I’m so stoked about this. I have been looking for a planar closed back that does not cost 4K. I’ve tried the Lirics and they are good but it was not the sound signature I was looking for. I heard that ZMF is going to have a closed Caldera but that might be too out of budget for me.

I wouldn’t get my hopes up after the Sundara closed..

this shade of wood is makes it look like a cheap toy. it feels like those toy guns with orange tips. should've used brown wood and not this orange color

The Sundara closed aren’t bad IMO. I’ve heard much worse closed back headphones like the Campfire Cascades. For $300, it sounds clean and bass extends pretty deep. Sound wise it actually competes with the Elegia and Celeste in clarity.

Well the MDR R10 is almost like this and it’s still one of the best sounding headphones

I’m interested in seeing what Resolve thinks about these. I have been considering adding some closed backs to my collection in the next year or so. Was thinking of going the ZMF route, but if Hifiman can actually pull off an Arya-like sound in a close back, these will be a strong consideration.

I wouldn’t get your hopes up but I’m really excited to try it when canjam comes around. A lot of people really hated the sundara closed and while I wouldn’t recommend it the headphones werent too bad

I didn’t really get where the hate came from. It’s not weird sounding

well it sounds worse than most open backs. It’s decent for a closed back but still not a good headphone relative to almost open backs

Cheddar cheese cups

Closed Sundara had bad frequency response measurements, I hope this has good one. It doesn't have to follow Harman directly but at least it should be smooth without dips and peaks.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but hifiman hasn't had a great track record of making good closed back headphones.

Have you considered the Aeon RT or Drop variant?

I have tried the DCA Noires but they sound bland to me even with EQ. I prefer my headphones to have a certain character and that why I like the HD820, MDR-Z1R.

They called it the Sundara closed back and it used a different driver than the Sundara. So people were comparing it only to the Sundara and said it doesn't sound as good, so nobody wanted to get that when the Sundara is better and cheaper.

Thinking back to what the closed back sundara does I'm pretty sure they can't lol. ZMF, especially with their life long driver warranty, seems like the best option for endgame cans.