[musickid]

for home use invest in a desktop amp/dac to get the best from arya. at 90dB it is not easy to drive to full potential.

 

[Listenisb]

for home use invest in a desktop amp/dac to get the best from arya. at 90dB it is not easy to drive to full potential.

Thanks for your input.
I'm driving Arya with topping dx7s and SMSL sp200 for desktop setup. I quite like it probably because I never really experience any higher end dac/amp. I need a portable solution to use Arya between rooms and deck.

 

[musickid]

2gohugo2 but very costly.

 

[Jodet]

Any suggestions for an amp for the Arya's, something with an XLR out? I was using my Quad PA-One+ and loved it. But it recently got moved to the Quad room where it's being used as a preamp. So now my headfi room is amp less.

 

[PoSR77]

Getting pretty excited here...my Arya's should be here early next week.

Tiring of the Sundara's due to listening to them more since I can't listen to my home office stereo as much as I'm used to due to my girlfriend now working from home because of the pandemic. Especially tired of the discomfort, and can tell something is missing from the sound.

Just hope the Arya's are worth the investment. Will be pairing them with my Gilmore Lite MK2 amp, but already very interested in the RME ADI 2 DAC.

Impressions will follow once I get over the initial "wow" factor (hopefully at least) which can distort perceptions, at least with lesser gear.

(I have found that with higher end gear, especially speakers in my case, if the quality is sufficient to really truly blow me away at first, my appreciation tends to not depreciate much as the months and years go by after the initial "wow" factor wears off. With lesser gear, however, flaws slowly but surely reveal themselves, sometimes to the point where you wonder why you were so impressed at first, even if you still were aware from the start of some flaws in the sound).

 

[KenMan85]

Arya are great, just bought a wells milo upgraded. 18 Watts per channel of power. The Arya love power

 

[MidFiMoney]

Hi, I've been enjoying my Ayra for couple weeks as it's my first planer headphone. Currently in market for a DAP to use in house between rooms. I'm looking at AK Kann and Kann Cube and Hiby R5. I'm using xduoo xd-05 plus as portable for now and want more in terms of SQ and feature like a real DAP. Do I really need the power from Kann Cube to drive Arya compare to much cheaper Kanna and R5? I really like the design of Kann as it has physical control buttons at the bottom. However, Kann Cube is a monster in terms of power. I actually don't mind the size of Cube as there is no plan to take it outdoor. Based on my research, R5 has a really good and fast system which I value a lot. Can someone share their experience with those 3 DAP with Arya? I listen to different genres using Tidal Hi-fi and Spotify premium. I don't have any offline music.

Thanks in advance! This is my first post after months of reading on head-fi forum!

Current set up and headphones:
Hifiman Arya, Focal Elex, Fostex th610, HD600, Final audio e3000
Topping dx7s, SMSL sp200, xduoo xd-05 plus, ifi nano black, Aune X7S, iPod classic, topping mx3
PSB alpha P3 speaker

I’m quite happy with the Arya paired with my DX200

 

[PoSR77]

Arya are great, just bought a wells milo upgraded. 18 Watts per channel of power. The Arya love power

Yea, I'm worried if the RME ADI 2 DAC could drive them properly, but I really like its all in one solution and the EQ possibilities.

Headamp claims that their Gilmore Lite MK2 amp pairs very well with the Arya, so I'm not worried about that too much. I could of course use the MK2 with the RME ADI 2 DAC, but I'd rather use the RME ADI 2 DAC on its own to power the Arya's and use the MK2 in a bedroom set up.

 

[KenMan85]

Yea, I'm worried if the RME ADI 2 DAC could drive them properly, but I really like its all in one solution and the EQ possibilities.

Headamp claims that their Gilmore Lite MK2 amp pairs very well with the Arya, so I'm not worried about that too much. I could of course use the MK2 with the RME ADI 2 DAC, but I'd rather use the RME ADI 2 DAC on its own to power the Arya's and use the MK2 in a bedroom set up.

