🟥HifiMan Sundara 2020 _(Z Reviews)_ Definitely not Worse 

SOUND DEMO : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mS6gXDlY56Q.html [NEW CHANNEL] ⚔️www.SubscribeStar.com/Zeos -- Subscribe Star 🥇www.Patreon.com/Zeos -- Check out the Patreon

Z: I can sell anything. Headphone company: Let's see you resell the same product. Z: Hold my ginger beer.

Great review as always! Fun facts: In Sanskrit, Sundara means beautiful, Deva means God, Ananda means happiness, Arya means honorable and Susvara means melodious.

I just got my 2020 Sundara last week. Im pretty sure a minor difference in pad design and material resulted in the shift in sound you’ve identified. Literally the drivers angle being fractionally different due to the pads being fractionally thinner at the front. Anyway cheers for the re-review! :)

They fixed the pads on these which compensate for the lack of cup swivel. The spikes in the high end are gone and the low end is extended. They basically fixed all the flaws on the original version. It's an excellent headphone and an excellent value. It also scales very well.

I have to move to headphones from speakers for reasons, and what I'm picking up doing my research is that if you're going to be a headphone person, you can go in any direction you like, but you probably need to start with a set of these and a set of HD600s so you have your basic food groups covered, so to speak.

Little update after 5 months of (very) happy owning of these. I'm using them with the Ifi Zen Dac V2. They really benefit from going balanced: the sound gets a little more clear, cohesive, refined. After a bit of use and switching to a balanced cable, they became smooth like a pillow. I can drive them at fairly high volume without getting any harshness, shoutyness or fatigue whatsoever. It's a very relaxed, yet fun and engaging experience. They sound like a charm, loving every note!

There's a subtle visual detail between the two. The OGs have a slightly more transparent grill, whereas the 2020s are more blacked out. This is because the 2020s are actually ever-so-slightly dampened to give them ever-so-slightly smoother and warmer mids. The difference is very small.

Thanks for helping me to choose these headphones. Absolutely delighted with them!

I purchased the Sundara a few months ago, (first planar magnetic) and they are the gateway to many more to come. I also purchased 2.5 balanced cables and the Qudelix 5K portable amp. Thanks ZEOS!

A few months ago, I bought myself a pair for the office, a second pair for the home theater room, and a third pair for my wife. We love them. (We don't love the stock cable, though.)

I bought the linsoul m3x now these headphones from your links in the last month. Good stuff

Thx for your reviews, i recently bought one of these in belgium and it s definitely a game changer for someone like me who came from a noise cancelling headphone (sony xm3) to one of these with an ifi zen dac v2 (bass boost awesomeness). I learned a lot about headphone thx to you and dms, joshua alour, etc. Push that like button ;)

I've had my Sundaras since march. I love them very much!

Zeos I love you lmao that ending was gold😂. As a Sundara OG owner (also my first ever audio-file headphone) I literally understood every word of how the sound was moved. I bet the new ones are just as insane as u say they are. Not gonna buy them tho, there’s no need

That abrupt cut at the end got me.

Love these cans. I feel they work best with a little added warmth...on the Schiit Asgard 3 they're so good. And if I want some gooey retro vibes I pair them with a Xduoo MT-602 hybrid and sit back and just chill. Highly recommended. Thanks Z for all the great and (mostly) rational audiophile infotainment. ;-)

Wow just got my 2020 Sundara today, first video i'm listening with them

I love these headphones, but I never owned the old versions for a comparison

Sundara's are one of my favourite set of headphones

I've been trying out the HE-X4s from Drop for the past few weeks, and I'd love to hear your opinion on them sometime soon.

why the hell is this guy so entertaining? i could watch for hours .. and have : / needless to say, subscribed.

Thank you sound demo for the earlier video

They changed the front side of the pads to be thinner in shape than the back side. Im getting the Arya v2 today I'm nervous the Sundara 2020 might be all i need. I been on the market for a grado rs2e for a while but i think the sundara 2020 are better after burnin. They sound more natural more cleaner. The same " you are there" sound i loved from the rs2e. The orginal Sundura cable gives the bass a tighter response.

Just got my Sundaras. Love them, also came with a little piece of white lint...

Have the Sundara from May 2019 AXPONA. Realized the pads are hot and not good for long listening sections. Thanks for to you for the Dekoni Beyer Pad review, as I replaced them with the Dekoni Audio Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads for HiFiMan HE Series. $80 well spent this year. They had 8' cloth covered cables (from the 400S) as a replacement cable I ordered at the same time.

