Great review, I keep searching for a better all around headphone at the $350 price range than the Sundara and I can't seem to find it. The fact that it competes so well with the Elex, which is double it's price, is quite the testament.
@@chuckolatte600 Are there any others in the $400 or less price category that you feel compete as an all-around headphone with the Sundara? I realize there are other headphones that do specific things better, but for all around use?
@@chuckolatte600 Thank you, I''ve been super impressed with them. The only thing the Sundara is lacking on, in my opinion, that I Wish was better, is for Online FPS Gaming. Positional ques are a bit difficult to differentiate vs. the Sennheiser HD 560s and HD 58x I had previously. For music though, The Sundara is incredible and it takes very well to EQ without any distortion that I can notice so I can play a very large variety of music and really enjoy them. I think they are my "end game" for a while.
A week later, I have the Ollo S4x and the Avantone Planar on the way to me haha. They both get rave reviews, Will test them against the Sundara and see which I prefer. My sundara's left driver is acting up, it has a ticking noise when listening to music at higher volumes in the 60 hz and below range. I confirmed this with a frequency sweep. I'm not very happy about that after only a little over a month of use. I have a feeling, if the S4x or the Planar live up to the hype, or even just rival the Sundara, The Sundara will be going back. I'm not pleased with driver issues so early on.
@@chefgav1 it's not the quality control. It's the way the drivers are designed. The aluminium diaphragm is held by a extremely thin layer of plastic or some material which will break at some point during normal use. Once it breaks the diaphram just rattle or won't play music at all. I don't think any focal headphones will last 5 yeas on daily use. Sundara on other has quality control isseus. Poor jacks and poorly solderd wires. The driver usually don't fail all that often.
Mmm, provided that Drop is willing to honor the warranty and replace/fix the unit when issues do arise, I think it's all good. Plus, there are plenty of Elex users that have yet to encounter any issues (including myself so far).
Is it really balanced that makes the headphone so much better, or is it more likely the much greater power that comes from a balanced connection, that could on theory be archived with a powerful single ended amp as well?
Great review and another excellent comparison video that actually helps those of us who've head at least one of the two to give us an understanding of what you're describing. I want to share something I've found recently. For those who are looking at the Sundara please read this comment if you own the OG HE4XX from Massdrop, yes from before the name change to Drop, because I just might save you some money. For those that have an OG set of the Massdrop HE4XX with the 2.5mm connectors that are looking at the Sundara I can help you save the $300 to $350 minus a $65 set of Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads. The Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads are basically the same pads the Sundara 2021 use. Same foam density, same shape and thickness, same inner perforations, same soft part that contacts your skin, so basically the same thing. Get a set and put those on your OG HE4XX and bingo you have the Sundara with maybe just a little more sub base but that could just be in my head. I got a pair of Sundaras and the wife and I blind tested them against my OG HE4XX with the pad swap. We did this two different times on two different days with 10 tries each to guess which set we were listening to. She did the swaps between sets and I did them for her. Out of 10 tries each on those two different days we both ended up with thinking the OG HE4XX was the Sundara because it was the set we thought sounded better. This was probably due to the hype around the Sundara on my part but the wife doesn't follow things in this hobby the way I do or watch a ton of reviews like me. I was lead to believe the Sundara were so much better than anything at the mid tier from Hifiman that came before them. I found out that this is not the case for me at least. So this very long story short if you have a set of OG HE4XX back when they still had the 2.5mm connectors at the cups just get a set of the Elite Hybrid Pads that Dekoni sells for the Sundara and put them on your HE4XX and for around a $65 cost of the pads you'll have the sound of the Sundara and maybe even a little better in the base/sub base department but I mean only marginally better and that could just be in my head. I truly hope this helps somebody out there to save some money and further enjoy this hobby. I do not know if the newer HE4XX from Drop with the 3.5mm connector at the cups will transform like my OG set did with a simple pad swap but it may be worth giving it a shot...
Nowadays I tend to hear about far less QC issues from the Sundara than the Elex, but to be fair I've never experienced any issues with either of my pairs. Although the Sundaras are also an excellent HP, they're colder than the Elex when it comes to their sound signature. It's easy to get used to them, I'm just saying don't expect a very similar presentation.
