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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

solderdude

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I'm used to aftermarket pads voiding measurements at this point, but a review invalidated by upside-down earcups? Now I've seen everything...

The earcups can swivel 360 degrees horizontally, and rotate 360 degrees vertically, so either the factory, owner or Amir have oriented the right-hand cup the wrong way round. And this is even worse because the Arya has angled pads, so the headphone has been tested with the left driver angled back towards the ear (as it should), but the right angled forward away from the ear, so one cup is not only upside-down but back-to-front too.

You do know you are spouting the biggest nonsense again.
Amir could not possibly have measured it in this position because one cup connection would have been on the top side. Amir might have noticed ;)

The earcups in the Arya cannot swivel 360 degrees either. They can almost reach it but the bottom side will hit the yoke unlike what happens in the video.
 

Jimbob54

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You do know you are spouting the biggest nonsense again.
Amir could not possibly have measured it in this position because one cup connection would have been on the top side. Amir might have noticed ;)

The earcups in the Arya cannot swivel 360 degrees either. They can almost reach it but the bottom side will hit the yoke unlike what happens in the video.
I see no wires in the photo at all. Maybe @amirm forgot to plug the wires in when testing so he didn't notice at all.

The plot thickens :facepalm:;):cool:
 

solderdude

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I see no wires in the photo at all.

It's wireless but Amir forgot to mention that.

Would the Arya be worth it if someone already has the Ananda? I was getting the itch for something new.

To some it will, to others it won't. They do sound somewhat different but not very different. It may or may not be worth it to you.
Only one way to find out... compare them directly.
 

Carlo2AC

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Would the Arya be worth it if someone already has the Ananda? I was getting the itch for something new.
it depends on how much you can get for your Ananda, and how much you can get for the Aryas

While i personally do not think the Ananda is worth the premium over the Sundara i do consider the Aryas used worth their price.
 

bidn

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Would the Arya be worth it if someone already has the Ananda? I was getting the itch for something new.
I own the version 1 of each. Subjectively, I feel that with my Arya the sound has more details, but then less dynamics than with my Ananda, is softer (e.g. when listening to metal music). I like my Arya a lot for listening to dark ambient.

Addition:
Another thing you would loose going from the Ananda to the Arya is portability re. power requirements. I have my Ananda at my work, where I drive it with a A&K DAP. The Arya is meant instead to be driven by a desktop device.
 
Last edited:

Ra1zel

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What I learned today - upload slightly wrong photo and everyone loses their mind.
 

Carlo2AC

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I own the version 1 of each. Subjectively, I feel that with my Arya the sound has more details, but then less dynamics than with my Ananda, is softer (e.g. when listening to metal music). I like the Arya a lot for listening to dark ambient.
Thats odd, the Ananda sounds softer to me.. even softer than my Sundara's in the dynamics part

What I learned today - upload slightly wrong photo and everyone loses their mind.
Yes, you would hope that the readers here learned to at least have some trust in @amirm 's work
 

Billy Budapest

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Can someone explain what they are seeing in the photo that caused them to believe the right earpiece is upside down? Is it that the curve on the bottom is slightly fuller than the curve on the top? That could just be an optical illusion.
 

bidn

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Thats odd, the Ananda sounds softer to me.. even softer than my Sundara's in the dynamics part

To me, my Ananda v1 feels also less lively than my Sundara, so I agree on this.
But I was comparing my Ananda v1 with my Arya v1, and my Arya feels even softer than my Ananda.
I would be nice if dynamics could be measured.
 

mk1classic

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Thanks for the review!

An off-topic response:
At first glance, it doesn't look like an optical illusion. But I expect @amirm would have reacted if one of the 3.5mm connectors would point down and forward, while the other one rearwards.

Note, the egg-shaped earpiece would not fit upside down within the bracket as they have not the same shape, and the angled fixing points will not allow to be installed and swivel.

#quick_illustration
1636122003417.png
 

Jimbob54

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Can someone explain what they are seeing in the photo that caused them to believe the right earpiece is upside down? Is it that the curve on the bottom is slightly fuller than the curve on the top? That could just be an optical illusion.
The biggest clue is that it is, in fact, upside down. It should be an inverted teardrop shape. Plus Amir has already said it got twisted that way for the photo only (as others have pointed out, you couldnt actually measure or listen that way accidentally as the wire would be in the way. )
 

moosso

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I hope he could measure HE400se, it's half the price of Sundara and it uses stealth magnet which sundara doesn't. I have sundara once, very like it's sound but can't handle the regular circular pad it used, if HE400se is close or better I could get one just for fun.
And the upside down thing, some headphone only have jack on one side so it's possible to have that issue, anyway I should trust him as a professional will not ignore such stupid flaw.
 
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