Editor's Choice Award 2024 – hi-fi+ Magazine
Holiday Gift Guide for Music Lovers & Audiophiles 2021: Best Gifts Under $500 - Hi-Fi Trends
"Quite Appealing" – InnerFidelity.com
Affordable High Performance Planars with New Ultra-Fine Diaphragm
Bask in the beautiful look and sound quality of Sundara. The Sanskrit word "sundara" means "beautiful" and HiFiMAN's all new Sundara planar magnetic headphone fits this description in every way. It offers performance on a par with planar magnetics costing far more, thanks to cutting-edge design and advanced engineering from founder and head designer Dr. Fang Bian and his engineering team.
Award-Winning Performance
England's hi-fi+ magazine honored the Sundara with an Editor's Choice Award for 2024.
"The Sundara exemplifies the outstanding characteristics of its predecessors while redefining benchmarks for sound excellence and value proposition, making it a standout choice for discerning audiophiles seeking premium performance without the premium price tag."
"Six years after its launch, the Sundara has been subtly revised but its inherent qualities still make it the headphone to beat at its price… and beyond!"
Gear Patrol "Best Expensive Headphones" Pick
The Sundara was chose by Gear Patrol in Ian White's "The Best Expensive Headphones That Are Actually Worth Buying" article, June 28, 2024.
"There is a lot to admire in the sound quality and uniqueness of the more expensive HiFiMan headphones, but the Sundara might be our favorite for its transparency, punchy bass response, midrange resolution and overall comfort."
"You can wear these for hours without feeling fatigued, but remember that they are open-back headphones that will make everyone jealous…hear what you’re listening to."
"Simply Amazing"
Previewing the Sundara at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2017 show, Tyll Hertsens at InnerFidelity.com reports in his October 21, 2017 post, "Fang and crew have been working hard at this price range for quite a while now, and it doesn't surprise me one bit to find the new Sundara quite appealing."
"The HiFiMAN Sundara is simply amazing for the money," raves AudioAdvice.com. " We went through our normal playlist of headphone testing tracks and were just blown away. The amount of information we were hearing for $500 was staggering… Pair them with a good headphone amp/DAC and enjoy!"
"I was impressed by the sense of depth in the HiFiMAN Sundara," observes Steph Durwin, MajorHifi.com, December 30, 2017. "It is a bigger sense of depth than the 400i and felt on par with the HE-560. Additionally, the sense of width was really nice and expansive."
Ultra-fine Diaphragm
Sundara uses an all-new planar headphone design developed by HiFiMAN and developed from HIFIMAN's advanced technology from its other planar magnetic headphones. It features a newly developed diaphragm that is 80% thinner than the diaphragm used in its acclaimed HE400 series, resulting in a wider frequency response along with faster and more detailed audio performance.
Crystalline Copper Wire Headphone Cable
Sundara has a new 3.5mm headphone connector for enhanced durability, but that's not all. According to AudioAdvice.com, "HiFiMAN paid attention to the materials used in the connecting cable as well. They used a crystalline copper wire that has both great audio qualities and high resistance to stress, so you should get a lifetime of use." The headphone cable is detachable, allowing you to use upgrade cables with the Sundara if you wish.
Hybrid Headband Design
The Sundara uses a hybrid headband design for ultimate comfort and fit. The metal headband provides strength and a firm fit. Beneath the metal headband is a soft strap that disperses the weight of the headphones and feels good against your head. And by the way, these phones only weigh 13 ounces, which is very lightweight for planar magnetics. The combination headband looks great, too, with its sleek and sumptuous matte black finish.