HD 490 PRO vs Arya Stealth for Gaming (esp. Warzone)

[SamehSpiky]

Hi everyone,

I'm narrowing down between the Sennheiser HD 490 PRO and HIFIMAN Arya Stealth. I'd love your thoughts on how they compare for gaming, particularly competitive FPS like Warzone on PS5—focusing on imaging, footsteps, soundstage, and overall spatial accuracy.

One thing I've heard about the Arya is that its wide soundstage can make sounds (like footsteps) feel farther away than they actually are, messing with precise distance perception. Is that a real issue in practice, and does the 490 PRO handle it better?

Thanks!

 

[Limopard]

From my experience the perception of distances/soundstage in headphones is highly subjective (depending on your HRTF/head and ear shape). So the best strategy will be to try both and keep the one that works better for you.

 

[scw0w]

what you bought in the end?

 

[staticV3]

I've found rtings' PRTF score a surprisingly solid metric for soundstage (as in: of every headphone I've owned to date, I'd subjectively rank their stage in the exact same order as rtings' PRTF score).

And there, the 490Pro performs noticeably worse than the Arya: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/table/184912

Furthermore, in his review Amir praised the Arya's stage whereas no such comment was made in his review of the 490.