[sennfan83261]

I got my Schiit Vali out and I haven't used that in well over a year so I wanted to hear how it sounds with the Arya and it sounds pretty darn good. Now I'm looking for a good tube hybrid/transistor amp to get that's under $500. The xDuoo TA-20 is high on my list but I also thought about the Lyr though I don't think it will have the sound I'm looking for after reading the reviews. If anyone knows of some other good ones let me know because I'm close to pulling the trigger on the xDuoo.

I enjoy my Arya's with the Cavalli Liquid Platinum and it goes under $500 like it is now (MSRP is $799). There are some issues with it though. First, there's no gain switch, so the volume gain comes extremely quickly when you reach 11am on the volume knob. Second, with some volume pots, there is channel imbalance below the 11am mark, like in my first unit. My replacement unit does not have this channel imbalance thankfully but the lack of a switchable gain is still an issue. A solution for the gain issue is to crank the volume knob to the unity gain position at 1:30 and control your volume via your DAC or a preamp. Let's be frank here, the volume pot of the Liquid Platinum does not belong anywhere near a $800 amp. In essence, I love the sound but the build quality leaves a quite a bit to be desired.

 

[BubbaJay]

Thanks for the recommendation but with no switchable gain it's a no go for me because I have some sensitive headphones like my AP2000ti I'd use with it and that just won't work.

I think I'm going to go with the xDuoo TA-20 because one it's balanced and two I'd like to try a transistor based tube amp and see how that sounds because I've only ever had hybrid amps. I don't expect a big difference but you never know. I just want something that's got enough power which at 2 watts a channel the TA-20 does and that will give me a nice warm tube sound.

 

[PhazeCrive]

Hello, new guy here. I've been reading a lot here about what kind of high-end headphones would suit me best but I'm not finding the type of answers I was looking for.

With the Arya, I'm hearing just about everything I was interested in, but it's "lacking" when it comes to electronic music. I listen to mostly anything but I don't wanna be feeling like I'm missing something when I play a track from that genre and it isn't slamming.

Would there be anything else with good soundstage, separation and bass? I do prefer a planar just cuz the single-driver dynamic headphones I have suffer from doppler distortion (XM3, Club One, Momentum 3). Looking for a serious upgrade. Budget for the headphone, amp and dac is $5,000.

Thanks, and apologizes if posted in the wrong section. Kinda new here.

 

[Superpong]

Hi every one. Is it true that the peak issue (i.e. 5khz) was fixed in the last revision. How can we check that the unit we are buying is the latest revision? Do they print something on the box or package?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Hello, new guy here. I've been reading a lot here about what kind of high-end headphones would suit me best but I'm not finding the type of answers I was looking for.

With the Arya, I'm hearing just about everything I was interested in, but it's "lacking" when it comes to electronic music. I listen to mostly anything but I don't wanna be feeling like I'm missing something when I play a track from that genre and it isn't slamming.

Would there be anything else with good soundstage, separation and bass? I do prefer a planar just cuz the single-driver dynamic headphones I have suffer from doppler distortion (XM3, Club One, Momentum 3). Looking for a serious upgrade. Budget for the headphone, amp and dac is $5,000.

Thanks, and apologizes if posted in the wrong section. Kinda new here.

From what you are describing I think you’re going to want something with a bit of thump down low. That’s not really what planars do. They reach for the abyss in a beautiful neutral manner and go looooow...but if you want thump aka a bump in the midbass...well I can only really think of one: DCA Æon Flow RT or the Drop variant (they’re basically the same headphone).
Another option would be to EQ in a good bass shelf. Planars are generally easy to work with EQ-wise as they come with such low distortion numbers. Said another way: your Arya will take whatever you care to give it with great gusto no less
Best of luck!

 

[PhazeCrive]

From what you are describing I think you’re going to want something with a bit of thump down low. That’s not really what planars do. They reach for the abyss in a beautiful neutral manner and go looooow...but if you want thump aka a bump in the midbass...well I can only really think of one: DCA Æon Flow RT or the Drop variant (they’re basically the same headphone).
Another option would be to EQ in a good bass shelf. Planars are generally easy to work with EQ-wise as they come with such low distortion numbers. Said another way: your Arya will take whatever you care to give it with great gusto no less
Best of luck!

Thanks.

Shoot, might as well stick with the Arya then. The headphones I have already dominate the other frequencies with their bass, so something more neutral and evenly separated sounds like the right way to go.

I'll be back in like a month or two to post my impressions. Can't wait to see the difference between bluetooth headphones vs an audiophile rig!

 

[Flextreme]

Hello, new guy here. I've been reading a lot here about what kind of high-end headphones would suit me best but I'm not finding the type of answers I was looking for.

