HIFIMAN Arya - Arya Stealth - Arya Organic :: Impressions Thread
Feb 18, 2020 at 6:38 PM Post #1,561 of 11,822
Woohoo...gonna have some fun for a little bit. Bought a new amp and a new DAC comes tonight. XMAS in February. Just running a small amount of EQ on the low end to give it more of that Fostex slam. :L3000:

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TH900? If so, your perception of Arya will be skewed on the low level bass perception side. Going from such deep bassy phone (particularly closed) to such open headphone.
 
Feb 18, 2020 at 8:39 PM Post #1,562 of 11,822
TH900? If so, your perception of Arya will be skewed on the low level bass perception side. Going from such deep bassy phone (particularly closed) to such open headphone.
That's why I got a DAC with an eq built in. I can throw on my Z7's for some bassy fun but I almost exclusively listen to the Aryas now, and just crank the sub frequencies to my liking.
 
Feb 18, 2020 at 9:07 PM Post #1,563 of 11,822
TH900? If so, your perception of Arya will be skewed on the low level bass perception side. Going from such deep bassy phone (particularly closed) to such open headphone.

I heard these headphones without any EQ. I listened to a lot of fun high end cans before buying these. Give this a read I posted it a few days ago to deaf ears.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flo...dphones-focal-hifiman-audeze-meze-etc.925554/

Overall I found these had the most impressive bass I've heard from an open headphone. I got a decent kick out of my HD600 with EQ as an open headphone but it doesn't hold a candle to the Fostex. The Arya I think is a more refined slam without EQ and with a little EQ (see photo below) dare I say it kicks harder than my Fostex.

That's why I got a DAC with an eq built in. I can throw on my Z7's for some bassy fun but I almost exclusively listen to the Aryas now, and just crank the sub frequencies to my liking.

How much bass do you add to the Arya? This is roughly where I'm at below. I use PEACE on Windows and it's my sole source.

I just bought the Schitt Magni Hersey and Topping D30 I just got today as well so it's a complete revamp of my setup. Everything changed.

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Feb 19, 2020 at 5:32 PM Post #1,564 of 11,822
So hey follow up question to my photo above. Do you hang the headphones by the metal frame or by the headband?
 
Feb 19, 2020 at 8:56 PM Post #1,565 of 11,822
How much bass do you add to the Arya? This is roughly where I'm at below. I use PEACE on Windows and it's my sole source.

I just bought the Schitt Magni Hersey and Topping D30 I just got today as well so it's a complete revamp of my setup. Everything changed.
On the ADI-2 I just use a 120Hz shelf and crank it +5db

DSC_1898.JPG
 
Feb 19, 2020 at 10:12 PM Post #1,567 of 11,822
On the ADI-2 I just use a 120Hz shelf and crank it +5db


Thanks. It's roughly where I'm at. I also did some minor tweaks in other areas of the frequency spectrum. See my latest photo. I went based on what others have reviewed for areas where this headphone peaks and falls flat. I'm in heaven with this calibration. If you can add and subtract a few dB where I have I think you'll find it aurally pleasing. :L3000:

EDIT: I have a calibration that's exactly the same with a few more dB swell down low. Depending on genre I pick that one. Otherwise it's perfect. Happily continuing the burn in process of all the equipment. It just runs at night while I sleep.

EDIT 2: Did a little more tinkering. If you have Windows and the Arya hooked up to it. Try this EQ and let me know what you think. Makes the headphone perfect to me.
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Feb 23, 2020 at 10:37 PM Post #1,568 of 11,822
Okay this thread went ghost town.

Quick easy question. I got my brand new Arya last week. When I first got them I noticed the cable seemed to have a "loose" connection. It would crackle if cord was touched or if you spun it in the headphone jack. None of my other headphones did this connected to the same hardware. I reached out to Hifiman and they issued an RMA for the cable. Well, murphy's law, since I got the RMA cable works perfectly. I wiggle the cable in the port and move it all over the place and zero distortion. Sounds perfect. Cancel RMA? Maybe just crimped up in the shipping box?
 
