The new HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones are the company’s latest addition to its recent campaign of redefining the category of “Closed-back cans.”

HIFIMAN Sundara Headphones

For the longest time, HIFIMAN’s bread-and-butter, if you will, was the category of open-back headphones. At least that’s what I always knew them for. Then in 2021 both the R-10P planar and R-10D dynamic driver closed-back headphones were released which were a couple of very high-end toes dipped into the closed-back headphone pool. And now HIFIMAN bookends those two initial headphones with the decidedly more affordable Sundara Closed-Back model which we have in for review.

Highlights

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back Headphone Highlights

  • Very nice build quality and attention to detail for the price.
  • Not the typical “sound” I would expect from HIFIMAN headphones, but still enjoyable.
  • Noticeably warmer sound signature with a good punch to the bass.
  • Stealth magnet technology.
  • The Beechwood earcups are simple but beautiful looking.
  • Finally, affordable planars that won’t let everyone around you know what you’re listening to!

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones on stand

Introduction

HIFIMAN is a company that needs no introduction. They are the proverbial juggernaut that has come to dominate the planar headphone market for years now. Looking at the company’s history, one can see that this dominance has arrived from a simple but steady plan. HIFIMAN continuously adapts technology that was first applied to top-tier headphones and trickles it down to even the most affordable models. They also seem to implement this strategy rather quickly as they tend to have pretty brisk product cycles. This elevated speed of product refresh has occasionally caused frustration with customers that purchased high-end headphones only to see their toys “upgraded” scarcely a year later. But on a positive note, it has also brought us quality planar magnetic headphones at such affordable prices that one would have thought impossible a few short years ago. Case in point, two years ago HIFIMAN, after much research and experimentation, released its first closed-back planar model the HE-R10P (HIFIMAN HE-R10P Planar Magnetic Headphone Review – HomeTheaterHifi.com) priced at an eye-watering $5499.00. And now they have seen fit to corner the other end of the spectrum by giving us the $399.00 Sundara Closed-Back planar headphones. Pricewise they slot neatly between the original open-back Sundara now at $299.00 and the HE-400i at $449.00. Not to leave dynamic driver fans without any love, there is also the $369.00 HE-R9 closed-back dynamic driver headphones thrown into this mix. Can you say, “spoiled for choice?” So, how do the Sundara Closed-Back headphones distinguish themselves in this crowd after all is said and done? Let’s find out!

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back Headphone Specifications
Design:

Closed-back planar magnetic headphones.

Manufacturer Freq. Response:

6 Hz – 50 kHz

Impedance:

20 Ohms

Sensitivity:

98dB

Weight:

432 grams

Color:

Black frame with silver trim and golden-brown beechwood earcups.

Accessories:

One 4.8′ (1.5m) cable with a 3.5mm stereo angle plug on one end and two 3.5mm stereo plugs connecting to the earcups. One 1/4″-to-1/8″ (6.3mm-to-3.5mm) adapter.

MSRP:

$399.00

Company:

HIFIMAN

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HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones ¾ view

Design

From a design perspective, I like the build and execution of the Sundara Closed-Back headphones a great deal. It shares the same metal headband and yolk design as the standard Sundara headphones, including the integrated leatherette head strap. It aids in achieving positive, effective contact with my head and prevents the headphones from sliding forward or back too much when in use, an issue I experienced with the Deva-Pro style headband when I sampled those cans in the past. The large beechwood earcups are nicely finished and look attractive. Their size is much more compact than what you’d find on say the HE-R9 or HE-R10P, making these Closed-Back Sundara cans look more like headphones and less like industrial hearing protection. The foam earpads are covered in a soft leatherette material that is perforated on the inside. The thickness of the earpads tapers from almost 1” thick at the back to a ½” thick at the front. The contact faces of the earpads are finished in a fine mesh fabric material. They are easily removable for cleaning or swapping.

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, Earpads

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, Driver close up.

The HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Backs use an oval-shaped planar driver measuring roughly 3.25” x 2.5”. The drivers use the company’s “Stealth Magnet” technology which is said to reduce unwanted reflections and diffraction from the driver, negatively affecting sound quality. The driver also uses HIFIMAN’s “Supernano diaphragm” technology, which results in a claimed 80% thinner diaphragm design than in competing headphones. The benefits are touted as a faster transient response and a more detailed sonic image.

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, Connector close up.

The single included 1.5-meter cable set comes with a single-ended 3.5mm stereo headset jack on the source end and two 3.5mm jacks on the other end, one marked Left and the other Right, that conveniently plug into the earcups. A ¼” phono plug adapter is included.

