Performance

The Sundara is HiFiMAN's newest reasonably priced planar magnetic offering. The starting price was $499, but it is currently sold with a discount for just $349. HiFiMAN has a long track record of making some fantastic bang-for-the-buck planar magnetics, and after a few weeks with the Sundara, I can say that they have not lost their way.


To start with, the Sundara is a much more comfortable headphone than the HE-xx0 series headphones. Ergonomics are always hard to get right, but it is clear that HiFiMAN has taken a decent step in the correct direction from the HE-x00s. One thing that is off is the omission of swivels on the cups, but this is not really an issue with the thick pads HiFiMAN ships the Sundara with. Along with the upgraded ergonomics, the Sundara also seems much more durable than previous mid-end planar magnetic headphones from HiFiMAN.

Sound-wise, the Sundara clearly displays all of the usual qualities we have come to associate with well-designed headphones based around planar magnetic drivers. The bass is punchy and has great extension. The lower midrange is likewise flat and very detailed. The lower midrange sounds very natural and is close to what you get on a set of Edition Xs. The upper midrange is likewise very well controlled all the way up to around 3 kHz. From there on up, the difference between the higher-end HiFiMAN headphones becomes very clear. The high-end is a bit piercing on the Sundara, which some might prefer, but our ears found it to be over the top.

It seems there is a lot more energy centered around 4.5 kHz and the 9 kHz peak. With a bit of equalizing, you can bring the treble down to levels that make the Sundara easier to listen to for an extended period, and it also bring out more details in the upper midrange due to less masking. I ended up adding a -4 dB dip at 5 kHz. There is also a little oddity around 3 kHz, but nothing huge. The good thing about the Sundara is that it is easy to tune as the peaks are quite well defined and not super sharp.

In the sub-bass area, the Sundara far outperforms anything in the same price range, and if you want more, you will be pleased to know there is plenty of headroom in the design for boosting it without causing any artifacts. Adding 3 dB at 20 Hz that slopes linearly to 50 Hz makes these headphones a bass head's friend. The contained tight bass does not color the lower midrange, which is one of the things that make planar magnetics stand out. This also means that the Sundara does not have the 80 Hz fake bass presence boost many headphones feature, and the quality and extension is superb.

Overall, the Sundara hits the spot for a midrange planar magnetic headphone. As HiFiMAN's newest mid-end headphone, it is sure to get a big following. Like we first saw with the HE-400i, the Sundara is very easy to drive. Any half-decent headphone amplifier out there will be able to get these playing well above ear-piercing levels. We had them powered with our O2+SDAC combination, and that setup is easily able to bring out the best in them.