Hifiman Sundara

Is the Sundara still great in 2024?

The Hifiman Sundara has long been considered the gold standard for planar magnetic headphones in the mid-fi range. With exceptional comfort, balanced sound, and planar detail retrieval, the Sundara is a headphone that has always punched well above its price. However, 2024 brings some interesting changes to the mid-fi headphone market, but as if Hifiman anticipated this new competition they recently reduced the price of both the Sundara and the equally well regarded Edition XS.

This makes the Mid-fi market more competitive than every but also an interesting time to re-evaluate the Sundara.

Is it still the headphone to beat in the $200-$300 range?

The new condenders?

So I have been listening to Sundara for the past few weeks and comparing it with some of the most well regarded recently released open back headphones, like the FiiO FT1 Pro, Aune AR5000 (even though it is a dynamic driver) and even the slightly more expensive Audeze MM-100 and I thought it would be useful to see how the Sundara holds up against these and some other headphones in my collection.

But first lets get into what you get with the Sundara out of the box:

Unboxing

The Sundara comes in a now typical Hifiman box: The back of the box:

Opening the box reveals the Sundara and the accessories box:

Taking everything out, you see cable and the clever design with the packaging doubling up as a headphone stand:

• The Sundara headphones.
• A dual-sided 3.5mm cable.
• 6.3mm adapter for use with amplifiers.
• Headphone Stand

While the packaging is simple, the contents are well-secured, and the focus is clearly on the headphones themselves.

Comparison

Compared to both the FT1 Pro, Suddara packaging is minimal packaging where that headphone came with 2 cables (a balanced and a SE cable) as well as a hard carrying case. The Aune AR5000 has slightly more luxurious box opening experience though is similar bare with other accessories as the Sundara. The Audeze MM-100 on the other hand offers less than the Sundara as far as packaging.

While the Sundara (and most Hifiman headphones) offers a reasonable unboxing - the FiiO FT1 Pro especially does offer more but whether you need these extra’s is debatable, but let’s move onto the next area:

Build Quality

The Sundara is constructed with a mix of lightweight aluminum and high-quality plastic:

• Headband: Features a suspension strap for improved comfort over long listening sessions.

• Suspension Mechanism: I like how the headband suspension mechanism works on the Sundara

• more than Edition XS:

• Pads: The Hybrid leatherette and fabric are pretty good quality but there are also lots of after market earpads for the Sundara:

• Ear Cups: Circular metal grills with a durable yet minimalist aesthetic.

Comparison

So, again comparing with the competition, I feel the Sundara has better build quality than the FT1 Pro, but
behind both the MM-100 and the AR5000 as far as build quality:

But the Sundara does have a now tried and trust design while the FT1 Pro especially has yet to proof itself over many months of use.

Comfort

The Sundara offers superb comfort with just enough clamping force to stay secure without causing discomfort, an excellent headband mechanism and a great balance of material making it a reasonable lightweight headphone at 372 grams.

Headband Flexibility I do like the headband suspension mechanism of the Sundara (more than the Edition XS) - Hifiman use this same mechanism on their more premium models (like the Arya ‘Range’) and it definitely shows the benefit on the Sundara:

Earpads Comfort offer with good depth so your ears will not touch the driver and decent breathability:

Comparison

So, again comparing with the competition, I feel the Sundara headband suspension mechanism is the better than the FT1 and the MM-100 but roughly equal with the AR-5000 which offers superb comfort:

Sound Impressions

This section is obviously my subjective opinions and this is where I will mix some of the comparisons with the other headphones directly into each section. But I should say I find all 4 of these headphones to be excellent, so I am really just nitpicking particular aspects of the audio rather than saying one is massively better than the others.

Bass

The bass on the Sundara is tight and controlled, with a natural roll-off in the sub-bass. It’s not overly emphasized, making it ideal for genres like jazz and classical but less suited for bass-heavy electronic tracks. The FT1 Pro bass is probably slightly better ‘out of the box’ but I found it did not take to EQ in the bass region while the Sundara has no such problem, so if you are chasing bass and want to EQ the Sundara or the Audeze MM100 are ideal headphones.

Song Reference:

Massive Attack – Angel: The Sundara captures the bass line’s texture and depth, though it lacks the visceral slam some may prefer.

