Real owners lean toward the Grado SR80x: 60% of 55 owners recommend it, vs 53% of 352 for the HiFiMan Sundara.
Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score
“SR80x (120€ new) was my first audiophile headphone over two years ago. They were so good that within a week I returned them to upgrade to SR225x”— Hunter-97-G on Reddit
“Grado SR80s were my first decent pair of headphones too, and I still love them - still have them and listen to them something like 15 years later.”— srmd22 on Reddit
“Using chinese components. And a lot of glue... You'd think with all that American Engineering, we could not use Glue, and instead use... maybe screws?”— KaosC57 on Reddit
“They won't break. I've got a opair of the 2020 Sundara's and a recently purchased set of Arya Stealth. They're both perfect. Sound wise and build quality too.”— Kevbassman on Reddit
“Absolutely the Sundara gives you way more than its price suggests clean planar bass, great detail and a neutral tuning that honestly captures most of what people love about higher end cans.”— Ornery-Ad-9419 on Reddit
“I think the. Sundara is super overrated. It's fine, nothing special, has some quirks/problems that many better headphones in and above its class don't.”— drwafflefingers on Reddit