I'm quite excited. I have the Sennheiser HD 579 and HD 700. I - HATE- the cable for the Sennheiser HD 700. I actually had to use the warranty to replace them since they had a disconnect in the left side after some use. The replacement eventually began failing too. The replacement cost for the cable is asinine too - $173, on Sennheisers' website. I bought the Sundara to replace the Sennheiser HD 700 and am waiting for them. As much as I actually loved the HD 700, I had to use a toner to get them where I wanted them. They are vastly superior to the 579 but they are discontinued at this point either way.

Pad shape still the same as og. New ones just different stitching to avoid them falling apart like some old ones did. The stitching slightly changes the seal. And possibly the inner material is slightly different... Pretty big change in sound for such small change to pads. For the better.

I've said since I got them that the Sundara sounds more like listening to big speakers not headphones! I have the 2020s

Try and review the he6se v2 (the Adorama ones) with the grill taken off. They're amazing

Id love to know how the Sandras compare to the hd660s today

The ‘tree’ is in the manuals if you read em..

I got a pair recently and they unfortunately had channel imbalance issues. Hopefully my replacement is better.

Hope you get around to testing the new Corsair Virtuoso XT, I love Virtuoso's look but the SE/1.0 just ain't it for me

I listened to the old Sundara on a hifi show with me Rupert Neve amp. Within seconds I love the sound. It will sound more open on my Musical Fidelity amp. But I am still buying the Ergo 2 helmet speakers.

I have the Hifiman Sundara. How do you tell the difference between v2016 and v2020?? Any difference in box??

Dude your listening room is my fucking dream holy wow. Also the fact that you can find these now just about anywhere for 299 makes these a new gold standard for sub 500 cans.

filo is coming out with new btr5 and has zeros loved MQA decoding :D

The sound of a complete madman listening to utter bliss. I just may buy it!

The single best headphone you can get for the price, it beats everything until you get to something like an Ananda or a Focal Elex/Elear. DT1990 and HD660S wish they were this. If you're looking for a fun headphone then like just EQ up the bass on the Sundara or put it on a warm source cause for the price it has the best technical performance.

You are damn funny. Especially the cable demonstration.

A few people contacted Hifiman directly to know more about the revision and the company told them the 2018 and 2020 models are exactly the same headphone, but every reviewer did find sonic differences between the two models. That is confusing!

0:00 kay... oooh Wallpaper checks out

I'm so tempted, but I already have the HE4XX, Verum 1 and GL2000. If I buy anything else from Hifiman it will probs be the Arya, sometime in the distant future. But I should really get myself some dynamics, because I only know what planars sound like.

That Hifiman cable could be a bit better and more flexible than the moon audio black dragon cable. Seriously... just a few labeled heat shrink tubes missing.

Just bought these based on your review, and now I'm looking for a nice and cheap amp to drive them. Would you choose the Magni 3+ or the Heresy? Or should I look elsewhere?

