Pros – Well-balanced signature, Comfortable, Very coherent imaging, Nice build quality Cons – Mediocre sub-bass extension Verdict – The Sundara provides a natural, tonally excellent presentation and one of the most accurate midrange timbres in its price range. Buyers would do well to choose the Sundara. ... Introduction – Hifiman are one of the original Chi-Fi hits, shocking users with their cost-effective designs and sound signatures usually only found on considerably more expensive audio products. No doubt, those following the hobby for the last decade would have heard of their legendary RE in-ears that have evolved through various incarnations over the years and honed the same neutral-orientated tunning. And with their headphones, Hifiman achieved similar renown, the HE line becoming high and frequent recommendations for their excellent value.

Disclaimer: Jade II was sent to us as a loaner unit and will be returned to HifiMan in about one week. We thank team HifiMan for this opportunity! 10 years and some have passed since first generation of HifiMan Jade seen the light of the day. Many owners called them Liquid HD800, some called them baby HE90, others considered them the best electrostatic ear-speakers to date. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the pleasure of listening to them, but I am very glad HifiMan Jade II made safely my way and I started my listening as soon as I have unpacked them. Unboxing Experience HifiMan Jade II Electrostatic system came quadruple boxed: one box for the headphone, one for the headphone amplifier (energizer) and two separate boxes for extra protection. It is clear to me Hifiman walked an extra mile to make sure every Jade II set will arrive safe and sound to the new owners.

Doing reviews for good sounding headphones is easy-peasy they said, just hype them as much as you can and all will be good they said, roses are red violets are blue they said. What a bunch on non-sense! Actually, doing reviews for expensive and top-notch headphones is much, much harder to do since you need to carefully pick your words, not to mention excessive amounts of listening tests, comparisons, measurements and leaving plain subjective opinions. The moment Hifiman Arya arrived at my door my mood was really low, spirits were not kind to me this past few days, don’t know why. I started casually listening to them with a slight headache and sincerely I was so low on inspiration that my expectance level was even lower, I didn’t think they can surpass my all-time-favorite Quad Era-1 headphones. About 5 minutes passed and I already started doubting my thoughts, another 5 minutes passed and I was already sweating, 5 more and I was angry that they just might sound better. I started bargaining and added more music to my playlist. After a painful one hour of switching back and forth my depression left me and I accepted the fact that Arya is just in completely another league. Yes, my friends they are sounding better on almost all aspects, all of that in due time.