HIFIMAN SUNDARA vs Sennheiser HD 650

HIFIMAN SUNDARA review
vs
Sennheiser HD 650 review

Whether to use wired or wireless headphones is a hotly-debatable topic that often divides opinion. This time I am going to show you all the ins and outs of two wired devices Sennheiser HD 650 vs HIFIMAN SUNDARA. Both of the chosen headphone models are open-back and have an over-ear wearing style.

Article navigation

Features

The special thing about HIFIMAN SUNDARA is an incredibly wide frequency response which is 6 Hz - 75 kHz. Comparatively, the device Sennheiser HD 650 has a range of 10 Hz - 41 kHz. Another point worth noting is the distinction between their levels of impedance. The headphones produced by HIFIMAN have 37 Ohm, while the product of Sennheiser has 300 Ohm. The difference between the rates of sensitivity is less considerable since the first appliance has 94 dB and the second one — 103 dB.

Sound

Sennheiser HD 650 provides an incredibly natural, smooth, and absolutely non-fatiguing sound. The low mids are raised ever very slightly, giving the device some lush and warm feel. The mids are incredibly realistic and natural, and make instruments sound like they are supposed to sound.

HIFIMAN SUNDARA has an amazing wide soundstage, with more lateral extension than depth. Bass is very detailed and well-textured, with different layers being presented coherently and without any negative interactions between them.

Comfort and design

Let's start with comparing their audio cables. HIFIMAN SUNDARA comes with a detachable wire which is 150 cm long. The cable that you get with Sennheiser HD 650 is twice longer — 300 cm, and it is not detachable. None of the devices has a microphone, therefore making phone calls with these headphones might be uncomfortable. The weight of the model HD 650 is 260 g and HIFIMAN SUNDARA weighs 372 g. Although both devices are not very heavy, they do not fold which lowers their portability.

Sennheiser HD 650 pros and cons

Sennheiser HD 650 pros and cons

Pros

  • Incredibly comfortable to wear because of the special elliptical design adapted to the shape of the ears
  • High-quality titanium and silver finish
  • Specially modulated connecting audio cable produced of highly conductive OFC copper, with pretty low handling noise, i.e. low structure-borne sound sensitivity

Cons

  • Pads compress and wear out faster than others

HIFIMAN SUNDARA pros and cons

HIFIMAN SUNDARA pros and cons

Pros

  • The leather headband disperses the weight nicely across the head, which helps to avoid creating any “hot-spots”
  • Comfortable even with prolonged listening
  • Clean, crisp sound

Cons

  • There is a slight creaking from the plastic parts used on the headband
  • Leaks sound, and sound leaks in

Votes 12 12
Rating 5 5

Headphones comparison chart

Overall
HIFIMAN SUNDARA
8
Sennheiser HD 650
7.5
7
6
HIFIMAN SUNDARA

HIFIMAN SUNDARA review

May 27, 2020

HiFiMan Sundara is a great choice for critical listening and is intended for professional use mostly...

Read More
Sennheiser HD 650

Sennheiser HD 650 review

May 14, 2020

The wired headphones Sennheiser HD 650 are open-back and made for real audiophiles. If you are think...

Read More
Add headphones to comparison
We didn't find anything to show here

Common

Product

HIFIMAN SUNDARA
Sennheiser HD 650

Model

SUNDARA
HD 650

Brand

HIFIMAN
Sennheiser

Reviews

480
1766