Zeeeeeeeeeeosssssssss legendary revieweeeerrrrr u rr peace

I just want to put in my two cents regarding the Sundara 2020 version. After watching at least 5 other video reviews and reading user reviews all over the place, I pulled the trigger on these. I personally think they're not the end all be all headphone. They remind me a lot of my AKG Q701's where they do spectacular in specific genres like rock and metal for the Sundaras, Jazz and Pop for Q701's. They don't exactly have a midrange body like the Etymotic ER4S, but they have some sort of upper midrange hump around 900hz-1khz ish where it adds a bit of thickness which counters the lean nature. However due to the lean midrange, they open up opportunities to hear layers of vocals and instruments. I'm a weeb and like jpop and the likes, the vocalists I listen to tend to extend towards the 2-4khz area and unfortunately they do sound screechy due to the spike somewhere around the 4-6khz area. The treble is also an issue with vocals, if you pronounce the letter S, you'll notice that there is certain frequency that gets pronounced. With the Sundaras it's not natural, the treble spike is too emphasized on the lower part of the spectrum and comes off as metallic. What surprised me most is that they didn't perform well with EDM/electronic music due to the lower treble spike. Electronic music likes to play around with higher frequencies and it's a shame I didn't like the Sundaras for this genre. I have no comments when it comes to bass, I'm unfortunately spoiled by my Audeze iSine 20's which perform much better for sub-bass. The Sundara's bass digs deep but they seem to drop off fairly hard below 30hz, they don't particularly emphasize mid-bass. If anything the bass is just right. If you’ve never heard planar bass, the Sundara will amaze you. These Sundaras are also heavy, I put them on a scale and they weighed 400 grams. Fortunately though the weight distribution on the Sundaras are spectacular. They feel even lighter than a pair of Hyper X Cloud 2’s which go for 330 grams on the scale. This is due to the wide top headband that covers a lot of surface area and the clamping force. These headphones do clamp and IMO they should. The pads are also on the cooler side which is nice despite having the pleather outside. They don’t feel gross when it’s humid in my room like the HD600’s. For pairing, a warm amp will compliment the Sundara. I have an ODAC/O2 fitted with a Burson V5i opamp that actually mutes the 7khz treble and warms up the lower midrange of the Sundara. On my JDS Atom AMP/DAC, the Sundaras sound flat which is a different type of fun. The Sundaras upsides is detail retrieval, low volume listening for music, and someone who plays a game called Squad (3500+ hours), these appreciate loud gaming sessions. The Sundaras are not a pair of daily drivers. As someone who owns a pair of Galaxy Buds Plus and Apple Airpods, the Sundaras are the Galaxy Buds Plus, and the Sennheiser HD600’s would be Apple Airpods. The Apple Airpods just work with every genre and shows no flaws. They’re an earbud you put in your ears and they accept every genre despite the lack of sub bass. The Galaxy Buds Plus are technically superior and great for critical listening (phone calls), but, and I know some of you objective readers are going to cringe at this comment; but they don’t have that soul and warmth for general music listening. You might be wondering why I gave this headphone such a critical review. They're not bad, but they're not something I would give an absolute 5/5 to, the HD600 would be a 5/5. The Sundaras offer an amazing experience and the price to performance is just amazing compared to the HD600, but they're not a daily driver. Edit: Forgot to add soundstage and imaging. Sundaras win hands down best gaming headphone I've tried. It just throws detail out there and combine it with the sharp imaging, the HD600 doesn't even compete especially when it comes to frontal/rear sounds.

The 2020 rev. is basically towards the front the pads are angled in/thinner. It does change the sound signature a bit. Just got mine a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier. Might get the Ananda's in the future.

Planning to upgrade from 4XX to Sundaras eventually.

Price should be the same. They switched the material on the pads. I sent an old pair of Sundara pads to Resolve and he swapped them to a 2020 Sundara and they measured and sounded like the old pairs. There should be new versions at most places that sell them assuming they sold enough to get through the old pairs as Hifiman only makes this version now. The sound difference is that the new Sundara have less of a rescission in the transition from upper mids to treble and it comes across as even more natural than the already natural sounding old pair.

Great review, thanks for your video. How much power (mW), as minimum, do Sundaras need from amplifiers? 1W x 2 @32 Ohm delivered from SMSL M500 MK3 could be enough?

Gonna buy these with the ifi hipdac 2

Dollar for dollar, these are king.

My 2020 sundaras have a fucked up left driver that tanks the signal response below around 100hz, leading to a noticable difference in bass response between both sides. QC issues are definitely still present.

I know this is off topic but Zeos do you think that there will be a refresh if the adx family. like the ad-700x [which im still mad you havent reviewed] and ad-2000x. i have the 700x and i would like to get the 1000x but if they are making a new series i dont want to get a headphones that almost a decade old.

How do they compare to the HD 660 s? Thanks in advance! (P.s. Just as an all in one, all day headphone) or what would you recommend? edit: coming from a guy who used to daily drive a pair of hesh 3's and now uses a base boosted 560s (around and below 75 Hz + 6 dB).

I love ginger beer btw. What is that mouse on your desk? it is really cool looking.

My sundaras are my go to gaming headset.... Lol there amazing for music but they kill in games.

Love all your reviews but something I've been wondering...where do you get your desk mats!?

Have you tried the nectar bee headphones! The guy who created the electro static hive x headphones. Sajeev great guy and just received them this week. Loving them so far.

These or HD660s. Cant decide...coming from old HD598

I need a hip Dac or dac amp recommendation for the sundara’s please!

hey Z are there any new fun closed cans in the 200€ range worth considering?

Sundaras are amazing. On mine I pad swapped them with Dekoni Hybrid Elite Audeze Pads (not Dekoni hifiman pads). You gain more comfortable padding obviously. And wider soundstage, as well as a pleasant increase in the low end, it doesn't change the natural air of the headphone, just improves what's already great about it.