Chuckolatte, i have news for you. The pricing of headphones, have absolutely NOTHING to do with their performance quality, this is made painfully obvious when you compare the Sundara with the Focal Clear MG, for instance, the Sundara beats it in almost every single scientifically measurable quality (except for one, bass accuracy), despite being 1/4 of the price of the Focal Clear MG. :P You have made a very biased review, because you assume the focal elex is better, because it's more expensive, you didn't judge the headphone on its actual performance merits, you just have an inherently better opinion of the more expensive product, because, you're a snob, not a critic (AKA, an audiophile). The focal elex is boomy and dark, not super dark, but on the dark-side of neutral, fyi, the Sundara is actually closer to neutral than the elex is, because reality is pretty sibilant, and the sundara mirrors that almost perfectly. :P Oh and also, why do you call the focal elex "warm" AND "natural/neutral"? You do realize those concepts are literally mutually exclusive, right? Neutral means it's not cold, its not warm, it's not bright or dark, it means it's not colored in any way, it's perfectly in between, perfectly balanced, that is what natural/neutral means. So which is it? Is it warm, or neutral? Because it cannot be both. :P
I own the Sundara and was thinking of upgrading to Focal Clear MG, but not anymore, actually I've only tried one other headphone that sounds better regardless of the price, and that was the new Ananda Stealth, but I didn't like the big egg shaped cups and thought the comfort was worse.
@@kentbergstrom3020 Hifiman Edition XS is the upgrade to the Ananda Stealth, much cheaper too. xD Don't worry about it though, the Sundara is actually one the the best performing headphones in the world, i can't think of any obvious upgrades at the top of my head, idunno, maybe some Abyss headphones? I mean at those price points... You don't need an upgrade, you're fine! ;) FYI, the Ananda is a HARD downgrade from the Sundara. xD Not sure about the stealth version, but the Edition XS is a sidegrade to the Sundara. Sundara is better at mids and worse at bass, and the edition XS is a better all-rounder, performance-wise (pretty much an 8.5/10 in all three frequency categories)... Unfortunately though, planars with that headphone shape tend to have a specific type of sound profile, as a result of the membrane-shape not allowing symmetric vibrations. So the Edition XS has the Ananda/Arya/HE-1000 SE sound profile, with that typical dip in the high-mids/low-treble.
Hey man, do you have any experience with the Audio technica r70x? I'm looking for neutral open back cans with low distortion {especially in bass region} and good build under 400 bucks, what would you suggest?
Doesn't the balanced vs single-ended argument depend on the amp? As in, if you have a single ended amp capable of powering the Elex, wouldn't that be just as good as a comparable balanced amp with the same power specs? It's my understanding that the only actual benefit of balanced is lower noise.
At this price point, it's probably one of the better bass responses you will get. You can also apply a bit of a bass shelf to further extend bass extension.
@@ammar5400 In some areas, but not all areas. Given the price difference the increase in performance seems modest at best, no where near double the price increase in my opinion.
Great Video I have to agree with most things, though I find both headphones comfy. With the Sundaras the side pressure annoys me more that the top pressure of the Elex Both headphones benefit from a balanced connection, but with Focal it almost becomes another headphone Elex for me is the all rounder, but for classical music i often prefer the Sundara
I have the Fidelio X2. I would like something different. Maybe closed back for sound isolation or planars/electro stats. Would you recommend the Sundara and or maybe the Sivga 006?
Mmm depends. If you like the Fidelio X2, you must be into a v-shaped sound signature. In that case, I think you might like the audiotechnica m40x. Not exact, but it's also a hype-ish sound signature.
@@chuckolatte600 I like the fit and the build and the wife soundstage but they can have a bit too much bass for some applications. I would like to feel something faster with more details. That's why I was thinking about getting the Sundara or even Koss esp 950.
i was a fidelio user too and while theyre decent as a first step you do wanna eventually move to something a bit more neutral...i would recommend the hd6xx or hd660s or sundaras
Hi :), that is not really an adapter fault but faulty connection between the cable and that black metal ending part (inside) at least in my case. At first i also thought that it is an adapter. The cable is garbage not only because it is stiff but also because it will break the second day of listening. But the headphones are great.
If you were to pick one headphone that you consider for pure music enjoyment and which would give you that wow factor below the 1800$ price range, what headphone would it be? I have listened to the Sundara and loved their punchy slammy bass but the comfort wasn't quite there for me. I want an upgrade over the Sundara up to 1800$ that would provide me the same punchy bass and slam that the Sundara has.
