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.
See which one to buy
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.
Sound signature, overlaid
Each axis is positioned from the review body itself. The same word-frequency model anchors every review on the catalogue.
| 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 |
Specs, side by side
Manufacturer figures unless a measured value is noted; an em-dash 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 |
| Connector | Dual 3.5 mm | N/A |
| Weight | 372 g | 350 g |
| Sensitivity | 94 dB | 112 dB |
Pros & cons, side by side
Sundara
Pros
- Balanced and neutral tonality - never boring
- 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
- Quite lightweight at 372g
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
- Hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille
- Custom 50mm driver with carbon-fiber W-dome and titanium torus
- 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
- Waterproof hard case + braided stock cable - no upgrades needed
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
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
How they were tested head-to-head
Both the HIFIMAN Sundara and the Meze 105 Silva ran on the same chain, driven from the same HIFIMAN Serenade amp/DAC (Himalaya Pro R2R), fed bit-perfect from the Hermes 12th digital transport over USB. The two were volume-matched at the output and swapped across the same set of reference recordings - acoustic, vocal-led, dense modern, and large-scale orchestral - so every session compared like for like. 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
A 0.3-point gap is the smallest difference that stays audibly consistent in A/B - present in some material, gone in others, but always the same direction. The HIFIMAN Sundara pulls ahead on average without running away with it, which means the lower-scored piece can still be the right call if its character suits your system or taste.
What would flip the verdict
The HIFIMAN Sundara wins on the rubric, but the Meze 105 Silva becomes the right pick under three conditions. First, when system fit favours it - your amplifier, room, or source has a character that pairs better with this piece than with the higher scorer. Second, when one of the cons listed against the HIFIMAN Sundara is a hard disqualifier in your context: drive requirements, ergonomics, connectivity, or footprint. Third, when budget is genuinely binding - the Meze 105 Silva costs more than the higher-scored piece, which is unusual, and only earns it with a specific synergy. Outside those three, the higher score is the safer bet.
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. Where they really split is voicing: the 105 Silva runs noticeably brighter, the Sundara warmer. 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, about the narrowest gap that still shows up in a level-matched A/B - 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.
Is the 105 Silva's $200 premium worth it?
Not on the numbers - $200 more for 0.3 less on the rubric. You're paying for what's specific to the Meze 105 Silva - "Easy to drive (42Ω, 112dB) - USB-C DAC dongle included" - not for measured performance, so it's worth it only if that solves a problem the HIFIMAN Sundara leaves open.
Where they rank
This page is the head-to-head - the buying guides put both of these up against the whole field.