Ah, I've done a post in another thread that is relevant to you, I'll link it in a second. From a measurement perspective I think you can improve on the Arya that you currently have, because the frequency response is really quite jagged which cannot be totally solved by EQ:I got my Arya, Topping A90, and SMSL M400 DAC (with FabFilter Pro-Q for EQ) and have enjoyed the setup. However, I have the budget to possibly swap out the headphones with something "better" (end game). I know the law of diminishing returns, so maybe there's not much to be gained over the Arya (with EQ) for under $4k? That's where I need help.
Country: USA
Budget: ~$4K or less
Form factor: Over ear, planar, open back
Use case: Quiet environment music listening during work
Source information: FLAC tracks, Topping A90, and SMSL M400 DAC (with FabFilter Pro-Q for EQ)
Music preferences: Adele, Imagine Dragons, Cold Play, Bastille, NONONO, MS MR, CHVRCHES, Lady Gaga, London Grammer
Things that are important to you: All-day listening comfort in a home office. Must be wired (XLR), and do NOT need to be portable. Weight is a consideration.
Your preferred sound signature/other headphones you've tried and liked/disliked: Like my Hifiman Arya.
I was considering the following:
DCA Stealth - Look great, measure great, but seem to me to be overpriced. I think a properly EQ'd setup with different planar headphones could be had for less that has similar performance. Plus, I'm more of a fan of open back headphones, and the closed design puts me off a bit.
Abyss Diana V2 - I thought they were a good contender, but the review by Amirm and the bad distortion levels and thumbs down recommendation really put me off. Others like Joshua Valour (Youtube) seem to like them, but I put more weight on Amirm's review.
Hifiman HE6se - Gets Amirm's thumbs up (with EQ), but the price point at $1800 is very close to my Arya and I don't know if there would be a noticeable sonic upgrade over my Aryas?
Hifiman HE1000se - Seems to get glowing reviews and has good "slam" (unlike most Hifiman cans). One downside is I don't see any solid EQ settings (some have used the HE1000 v2 settings).
So far I'm leaning towards the HE1000se, but certainly open to other opinions. Thoughts?
The DCA Stealth is probably the pinnacle of headphones in terms of measurements and might be the ultimate headphone to get (from that point of view), but I couldn't comment on it's soundstage as I've not listened to it which is kind of an unknown with any headphone until you listen to it or get consistent subjective reports from a number of different sources on that aspect. But a good alternative, and I think the only alternative that can match it in terms of measurements (after EQ) is the Hifiman HE6se that you already mentioned:
And following is that link I promised you, here someone asks me a related question which I answer, and I further describe why I think the HE6se is the only contender re measurements with the DCA Stealth, I also put in some caveats in there where I think that measurements don't tell you everything and for me the importance of putting some of the measurements into perspective (eg distortion measurements):
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-state-of-the-art-headphone.25920/post-896355