[ezduzit2500]

Just wanted to share my experience with my newly acquired Arya V2. Still breaking them in with less than 5 hours of total play time. Coming from a Sundara, Denon D5200, AQ Nighthawk, Philips X2HR and Focal Elegia , I was expecting to be blown away with the Aryas. But I got to say at this point I am not. Perhaps laws of diminishing return is kicking in.

My gear consists of Schiit stack of Jot2 and BF2 and also have a Black Ice Audio FOZ SS-X tube buffer in between the two Schiits. I'm using an Android phone for my source with ripped wav files at 44.1khz.

At this point, I can say the Arya is at most 5% better in technicalities vs my other headphones. Will see how they change or grow on me.

Give them time, IMO. After about ~50-75 hours they change quite a bit and they will distance themselves form your other cans. Might take a look at a different source instead of your Android phone though - the Aryas scale with better sources and will be held back with lesser ones.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Thank you and also everybody else for the input!

Regarding brain burn in, I suspected that I would have to get used to the Arya and train my hearing, so did not expect to immediately get the full benefit of the better headphone, but I was still surprised not to be able to discern any difference. I feel a bit better now though after reading that differences should begin to become apparent relatively quickly. I will follow the advice to listen to the Arya exclusively for a few days, with only FLAC source material.

As for amps, I agree that I don't want the headphone to be held back by that, but I also don't really want to spend any more money right now. I did briefly look into used gear, but did not find really find anything that seemed like a good deal to me, but I will take another look.

Another possibility I am considering is getting the Sennheiser HD660S like I originally intended, which should work well with my DAC+AMP and still be a big improvement over the HD558, and maybe have another go at truly high-end gear in a couple of years when my listening ability is improved and my wallet a bit thicker. The general consensus of people who have heard both the Arya and the HD660S seems to be that they are similar in sound signature, with the Arya being better in every way, but not by that much. And the HD660S are only a quarter of the price...

No worries, take your time. What you have now as far as sources will get you by until you are able to invest in better ones. Happy listening.

 

[ezduzit2500]

I just bought a D90se and A50s and compared to the Hiby R6 pro alone it's not night and day, but it sounds more revealing, less sharp (sibilant), with a cleaner bass (more rumbling) and better separation of the instruments. Even the Mest sound much more musical (a bit thicker and warmer). The Arya's (stealth) and a balanced cable have enough headroom connected with the Hiby but some music sounded bright and shouty. With Topping DAC/AMP it is warmer without sounding muffled. I like it.

You're on your way to truly high end SQ. It was a stepping stone process for me. I tried the opamp based amps (A90, Monolith 887) and found them decent but ultimately not as natural or as good spatially with harmonics as my discrete amps. It was then that I started to search out other class A/AB options. YMMV.

 

[tommykrebs]

I read a lot about different DAC's an AMP's before I bought the Topping D90se/A50s and I was close to buy an R2R DAC instead. I'm glad I didn't I do not want the sound any warmer. It's perfect like it is.

 

[misternoe]

I read a lot about different DAC's an AMP's before I bought the Topping D90se/A50s and I was close to buy an R2R DAC instead. I'm glad I didn't I do not want the sound any warmer. It's perfect like it is.

A90/D90 owner here, I'd recommend trying that combo with HQ Player

 

[BenSherman]

Does anyone have experience of both the Arya and the Meze Empyrean? If so - which do you prefer and why?

 

[tommykrebs]

A90/D90 owner here, I'd recommend trying that combo with HQ Player

What kind of HQ Player? I use my Hiby as a USB Source because I have to use EQ.

Sorry to be OT. It has little to do with the Arya.

 

[misternoe]

What kind of HQ Player? I use my Hiby as a USB Source because I have to use EQ.

Sorry to be OT. It has little to do with the Arya.

Shoulda linked ya, it is software that does upsampling. https://www.signalyst.com/consumer.html
I recommend 352kHz for Topping—768kHz can randomly blast you with noise and give you a mini-heart attack

I like the sinc-L with LNS15 filter combo

 

[der luda]

I had the V2 and Stealth next to each other for 2 weeks at home and let the Stealth burn in for 100 hours.
V2 is being sold, I am still sometimes emotional when I hear the stealth ... after years it hit me at the point.

Naim Atom HE and Feliks Elise mk2, drive together with it
I don't want to say that the V2 would be worse, for me it's just the signature that I like more. Very important, the Hifiman take a long time to develop

 

[kryptonite]

I had the V2 and Stealth next to each other for 2 weeks at home and let the Stealth burn in for 100 hours.
V2 is being sold, I am still sometimes emotional when I hear the stealth ... after years it hit me at the point.

Naim Atom HE and Feliks Elise mk2, drive together with it
I don't want to say that the V2 would be worse, for me it's just the signature that I like more. Very important, the Hifiman take a long time to develop

I’m wondering what music genres are you listening ? I recently got Arya V2 and really like it , but don’t know if it’s worth upgrading to Stealth edition. I listen to EDM, classical /OST, rock, paired with ifi iDSD Micro Signature

 

[der luda]

@kryptonite
Jazz, soul, country ..... and classics like Paolo Conte, Pinky Floy, Queen.
I think it also depends on the components ... difficult.

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

I’m wondering what music genres are you listening ? I recently got Arya V2 and really like it , but don’t know if it’s worth upgrading to Stealth edition. I listen to EDM, classical /OST, rock, paired with ifi iDSD Micro Signature

I chose the V2 over the stealth preferring then sense space and placement of the sounds in V2. Knowing that I could use it with Xbass with the Signature gave me that extra comfort that I wouldn't miss out on at little bit of extra bass that the Stealth offered.

 

[MardukSonofEa]

I chose the V2 over the stealth preferring then sense space and placement of the sounds in V2. Knowing that I could use it with Xbass with the Signature gave me that extra comfort that I wouldn't miss out on at little bit of extra bass that the Stealth offered.

It's not just the bass - V3 also brings the midrange forward (though overall it's still somewhat recessed compared to Harman tuning) which makes rock and acoustic genres sound more balanced. I agree V2 is just as good if not better for classical, but for energetic music, I find V3 to be a more engaging listen due to tonal balance (which admittedly can be EQ'ed), better slam across the frequency range (including mids and highs), and more precise imaging.

 

[MardukSonofEa]

I listen to both mp3 with bitrates from 192 to 320 kbps and FLAC files. Genres are mostly rock/pop, some symphonic metal and occasionally classical or electronic music. Favorite artists include London Grammar, Florence and the Machine, Mark Knopfler, Pink Floyd, Within Temptation, but also many others.

I guess I will experiment for a few days. Thanks also @Reputator for your input!

Big symphonic metal fan here. I would try some Epica with the Arya - their Quantum Enigma and Holographic Principle albums sound so good. Tracks like The Holographic Principle or Once Upon a Nightmare really benefit from the grand stage that the Arya projects. The way this headphone places different instruments and sounds at different distances in a 3D field around you is crazy, but it takes some time to be able to hear it when you're coming from headphones with a more cramped soundstage. Sons of Winter and Stars from Wintersun is another "wow" piece.

FWIW - I don't think Within Temptation albums are particularly well produced, and Resist sounds as muddy and congested on my Arya as it does on my shitbox Toyota's speakers, because that's how they mixed it, so quality of production affects how much headroom there is for higher end headphones to shine. I say this as someone who's still a fan of (most of) their music.

 

[ThomasHK]

OK, Arya noob here.

• How can you tell difference between difference Aryas? I see mention of V2 and V3 but Hifiman website makes non mention of such thing.
• How big is/what is the difference with the Stealth Magnet Version?

Thanks in advance!