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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 vs Audeze LCD-1

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

HiFiMan Sundara 2018
Audeze LCD-1

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Sep 25, 2023 05:06 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Sep 08, 2021 06:08 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Picture

Variants

  • Sundara 2018 (Black)
  • LCD-1

Our Verdict

HiFiMan Sundara 2018

Audeze LCD-1

The HiFiMan Sundara 2018 are slightly better open-back, planar magnetic headphones than the Audeze LCD-1 for neutral sound listening. Their sound profile is more accurate in all ranges, and the HiFiMan have a larger sounding soundstage. On the other hand, the Audeze have a much sleeker and smaller design, and their frequency response is more consistent among different users.

0 

Check Price

Black
Sundara 2018
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
LCD-1
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Sundara 2018
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Sundara 2018
B&H
Standard
LCD-1
B&H
Black
Sundara 2018
BestBuy.com
Standard
LCD-1
BestBuy.com
Read more

Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

5.1
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Design Picture 2
Audeze LCD-1 Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Planar Magnetic
Planar Magnetic
Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Comfort Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.9 lbs
0.55 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.2 lbs
1 lbs
Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Controls Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
No Controls

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
No Controls

Feedback  

No Controls
No Controls

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No
Show text

Breathability 
 

6.4
7.2

Breathability After Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Breathability After Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6 °C
3.7 °C
Show text

Portability 
 

5.5
6.0

Portability Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Portability Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Portability Picture

 

8.0" (20.3 cm)
5.1"

 

5.5" (14.0 cm)
6"

 

4.2" (10.7 cm)
3.4"

Volume  

185.00 in³ (3,031.59 cm³)
104 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show text

Case 
 

0.0
7.5

Case Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Case Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Case Picture

Type  

No case
Hard case

 

N/A
8.2"

 

N/A
6.3"

 

N/A
4"

Volume  

N/A
207.6 in³
Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Build Quality Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Build Quality Picture
Show text

Stability 
 

6.5
7.0

Stability Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Stability Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Stability Picture
Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Angled Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Side Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Front Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Rear Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Top Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 In The Box Picture
Audeze LCD-1 In The Box Picture
Show text
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-3.03 dB
-3.87 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-0.8 dB
-2.52 dB
Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

8.7
9.5

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.27 dB
0.1 dB
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.6
6.6

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.98 dB
4.46 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

77.72 Hz
70.25 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-5.66 dB
-8.54 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-2.3 dB
-3.31 dB

High-Bass 
 

0.62 dB
-0.35 dB
Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.0
8.4

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.35 dB
2.14 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.66 dB
0.01 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.25 dB
-1.13 dB

High-Mid 
 

-1.59 dB
-3.06 dB
Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.1
6.3

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.96 dB
4.88 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-0.66 dB
-2.6 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

1.03 dB
-5.41 dB

High-Treble 
 

-5.21 dB
-7.63 dB
Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.7
8.0

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.49 dB
1.25 dB

Dips 
 

1.07 dB
1.02 dB
Show text

Imaging 
 

9.0
8.9

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.2
0.2

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

2.34
6.09

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.47
0.1

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.48
1.42
Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

8.6
7.6

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.9 dB
2.04 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

6.33 dB
7.08 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

11.62 dB
5.05 dB

Openness 
 

9.6
9.6

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

9.8
8.6
Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Virtual Soundstage
Audeze LCD-1 Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.5
7.5

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.152
0.232

WHD @ 100 
 

0.059
0.183
Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

0.9
1.0

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-1.85 dB
-1.91 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.43 dB
-0.38 dB

Mid 
 

0.27 dB
1.05 dB

Treble 
 

-5.23 dB
-6.13 dB
Show text

Leakage 
 

0.2
1.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

69.07 dB
63.74 dB
Show text
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

No
No

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Microphone Frequency Response
Audeze LCD-1 Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A
Show text

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 SpNR
Audeze LCD-1 SpNR

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A
Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None
Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 App Picture
Audeze LCD-1 App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Show text
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show text

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 Cable Picture
Audeze LCD-1 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
7 ft

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms
Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show text

Check Price

Black
Sundara 2018
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
LCD-1
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Sundara 2018
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Sundara 2018
B&H
Standard
LCD-1
B&H
Black
Sundara 2018
BestBuy.com
Standard
LCD-1
BestBuy.com

HiFiMan Sundara 2018

Audeze LCD-1

Comments

  1. Comparison

HiFiMan Sundara 2018 vs Audeze LCD-1: Main Discussion

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