I'm selling my jotunheim and lcd2c once my PayPal goes through in the milo. Lol

 

[PoSR77]

I'm selling my jotunheim and lcd2c once my PayPal goes through in the milo. Lol

Looked at that Milo in more depth, it sure does seem like a great amp. I bet the Arya's will sound incredible with it.

 

[KenMan85]

Looked at that Milo in more depth, it sure does seem like a great amp. I bet the Arya's will sound incredible with it.

Yeah m I've read multiple reviews say it's the best they've heard the Arya sound. Gonna pair with d90 and silver plated ofc xlr

 

[knopi]

Sombody wrote in my country about RME ADI2 and Gilmore Lite mk2 and he end up only with ADI2 and his Gilmore is now for sale. He wrote that Gilmore added a little more bass and he can eq it on RME. But he is using ATH-AD5000 and from my experiences Audio Technica is mostly easy drive. So let know I am interested on your opinion how you will see it with Arya.

 

[carlosgab]

I agree that switching back to back with THX 789 and GL Mkii, the latter adds a noticeable amount of bass

 

[PoSR77]

Sombody wrote in my country about RME ADI2 and Gilmore Lite mk2 and he end up only with ADI2 and his Gilmore is now for sale. He wrote that Gilmore added a little more bass and he can eq it on RME. But he is using ATH-AD5000 and from my experiences Audio Technica is mostly easy drive. So let know I am interested on your opinion how you will see it with Arya.

The more I look, the more gear it seems I now need since I have the Arya (which I'm assuming I'll like enough to want to invest in sources behind it...I'll of course really listen to it to make sure before upgrading anything) incoming, and the higher the price goes the more I research.

I'd really like an all-in-one box like the RME ADI 2 DAC or Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ but I'm worried their headphone amp sections will not be able to drive the Arya properly (though I have seen some say the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ can as it has 6w output). I'm also worried that the Gilmore Lite MK2 may not either, or not be a good match, despite what HeadAmp claims (I'll definitely post my impressions with the MK2 later).

If not, then I'm looking at the SPL Phonitor amps (e, x, and ex) along with a RME ADI 2 DAC (I'm not willing to pay $2000 to use the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ as just a DAC, not when for $1000 less I can get the RME ADI 2 DAC and a SPL amp). (Right now I have an old Cambridge Dacmagic that it's time to move on from).

Anyone drive or try the Arya with a RME ADI 2 DAC or Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ (or SPL Phonitor amp)? Or compare any of them?


Edit: Also looking at the Keces S3 (all-in-one) which according to the reviews here has a powerful amp. From the first review where an Arya was used :

"Here are some fun facts: Hifiman Arya that I reviewed recently is a hard to drive planar-magnetic headphone, at only 90 db per 1mW it is the hardest to drive one from my table. Yet, at just 70 volume (out of 128 steps) at high gain Arya and my ears could barely hold more volume, just for few moments I tried going up to 80 volume and went immediately back to preserve my hearing. KECES S3 has some very serious power under its belt!

...

If you look carefully around here you will observe that I really like listening to DAC+ headphone amp units, I will not hide the ugly truth, this is one of my biggest audiophile fetishes. I love testing and listening to DAC/Headphone amp units, I tested a lot of them lately. Out of all of them (including Matrix Element X and Mytek Brooklyn DAC+) this Keces S3 has the best headphone amp section by a long shot."

 

[knopi]

I had Brooklyn DAC first version no plus. And I was dissapointed by headphone ouput not good, it was acceptable only with easier drive headphone like LCDX and Clear but still no ideal. I did not try it with HiFiMANs.
I used it as DAC / PRE for speakers and it was nice.

I read that Brooklyn DAC+ have upgraded better preamp and headphone output but how much?
I think RME will be better as all in one for headphone from reviews it seems.
I think Questyle Twelve could be good, it has the same pleasant sound characteristic as Hegel for much less..