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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

192kbps

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FXK_ixEUEAAhdXX

 

odyo

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Upper mids and treble so good on this headphone. Even if it's bright there, it's a warranted brightness. Very detailed, solid and fun. Not bright, fatiguing and boring at the same time like some other headphones.

Bass and low mids a bit too thick i feel, little bit damped sounding.

The headphone can sound very impressive and realistic if the recording is good. Very high detail and transparency. The presentation makes things more visual.
 

Bow_Wazoo

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Now that I've spent about thirty hours with the Arya Stealth, I'd like to give an interim summary.

As already mentioned, I've owned almost all TOTL headphones in the last few years. Without a doubt, there are a lot of very very good headphones on the market.
Instead of listing countless models and describing their strengths and weaknesses, I'll focus on the most important thing at this moment:

the Arya Stealth.

To anticipate one thing:
the Arya Stealth is the best all-rounder I've had in my hands!

The start was bumpy.
I started this encounter with an A/B comparison to the HE6SE V2.
The HE6SE emerged as the winner.
Therefore I had almost given up on the Arya. However, this one didn't let me go.
Fortunately.
I quickly realized that my EQ setting
(I always work according to Oratory's settings, as a starting point), was not yet optimal.
And what is at least as important,
at least my brain needed a certain time,
in order to be able to grasp at all correctly, what is going on with the Stealth.
If you take both points into account,
the tide turns in favor of the Arya.

The Musical Adventure Arya Stealth.

A few days ago I listened to one of my favorite albums:

Move D - Building Bridges

Screenshot_20220719-091657_Neutron Player.jpg


That day I started to understand the Arya Stealth. The experience was terrific.
The Stealth is something very special.
Its entire presentation of the music is unique.
You have the impression of standing in front of damn huge speakers.
The presentation is not "only" 3D, it is huge!
Really huge!
Not in the sense of a big soundstage.
It is different. It is more. It's bigger.
Especially the bass is overwhelming,
in a positive sense.

Another special feature of this headphone is its unique ability to play between almost infinite resolution, and complete unobtrusiveness.
It sounds like the contradiction par excellence. Yes. But the Arya Stealth delivers just that! Unlike other headphones, e.g. LCD-5,
you never have the impression of being overwhelmed / "flooded" with details.

Especially these two points, make the Aray Stealth for me.

Considering now the first-class wearing comfort, and the street price of about 1300 €, you can not make a better purchase!

Great news.
Oratorys settings for the Stealth are online

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4i1a1sahenngrrg/Hifiman Arya Stealth.pdf?dl=0

It is nice to see that with the Stealth, this downhill and uphill in the midrange is no longer present.

sss.JPG
 

Phoney

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Your impression of the Stealth really reminds me of my impression with Arya v2! The way they present the bass is just so pleasing. Still my favourite headphone, but I am yet to try the Stealth (which I'm going to). It's true that the Arya models can be a bit strange until you get used to it. If I haven't listened to Arya for a while and listen to it again, it's very different and weird if I'm used to something else. But after another day or two with the Aryas I become very impressed again. I never trust my first impressions in general that much, because in most cases it will change with some time, either one way or the other.
 

Bow_Wazoo

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I must confess that I do not remember the V2 so well.
I remember this metallic timbre.
I also found the sound too edgy...
The bass was also noticeably less punchy.
The pads were also not as deep as the V3.
What led to the fact that my ears touched the inside...
 

Phoney

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I must confess that I do not remember the V2 so well.
I remember this metallic timbre.
I also found the sound too edgy...
The bass was also noticeably less punchy.
The pads were also not as deep as the V3.
What led to the fact that my ears touched the inside...

Did you try it with EQ? The v2 with oratory settings sounds pretty natural to me. I've never understood the comments about metallic timbre, but maybe it's because they listen to it without EQ.
 

Bow_Wazoo

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I basically listen with Oratory's settings.
His parameters are the starting point for me.
 

odyo

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Upper mids and treble so good on this headphone. Even if it's bright there, it's a warranted brightness. Very detailed, solid and fun. Not bright, fatiguing and boring at the same time like some other headphones.

Bass and low mids a bit too thick i feel, little bit damped sounding.