Midrange

The Sundara’s midrange is the star of the show. Vocals and instruments are presented with remarkable clarity and neutrality, striking a perfect balance between warmth and detail. All these headphones have excellent midrange though the FT1 Pro does have a slightly recessed 1Khz-2Khz region as it chases soundstage instead of midrange accuracy.

Song Reference:

Adele – Hello: Adele’s voice is rendered with lifelike clarity, and the Sundara’s midrange transparency ensures every note shines.

Treble

The treble is airy and detailed without sounding harsh or sibilant. This contributes to the Sundara’s open and spacious sound signature, the Sundara has excellent treble and I would say this aspect of the Sundara sound makes it a clear winner between these headphones.

Song Reference:

Vivaldi – The Four Seasons (Spring): The Sundara’s treble resolution highlights the intricate violin work without any trace of harshness.

Soundstage and Imaging

The Sundara’s soundstage is good for an open-back headphone at this price point though if you are chasing Soundstage I would suggest Hifiman other mid-fi classic the Edition XS. Imaging is precise, allowing you to pinpoint instruments with ease. The AR5000 and the FT1 PRo have slightly better soundstage than the Sundara (though not as good as the Edition XS) with imaging the Sundara is excellent and probably the best of these headphones though I did really like what the Audeze MM-100 provides with its more mixer focused tuning.

Song Reference:

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here: The Sundara creates an immersive soundscape, accurately positioning instruments and vocals across a wide stage.

Comparisons

So all 4 of these headphones are excellent in their own ways, the Aune AR5000 probably suffers in that it has a dynamic driver rather than a planar - but other than a slightly bloated mid-bass they have done a good with that headphone. The MM-100 has that typical Audeze dark treble (also favoured by many producers / mixers ) which makes sense given the history of the MM line of headphones. The FT1 Pro on the other hand is sort of between the Sundara and the Edition XS with its midrange.

The Sundara has the best midrange tonality of all these headphones, but slightly behind the FT1 Pro in the bass and with staging. The MM-100 has slightly better imaging than the Sundara and the AR5000 is sort of a jack of all trades though its mid-bass does slightly muddy the midrange clarity that the others provide.

Specifications and Measurements

The Sundara is not the easiest to drive headphone and I used it in a recent test of some mobile usb-c headphone DAC’s that market themselves as providing decent power for driving headphones. In those comparisons I recommended getting a reasonable powered usb-c dongle if you plan to listen to the Sundara loud, so I would plan to get something beyond the Apple usb-c dongle.

Measurements

Note: All these measurements where taken with my KB501X soft ear pinnae and a 711 clone coupler and are avaialble on my measurements DB here

Frequency Response

Let start with the frequency response: Note: other than a slight channel in-balance in the sub-bass region the channel matching is good and the frequency response itself is very balanced. Also, there is slight dip at 400hz which I believe is a measurement rig artifact as I cannot hear any dip at this frequency, and other similar rig

Distortion

Since the Sundara is a planar the distortion is typically very low:

And as a percentage there is nothing to be concerned about:

Measurement Comparisons

Here are some comparisons with the other headphones I have been comparing the Sundara with:

I highlighted 4 areas on this comparison:

1. Bass response - The MM-100 has slightly worse sub-bass and the FT1 Pro slightly better, the AR5000 went for a boosted bass region (both sub and mid-bass) - the Sundara has a good balanced bass
2. Mid-bass - The AR5000 as I mentioned has a slightly bloated mid-bass, the other 3 headphones are excellent.
3. ‘Staging’ region - The 1Khz-2Khz is typically where headphones diverge between soundstaging chasing headphones and tonally correct ones, the MM-100 and the Sundara go for being tonal correct.
4. Treble - The MM-100 has recessed treble but the other 3 headphones have mostly excellent treble but possible the Sundara has fewer peaks and dips and therefore easier to EQ to taste than the others

Rating

With the recent price cut, the Sundara still has a slight ‘pragmatic’ edge over these competitors, though any of these headphones would make excellent mid-fi purchases. But I gave the Sundara a pragmatic rating of 5 stars, reflecting its excellent performance and value. The Sundara remains a strong contender in the mid-fi category and while each headphone has something to offer, the Sundara would probably still win in strictly sound quality terms.

Summary

The Hifiman Sundara continues to deliver stunning sound quality that belies its price. With a balanced tuning, good soundstage and imaging, and superb comfort, it remains one of the best choices for audiophiles in the mid-fi range.

For those seeking a reliable, high-performing planar headphone, the Sundara still shines as a top pick in 2024 and into 2025.