Bro you just made me see that HD 600 is then better since mids are very important mixing music, vocals etc, I heard and there is also a dip at 2khz, that is a no no, then HD 600 might just be perfect even though its cheaper than these. why there isa none of thenm with just what we want
Hd600. I've tried the 6xx and I think the hd600 has noticably better presentation of the treble and I don't recall a noticeable difference with mid-range
Bro you review headphones of about 100's of dollars, yet your shooting setup is so bad. Just upgrade it. A good table and some led lights won't cost much.
Yeah it's not about the table itself, it's about the space. I have a table that I built particularly for reviews, but I only have good lighting in the kitchen, haha. Working on it though.
Sundara :Prepare for treble Elex: and make it double I would like to add that the sundara might not fit everyone. For example I don't have a particularly big head , so at the minimum setting for the headband..well they wiggle on my head . It endup being uncomfortable because of the fear of a wrong turn ...on the floor. I had to be extremely careful with the sundara making it a stressful experience even though they sound amazing. I would have preferred a 💪 💪 💪 clamp force on the sundara
How does the hifiman sundara sound with music like Metallica and rock music or rap or r&b just in general is it a good all a rounder for all generes of music and I will be using the fiio k5 pro amp/dac combo
It's a good all-rounder, but I feel it works better for rock/metal because of their speediness and snappiness. Although I still like it for hip-hop/bass music, it might work a little better if they were a little warmer.
i got so confused near the end because you barely had anything bad to say about the sundaras in contrary to the elex during the review and then you say you prefer the elex in most cases... ?
Right, I prefer the sound of the Elex. But the fact that I can't have them on my head for longer than 30 minutes at a time was an absolute deal-breaker for me. I still have them for comparisons but I NEVER use them...
Good question. It's too soon to say since they're a relatively new product. HiFiMAN products have been known to have some quality control issues, but they've really improved lately. So tough to say.
How are you hearing a wider soundstage with the balanced cables? Like I can understand that from headphone to headphone soundstage changes, but balanced shouldn't do any difference what so ever, the only thing you should notice from it is a higher volume, and a noise reduction, which by the way, at the cable length these headphones have should be non-existant.. This killed the review for me tbh, if a reviewer sees a soundstage difference from a balanced cable, big red flag that you are experiencing confirmation bias and not really someone I can trust for a comparison..
Do you agree that certain dacs give a larger soundstage than others? If so then you can understand that using balanced jack on a dac is like using a different dac. Personally, I have experienced different soundstage widths with different setups. Louder =/= improved soundstage. Where in the hell you get that from? And reviewer has nothing to gain by stating he feels the soundstage widens with balanced. What you hear is what you hear. Unless you think he is purposely lying, which would make no sense whatsoever.
@@h1a8 What I feel is happening is confirmation bias, the reviewer thinks he hears wider soundstage when there's in fact no improvement. That's often what happens when one expects change but the reality is that the mesurments are the same. I am telling you this because the way a balanced amp works is by having two of the SAME amp powering the cable, one is offset compared to the other to give the balanced output (go check how it works for a more in-depth expalanation) But, the gist of it is that basically, you are using two of the same amp instead of one. Tell me how that is supposed to improve soundstage, it's just noise reduction which shouldn't improve soundstage and a louder volume which, again shouldn't increase soundstage. Now for your question, do i think dac can increase soundstage? Sure, if you compare my shitty static filled garbage motherboard dac against anything, it will have shitty soundstage, but after a certain point, dacs are just snake oil in my opinion (I tried 3k$ dacs and it didn't make a difference for me compared to the apple dongle or my topping d30) because the dac's job is just to turn 0s and 1s into an analog signal. I beleive soundstage is mostly an acoustic effect, that you can't reproduce with software or hardware other than the headphone it self. If a dac or an amp could make such a big difference in terms of soundstage, that means that a simple software you could download could also improve soundstage. Trust me I tried those, and the're all fake, and people know the're fake because they didn't pay 3k$ for the software so their expectations are low, thus, no confirmation bias.
Balanced connections usually have much lower crosstalk, regardless of cable length, and that certainly could influence perception of soundstage in some cases. I'd be doubtful whether this difference would be significant in all setups, but I wouldn't doubt that the review experienced a difference with his particular amp and setup. Also possible that the amp he used simply had a better balanced than SE output stage.
Don't buy the Focal. They have bad build quality. The headband breaks because it's made out of plastic! Absolute idiotic design flaw. They want 1600 for them to fix it, in case it breaks. Focal is nuts.