The headphone can sound very impressive and realistic if the recording is good. Very high detail and transparency. The presentation makes things more visual.
I switched to bal out of zen can and the thickness in the lows gone. It's way more impressive and detailed now even with a more bass boost.
 

odyo

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Any tips/tricks for fixing peaks via listening tone generator ?
 

Pendel

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I recently purchased Arya v2 and RME ADI-2 DAC (ESS version). A fantastic pairing. With equalization (based on Mikey76 eq profile; see post #14 in this thread) the sound is remarkably transparent, detailed, and smooth without the harshness. Soundstage and spatial separation are truly amazing. Depending on the recording, the stage can be more deep or more wide, but it is always airy and stereographic, with very precise natural placements for the instruments and the performers, never smooshing anything.

ADI-2 DAC has plenty of power to drive the Aryas beautifully. I first tried the Aryas with IFI iDSD MIcro BL, which also has enough power to drive them, but does not offer the clarity or the of ADI-2. Since Aryas are mighty large and open, and so are not exactly designed for strolls outside, esp. with the squarish torsion ribbon raised over the headband, the portability of Micro BL is not enough of an attraction to warrant its use. As much as I love it, I would say that Aryas may be a bit out of its league.

I have listened to classical, jazz, pop and rock. All of these work great, as long as the recordings are good. You will hear all of the flaws on old and poorly executed recordings.
ADI-2 takes a bit of time to learn, but it is worth it, especially if you have a pair of Aryas to drive.

:)
 

bgtip

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Is there a way to tell if those are the stealth magnet version if you have the headphones only? I just ordered a pair from amazon warehouse and they can possibly come without the box.
 

Blorg

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Is there a way to tell if those are the stealth magnet version if you have the headphones only? I just ordered a pair from amazon warehouse and they can possibly come without the box.
Easiest is to weigh it, the stealth version is heavier. Spec I think is 430g on the stealth, 404g on the V2. My stealth is 439g.

The stealth version also has a green sheen to the driver, and the stealth magnets are more rounded, if you can make that out, but sort of difficult if you don't have something else to directly compare. Easiest is to weigh it.

Some more suggestions in this thread:

DSC03773.JPG
 

bgtip

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@Blorg - thank you.

Got Arya Stealth new today so pretty sure they're the stealth version.
Going to burn them in for some time before reaching conclusions.
Zero hour first sound impressions are not surprisingly less than good. They sound mediocre except in the sub-bass area. For the first time in my life I'm able to feel 10Hz.
I noticed that they require a little more amplification than my HD650. Is this normal?
Do they have a serial number on the headphones themself? I can't see any serial number.
 

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staticV3

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@bgtip the Arya Stealth is more sensitive than the HD650, so will require less voltage to produce the same SPL.
However, it has significantly lower impedance, so your Amp will will have to output considerably more current.

PS: burn-in is a myth born from human placebo and exploited by manufacturers to make their customers miss the return window.
Don't make a fool of yourself.
 

solderdude

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Do they have a serial number on the headphones themself? I can't see any serial number.

under the pads and on a card inside the box. There will be 2 serial numbers. One for each driver.

I noticed that they require a little more amplification than my HD650. Is this normal?

That depends on the output resistance of the used amplifier.
When this is on the high side you may have to turn up the volume higher to get the same SPL as a HD650.
When the output resistance is near zero the Arya should play louder than HD650 at the same volume setting.
When the output resistance of the amp is 7.5Ω both will sound equally loud on the same volume setiing.
 
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hooks

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Currently I have a LCD2-C, I'm wondering if I'll be disappointed with the bass with the Arya?
 

d4n69

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Hi guys, in some weeks i will get the hifiman arya v2, i don't have a high budged for dac/amp, i have seen these for my budged: Topping DX3 Pro+ and FiiO K5 Pro ESS, which one will perform better for my arya v2?? will be enought to squeeze the potential of this headphone?? thanks!
 
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solderdude

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It has no problems driving the Arya... if that's what you mean.

30 ohm is an easy load and 107dB/V means 5V is enough to drive it impressively loud (less than 1W) and even from 1V (phone output) it plays decently loud.
When you want Harman bass you may need an amp that can put out 10V (3W).
The A90D can deliver 2W (TRS jack) or 6W in XLR out.
 
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