Setup

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, with mobile gear

For mobile listening, I tried the Sundara Closed-Back headphones with a few different equipment arrangements. When using my iPhone 12 Pro MAX, while the standard Apple lightning-to-headphone dongle worked just fine providing more than enough juice to the headphones, I preferred to use Periodic Audio’s Rhodium DAC or the THX Onyx dongle DAC/Amp. If I was feeling particularly fancy, I would use the OPPO HA-2SE DAC/Headphone Amp for extended listening sessions. Otherwise, I would use my Shanling M0 Digital Audio Player combined with either the OPPO HA-2SE or the iFi Audio xDSD DAC/Amp.

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, with desktop gear.

When listening at home, I used either the Topping DX7PRO+ DAC/AMP or the Geshelli Labs J2 DAC and Archel 2.5XL headphone amp combination with my Surface 3 PRO tablet in a docking station that runs my digital music library via ROON.

In Use

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, Box.

I haven’t listened to the original open-back Sundara headphones for any significant length so I can’t make meaningful comparisons between the two sister models. I also don’t have comparatively priced headphones on hand to make comparisons against the Sundara Closed-Back either. I do have a few slightly less expensive and slightly more expensive headphone models to help frame my impressions of the sound quality for you, however.

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones, Box open.

One of the things I immediately appreciated about the new Sundara Closed-Back headphones is that now we finally have an affordable set of planar cans that I can wear on a bus or subway without worrying about the sound leakage typical of open-back headphones. The general comfort level was very good with the earpads totally encircling my ear lobes and creating a good seal against my face. Clamping force seemed a little on the high side at first but seemed to relax a bit after the first week of steady use to where they became very comfy to wear for prolonged listening sessions.

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The general sound signature of the Sundara Closed–Back is a little different from what I would normally associate with HIFIMAN headphones. The typical airiness in the treble found in the company’s open-back designs is less prominent in this iteration of the Sundara. Conversely, these headphones do have a more spacious and open presentation than what I have experienced from most closed-back cans in general. It’s that decent sense of spaciousness that makes these headphones more fun and appealing to listen to. They definitely don’t place the sound “in your head” as some have termed it. To me, this makes the Sundara Closed-Back a bit of a refreshing oddball in the HIFIMAN lineup. Oh, and another curious thing about these headphones is that they don’t block out a lot of external noise. They certainly block some, but you won’t get the same kind of cloaked listening environment that the Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire provides you for example.

Ann Hampton Callaway

Ann Hampton Callaway “Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration! 2022 WAV 24/96”

Looking to sample some nicely recorded female vocals, I pulled up Ann Hampton Callaway’s take on the Peggy Lee classic torch song, “Fever.” Callaway’s voice is on the deeper side throughout this whole album and that seems to suit the Sundara Closed-Backs just fine. The headphones seem to have a little bit of upper bass to lower midrange warmness that made Callaway’s rich and breathy singing seem extra appealing but not so much as to muddy things up at all. The stand-up bass plucks sounded full and plenty deep, with nice decay to their sound. These headphones weren’t completely transparent enough to resolve the finest details in those plucks, but in the price range the Sundara Closed-Back resides in, they are transparent enough. The brushed cymbals and the short bursts of piano that would punctuate various parts of the song seemed to slightly lack that little extra sparkle that I would hear with a more expensive HIFIMAN headphone like the HE-1000v2, the Edition X, or Ananda but that’s why they are more expensive headphones, and in fairness, different beasts altogether. Comparing the Sundara Closed-Backs to the open-back HIFIMAN HE400SE that I have on hand reveals a similar sense of spacious, open sound, and general balance but with the Sundara’s adding a little extra “oomph” in the bass region and a better sense of definition to higher register vocals.

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Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado

Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado “Navigation Blues, Provogue, 2022, FLAC 24/44.1.”

Switching to a very distinctive male vocal, that of one Thorbjørn Risager singing “Navigation Blues,” the title track of his band’s latest album. Again, that upper bass to lower midrange prominence adds a little extra body and power to this electric blues track overall, which I assume would translate well to hard rock, metal, and other similar things. Risager’s raspy higher register vocals on this track sound detailed and with plenty of body in their plaintive pleas. The electric guitar solo had a great distorted character to its sound, and it felt substantial. These headphones definitely do not sound thin by any stretch. The song starts off sounding like a scratchy, old mono recording until the 0:51-second mark where the full modern stereo presentation takes over. As you’d expect the spatial change is significant but again what’s notable about the Sundara Closed-Back is how literally “un-closed-back” they sound. At this point, the song sounds very big, and the music image is no less confined with these headphones than it is with the HE400SE. The Sundara Closed-Backs just seem to put more meat on the bones of the music, if you will.

