[312elements]

that's a really good description. yeah im definitely leaning away from 800s but it's just such a legendary headphone you can't ignore it and i take it the ADX5000 is similar but probably not something I'd want to keep long term by the sounds of it.



i've heard the ether 2's have just a wonky sound to them and super dry sounding, like no wow factor, and perhaps a tad artificial. I have also heard many hifiman sound a tad artificial but they offer the wow factor in the soundstage, grandness, and overall well roundedness. i just have not heard such positive reviews of the ether 2 and it's more pricey. build looks cool though and low weight! and i think if i go hifiman I will go Arya it just seems to sound the most appealing to me for the price.



i see the he6se v2 going for 1799 and the arya for 1599. i like the formfactor of the arya better i think. also the soundstage is one of the main reasons im considering the arya. i have not heard much about the he6se v2 outside it's a good headphone but just never caught my attention ill give it another look.

that price on the he6se v2 from Adorama is insane. I’m not even in the market, but I’m tempted none the less.

 

[sml238]

any thoughts on the he6se v2 vs the arya? it would appear they are fairly similar in sound with the arya having a larger soundstage and the he6se being a bit more punchy/dynamic and intimate? is that accurate or can anyone elaborate?

 

[312elements]

any thoughts on the he6se v2 vs the arya? it would appear they are fairly similar in sound with the arya having a larger soundstage and the he6se being a bit more punchy/dynamic and intimate? is that accurate or can anyone elaborate?

not sure if this helps but I just stumbled across a thread describing the differences between those two.

https://drop.com/talk/21761/he-6-se-vs-arya

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

Love my Clear Pros.

 

[sml238]

I ordered the Arya. I'll keep ya'll posted on what my thoughts are about them based on my expectations and in comparison with my current headphone stack

 

[FYFL]

Seems like a safe bet.

 

[bagwell359]

i've heard the ether 2's have just a wonky sound to them and super dry sounding, like no wow factor, and perhaps a tad artificial. I have also heard many hifiman sound a tad artificial but they offer the wow factor in the soundstage, grandness, and overall well roundedness. i just have not heard such positive reviews of the ether 2 and it's more pricey. build looks cool though and low weight! and i think if i go hifiman I will go Arya it just seems to sound the most appealing to me for the price.

i see the he6se v2 going for 1799 and the arya for 1599. i like the formfactor of the arya better i think. also the soundstage is one of the main reasons im considering the arya. i have not heard much about the he6se v2 outside it's a good headphone but just never caught my attention ill give it another look.

Arya has a fine soundstage. The 6se just jumped up from $699 - too bad.

The E2 got a terrible start when two mis built E2's went out to shows right at the start of the roll out. That got corrected but the damage (even here) remains. Check out reviews outside of here, quite a few 5 star reviews. I can't think of a single AT, Grado, Beyer, or AKG (available new now) that can touch it. I like the Emp, Susvara, HEKse, LCD-4 more but they are more expensive. I agree without EQ they are too dry. I used digital parametric EQ on every can I have and that's how I review them.

Arya's need EQ too, At least 6 bands, if not 10.

 

[312elements]

Arya has a fine soundstage. The 6se just jumped up from $699 - too bad.

The E2 got a terrible start when two mis built E2's went out to shows right at the start of the roll out. That got corrected but the damage (even here) remains. Check out reviews outside of here, quite a few 5 star reviews. I can't think of a single AT, Grado, Beyer, or AKG (available new now) that can touch it. I like the Emp, Susvara, HEKse, LCD-4 more but they are more expensive. I agree without EQ they are too dry. I used digital parametric EQ on every can I have and that's how I review them.

Arya's need EQ too, At least 6 bands, if not 10.

what do you use for EQ on the Arya? I used a preset I found on Reddit and didn’t find that it made a lot of difference. I also have focal Elegia and those sounded night and day different when EQ’d. I would love to try your recommendation.

 

[sml238]

Arya has a fine soundstage. The 6se just jumped up from $699 - too bad.

The E2 got a terrible start when two mis built E2's went out to shows right at the start of the roll out. That got corrected but the damage (even here) remains. Check out reviews outside of here, quite a few 5 star reviews. I can't think of a single AT, Grado, Beyer, or AKG (available new now) that can touch it. I like the Emp, Susvara, HEKse, LCD-4 more but they are more expensive. I agree without EQ they are too dry. I used digital parametric EQ on every can I have and that's how I review them.

Arya's need EQ too, At least 6 bands, if not 10.

Interesting, I do like how light they are. I'll have to try them one day. How do the E2's stage compared to the Arya or the LCD-X?

Also, I will EQ my Araya as well. They are fairly close to the Harman just need a bit of bass boost and a few tweaks to the treble curve, nothing major. This is a good benefit too because I love EQ when it's done properly and minimally. I have also found EQ can affect the soundstage because digital EQ actually corrects for phase as FR and phase response are tightly related you can't change one without the other. Also sometimes in the case of some headphones if they have a muffled midrange, bringing that up can make them sound slightly more intimate and "closer". I don't think this actually affects the typical factors that you may associate with soundstage like timing/phase, stereo L/R differences, special cues in the recording itself, and the physical distance of driver to ear...but the FR can impact how you perceive soundstage since when something is close to us we usually hear a lot of mid-range and as we get closer more high-end, where when something is further away we may only hear like a low passed version.

Point being I'm hoping EQ'ing the Arya does not negatively impact the stage, and I don't think it will considering the biggest adjustment is in the bass region.

