Sound Quality
Now on to its sonics. Does it sound like the original Sundara? Definitely not, mainly because the frequency response is quite a bit different so you easily notice it right out of the gate.
The Sundara Closed-back appears to be a mid-forward headphone with vocals that sound prominent especially male vocals. It actually reminds me of old wood headphones from Audio-Technica. The ESW9 for example where there is that midrange gooeyness that’s present. It’s warm and pleasing, but also overbearing and honky depending on the track. It also feels a bit closed-in due to the forward tuning.
Treble is surprisingly inoffensive but it does lack a bit of that usual sparkle and zing that I’ve grown accustomed to with Hifiman headphones. The bass extension seems to be a bit better than the Sundara open but lacks dynamics relative to it. I think it benefits from a bass shelf so I’d recommend maybe boosting the sub-bass a bit. The overall tuning is somewhat (low) mid-forward and dark which is the opposite of the open version of the Sundara.
As for the soundstage, I didn’t feel I was listening to an open headphone but I’d say the sense of image, while small, is quite decent. It doesn’t have too congested presentation that I usually associate with wireless headphones or cheaper sealed headphones. The reason I mentioned that is because Hifiman touts this as a headphone having a huge soundstage but I just don’t see it that way. Maybe because I’m comparing it mostly with open headphones which makes the comparison moot. And yeah, the forward tuning might be detrimental to the overall sense of space as well.
The Sundara Closed sounds pretty articulate and is good at imparting a sense of speed and detail to music which I would say is helped by the fact that it’s a planar magnetic headphone. While dynamics is on the softer side, I would not call it blunted or dead-sounding like I would a monitoring headphone for example. The subjective part of its sound is what I feel has a very close resemblance to the original Sundara open. And aside from some small EQ tweaks, it sounds fine from practically any source which is a big benefit.
Efficiency
The Sundara Closed-Back proves playable off portable devices, maintaining its sonic integrity even without amplification. Whether connected to a laptop or a smartphone, it delivers ample volume and fidelity which is the opposite of the open Sundara and even the cheaper HE400se. This versatility makes it an excellent choice for those new to the headphone hobby.
I did try plugging the headphones into my amplifiers namely the Monoprice THX887 and Luxman P1u and I really didn’t hear that much of an improvement.
EQ
While the stock tuning has its quirks, a bit of EQ adjustment can enhance the Sundara Closed-Back’s performance. Addressing the lower mid to upper mid balance, adding a bass shelf, and slightly lifting the treble frequencies can provide a more well-rounded sound.
While I EQ headphones myself, I don’t always strongly recommend doing so as I feel there’s value in hearing the headphone’s stock sound and how it can sometimes be more cohesive as a whole with proper synergy. Unfortunately in the case of the Sundara Closed, I consider EQ a must.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a decent-sounding home-listening closed-back headphone for under $250, I think the Sundara Closed is worth a look. There aren’t too many offerings for the 200-300 price range that is similar to what this headphone is catering for. You have your usual studio monitoring options in Audio-Technica M50x or M70x which are both inferior subjectively. You have a bunch of noise-canceling wireless headphones that are for a different application and not so much in the direction of not-so-big full-size home-listening sealed headphones with decent passive noise-isolation that’s not hard to drive or picky with pairing.
The other similar options that I could think of are the Aeon from DCA and the Celestee from Focal, both of which are significantly better sounding but are closer to $1,000 than $100.
Don’t get me wrong, the Sundara Closed is far from a perfectly sealed headphone. The stock tuning leaves a lot to be desired and I thought if it’s tuned like the open Sundara, Hifiman would’ve hit it out of the park. But with a little bit of EQ love, the Sundara Closed can become your go-to home headphone that sounds good enough for practical purposes and can take a beating as well.