Thanks for this, perfect timing!! Was eyeing the Elex as an upgrade to my Sundaras, but it looks like I’ll stick with my Sundaras for now
Did you upgrade?
I find my sundara’s a bit boring
Oh my lord I've been looking for this comparison! Bro!!!!!
I own a pair of Sundara and yes , i find the description to be accurate , but i think that it benefits from a balanced connection as well.
Great review, I keep searching for a better all around headphone at the $350 price range than the Sundara and I can't seem to find it. The fact that it competes so well with the Elex, which is double it's price, is quite the testament.
Oh yeah. Mid-range cans are really stepping up their game recently!
@@chuckolatte600 Are there any others in the $400 or less price category that you feel compete as an all-around headphone with the Sundara? I realize there are other headphones that do specific things better, but for all around use?
@@jasonfranciosa Frankly, no. It's tough to be the jack of all trades without lacking too much in one category.
@@chuckolatte600 Thank you, I''ve been super impressed with them. The only thing the Sundara is lacking on, in my opinion, that I Wish was better, is for Online FPS Gaming. Positional ques are a bit difficult to differentiate vs. the Sennheiser HD 560s and HD 58x I had previously.
For music though, The Sundara is incredible and it takes very well to EQ without any distortion that I can notice so I can play a very large variety of music and really enjoy them.
I think they are my "end game" for a while.
A week later, I have the Ollo S4x and the Avantone Planar on the way to me haha. They both get rave reviews, Will test them against the Sundara and see which I prefer. My sundara's left driver is acting up, it has a ticking noise when listening to music at higher volumes in the 60 hz and below range. I confirmed this with a frequency sweep. I'm not very happy about that after only a little over a month of use.
I have a feeling, if the S4x or the Planar live up to the hype, or even just rival the Sundara, The Sundara will be going back. I'm not pleased with driver issues so early on.
I was able to snag the sundara for 249. Glad to hear that they fit what I’m looking for!
Sundara with driver and cable problems ? Or Elex with clipping and unmatched drivers ? Hard to decide ....
Unmatched has a different meaning. Mismatched is the word you are looking for.
@@albertweedsteinthethuggeni7797 thanks a lot
Elex does have channel imbalance problems. It's hard to get a pair that is fully channel balanced. Also they do have driver failures.
You missed poor quality controls for focal
@@chefgav1 it's not the quality control. It's the way the drivers are designed. The aluminium diaphragm is held by a extremely thin layer of plastic or some material which will break at some point during normal use. Once it breaks the diaphram just rattle or won't play music at all.
I don't think any focal headphones will last 5 yeas on daily use.
Sundara on other has quality control isseus. Poor jacks and poorly solderd wires. The driver usually don't fail all that often.
thanks man....., I have requested for this comparison.
Ask and ye shall receive ;)
Vs Ananda next plss
Thank you, good Job. Peace
Methinks the qc issues of the Elex alone disqualify it from a purchase at all..
Mmm, provided that Drop is willing to honor the warranty and replace/fix the unit when issues do arise, I think it's all good. Plus, there are plenty of Elex users that have yet to encounter any issues (including myself so far).
Is it really balanced that makes the headphone so much better, or is it more likely the much greater power that comes from a balanced connection, that could on theory be archived with a powerful single ended amp as well?
Great review and another excellent comparison video that actually helps those of us who've head at least one of the two to give us an understanding of what you're describing. I want to share something I've found recently.
For those who are looking at the Sundara please read this comment if you own the OG HE4XX from Massdrop, yes from before the name change to Drop, because I just might save you some money.
For those that have an OG set of the Massdrop HE4XX with the 2.5mm connectors that are looking at the Sundara I can help you save the $300 to $350 minus a $65 set of Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads. The Dekoni Elite Hybrid Pads are basically the same pads the Sundara 2021 use. Same foam density, same shape and thickness, same inner perforations, same soft part that contacts your skin, so basically the same thing. Get a set and put those on your OG HE4XX and bingo you have the Sundara with maybe just a little more sub base but that could just be in my head. I got a pair of Sundaras and the wife and I blind tested them against my OG HE4XX with the pad swap. We did this two different times on two different days with 10 tries each to guess which set we were listening to. She did the swaps between sets and I did them for her. Out of 10 tries each on those two different days we both ended up with thinking the OG HE4XX was the Sundara because it was the set we thought sounded better. This was probably due to the hype around the Sundara on my part but the wife doesn't follow things in this hobby the way I do or watch a ton of reviews like me. I was lead to believe the Sundara were so much better than anything at the mid tier from Hifiman that came before them. I found out that this is not the case for me at least.
