Hifiman Arya Review (headphone)

[Ezees]

I would probably thrive on them then. Here's my PEQ settings for my Sennheiser 598's.
View attachment 164946

The 16k and slider might not work too well with the Arya though. Might be a little peaky, IMO.

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

IDK, I guess everyone's different. I don't get the sharp "murder treble" and sibilance with the Arya like I got when I had the Audio-Technica ATH-M50Xes (when I had them) or the unmodded Fostex T50rp mkiii's when I still listened to them. However, I do have a class A discrete HP amp that - while revealing - is not annoyingly bright or edgy, along with a neutral but not edgy DAC. Those really do mitigate most of the brightest characteristics of both the Ananda and the Arya for me. The chain counts a great deal in how they sound, IMO.

nothing in that chain is coloring the signal. It'll sound the same a90 and d90.

 

[Ezees]

nothing in that chain is coloring the signal. It'll sound the same a90 and d90.

Not. I've owned the Monolith '887, the A90, and the Magnius. I sent both the '887 and the A90 back but kept the Magnius as a backup because it's such a good value, but also in case one of my other amps goes down. The A90 seemed to have a slight mid-bass thickness (or bloat) and a closed-in top end that I didn't quite like. The vocals also sounded somewhat "canned", and not quite as natural as my class AB amps (though I did like it as a preamp to my Emotiva A-100). The '887 sounded more linear and open all the way around but didn't have preamp capabilities. The Magnius split the difference between the two (and it's fully balanced and has a preamp). With the Arya, my class A/AB amps (Magni 3+, Emotiva A-100, Gustard H20) have all proven to sound more natural with vocals, imaging, sound-staging, and trailing edges of musical notes than any of the op amp based amps that I've tried. Not huge differences but still quite noticeable to me.

 

[GaryH]

nothing in that chain is coloring the signal. It'll sound the same a90 and d90.

Here we go again...

 

[amirm]

Hi @amirm! I've two questions:
1. can you describe sound-stageing difference between Arya and you DCA Stealth please?

I think it is superior to Stealth.

 

[Ezees]

Here we go again...

Hehehe...

 

[migo77]

I think it is superior to Stealth.

Thank you!

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

I think it is superior to Stealth.

That's nothing more than the psychoacoustic illusion from how the headphone feels on your head. Spatial quality discussions should just be replaced with clamp force and pad dimensions.

 

[Ezees]

That's nothing more than the psychoacoustic illusion from how the headphone feels on your head. Spatial quality discussions should just be replaced with clamp force and pad dimensions.

Wow. That's what you say. Not every HP sounds like the HD650's. Some other HP's have qualities that outpace it by quite a bit. I'm listening to my Ananda as I type this (my new Arya is in the mail), and it's far and away a more enjoyable listen than most dynamic cans I've heard. It has excellent bass depth/detail, speed, and spatial imaging characteristics - I can sometimes hear sounds from what seems like behind me. And it's not even as good as the Arya in those areas, IMO.

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

Wow. That's what you say. Not every HP sounds like the HD650's. Some other HP's have qualities that outpace it by quite a bit. I'm listening to my Ananda as I type this (my new Arya is in the mail), and it's far and away a more enjoyable listen than most dynamic cans I've heard. It has excellent bass depth/detail, speed, and spatial imaging characteristics - I can sometimes hear sounds from what seems like behind me. And it's not even as good as the Arya in those areas, IMO.

Only thing far away in ananda is resolution

 

[Ezees]

Only thing far away in ananda is resolution

Mine seem to be pretty detailed and resolving. I can hear all the little background instruments, trailing edges of music and vocal detail really easily. Maybe my amp pulls out more detail than the one you used to audition them? Maybe you've lost some upper frequency hearing or midrange sensitivity? Different strokes for different folks though.

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

Maybe you've lost some upper frequency hearing or midrange sensitivity?

funny that you suggest I might have lost midrange sensitivity when the headphone has a ripped out midrange

Maybe my amp pulls out more detail than the one you used to audition them?

Amps don't "pull out" detail.

Different strokes for different folks though.

There's only untrained (you) and trained (me).

 

[riffmaker]

I can sometimes hear sounds from what seems like behind me

Haha, I have Aryas and this sometimes happens to me too.
I was looking forward to more speaker-like soundstage and here I am hearing things behind me

 

[Ezees]

Haha, I have Aryas and this sometimes happens to me too.
I was looking forward to more speaker-like soundstage and here I am hearing things behind me

Both Ananda and Arya do this sometimes, Arya more than Ananda. Maybe HFM's egg-shaped planars do this more than the round ones.

 

[Ezees]

funny that you suggest I might have lost midrange sensitivity when the headphone has a ripped out midrange

Amps don't "pull out" detail.

There's only untrained (you) and trained (me).

Guess you'd not know that much about different details being emphasized or attenuated since your primary HP is the 650, which is more mid focused. Other HPs can reproduce both ultra-low bass and high treble along with the oh-so-important midrange. Also, there are amps that easily reveal detail better than others - and/or present details differently. I have a few that do that myself. I bid you adieu, kind sir

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

Guess you'd not know that much about different details being emphasized or attenuated since your primary HP is the 650, which is more mid focused. Other HPs can reproduce both ultra-low bass and high treble along with the oh-so-important midrange. Also, there are amps that easily reveal detail better than others - and/or present details differently. I have a few that do that myself. I bid you adieu, kind sir

I EQ HD650 to flat sub-bass. I have voltage matched blind tested various amps with low distortion and flat frequency response. Have you done the same?

 

[GaryH]

There's only untrained (you) and trained (me).

What training is this exactly?

 

[Jimbob54]

That's nothing more than the psychoacoustic illusion from how the headphone feels on your head. Spatial quality discussions should just be replaced with clamp force and pad dimensions.

Got a source that lead you to that conclusion? Probably a subject for a different thread though as we are drifting away from the DUT

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

What training is this exactly?

Harman How to Listen

A blog for users of the listener training software application "How to Listen."

harmanhowtolisten.blogspot.com

This was mostly a retort to the hearing damage accusation I received despite the headphone in question having a ripped out midrange and stabbing peaks in the treble, but I am a Harman certified trained listener based on this.

 

[HRTF_Enthusiast]

Got a source that lead you to that conclusion? Probably a subject for a different thread though as we are drifting away from the DUT

Only if the dimensions of the pressurized volume of air in a pressure chamber are smaller than the wavelength of sound is sound pressure created by excursion instead of acceleration. Thus, reflected sounds are of no significance in headphones.