HiFiMan SUNDARA Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Jun 23, 2018.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    HiFiMan Sundara Frequency Response
    V2 Measurement Rig
    A target similar to B&K (AES 1964) is expected for neutral sound

    Sundara FR.png

    HiFiMan SUNDARA Harmonic Distortion (2nd, 3rd, and 4th)
    Sundara L HD.jpg
    Sundara R HD.jpg

    HiFiMan CSDs
    Sundara L.jpg
    Sundara R.jpg

    MiniDSP Frequency Response L
    A flat line target is expected for neutral sound - EXPERIMENTAL
    Sundara m FR.png
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2018
  2. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Seems that HFM's new low-mid fi generations shared similar physical properties (in terms of idiosyncrasies). FR reminded me of HEXv2. Distortion pattern is cleaner than hex2 but there are more ortho razors than hex v2.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I couldn't get a better seal to see if I could extend the bass no matter how hard I tried. The distortion in the bass seems much higher compared to HEX2 - from memory.
     
  4. gibtg

    gibtg New

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    Is the treble ringing the reason why Tyll perceived them as being a bright headphone? These measurements appear to indicate that they'd sound pretty neutral but Tyll insisted otherwise... Would 2-ply be worth it?
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yeah, there's some stuff with harsh female vocals. They sound sort of U-shaped to me. Subjectively, nothing too problematic in the mid treble - it's mostly upper mids and lower treble that might prove troublesome. Don't know if 2-ply will be effective here. Different pads might do the trick. As an aside, I didn't like the build. The metal was on the thinner side (not near as bad as Monoprice) and the edges were kind of sharp. The mechanism was a bit tight making it difficult to adjust the cup position. I remember the HE400S as being more user friendly.
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2018
  6. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Don't think 2-ply will be much help since the 5k area won't be much affected by a front filter (unless you use something sufficiently dense as to muddy the sound up). TP mods usually help from 8-9k upwards, Tyll has a post somewhere on IF showing the effects of paper filters on FR.

    (found it: https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/reducing-headphone-treble-response-paper-filters-front-driver)

    Also, holy poop those ortho walls. I know they're not supposed to be audible, but they look scary nonetheless
     
  7. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Front damping will absolutely affect 5KHz. Good stuff usually works 1KHz and above. Sometimes even effects low end, though I suppose it's all relative.

    Whether or not it's the answer here is an entirely different question. Not all headphones sound normal with extra front damping. Some do.

    But, yeah, these results seem about right based on what I heard at RMAF. HFM has certainly done much worse.
     
  8. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    @Hands didn't notice much change in that region when I applied a front filter. Then again, may just depend on material used. Had to go up to a thick paper towel before vocals sounded stuffy, though 2-ply did take some breathing room out.
     
  9. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Since some people here mentioned the HEX it would be interesting to get another take on the Ananda. Not surprised to see the bass distortion on the Sundara, although Tyll's measurements looked better. I thought the DIYAH measurements looked pretty good for the Ananda.

    Do you prefer these over the HE400S? Maybe my memory was fooling me and the HE400S actually is worse than the Sundara, not that I liked either of them.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Is the Ananda the HEX replacement? I haven't been keeping track and am sort of confused about the current HFM lineup. I assume the Sundara sort of fits into the HE560 slot.
     
  11. Magnetostatic_Tubephile

    Magnetostatic_Tubephile Friend

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    Ananda is probably replacing HEX and Sundara ia probably replacing HE400i+HE560 (overall FR closer to HE400i with subbass extension more akin to HE560 according to some measurements).
     
  12. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Just finished the loaner with these. It's been really busy so didn't have time to A/B much. Just Modi MB, Dynalo SuSy and the Sundara. I checked how they are with the Macbook and iPhone and I need it near 100% most of the time. Amp required.

    Lately I've been alternating between the HD 6xx and the HE-500 with a preference for the HE-500 on my amp. The Sundara is good but doesn't really make me want to replace either. I did find it to be quite neutral, but I didn't find myself as engaged as with other gear that's come through here recently. If I didn't already have a set of planars I think that the recent $250 closeout price from TSAV would temp me, for now though it has staved off my FOMO.
     

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