I know a piece of gear is good when I don't have the itch to come here and check new gear. Still fully enjoying my SA-1. In fact, I think I will be upgrading my headphones to a HE1KSE, but still use the SA-1 to drive it.

Here also an Ares2+SA1+Arya V2 owner for about 1 year and I don't feel the need of upgrading. It's been a year of enjoying music with this combo.

The TOPPING is a must for the Ares or is it required only when there's actually an audible distortion/noise problem?

Nice! What cable is that? Looks interesting...

I can confirm this. I bought a cheap New Fantasia cable (silver plated) from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-Balanced-Compatible-Headphones-Replacement/dp/B07HGP87F6) while I was waiting for a more expensive 16 core copper cable from Aliexpress. The New Fantasia cable es shorter...

Let us know how it goes. Looking at the graph included in the site, it seems that the Hybrid pad has the least sound compromise (my impression, because the measurements with the stock pads is not included)

Anyone has experience with this Dekoni pads? https://shop.wodaudio.com/produkt/dekoni-ersatz-ohrpolster-hifiman-arya-epz-arya/

I spot a Midnight Commander session! Nice! I'm a Linux user as well. I'm also happy that I wasn't the only one sitting their headphones on a microfiber cloth :L3000:

I don't have different setups to compare mine with, but I'm pretty happy with the results. The bass is prominent without overwhelm the rest of the frequencies. The midrange is detailed and highs are never harsh. Soundstage is expansive. Honestly, I'm rediscovering and liking more my music...

I'm currently using Ares 2 > SA-1 and Arya v2, using XLR interconnects and a XLR balanced cable to the Arya. SA-1 is in low gain. Listening to Lizz Wright - The Orchard (a current favorite album), the SA-1 is around 10 or 11 o'clock. That album is good sounding with a standard...

New addition: Ares II

Another vote for Ares II as DAC

I got the Arya v2 on early August this year. I wrote to Hifiman and they are offering me to swap it for an open box Stealth version. Is that a good deal?

+1 and also measured matched volume. If you have two headphones with different sensitivity and plug a headphone and then plug the other, you can obviously feel "fuller" and "closer" the one that feels louder.

Which fuse do you recommend?

Anyone had compared the Ares 2 with the Pegasus DACs for the Arya v2? Which one would be a better match? I'm currently amping the Aryas with a Singxer SA-1.

You can't honestly expect a night and day difference. With my Arya's, when I switched from SE to XLR, I noticed maybe a slightly better imaging and little more natural voices. The only thing that was more pronounced was the bass impact, without being actually a huge change.

I was using Arya's stock SE cable. I think I should take a look for a DAC upgrade now :)

I've been running the SA-1 using singled ended output for two weeks and I loved the sound. Yesterday, the XLR cable arrived for my Arya's and now I think I'm missing something with the sound. It's definitely punchier but It's lacking some sweetness. Is that normal? Will it be improving with time?

That's what I've read. I'm actually waiting for my XLR cable to arrive :)

I love World Music. This is a recent discovery from Pakistan's Coke Studio:

Sweet sounds are coming out from here

Do you guys leave the headphones plugged in when turning on/off the amp?