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Hifiman Arya Review (headphone)

Rate this headphone:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 12 4.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 54 18.2%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 135 45.5%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 96 32.3%

  • Total voters
    297

jody2k

Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
16
Likes
22
I have received the Arya Organic for couple of days now and I deliberately waited for couple of days to write my impressions because I have done alot of AB.

I have my Hifiman Edition XS for 1 year now which I compared a lot to the Arya stealth and eventually returned the Arya stealth because back then the difference and price ratio wasn't "worth" it for me.

So now I'm directly comparing to my edition XS with the Arya Organic and the main differences I noticed immediately:

A very meaty and warm/smooth mid presentation which I only remember my older Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3 could do. (and in no way I remember the Arya stealth was doing this, it sounded bit more cold, more thin and similar to the edition XS in tuning). also don't remember a Hifiman sounding like this in "smoothness" also the highs and lows share same smoothness and refinement in sound. I tried also the HE1000 V2 non stealth last weekend, which was okay but it doesn't sound in any way like the Arya Organic. I'm not saying the HE1000V2 was worse or better, more equal but the arya organic was having that timbre more of my taste. While I liked the HE1000 V2, compared to the edition XS again the difference wasn't big, they sharing the same timbre, same housesound. Arya organic is very difference which in my case was a good thing I guess haha

The Arya Organic's high's are elevated yes and no ( or call it more like extended?) but don't sound sibilant at all and I'm someone who's normally very sensitive in this area because I suffer from severe tinnitus in my left ear, i'm especially sensitive in the 5k-10k sibilance. So I was scared in the first place when I read a lot of people had mixed reviews about the sibilance for the Arya organic, in my case it turned out well.

Arya Organic sounds smooth while still remaining incredible detailed, revealing, and having much better instrument separation compared to the Edition XS a BIG step up in clarity too. When I quick compare with the Edition XS, my edition XS suddenly started to sound veiled and thin, congested (which is crazy right? I loved this headphone for 1 year).

Soundstage: About the same width like the edition XS (which was already a very wide sounding soundstage). Arya organic soundstage height feels like bigger, more holographic. More is happening also in the big ranged soundstage, you're getting more (zoomed?) into the music but still the music sounds like you're in a big concert. The overall soundstage signature or shape is more rounded around you while the edition XS has a more oval shaped soundstage. Might sound weird but this is how I could describe the soundstage.

For those who are interested to read this is my direct comparison to the edition XS which I haven't found much people on the internet who have directly compare it so this is why i'm sharing this with you. I hope you enjoy the read and my experience as much as i'm doing right now
 

Glaurung

New Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2023
Messages
3
Likes
4
I get the Arya Stealth to replace my 3y+ Sundara and HD800. Out of the box I get the impression that something is wrong.
The highs are just screaming and I cannot put these to the ears. Is hard to describe the sound but seems to be heavily distorted, screechy. Fortunately after some hours with heavy metal on at a loud level, they come to a more listenable sound. I don't believe in the bun-in process, but something happen with the highs after this treatment. I can just suppose that is related to the material of the planar driver.

Compare with the Sundara both ends are significantly extended; more bass and sub-bass, more highs. Also the mids seem to be more forward (Sundara have a somehow recessed mids). The details are far better and the sound stage significantly larger. Still the Sundara has better tonality in my opinion with a more neutral sound.

Compared with the HD800 I found some interesting things. Obvious the bass is significantly better not only in terms of quantity but especially quality. The details are very similar and this is a good news for me. Basically the planars that I listen until now lacking badly in terms of the detail retrieval (LCD -2/C, 3, X and Meze Empyrean). Is not the case with Arya SE. The sound stage is similar, with HD800 taking the edge but by a very small edge. Arya SE is brighter than HD800 and this is something that I don't really like. While the purity of the highs is great, the presentation is a bit harsh, shooty. HD800 highs are a bit diffuse and more refined.

