Someone just made a post showing that they’re now $150 on amazon. For that price are they actually that bad? The name only goes against them because I know they sound nothing like sundaras. But with eq, are they really worse value than other $150 closed backs? K371?
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I put in the mods today for these. They knock the whole volume down a bit, which allows me to turn up the volume more now, which also helps the low end come forward more. They do tame the mids some, and they knock a tad off the high end, but they still sound a little intense to me. Overall it is an improvement, but it isn’t up to par with the 565C in my opinion. But I’ll keep these for now and see. They still need to break in some technically. Not as drastic of a change as I thought.
I think they’re pretty good for a closed headphone at their price. I mostly use them out of my 5k and the EQ isn’t essential for casual listening
google sundara closed review it’ll blow your mind
They’re pretty bad. I don’t think you can salvage the sound even with EQ.
Just recently got them at a discounted price. I also have the open Sundara and the LCD-X.
I took the closed ones over to my girlfriend’s place so I don’t bother her with open cans while she works and the closed ones are about the same as you would imagine CLOSED Sundara to sound. I haven’t heard anything better at this price. After a few hours of burn-in they don’t bother me at all.
I run them with either Fiio K7 or the Zen stack.“after a few hours of burn-in”
Yes, that’s how it works. If you had 2 pairs of the same headphones or speakers you would know.
You know burn in is just bullshit right? It was a thing in the 70s when the material was way stiffer and needed time to reach its peak, now the “burn in” is done when the manufacturer tests the driver for QC.
If you had 2 pairs of the same headphones or speakers you would know.
2 pairs of the same headphone or speaker don’t ever sound exactly the same.
So you can tell a difference between two pairs of the exact headphones but not tell which is the new one?
There is a pretty big difference between closed back and open back. If people prefer open back, all closed backs will feel “off.” If people in here prefer the open-back sundaras, they will probably not like the closed-backs.
Personally, I much prefer a close and intimate sound of a closed back. I have sensitive hearing, and open backs are too distracting for me. I still hear subtle things around me, even at loud volumes, so I can’t get into the music the same. I’ve tried a few and they feel too far away. Just personal preference is all. I don’t want to feel like I’m in a concert hall, I want to feel like I’m in a recording studio.
I have ordered these Sundaras and they arrive tomorrow. I very much enjoy the Monoprice 565c, and I’m trying to repair one side even now. I can try to come back and report what I think.
My main pair is Sony 1AM2, and some Koss headphones. While I’ve not tried a lot of higher end headphones, I’ve tried $900Focals and $900 Sonys. I returned the Focals because they had zero bass, and the the highs were not even that good. The Sonys were great, but so were my $300 Sonys, they had such a close sound signature I couldn’t justify keeping them so I sold them. I prefer a slightly W sound signature for reference, and I can’t stand sibilance.
I also have my son’s Dakoni Blues that are nice, and he has 2 watts on them so they are powered well. I’ll compare to these and see.
I also just ordered a pair of the closed back sundaras. At that price they’re too interesting not to. I have a pair of anandas that I really like, but I completely relate to what you’re saying about open back. I live in an apartment in central London and it’s rarely actually quiet. Background sounds are often so distracting that regular speakers or open back headphones can’t really be immersive.
how did they end up sounding?
Very mid forward, which is good for vocals and classical. Treble can be a little harsher than I had hoped. Bass is good and clean, but not bass cannons like the HE-R9. They hit a little harder than I had thought, which I like.
Overall I like it, but I ordered the mods from custom cans in the UK to tame the treble and mids some. I wanted a replacement for my 565c since they are not fixable, which is a warmer/smoother sound. Perfect for classical and less intense music.
For more involving music like electronic, the sound is too intense and feels almost sibilant at times which is still enough to make me feel uncomfortable. These are very good, but they are special use. I wouldn’t consider them good all-around headphones since the sound profile overly emphasizes the mids.
Thanks for the response— I actually ended up getting em too before I saw this. I found the bass to be really nice, but mids I felt a little muddy. Somehow the treble is muddy and sibilant at the same time for me haha. I actually really like it with some eq though
I love how this post starts with, “someone just made a post about this”
Can’t comment on the sundara closed or k371s, but if you’re searching for value at that specific price point for more options and willing to look in the second hand market then Sony MDR-1AM2 for example can be commonly found under 200 and even around 100 sometimes. As for brand new I recall Meze 99 neos on sale before at 150 as well.
It’s not worth it, shure 840s would sound better.
Bad, better to get DT700 pro X for $269 today
that is almost double the price lol
I tried them at CanJam SoCal and found them to be decent. For 149, I may pick a set up
Great with a little EQ and when I can’t use my Aryas
I commented on another post about these so I’ll just copy paste what I said.
I have them. People say these are dogshit but I’m not sure where they’re coming from. Though I’m probably not qualified to talk about sound as I struggle to pickout the differences betwren all my various gear unless they are extremely obvious.
But anyway, my thoughts. They are fine. For $150, they’re not bad. I have found no problem with the sound. Nothing stood out to me as bad whilst listening to it. Bass is fast, and phonk songs like DVRST are enjoyable on it to me. I run it off my Topping DX1 fine on low gain.
My previous headphones were some coolermaster mh752 and the he400se, and whilst I don’t have those anymore. I’d say the sundara closed is at least better than both of them imo.
Comparing it to IEMs, I have tried the Moondrop Aria, which I personally hated due to how bright it was to me for some reason and how it doesn’t fit my ear properly. I have also tried the Truthear Zeros and EPZ K5s, and I vastly prefer the Sundara Closed over them (which I would hope so considering these IEMs are cheaper anyway)
I have not tried the original sundara but that’s probably why many were disappointed by the closed. For 150, they’re not bad and aesthetically speaking they’re quite nice.
They are terrible without EQ. With EQ, they are very decent, and the stock FR while really weird the issues with it are quite broad, it’s not narrow peaks, so it responds quite well to EQ. Technicalities are good.
Don’t go near them if you aren’t willing to EQ, but if you can EQ, absolutely. They’re also super easy to drive so can easily run off a Qudelix or even a Moondrop FreeDSP cable.
Is the Sundara Closed better or worse than HD 559?
Very different headphones; HD 559 are open-backed. You’re going to get different sounds, and it’s all preference. You will also see people prefer one or the other.