So this very long story short if you have a set of OG HE4XX back when they still had the 2.5mm connectors at the cups just get a set of the Elite Hybrid Pads that Dekoni sells for the Sundara and put them on your HE4XX and for around a $65 cost of the pads you'll have the sound of the Sundara and maybe even a little better in the base/sub base department but I mean only marginally better and that could just be in my head. I truly hope this helps somebody out there to save some money and further enjoy this hobby.
I do not know if the newer HE4XX from Drop with the 3.5mm connector at the cups will transform like my OG set did with a simple pad swap but it may be worth giving it a shot...
Loud and clear voice I don't know if I am hearing it stereo in my headphones or what it is ..but sounds great..
so i had some elex, which broke like a week later. Loved the sound, so do you think the sundaras could work for me?
Nowadays I tend to hear about far less QC issues from the Sundara than the Elex, but to be fair I've never experienced any issues with either of my pairs.
Although the Sundaras are also an excellent HP, they're colder than the Elex when it comes to their sound signature. It's easy to get used to them, I'm just saying don't expect a very similar presentation.
wooow very amusing thank you. this is humor..iam happy wirh my 560 s
Nice review exelent voice for singing?Instrument separation?
Chuckolatte, i have news for you.
The pricing of headphones, have absolutely NOTHING to do with their performance quality, this is made painfully obvious when you compare the Sundara with the Focal Clear MG, for instance, the Sundara beats it in almost every single scientifically measurable quality (except for one, bass accuracy), despite being 1/4 of the price of the Focal Clear MG. :P
You have made a very biased review, because you assume the focal elex is better, because it's more expensive, you didn't judge the headphone on its actual performance merits, you just have an inherently better opinion of the more expensive product, because, you're a snob, not a critic (AKA, an audiophile).
The focal elex is boomy and dark, not super dark, but on the dark-side of neutral, fyi, the Sundara is actually closer to neutral than the elex is, because reality is pretty sibilant, and the sundara mirrors that almost perfectly. :P
Oh and also, why do you call the focal elex "warm" AND "natural/neutral"? You do realize those concepts are literally mutually exclusive, right? Neutral means it's not cold, its not warm, it's not bright or dark, it means it's not colored in any way, it's perfectly in between, perfectly balanced, that is what natural/neutral means.
So which is it? Is it warm, or neutral? Because it cannot be both. :P
I own the Sundara and was thinking of upgrading to Focal Clear MG, but not anymore, actually I've only tried one other headphone that sounds better regardless of the price, and that was the new Ananda Stealth, but I didn't like the big egg shaped cups and thought the comfort was worse.
@@kentbergstrom3020 Hifiman Edition XS is the upgrade to the Ananda Stealth, much cheaper too. xD
Don't worry about it though, the Sundara is actually one the the best performing headphones in the world, i can't think of any obvious upgrades at the top of my head, idunno, maybe some Abyss headphones? I mean at those price points... You don't need an upgrade, you're fine! ;)
FYI, the Ananda is a HARD downgrade from the Sundara. xD
Not sure about the stealth version, but the Edition XS is a sidegrade to the Sundara. Sundara is better at mids and worse at bass, and the edition XS is a better all-rounder, performance-wise (pretty much an 8.5/10 in all three frequency categories)... Unfortunately though, planars with that headphone shape tend to have a specific type of sound profile, as a result of the membrane-shape not allowing symmetric vibrations.
So the Edition XS has the Ananda/Arya/HE-1000 SE sound profile, with that typical dip in the high-mids/low-treble.
Hey man, do you have any experience with the Audio technica r70x? I'm looking for neutral open back cans with low distortion {especially in bass region} and good build under 400 bucks, what would you suggest?
For low distortion you're gonna want a planar aka Sundara.
@@ReTr093 Honestly, yeah. The Sundaras sound like they might be something you'd be looking for. Although, I've yet to listen to the R70X...
One of the best if not the best video sound on TH-cam on your video of your speech,why don't u teach others how to do that.
I have the sundara and enjoy them eqed. Is the Elex in mint condition for 500 (CAD) worth it to compliment the Sundara?