Feb 26, 2020 at 4:59 PM Post #1,569 of 11,822
Torn between Monolith Thx 887 or Asgard 3 for Arya. Asgard would be cheaper and work with stock cable. In theory thx should be great match as balanced to Arya, tons of accuracy and power but i have readed so many times that thx amps tend to sound clinical and flat.
 
Feb 27, 2020 at 6:17 AM Post #1,570 of 11,822
Torn between Monolith Thx 887 or Asgard 3 for Arya. Asgard would be cheaper and work with stock cable. In theory thx should be great match as balanced to Arya, tons of accuracy and power but i have readed so many times that thx amps tend to sound clinical and flat.
I had a lot of fun before when I paired with Rupert Neve headphone amp, I have not experience Asgard 3, but I had the THX 789 before, Monolith th887 is just based on the same THX technology so I would say you cannot go wrong with THX 887. However, I would suggest you to look for some great tube amp like Icon Audio HP8 mkii or feliks audio elise. Imho, the Arya pair really well with these tube amp and I personally own the Icon Audio hp8 mkii myself.
 
Feb 27, 2020 at 7:08 PM Post #1,571 of 11,822
I had a lot of fun before when I paired with Rupert Neve headphone amp, I have not experience Asgard 3, but I had the THX 789 before, Monolith th887 is just based on the same THX technology so I would say you cannot go wrong with THX 887. However, I would suggest you to look for some great tube amp like Icon Audio HP8 mkii or feliks audio elise. Imho, the Arya pair really well with these tube amp and I personally own the Icon Audio hp8 mkii myself.
Is it the RNHP? When I tied the HEK, the amp make the headphone sound thinner than it already was. Really odd.

I thought RNHP was fairly ordinary for a solid-state.
 
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Feb 28, 2020 at 9:18 PM Post #1,573 of 11,822
Really I was shocked; I A/Bd against my other cans, notably LCD3 and Denon7200, but also against the HD58X and I was incredibly underwhelmed. I'm almost tempted to say it sounded compressed and non energetic.
Also I did not find that 3D feeling that I expected. The depth was not to the level.
I would not describe the Arya as dull, it is neutral, with good spacious staging and detailed resolution. I also feel like compared something the the 58x (which too me is dull when comparing the two) I can see the LCD 3 being a different signature you may just prefer.
 
Feb 29, 2020 at 11:06 AM Post #1,574 of 11,822
Okay this thread went ghost town.

Quick easy question. I got my brand new Arya last week. When I first got them I noticed the cable seemed to have a "loose" connection. It would crackle if cord was touched or if you spun it in the headphone jack. None of my other headphones did this connected to the same hardware. I reached out to Hifiman and they issued an RMA for the cable. Well, murphy's law, since I got the RMA cable works perfectly. I wiggle the cable in the port and move it all over the place and zero distortion. Sounds perfect. Cancel RMA? Maybe just crimped up in the shipping box?
Where did you end up with this? When I first got mine (at a retail brick & mortar store) I noticed some weird connection issues with the stock cable for like a minute. I was at first heartbroken that this was happening to my new, expensive headphone. After a minute later it all went away. I use an aftermarket balanced XLR cable now and haven't had issues 10 months later.
 
Feb 29, 2020 at 12:45 PM Post #1,575 of 11,822
Just got the Arya these past few days, coming from Sundara and HE400i of the Hifiman line.
I also got a LCD-4 this past month, yet I am still impressed with the Arya.
Soundstage is perfect, treble is detailed but not fatiguing like the DT-1990, mids sound full and detailed, but I was most impressed with the bass presence and quality especially since I've been mostly using the LCD-4 lately.
Build and materials could be better, but if that was so important the HE1000 series is available.
 
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