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Meier Audio HEADFIVE versus ARIA

post #1 of 10
7/2/06 at 12:47pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone having extensively compared these two amps, soundwise?
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post #2 of 10
7/2/06 at 1:42pm
Jan has stated that the Aria has a better amp than the Headfive.
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post #3 of 10
7/2/06 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 003
Jan has stated that the Aria has a better amp than the Headfive.
Just because Jan thinks it is better doesn't necessarily mean it is better. Most of our hobby is subjective any way. Cheap amps commonly beat out other more expensive amps for sound quality. Granted Jan makes both amps he should know best, and if he say the Aria is better he is probably right.

However you can't jump to conclusions with just one opinion.
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post #4 of 10
7/2/06 at 3:47pm
I would expect the Aria's amp to be better since it's nearly double the cost of the HeadFive. Granted the Aria includes a DAC.....
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post #5 of 10
7/2/06 at 4:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by device manager
I would expect the Aria's amp to be better since it's nearly double the cost of the HeadFive. Granted the Aria includes a DAC.....
And so it is. I have both amps side by side on my desk at the moment and occasionally switch from amp to amp (the Aria is fully burned in, the H5 has about 130 hours on it).
To cut a long story short: The Aria just offers more of everything - separation, definition, detail. Plus - of course - it sports an USB input and includes a DAC.
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post #6 of 10
7/2/06 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTL
And so it is. I have both amps side by side on my desk at the moment and occasionally switch from amp to amp (the Aria is fully burned in, the H5 has about 130 hours on it).
To cut a long story short: The Aria just offers more of everything - separation, definition, detail. Plus - of course - it sports an USB input and includes a DAC.
And do you prefer the Aria?
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post #7 of 10
7/2/06 at 5:52pm
Yes, I do prefer the Aria when compared side by side to the H5. But as the H5 will be my office-amp in the end, I won't have to decide every day beween the two of them. And the H5 really still does offer a lot for the money.
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post #8 of 10
7/2/06 at 10:49pm
I also compared the Aria and the Headfive, as I own both.

I'd have to say that the amp section of the Aria and the Headfive are different sounding. The H5 is warmer sounding, with a slightly more rolled off treble. This makes the H5 appear to have more bass than the Aria, but I don't believe it actually does.

The Aria's soundstage is just a little better, but only a little. It aslo has maybe just a little more detail, but again, only a little.

Bottom line for me is that if you don't need the DAC, and you think a slightly warm-ish sounding amp would mate well with your headphones, I would buy the H5 over the Aria and save the money.

But the Aria's DAC is decent, and for use with a computer (which is what I use it for), the Aria is then the obvious choice.
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post #9 of 10
7/4/06 at 5:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab
The H5 is warmer sounding, with a slightly more rolled off treble. This makes the H5 appear to have more bass than the Aria, but I don't believe it actually does.
Indeed it's the Aria that has the better defined bass. But its overall sound is more 'light' in character - thus probably the impression of more bass from the H5. I found that its 'warmer', 'darker' sound signature makes it a perfect partner for phones such as the K501 or the DT880. But all in all the H5 isn't really worlds apart from the Aria and thus indeed fantastic value for money.
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post #10 of 10
7/5/06 at 4:46am
+1, the aria is just a bit more refined not making the head5 bad, not at all!
Hooked up the head5 to my iaudio X5 and K601 as bedsidestand yesterday and that was awsome, the head5 and the X5 both are warm sounding devices which compensate the bass shyness of the (not fully burned in) K601.
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