Doesn't the balanced vs single-ended argument depend on the amp? As in, if you have a single ended amp capable of powering the Elex, wouldn't that be just as good as a comparable balanced amp with the same power specs? It's my understanding that the only actual benefit of balanced is lower noise.
Would I get a sub-woofer like bass experience with Sundara? Good for playing EDM?
At this price point, it's probably one of the better bass responses you will get. You can also apply a bit of a bass shelf to further extend bass extension.
@@chuckolatte600 Hey Chucky, will be getting the Sundara's soon
buttt the Monolith M1060C does kick hard in the bass
Isn't the Elex $700? It would be a $350 increase in price (Double)
Well it's a better headphone overall
@@ammar5400 In some areas, but not all areas. Given the price difference the increase in performance seems modest at best, no where near double the price increase in my opinion.
Now they r 350 on drop
@@shadouxg7150 ? What is. The Elex is $550 on Drop right now. Great price but still $200 more than the Sundara
@@jasonfranciosa the elex has so much better soundstage.
Great Video
I have to agree with most things, though I find both headphones comfy. With the Sundaras the side pressure annoys me more that the top pressure of the Elex
Both headphones benefit from a balanced connection, but with Focal it almost becomes another headphone
Elex for me is the all rounder, but for classical music i often prefer the Sundara
Is this Justin long lol? Sound just like him
I have the Fidelio X2. I would like something different. Maybe closed back for sound isolation or planars/electro stats.
Would you recommend the Sundara and or maybe the Sivga 006?
Mmm depends. If you like the Fidelio X2, you must be into a v-shaped sound signature. In that case, I think you might like the audiotechnica m40x. Not exact, but it's also a hype-ish sound signature.
@@chuckolatte600 I like the fit and the build and the wife soundstage but they can have a bit too much bass for some applications.
I would like to feel something faster with more details. That's why I was thinking about getting the Sundara or even Koss esp 950.
@@westsenkovec I've yet to hear the esp 950, but I think you may like the Sundara.
Grado rs2e
i was a fidelio user too and while theyre decent as a first step you do wanna eventually move to something a bit more neutral...i would recommend the hd6xx or hd660s or sundaras
Hi :), that is not really an adapter fault but faulty connection between the cable and that black metal ending part (inside) at least in my case. At first i also thought that it is an adapter. The cable is garbage not only because it is stiff but also because it will break the second day of listening. But the headphones are great.
If you were to pick one headphone that you consider for pure music enjoyment and which would give you that wow factor below the 1800$ price range, what headphone would it be? I have listened to the Sundara and loved their punchy slammy bass but the comfort wasn't quite there for me. I want an upgrade over the Sundara up to 1800$ that would provide me the same punchy bass and slam that the Sundara has.
I guess it depends what wows you. Wider staging and imaging, details, or just a tuning that perfectly matches your preference?
what mic are u using?
Back then it was just my Galaxy S20+'s mic, held up close about a jazz hand in front of me!
Sundaras are 350. So half the price of the focal.
Changes perspective and comparison
Just got myself one for ~$280 here. Awesome deal!
@@HarryUnchained Nice!
@@HarryUnchained woah! from where dude?
Lol the intro woke me up!
Bro you just made me see that HD 600 is then better since mids are very important mixing music, vocals etc, I heard and there is also a dip at 2khz, that is a no no, then HD 600 might just be perfect even though its cheaper than these. why there isa none of thenm with just what we want
Elex or Hd6xx money is not a problem I like neutrality and natural sound (treble and mids) Bass is not my fav. What you reccomend please
Hd600. I've tried the 6xx and I think the hd600 has noticably better presentation of the treble and I don't recall a noticeable difference with mid-range
Bro you review headphones of about 100's of dollars, yet your shooting setup is so bad. Just upgrade it. A good table and some led lights won't cost much.
Yeah it's not about the table itself, it's about the space. I have a table that I built particularly for reviews, but I only have good lighting in the kitchen, haha. Working on it though.
Sundara :Prepare for treble
Elex: and make it double
I would like to add that the sundara might not fit everyone.
For example I don't have a particularly big head , so at the minimum setting for the headband..well they wiggle on my head . It endup being uncomfortable because of the fear of a wrong turn ...on the floor.
I had to be extremely careful with the sundara making it a stressful experience even though they sound amazing.
