Head to head ยท Headphones

HiFiMAN Sundara vs Sennheiser HD 490 Pro Headphone

Reddit prefers Sennheiser HD 490 Pro Headphone โ€” higher sentiment (100% vs 57% positive).

#2 in Headphones

HiFiMAN

HiFiMAN Sundara

57

Pros

  • +Great for instrumental music
  • +Violin hits different
  • +Great for eq
  • +Excellent value (refurbished)

Cons

  • โˆ’Replaced in the mindshare by many other headphones
  • โˆ’Too relaxed tuning for gaming
  • โˆ’Sounds flatter in game
  • โˆ’Gunshots lack punch in game
โ€œThere's no way the Sundara has been recommended so much it's top 5 in 2026. It's so hard to believe that just because it's been replaced in the mindshare by so many other headphones for years now.โ€
Sennheiser HD 490 Pro Headphone
#8 in HeadphonesReddit favorite

Sennheiser

Sennheiser HD 490 Pro Headphone

$429.00

100

Pros

  • +Comfortable
  • +Light
  • +Soft and pleasant pads
  • +Precise noise placement

Cons

  • โˆ’Poor vocals
  • โˆ’Poor treble
  • โˆ’Cable on the 490's is terrible
  • โˆ’Not a substantial upgrade (over r70x for mixing)
โ€œKeep it on low gain for HD 490... this setup is pretty dang amazing. Legit endgame setup for a lot of people. ... Also the cable on the 490's is terrible in my opinion.โ€

Specifications

SpecHiFiMAN SundaraHD 490 PRO Open-Back Professional Headphone
Driver80mm Planar Magneticโ€”
Frequency Response6Hzโ€“75kHzโ€”
Impedance37ฮฉโ€”
TypeOpen-backโ€”
Weight372gโ€”
Connectivity3.5mm (with 6.35mm adapter)โ€”
Driver TypePlanar Magneticโ€”
Priceโ€”$429.00
Reddit sentiment57%100%
Mentions71