HiFiMAN Sundara Headphones $404.77.
was $480 last week. price has dropped recently. I'm actually a little annoyed because I just bought a second hand pair for $420.
CamelCamelCamel.
Reference in what sense? What are you recording, mixing, or mastering?
For recording and listening to the recorded tracks analytically.
Sennheiser HD 6XX would be better for timbre and flat sound, at least up to say 4kHz, and fairly smooth there after without being too far south of neutral. Imaging not as precise, but I assume you have speakers for monitoring.
Sundara has more detail and separation, and slightly more neutral treble, with parts that swing the other way. I would go to a store like Addicted to Audio and audition all three (the 650 being the equivalent of the 6XX), as well as the HIFIMAN Edition XS, which sit at $650 via the same Amazon mechanism.
Hell, give the Audeze MM-500 and the HIFIMAN Arya Stealth Edition a try if they have stock just to see what is up at $1500. Or the HIFIMAN HE-6SE, and you can get most of what that does technically with a tonality even more refined than the 6XX for $770 via China (Nan-6 planar).
I'm assuming you mean instrumental and vocal recordings anyway, so really I would be looking at the Sennheiser 6XX/650, the 600, the Edition XS, then dabble with the MM-500 & HE-6SE to see if you want to try reaching for the Nan-6 (though you'll want a good amp).
@jasswolf: I’m very lucky to have the HD580 Precision and the HD600 and they are significantly different and personally find the 580 more crisp, brighter, more shouting with deeper bass and the 600 more laid back, more relaxed, more refined.
If I have to choose one of them it’d be the 580 because of the kind of music I listen to, many times I found myself wishing the 600s would have a little bit more punch, a little bit more in your face.
Overall both are amazing but the 580 really surprised me, wasn’t expecting it to be superior than the 600 for my taste.
Excellent site. Never thought of that. Thank you.
Thanks
This is now super competitive with the HD6XX, but be advised that it is a more treble focused tuning, just not Beyer levels of treble murder.
Timbre is a step back vs the Sennheiser, but it's not awful. Tonality is mostly neutral otherwise, including a filled in pinna gain where most HIFIMAN headphones do not.
Soundstage is good for the price, imaging is solid but becomes diffuse during busy passages. Resolving ability is great for the price too.
Comfort is good, but clamping force out of the box may be an issue for some.
Would recommend a DAC of a less analytical nature to smooth out the sound a bit, maybe don't go too cheap if you're looking at op-amp-based desktop amps.
These were $399 not too long ago. I’d wait.
Agreed. Hold out for that extra $5.77 off
Excellent headphones but there's definitely a bit of russian roulette will QAQC issues. Mine has a very slight level imbalance (easily corrected using software) and there's some very quiet crinkling noises from the headphone foam. Bothered me in the beginning but is now negligible when measured against the amazing sound quality of these headphones. Just my 2c.
The first pair I got had resonance issues, but HIFIMAN support are really top notch in terms of discussing and replacing. Since on-sold the second pair, but they were kind enough to throw in an extra pair of pads for my trouble.
Comparing to HiFiMan HE400i https://www.amazon.com.au/HIFIMAN-Reference-Headphone-Connec…, I am wondering which one is better as a reference headphone.