Bernard Hermann

Bernard Hermann “Music From Great Shakespearean Films, Hamlet-Suite from the film score-OP:116a The Ghost, Decca, 1975, FLAC 24/96 via Qobuz”

Wanting to see how these headphones handle more classical fare, I pulled up some of the recently remastered film works of the composer Bernard Herrman and “The Ghost” from Hamlet seemed like a suitable challenge. And while the Sundara Closed-Back sounded good and handled the music well enough, this is the sort of material that plays to the strengths of open-back cans. The HIFIMAN HE-400SE ran away with this one when it came to recreating the natural sense of size and space for this full-on orchestra and all the dynamics and intensity changes. This piece of music goes from bombastic, to subtle to bombastic again, and then to quiet but ominous, all at the drop of a hat. The HE400SE, and by extension, any good set of open-back headphones gives this kind of music room to breathe. Where the trade-off is here, involves bass extension and impact. This is where the Sundara Closed-Back has the advantage. Every big bass drum hit throughout this music comes through with more depth and authority on the Sundara, the presentation is just comparatively flatter. Detail-wise and tonally everything else sounds pretty similar between the two on this track. If you’re primarily a classical listener you’ll have to pick your poison here, do you prefer bass or space?

Van Halen

Van Halen “Fair Warning, Warner Bros., 1981, FLAC 24/192 via Qobuz.”

Looking for something to blow out the cobwebs a bit, I cued up Van Halen’s gritty-sounding “Mean Streets” to re-assess the Sundara’s hard rock bona fides. Bingo! This turns out to be just the sort of track the Sundara Closed-Back can make the most out of. Hard-driving rock benefits from these headphones’ bass capabilities along with the additional presence in the upper bass/lower midrange power band. Those extra pluses don’t take away from the tone and intensity of David Lee Roth’s vocals on this extra-feral Van Halen track. Diamond Dave sounds all too good here and the added aggression in his singing is clearly all too evident. On some higher-end headphones “Mean Streets” can come off as sounding thin and irritating, especially in the treble region. Not here though, the Sundara Closed-Backs give us plenty of meat to gnaw off this tune. The drum cymbals sound good, again maybe not with the final bit of sheen I might want but they certainly aren’t irritating. And then, there’s that guitar solo. Eddie Van Halen’s vicious, raunchy, nasty distortion-laden guitar solo just sounds incredibly good through these cans. It’s full of raw power and even the highest screaming notes don’t sound irritating through the Sundara Closed-Backs, even at high volume. Switching to the HE400SE imparts a softer, more diffuse take on this music that doesn’t quite jibe with the spirit of this particular album. It ends up sounding acceptable but not completely agreeable.

Conclusions

HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones at a glance

The HIFIMAN Sundara Closed-Back headphones are probably one of the most appealing and fun-sounding affordable headphone models that you are likely to find for the money.

Likes
  • Comfort.
  • Build quality.
  • Price-to-Performance ratio.
Would Like To See
  • Slightly better exterior sound isolation.
  • A travel case.

So, in the final analysis, the Sundara Closed-Back presents us with an alternate take on a product with an interesting set of qualities to consider. I would never think of taking any of the HIFIMAN open-back headphones I own into a closed-quarter situation like a bus or an airplane for obvious reasons. The Sundara Closed-Back headphones solve that problem so I can enjoy their sound in more situations. While they are planar magnetic headphones, they don’t have the same airy sound signature as many other HIFIMAN headphones do. Yet they have an added degree of spaciousness to their sound that puts them somewhere between regular closed-back headphones and open-backs. Add to that the extra sense of warmness or presence they have in the upper bass/lower midrange region, and you have a headphone that has decidedly appealing characteristics to its nature. Personally, I think if you love Jazz, Blues, or Hard Rock you will find a lot to like about these headphones. If your tastes veer primarily toward classical, then you might want to take a good listen to these headphones first to decide whether their inherent charms are completely enough to win you over. They could very well be. They may not be the absolute last word in transparency but at their price point of $399.00, they don’t need to be. They are even efficient enough to run off the resources of a smartphone with plenty of volume to spare. Even HIFIMAN’s less expensive HE-400SE needs a dedicated headphone amp to get the absolute best out of it. In the end, the Sundara Closed-Back headphones are probably one of the most appealing and fun-sounding affordable headphones that you are likely to find for the money. That alone makes them worth a listen if you are in the market for a headphone in this price range. You’ll likely need to search at double the price to get a noticeable improvement in sound quality.