So i recently upgraded from a pair of Audio-Technica M50X's to a pair of Hifiman Sundaras however i feel like at best, they sound very much alike and at worst some details in some of the music i listen to are lost to the Sundaras. For example, on the m50x's i might hear a very subtle thing in the background but on the Sundaras i can...but its often muted or muffled slightly.
What details exactly? And what are you using as a source?
This can have more to do with frequency response or given that the M50X is not just higher sensitivity but also closed back, ambient noise. Or both.
While it is possible that whatever you're plugging it into is distorting and also has electronic noise (that is by itself seemingly inaudible if you haven't noticed it, but if you actually run it in a lab I wouldn't be surprised if THD+N was already high and then it just gets higher cranked up), if it does have to do with ambient noise if not also the response then switching the amp would only make these details more audible if you really crank it up. If you're using a gaming computer as a source or any other noisy computer, switching to a MonsterLabo case or a silent pump in another room pushing water through three 9 x 120mm radiators (or if a laptop, something like an old 12in Macbook with a Core 5Y30) would probably be necessary on top of the amp. Or at the very least maybe get an NH-D15 and an Asus X Noctua RTX 3070 (
or mod your existing Strix if you have one).
I have also notices after a few days use that some sounds get lost or are "overpowered" by other sounds if multiple sounds are playing at the same time,
Could be remedied by an amp, ie you get more power and less distortion and noise, but don't expect it to be drastic as some of this has to do with the Sundara's response. Meaning its response is comparatively flat so chances are those finer details will get more audible as power increases with noise decreasing, but it won't necessarily have the same effect as an equalizer.
The Sundaras are noticeably quieter too...
Their sensitivity is around 6dB lower. That means that at the same amount of power it'll get to roughly only a perceived third of the output of the M50X's output. Problem there is this isn't something you can just remedy by cranking it up since noise and distortion are a problem, unless of course you're cranking it up on a really good amplifier. Something like a Meier Jazz FF or Schiit Asgard or Burson Soloist.
...and everything seems to be the "same" volume almost, its less "punchy"...
"Less punchy" can be due to many things, like response. A headphone that has stronger 50hz to 150hz response will always sound "punchy," and more so if it's a higher sensitivity headphone and you're hooking it up to a not so great amplification circuit. Now as much as say a low sensitivity, low impedance or high impedance headphone will get punchier with a good amp with more power and lower noise and distortion (this does not take into account impedance mismatch between output and load issues that can go either way), this will
not suddenly beat the higher sensitivity headphone with the elevated 50hz to 150hz response.
That means an M50X or Grado RS1(i) will always tend to sound "punchier" than an HD600/580J/58X or an HE400(i)/4XX/Sundara. More so say a K702 which despite the improvement over the K701 will still have that region weaker and images that punch farther back than even the HiFiMans (forget these Sennheisers when it comes to depth). At the very least you'd probably be better off getting an HD6XX or LCD-2 with the amp depending on how much of the top end you can trade off to get more perceived punch as they seem punchier only because the relatively weak treble results in auditory masking
of the treble
by the upper bass (the opposite is happening on the Sundara with its treble peak; and less intensely so on the HD600 which still has a bump in the 50hz to 150hz region and less wide and tall deviations in the treble region).
I have an Atom Amp+ in the mail...but until it gets here i have no idea if it will even help, or if the Sundaras or even open back headphones in general are even for me, considering it does not feel like much of an upgrade and in some situations even a downgrade of sorts, and i'd like to make a decision before my 14 days of grace are over so i can decide if i want a refund or not.
Any Advice is much appreciated.
I can't tell you either how much the amp will help.
I'd likely hear the difference and appreciate it, but in your case I can't claim whether you can hear it or even if you could, I can't judge as to whether that will be worth the money to you or not. More so if the more reference sound (flat bass and most of the midrange) with some other trade offs (some stronger response in some sections of the treble) might not be for you. Think of it this way: I can tell you that the flatter torque curve of a factory twin turbo Audi V8 makes for smoother daily driving and cornering with Quattro AWD, but what if you really prefer stomping on the go pedal to inflate deflated rear tyres before registering a 9sec pass while otherwise gurgling at stoplights? The only thing these two have in common are piston count and the fact that you can still use them to get from one place to another, otherwise these are very different machines.
