HiFiMAN Sundara vs Focal Elex Comparison 

Oh my lord I've been looking for this comparison! Bro!!!!!

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

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.

thanks man....., I have requested for this comparison.

Thank you, good Job. Peace

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...

I was able to snag the sundara for 249. Glad to hear that they fit what I’m looking for!

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?

wooow very amusing thank you. this is humor..iam happy wirh my 560 s

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.

Lol the intro woke me up!

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?

I have the sundara and enjoy them eqed. Is the Elex in mint condition for 500 (CAD) worth it to compliment the Sundara?

Nice review exelent voice for singing?Instrument separation?

so i had some elex, which broke like a week later. Loved the sound, so do you think the sundaras could work for me?

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.

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

Loud and clear voice I don't know if I am hearing it stereo in my headphones or what it is ..but sounds great..

Sundara with driver and cable problems ? Or Elex with clipping and unmatched drivers ? Hard to decide ....

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?

Would I get a sub-woofer like bass experience with Sundara? Good for playing EDM?

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.

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.

Vs Ananda next plss

Methinks the qc issues of the Elex alone disqualify it from a purchase at all..

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

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

One of the best if not the best video sound on RU-vid on your video of your speech,why don't u teach others how to do that.

Without dropping the Sundaras, and with normal use like 1-3 hrs a day, How long would Sundara last?

what mic are u using?

Any favorite closed back under $500?

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

Ahhahahahhah the intro !!

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

Sundaras are 350. So half the price of the focal. Changes perspective and comparison

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... ?

560s or the sundara????

Isn't the Elex $700? It would be a $350 increase in price (Double)

Is this Justin long lol? Sound just like him

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..

isn't the focal elex like 700?

Vs hd600 pls

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

U seem to be the only RU-vidr out there that finds Focal headphones uncomfortable :(

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.

maybe gl2000 vs elex.

you need to be voice actor

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.