While in the show-room, I get the chance to try some other planars and compare these against Arya SE and HD800S (my reference). LCD-2C, 3 and X has a better bass extension and somehow a more relaxed sound. But the sound-stage is basically missing on these HPs (I'm a bit biased on this as HD800 are my references). The details retrieval is not on par with Arya and HD800 and this become very obvious when I try some classical music. Empyrean was the biggest surprise. They look far better than is sound. Bass is going to abyssal deeps but that's all. Details are missing and the highs are very recessed.

Overal these are bright headphones with a tendency to amplify the defects of the record prety much in the same maner like HD800/S. Can be the planar replacements of the HD800/S and will bring back the "missing piece" of 800s, the bass.

About the build quality, this is very Chi-Fi. Plastic and some metal. For me, Sundara are better build with their metal cups. Cable is a crap and keeps coil itself (fortunatelly can be replaced as has the standard 3.5mm Jacks).

I'm going now into the "equlization farandole". With HD800 was just a partial succes. I hope to get better results, as these cans share the same character with the 800s, bright and merciless with bad records.
 

Svperstar

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2018
Messages
342
Likes
222
I get the Arya Stealth to replace my 3y+ Sundara and HD800. Out of the box I get the impression that something is wrong.
The highs are just screaming and I cannot put these to the ears. Is hard to describe the sound but seems to be heavily distorted, screechy. Fortunately after some hours with heavy metal on at a loud level, they come to a more listenable sound. I don't believe in the bun-in process, but something happen with the highs after this treatment. I can just suppose that is related to the material of the planar driver.

Compare with the Sundara both ends are significantly extended; more bass and sub-bass, more highs. Also the mids seem to be more forward (Sundara have a somehow recessed mids). The details are far better and the sound stage significantly larger. Still the Sundara has better tonality in my opinion with a more neutral sound.

Compared with the HD800 I found some interesting things. Obvious the bass is significantly better not only in terms of quantity but especially quality. The details are very similar and this is a good news for me.

I'm going now into the "equlization farandole". With HD800 was just a partial succes. I hope to get better results, as these cans share the same character with the 800s, bright and merciless with bad records.

I find the Arya Organic has a similar soundstage to the OG 800, the bass slams a lot harder with the right amp.

My SMSL SP200 and Schiit Midgard both have enough power to drive the Organic with authority. My Schiit Asgard 2 has enough power for mids and highs but bass is weak/flabby and uncontroled.
 

x360720x

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2022
Messages
6
Likes
1
Hi all,

About to pull the trigger on purchasing the Stealth. 2x questions I already have the LCD-X do you think these will compliment them or be a waste of money and second I don't own a desktop amp (deliberately) as I like to be able to listen to music anywhere in the house, I presume the Moondrop dawn is sufficient as an amp? 230mw vs the ~40mw per headphonesty calcs?
 

staticV3

Master Contributor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
7,539
Likes
12,004
I presume the Moondrop dawn is sufficient as an amp?
Which Moondrop Dawn?
3.5, 4.4, or Pro?
Moondrop-Dawn-tragbarer-Verst-rker-voll-ausgewogener-Hochleistungs-Mini-USB-Dac-Amp-Unterst-tz...jpg MoonDrop-DAWN-Portable-Amplifier-Full-Balanced-High-Performance-Mini-USB-DAC-AMP-Support-DSD25...jpg 51OgCxY6qXL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
 

x360720x

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2022
Messages
6
Likes
1
Alternatively I see the Fiio KA13 (4.4 output) has quite a bit more power (550mw) comparative to the moon drop. Failing that happy to get a desktop amp, it's just if I can avoid it I will...
 

staticV3

Master Contributor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
7,539
Likes
12,004
Hey sorry for the late response.

WolfX-700's measurements of the Dawn 4.4 show that the output is limited to about 170mW @32Ω (1% THD+N):
THDN-Ratio-vs-Measured-Level-1 (5).jpg
Source

We can use a Curve fit program to predict that at 23Ω (DCA Stealth), the Dawn 4.4 will output about 1.9Vrms, or about 150mW:
Screenshot 2024-02-07 232831.jpg

That's enough to drive the DCA Stealth to about 105dB SPL Peak, which is pretty loud.
94+20*log10(1.874352/.549)=104.7

For reference, that's about 600% of my usual listening volume.
 
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