Real owners lean toward the HiFiMan HE400se: 80% of 127 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
“The treble is still tamed, but the bass doesn't seem to roll off. Punchy and fun.”— @onepieceatatime on YouTube
“they are amazing, the replacement grills smooth out all the peaks and dips”— @ZdraveBass on YouTube
“Hifiman are known to last about two months. It's only a question of time before they fail and customer service is bad from what I saw.”— @westsenkovec on YouTube
“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