HiFiMan Sundara 2020  Headphones Review

The HiFiMan Sundara 2020 have a flat sound profile. Their frequency response follows the SoundGuys.com Studio Curve more closely than our own, indicating they're well-suited to professional audio applications.

If you'd like to EQ the headphones to match one of the target curves featured in our Graph Tool, check out our downloadable folder of EQ parameters. 

These headphones have very good frequency response consistency. Regardless of whether you wear glasses or have long hair, you can anticipate a similar sound as other wearers. If you take the time to adjust them, you'll get consistent audio delivery every time.

These headphones have great bass range target compliance. Like most open-backs, the bass rolls off, so mixes won't have enough low-end thump for fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop, but it's certainly enough for editing and critical listening. The high-bass is well-balanced and flat, ensuring your audio's basslines and kick drums have the right amount of warmth and fullness.

These headphones have excellent mid-range target compliance. Most of the range is very flat and well-balanced, which results in a clear and accurate reproduction of vocals and instruments, though the dip in the high-mid can weaken them a bit. In songs like Walk in the Park by Beach House, you can clearly differentiate vocals against bass and synthesizer sounds.

When it comes to the treble range, these headphones comply with our target curve remarkably well. The low-treble is a bit underemphasized, which slightly veils instruments and lead vocals. The mid-treble range is well-balanced, so sibilants (S and T) sound bright without being piercing.

These headphones have great peaks and dips performance. There are several peaks and dips concentrated in the mid to treble ranges, but they're all minor, and these headphones have a generally smooth and flat sound signature. That said, the treble range has a series of peaks and valleys that bring out detail in vocals and bright sibilants or can dull them somewhat. However, there's a bit of L/R mismatch in the treble, so it depends on the pitch and the channel, too.

These headphones have great stereo mismatch performance. Their L/R drivers are well-matched overall for weighted amplitude and phase. That said, there's a bit of a mismatch in the weighted frequency response that causes certain higher frequencies to play back with more output on one side or the other, depending on the pitch. Your unit may vary in this regard, though.

Their group delay is alright. Figures are a bit elevated in the bass, which can make sounds like low 808s feel a bit bloated. But the performance is similarly matched on each side, so the sound is still consistent. Meanwhile, the mids and treble are transparent.

These open-backs have decent PRTF performance. Their over-ear fit allows the sound to interact with your ears' pinnas, which can correlate with your sense of the field. They can somewhat mimic the effect of an angled reference speaker.

At 94 dB/SPL and 104 dB/SPL, these headphones exhibit fantastic harmonic distortion performance. Across the frequencies tested, they output a clean signal overall.

These headphones don't need an amp to drive them to useable volume levels, and most devices, such as laptops, can push them without additional power.

These are the settings used to test these headphones; our results are only valid when you use them in this configuration.

The HiFiMan Sundara 2020 have a similar design to the previous edition HiFiMan Sundara 2018. They have a premium-looking all-black finish, with big round ear cups. Their padding and ski-band headband are faux leather, and the headphones have a screen-like design on the outsides of their ear cups. The ear cup padding is slightly different on the 2020 model, but it doesn't affect performance in any significant way.

These are very comfortable headphones that feel light on your head. However, they can make your ears feel hot after a while. They also fit more tightly on your head than the HiFiMan Sundara 2018, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. If you want more comfortable headphones, try the Sony MDR-MV1 instead.

These bulky headphones aren't intended for outdoor use or carrying around with you regularly. Their ear cups don't swivel to lay flat, unlike the HiFiMan HE-400i, and they take up a good amount of space in a backpack or large bag. They also don't come with a protective case or pouch.

These headphones have a good build quality. They're similar to the HiFiMan Sundara 2018, except the ear cup padding fits against your head at a different angle than the 2018 version. The hinges, ear cups, and yokes are made of metal and feel solid. The cable feels good, too, and the padding is faux leather and cloth. However, the rigid headband feels like a weak point in the build. Overall, they don't feel as sturdy or premium as models like the HiFiMan Arya Stealth Magnet Version, Audeze MM-100, or Sennheiser HD 800 S. As usual for audiophile headphones, they don't have an IP rating for dust and water resistance.

While our unit has had no issues, it's worth noting that some users have reported issues with the overall construction and build quality of these headphones. We encountered issues with the HiFiMan Sundara 2018, where the earpads and, eventually, the ear cups fell off. The manufacturer has since changed the glue they use to secure the earpads to the frame. If you encounter any quality control issues, please let us know. You can read more about problems with the 2018 model here.

These headphones have okay stability. They'll stay in place during casual listening sessions. However, they aren't intended for sports, so high-intensity activities like headbanging might cause them to slip off.

• HiFiMan Sundara 2020 headphones
• 1/8" TRS to L/R 1/8" TRS cable
• 1/4" TRS to 1/8" adapter
• Manual

Like the HiFiMan Edition XS and other open-back headphones, these HiFiMan headphones have a bad noise isolation performance. They block out virtually no ambient noise by design, so you hear external noises like bus engine rumbles or office chatter around you.

The HiFiMan Sundara are terrible at isolating you against noises you might encounter in common scenarios. Their open-back design means that the rumble of plane engines is extremely audible when wearing the headphones. Likewise, they provide almost no attenuation if you're on a busy street or in a bustling office.

These headphones have a bad leakage performance, typical of open-back headphones. By design, they leak a lot of audio. Escaping audio is concentrated primarily in the treble range, meaning people around you can easily hear your music if you listen at a high volume in an environment like an office.

These headphones come with a TRS cable with a 1/8" connector on one end and a 1/8" connector for each ear cup on the other end. There's also a 1/8" to 1/4" TRS adapter. However, they don't have an in-line mic, so they can only receive audio.

You can easily connect these headphones to a PC via the 1/8" TRS cable.

You can use these headphones wired on PlayStation if you plug their 1/8" TRS cable into a controller. However, given the lack of a microphone, you can't input audio to communicate with teammates.

You can use these headphones wired on Xbox if you plug their 1/8" TRS cable into a controller. However, you can only receive audio.