Headphones · Side-by-side
HIFIMAN Sundara vs Meze 105 Silva
The HIFIMAN Sundara scores 0.3 higher and costs $200 less - on the data, it just wins.
Our pick HIFIMAN Sundara The Sundara is 0.3 ahead on the rubric, tested on the same chain by the same listener. It is also $200 cheaper, so nothing is being traded.
See the case for eachThe short version
The HIFIMAN Sundara scores 9.0/10 (Highly Recommended) and the Meze 105 Silva scores 8.7/10 (Highly Recommended), both headphones tested on the same reference chain. At $299 against $499, the HIFIMAN Sundara saves you $200. The Sundara's headline strength, per its review: Balanced and neutral tonality - never boring. The 105 Silva's: Hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille. The HIFIMAN Sundara is the stronger piece on the rubric.
Higher score
HIFIMAN Sundara
An amazing value proposition - the latest Sundara revision performs exceptionally well at $300 in the open-back planar market. It's just steel.
Meze 105 Silva
A $499 open-back dynamic with hand-polished walnut cups, a custom 50mm carbon-fiber driver, and a warm, fun, easy-to-drive tuning that punches well above its price.
The overlap
Common ground & where they differ
Straight from each review's own tags - the driver, form factor, bracket, and origin. No score in this row, just what kind of thing each one is.
Both share
Only the Sundara
Only the 105 Silva
The verdict
Which one to buy
Short version: the rubric leans HIFIMAN Sundara - but what's upstream, what you listen for, and what your budget allows can each flip it. Here's the case for each.
The case for the Sundara
HIFIMAN Sundara
- Balanced and neutral tonality - never boring
- Outstanding micro-detail retrieval, especially for the price
- Cheaper by $200, and it gives up nothing on the score
- Higher score, plainly - Highly Recommended, 9.0/10, 0.3 clear of the Meze 105 Silva
The case for the 105 Silva
Meze 105 Silva
- Hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille
- Custom 50mm driver with carbon-fiber W-dome and titanium torus
- That $200 premium buys character and build, not a higher score
- Newer of the two reviews, scored against the current reference list
Sound character
Sound signature, overlaid
Nothing here is hand-placed. Each axis is derived from the review's own prose by the model that anchors every review on the site.
| Axis | HIFIMAN Sundara | Meze 105 Silva |
|---|---|---|
| Warm to Bright | leans warm | sits near neutral |
| Relaxed to Analytical | leans analytical | sits near neutral |
| Polite to Aggressive | leans aggressive | leans aggressive |
| Lean to Bass-heavy | leans bass-heavy | leans bass-heavy |
| Intimate to Wide stage | leans wide stage | leans wide stage |
The numbers
Specs, side by side
The 4 specs both reviews record come first, so the rows you can actually compare are at the top. Manufacturer figures unless a measured value is noted; N/A means we haven't recorded that spec yet.
| Spec | HIFIMAN Sundara | Meze 105 Silva |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Planar magnetic | 50 mm carbon-fiber dynamic |
| Impedance | 32 Ω | 42 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 94 dB | 112 dB |
| Weight | 372 g | 350 g |
| Connector | Dual 3.5 mm | N/A |
| Frequency response | N/A | 5 Hz - 30 kHz |
Trade-offs
Pros & cons, side by side
Sundara
Pros
- Outstanding micro-detail retrieval, especially for the price
- Great wide and decently accurate soundstage
- Strong dynamics with serious punch and slam
- Fast transients with above-average decay
- Excellent build - metal parts, suspension strap, dual 3.5mm
Cons
- Inner pad diameter likely too small for many ears
- Pads can get warm inside after some time
- Suspension strap doesn't swivel
- Some clamp force (though it helps weight distribution)
- Does not include Stealth Magnets
105 Silva
Pros
- Self-adjusting elastic suspension headband - zero hotspots
- Light 350g weight for a full-size wooden headphone
- Plush, breathable velour earpads - glasses-friendly
- Modular, fully serviceable - assembled with screws, not glue
- Easy to drive (42Ω, 112dB) - USB-C DAC dongle included
Cons
- Musical, warm tuning - not a flaw-revealing reference
- Mid-bass is slightly forward - flat-tuning purists won't love it
- Lower mids step back behind a small upper-mid lift
- Treble has noticeable extra sparkle - bright-sensitive ears beware
- Meze's optional $250 upgrade cable is hard to justify over the stock
- Open-back design leaks sound - not for shared spaces
Method
How they were tested head-to-head
Same chain for both - the HIFIMAN Sundara and the Meze 105 Silva, driven from the same HIFIMAN Serenade amp/DAC (Himalaya Pro R2R), fed bit-perfect from the Hermes 12th digital transport over USB. Output levels were matched first, because a half-decibel advantage reads as "better" to anyone. After that it was the same four kinds of material through both: acoustic, vocal-led, dense modern, and full orchestral. No demo-room verdicts, no half-remembered impressions from an earlier listen: this is a direct head-to-head, scored against the published headphones reference list at the matching price tier.
What the 0.3-point score gap actually means
At 0.3 points apart, the HIFIMAN Sundara is the better piece on the rubric and you would not always notice. Gaps this size are the ones where buying the lower-scored piece is a defensible choice rather than a compromise, provided its character is the one you want.
What would flip the verdict
There are three ways the Meze 105 Silva still ends up being the one to buy. Your system may simply pair better with it than with the HIFIMAN Sundara. One of the cons listed against the HIFIMAN Sundara may be a dealbreaker where you sit - drive requirements, ergonomics, connectivity, or the space it needs. Or the money may not be there: the Meze 105 Silva costs more than the higher-scored piece, which is unusual, and only earns it with a specific synergy. Absent one of those, take the higher score.
Full methodology and disclosure live on the about page. The reference chain and the scoring rubric behind both scores are published on the homepage, and each review carries its own head-to-head list and publication date, plus the date it was last re-checked against the rest of the catalogue.
Common questions
Common questions about this comparison
What's the real-world difference between the HIFIMAN Sundara and the Meze 105 Silva?
On the rubric the HIFIMAN Sundara leads, 9.0 to 8.7 - a 0.3-point edge. On voicing the Sundara is the warmer of the two; the 105 Silva does not lean far on that axis. Each review flags something different - the Sundara's "Fast transients with above-average decay" against the 105 Silva's "Modular, fully serviceable - assembled with screws, not glue". That contrast, not the score column, is what you're actually choosing between.
Which should you buy, the HIFIMAN Sundara or the Meze 105 Silva?
Default to the HIFIMAN Sundara - it's 0.3 ahead - but on a sympathetic system the Meze 105 Silva closes most of it. Take the Meze 105 Silva if its character or your chain leans that way; otherwise the HIFIMAN Sundara.
The bigger picture
Where they rank
This page is the head-to-head - the buying guides put both of these up against the whole field.