheaper Schiit stack.

I understand the importance of quantitative measurements as these are as close to scientific metrics for performance measurements as we can get, but I don't think most people know how to interpret them fairly.

By this I mean that we should take care in understanding the real world implications of these metrics.

Most users use these metrics in "relative" terms... "oh look! This DAC has less floor noise than that other DAC by a relative magnitude of 200x" when in reality that measurement may have already been so low as to be imperceptible to begin with.

For reference, I have the Modi MB, Bifrost 2, and listen to them on my Senn HD650, Senn HD800S, HFM Sundara and HFM Arya. It's fine.

I still prefer their MB sounds over my Topping D90 MQA, Matrix Audio Mini-I Pro 3 and SMSL M500 V2 MQA.

But yea, not trying to start any debate here, I just want to encourage people to take a holistic approach to considering audio equipment not based exclusively on measurements.

 

[devopsprodude]

I understand the importance of quantitative measurements as these are as close to scientific metrics for performance measurements as we can get, but I don't think most people know how to interpret them fairly.

By this I mean that we should take care in understanding the real world implications of these metrics.

Most users use these metrics in "relative" terms... "oh look! This DAC has less floor noise than that other DAC by a relative magnitude of 200x" when in reality that measurement may have already been so low as to be imperceptible to begin with.

For reference, I have the Modi MB, Bifrost 2, and listen to them on my Senn HD650, Senn HD800S, HFM Sundara and HFM Arya. It's fine.

I still prefer their MB sounds over my Topping D90 MQA, Matrix Audio Mini-I Pro 3 and SMSL M500 V2 MQA.

But yea, not trying to start any debate here, I just want to encourage people to take a holistic approach to considering audio equipment not based exclusively on measurements.

If you take a holistic approach, measurements must still be considered and the Modi 3+ costs less and has better performance than the Modi Multibit in every way measurable.