I would have preferred a 💪 💪 💪 clamp force on the sundara
How does the hifiman sundara sound with music like Metallica and rock music or rap or r&b just in general is it a good all a rounder for all generes of music and I will be using the fiio k5 pro amp/dac combo
It's a good all-rounder, but I feel it works better for rock/metal because of their speediness and snappiness. Although I still like it for hip-hop/bass music, it might work a little better if they were a little warmer.
i got so confused near the end because you barely had anything bad to say about the sundaras in contrary to the elex during the review and then you say you prefer the elex in most cases... ?
Right, I prefer the sound of the Elex. But the fact that I can't have them on my head for longer than 30 minutes at a time was an absolute deal-breaker for me. I still have them for comparisons but I NEVER use them...
Without dropping the Sundaras, and with normal use like 1-3 hrs a day,
How long would Sundara last?
Good question. It's too soon to say since they're a relatively new product. HiFiMAN products have been known to have some quality control issues, but they've really improved lately. So tough to say.
I wear my he400i 2020 edition everyday for at least 2 hours from last October till now (April 2021). Zero issues so far.
How are you hearing a wider soundstage with the balanced cables? Like I can understand that from headphone to headphone soundstage changes, but balanced shouldn't do any difference what so ever, the only thing you should notice from it is a higher volume, and a noise reduction, which by the way, at the cable length these headphones have should be non-existant.. This killed the review for me tbh, if a reviewer sees a soundstage difference from a balanced cable, big red flag that you are experiencing confirmation bias and not really someone I can trust for a comparison..
Do you agree that certain dacs give a larger soundstage than others? If so then you can understand that using balanced jack on a dac is like using a different dac.
Personally, I have experienced different soundstage widths with different setups. Louder =/= improved soundstage. Where in the hell you get that from? And reviewer has nothing to gain by stating he feels the soundstage widens with balanced. What you hear is what you hear. Unless you think he is purposely lying, which would make no sense whatsoever.
@@h1a8 What I feel is happening is confirmation bias, the reviewer thinks he hears wider soundstage when there's in fact no improvement. That's often what happens when one expects change but the reality is that the mesurments are the same.
I am telling you this because the way a balanced amp works is by having two of the SAME amp powering the cable, one is offset compared to the other to give the balanced output (go check how it works for a more in-depth expalanation) But, the gist of it is that basically, you are using two of the same amp instead of one. Tell me how that is supposed to improve soundstage, it's just noise reduction which shouldn't improve soundstage and a louder volume which, again shouldn't increase soundstage.
Now for your question, do i think dac can increase soundstage? Sure, if you compare my shitty static filled garbage motherboard dac against anything, it will have shitty soundstage, but after a certain point, dacs are just snake oil in my opinion (I tried 3k$ dacs and it didn't make a difference for me compared to the apple dongle or my topping d30) because the dac's job is just to turn 0s and 1s into an analog signal.
I beleive soundstage is mostly an acoustic effect, that you can't reproduce with software or hardware other than the headphone it self. If a dac or an amp could make such a big difference in terms of soundstage, that means that a simple software you could download could also improve soundstage. Trust me I tried those, and the're all fake, and people know the're fake because they didn't pay 3k$ for the software so their expectations are low, thus, no confirmation bias.
Balanced connections usually have much lower crosstalk, regardless of cable length, and that certainly could influence perception of soundstage in some cases. I'd be doubtful whether this difference would be significant in all setups, but I wouldn't doubt that the review experienced a difference with his particular amp and setup. Also possible that the amp he used simply had a better balanced than SE output stage.
Any favorite closed back under $500?
By default, the m40x so far. Though I haven't tried out any Fostex models yet
560s or the sundara????
Soon :)
Ahhahahahhah the intro !!
isn't the focal elex like 700?
Not if you buy pre-owned or wait for a sale. They have typically gone on sale around the holidays/black friday
Vs hd600 pls
I should have both the Sundara vs HD600 and Elex vs HD600 comparisons up on the channel. Take a look at those
you need to be voice actor
I do a bit of Voiceover work here and there on the side hehe
U seem to be the only TH-camr out there that finds Focal headphones uncomfortable :(
I KNOW, RIGHT? Makes me sad since they sound so excellent...
You guys aren’t alone. The Clears for me felt heavy on my head too
maybe gl2000 vs elex.
Gotta get my hands on those lol
With your voice u should be on the radio , maybe u are ...
Don't buy the Focal. They have bad build quality. The headband breaks because it's made out of plastic! Absolute idiotic design flaw. They want 1600 for them to fix it, in case it breaks. Focal is nuts.