 

[Luke Thomas]

Listened too 800s last night. Not only the most comfortable. All should own a pair. The clarity is amazing. I’ve owned the Clears. Hifiman x2. And Anandas.

 

[sml238]

Wow my Arya came in in 1 day and I think I'm EXTREMELY happy with my choice. These things sound absolutely titties!

Immediately I was struck by the soundstage and thought to myself...
"Alright alright alriiiiiiiiiiight we gon' stage today!"

My 660s clamp force walked there way over and shouted between the veil...
"I heard dat, I wish I didn't hear dat, but I heeaarrrrd dat."

In all seriousness, the detail retreival appears to be on par with my LCD-X

They're actually not as lax or non-dynamic/punchy as I had expected, so I'm glad I set my expectations low and got a pleasant surprise. Maybe that has to do with my Topping D90/A90 not letting an ounce of dynamics fall by the wayside.

The soundstage is absolutely incredible, imaging seems really good as well.

Comfort is VERY good, the ear cups are a tad on the long side than I'd like them but if that helps them sound the way they do then ill take that compromise anyday.

I then slapped my usual Pro Q3 with Oratory's EQ parameters, tweaked just a hair, added some crossfeed and midside processing and boom we're in business. The DSP work is done very minimally and really just puts the cherry on top.

I'll report back once these suckers break in a little bit. I'm not sure if Planars typically need much breaking in but also the novelty will have worn off and then I will reassess.

 

[FYFL]

Wow my Arya came in in 1 dy and I think I'm EXTREMELY happy with my choice. These things sound absolutely titties!

Immediately I was struck by the soundstage and thought to myself...
"Alright alright alriiiiiiiiiiight we gon' stage today!"

My 660s clamp force walked there way over and shouted between the veil...
"I heard dat, I wish I didn't hear dat, but I heeaarrrrd dat."

In all seriousness, the detail retreival appears to be on par with my LCD-X

They're actually not as lax or non-dynamic/punchy as I had expected, so I'm glad I set my expectations low and got a pleasant surprise. Maybe that has to do with my Topping D90/A90 not letting an ounce of dynamics fall by the wayside.

The soundstage is absolutely incredible, imaging seems really good as well.

Comfort is VERY good, the ear cups are a tad on the long side than I'd like them but if that helps them sound the way they do then ill take that compromise anyday.

I then slapped my usual Pro Q3 with Oratory's EQ parameters, tweaked just a hair, added some crossfeed and midside processing and boom we're in business. The DSP work is done very minimally and really just puts the cherry on top.

I'll report back once these suckers break in a little bit. I'm not sure if Planars typically need much breaking in but also the novelty will have worn off and then I will reassess.

Forget about break-in. Just enjoy yourself. Glad you like it. It’s always a risk with purchases you have not audition (especially headphones). One thing that prevented me from HiFiman cans is that long shape. Must be shape/size of my head but they literally rested on my jaw-line. Lol
Have fun.

 

[sml238]

Forget about break-in. Just enjoy yourself. Glad you like it. It’s always a risk with purchases you have not audition (especially headphones). One thing that prevented me from HiFiman cans is that long shape. Must be shape/size of my head but they literally rested on my jaw-line. Lol
Have fun.

my girlfriend tells me I have a strong jaw line so maybe that’s it but doesn’t bother me but I definitely recognize it is on the large/long side.

and I’m not worried about the break in one bit I was just saying basically I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch. I’ll wait until the novelty wears off and if there is any break in at all, it will sort itself out.
I’ve only noticed breakin being a thing on a couple of dynamic headphones and it was a minor but positive change and also I’ve noticed it with car audio and subwoofers. Typically the efficiency goes up once they’re broken in well I’d imagine because the suspension is not quite as tight when new so it requires less power.

 

[FYFL]

my girlfriend tells me I have a strong jaw line so maybe that’s it but doesn’t bother me but I definitely recognize it is on the large/long side.

and I’m not worried about the break in one bit I was just saying basically I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch. I’ll wait until the novelty wears off and if there is any break in at all, it will sort itself out.
I’ve only noticed breakin being a thing on a couple of dynamic headphones and it was a minor but positive change and also I’ve noticed it with car audio and subwoofers. Typically the efficiency goes up once they’re broken in well I’d imagine because the suspension is not quite as tight when new so it requires less power.

True and true. Strong jaw line might be a lie tho.

 

[sml238]

True and true. Strong jaw line might be a lie tho.

it' strong like bull.

jokes or all seriousness aside...

now i need to at least try someones hd800s or another flagship. im pretty sure this arya is the highest end headphone i have ever heard aside from the LCD-4 in which is good but frankly for the money the LCD-X actually suits my tastes better and does not have many downsides, especially with EQ and certainly not $2,500-3,000$ worth of downsides lol.

anyways it would be nice to hear an HD800s, a Clear, E2, or an Emperyean. I would love to compare an Empy to the much more affordable Arya. Funny how a $1600 headphone can be considered affordable or a good value.

Off-topic but I find it funny how if you tell a friend or a girlfriend that you have $1,600 headphones people will look at you like you have 5 head and just not understand why you would ever spend that because they has a thing that make sound too and sound is sound right?

then they turn around and spend thousands on a purse, watch, or something. at least we use our headphones practically everyday, so it's not an obscene thought from the view point that you usually invest more in things you use daily. anyways just a random rant anyone want to lend me their flagship to test? i'll let you hangon to my watch as collateral haha. i would actually be open to doing that though providing collaterall or donating a few bucks to get a listen. i could compare them to my growing stable.