I've been thinking of upgrading to these for MONTHS. I didn't even finish listening to the review: I already placed the order.

I love my sundara, but dont know which version i got, judging by your description i guess OG but damn

Got a pair of these. Instantly started creaking and clicking where the cups meet the headband. Brilliant.

Z - have you been able to get your hands on the new Sundara Closed Back? Hope to see a review soon...

Coming from Audio Technica ad-500x, this is a jaw dropping improvement. Mountains by Hans Zimmer gave me full body tingles and goosebumps at the 2 minute mark.

I love this channel, I’m new to the whole audiophile scene. How and where can you learn to setup a beginners or intermediate system to do this stuff? What pc would I need, dacs, amps...?

Hey zeos the question is do they go on your wall ???

would it be worth to get the sundara if I already own the He4xx?

Any opinion between these two Hifiman HE400se (ori) vs Hifiman HE400se Stealth Magnet (Int) version

After doing reserach about old vs new and so on, I finally got mine for 290 USD. And you know what - I don't care about what version it is anymore - they sound good!

when's the SVS 3000 micro review coming? :)

I just saw that there is a Hifiman Sundara Silver Edition 2023 Revision. Will you be reviewing them?

Hi - What is the best AMP / DAV to use for PC gaming?

do you prefer the sound of the sundara or the sendy aiva?

Are headphones like these worth buying if i mainly play music mostly from spotify? Are there specific amps you'd recommend with these? Please help i'm a noob.

My Sundaras arrive today, really excited to finally try them. By the way does anyone know what the manufacturer for that desk pad is? It's really cool but I can't find it anywhere.

Hey z.. What brand is the purple cable? U use it often. Looking for a new headphone cable for my sundara. A bit longer as well. Thanks

I got HD650 and Sundara and tested them both. Both are nice headphones and it was a tough call, but I ended up returning the Sundara. I found the HD650 more comfy on my ears and less sweaty for long listening sessions. I also preferred the warm tuning of the Hd650 over the slightly cooler, more analytical sound of the Sundara. There ware a handful of songs with certain effects applied (such as Bon Iver’s “Creeks”) in which I really noticed the Sundara’s superior resolving of detail. But for most music, especially strings and vocals, the HD650 just sounds so lush and beautiful and non-fatiguing. And yeah, the HD650 do have an intimate soundstage, but personally I enjoy that because I’m listening while working at home all day, and I find the intimate soundstage helps me to stay focused.

Hi there , I got the Sundara's and looking for and AMP and DAC to pair them with , many recommended me the the Schiit Magni IE or the Heresy and the Modi , is it good for those or should I get something else? budget is up to 300 -400$ .

All 3 of my boxes are green, too. I think it's intentional.

So you're saying with the new ones you can motorboat the Soundstage. Am I understanding this correctly?

listening to this on my Grado SR60X.....giving my Hifimans a well deserved rest. ;-)

Can you do a review on the Audeze maxwells? People are saying they are just as good as these but wireless.

Hi, Can this headphone sound good (not too dry) paired with an RME ADi-2 DAC FS ( standalone ) ? Or it might sound a tad lifeless or I dunno ?

I wonder when the Sundara will get the 2020(He400i/SE and HE6SE) headband.

Mine came in today in just a plain box similar to what Drop uses sometimes for their headphones mostly brown with a little strip that indicated it was Hifiman Sundara and no booklet and a QR scan box with warranty and a serial and if you follow them on Facebook an extra 6 months warranty no booklet though. I can't figure out which version I got. I bought mine from Newegg.

Isn't the difference between the OG and 2020 versions the angle of the 2020 pads?

Can you take a look at the new Corsair Virtuoso XT? I read rewievs that said it fixed the muddy sound and also supports dolby atmos.

How can i differentiate the different versions from the outside package?

5:00 that's not a cable, it's a hose. Love the cans but I ordered a proper custom cable from Hart Audio Cables.

Didn't they change the shape of the magnets rounding them off or something to change the sound?

Still rocking my 2 yr old ogs. Finally ordered some new pads bc my ears were touching the driver

For an enthusiast who doesnt want to spend 1000+ on a headphone would these be endgame for a music enjoyer?

Zeos...what do you look like? 😁

Can the pads of this headphones be replaced to mAke them last longer?