With the Arya, I'm hearing just about everything I was interested in, but it's "lacking" when it comes to electronic music. I listen to mostly anything but I don't wanna be feeling like I'm missing something when I play a track from that genre and it isn't slamming.

Would there be anything else with good soundstage, separation and bass? I do prefer a planar just cuz the single-driver dynamic headphones I have suffer from doppler distortion (XM3, Club One, Momentum 3). Looking for a serious upgrade. Budget for the headphone, amp and dac is $5,000.

Thanks, and apologizes if posted in the wrong section. Kinda new here.

I listen mostly electronic music: the Arya is good, but tend to be slightly polite/analytical/romantic. However, Aryas become absolutely amazing with the right Amp and some moderate EQ; Arya's grow massive balls, become punchy without any bloat and have excellent timing/speed and PraT without sacrificing any original Arya qualities. The bass performance is viceral. The EQ I suggest brings them very close to the Harman Curve: which is considered ideal for modern music.

I wrote about it in detail here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-arya.23838/reviews#item-review-24450

 

[Flextreme]

Hi every one. Is it true that the peak issue (i.e. 5khz) was fixed in the last revision. How can we check that the unit we are buying is the latest revision? Do they print something on the box or package?

Not sure how you can check on serial, but you should be able to ask the dealer. V2 are out for quite a while now.

Also checkout this thread https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-arya-vs-arya-revision.933627/page-2

The cloth mesh on the outside of the drivers is significantly different.

Edit: no serial on the outside, but inside the box is a warranty card that does: my serial is 9122846 & 9122846 (two serials because of two cans?!)

 

[bagwell359]

They reach for the abyss in a beautiful neutral manner and go looooow...but if you want thump aka a bump in the midbass...well I can only really think of one: DCA Æon Flow RT or the Drop variant (they’re basically the same headphone).

PhazeCrive has an ample budget, and doesn't want to miss out due to missing qualities - the other side of that is that they probably don't want colorations either.

Another option would be to EQ in a good bass shelf. Planars are generally easy to work with EQ-wise as they come with such low distortion numbers. Said another way: your Arya will take whatever you care to give it with great gusto no less
Best of luck!

That's true, but then he/she could EQ in a midbass rise also - if desired.

 

[bagwell359]

I listen mostly electronic music: the Arya are good, but tend to be slightly polite/analytical/romantic. However, Aryas become absolutely amazing with the right Amp and some moderate EQ; Arya's grow massive balls, become punchy without any bloat and have excellent timing/speed and PraT without sacrificing any original Arya qualities. The bass performance is viceral. The EQ I suggest brings them very close to the Harman Curve: which is considered ideal for modern music.

I wrote about it in detail here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-arya.23838/reviews#item-review-24450

That matches what I've heard. For new cans between 1 and 2k, it's the Arya and Clear as the must hear cans.

 

[PhazeCrive]

Yeah, I've been fiending the Arya reviews here and yours really stood out, Flex. Seems like a setup that can get you 90-95% of the sound as extreme high end rig at a mere fraction of the cost.

 

[chimney189]

I find it interesting that the Arya's can "grow massive balls". How unique is that?!

 

[BusDriver]

When I EQ my Utopia and Arya to target the Harman curve, the aggressiveness of the Utopia is tamed (and the midrange becomes more clear) and the Arya's sound is brought forward enough that sometimes it's hard to tell them apart. The Arya has great potential to be aligned to your specific liking.

 

[phuoctue]

My first step into "higher-end" headphone, my Arya arrived today and I must say that it I am very impressed with its ability from the first hour. As previous owner mentioned, it has run for about 10 hours before.

My impressions after a short 45 mins relaxing after dinner.

The look:
Pretty big for my head size. The headband is pulled down all the way to the cans.

The feel:
Not so bad and not that feeling cheap or cracky. Never have a chance to touch other full size headphones, so I cannot compare here.
No weight pressure feeling on the head, just a slight push-in feeling on the ear, which is fine with me.

The sound:
I am looking for 2 things: raw (natural) details and soundstage. And this Arya currently have done the job quite well.
I connect the Arya to my humble Hugo and it sound really good. Many more details from familiar tracks are revealed, comparing to my active speakers and to the CA Andromeda 2020. I can hear the vibrations of the cymbals, the click mad by drum sticks of the drummers when he accidentally crashed them together while doing a fill. Also the vibrations and echoes of the guitar, bass strings. I realized that I am enjoying the tracks more than before, even some track with just OK quality on Youtube.
Soundstage is a lot bigger , hope it will be even bigger when I upgrade to a decent head-amp and R2R DAC.
Bass: Gets really deep, but not very punchy. I can hear and distinguish every bass notes in busy tracks in Hans Zimmer Live in Prague and Nightwish albums.
Mids: As natural as it gets, I feel like sitting in the front row of a small club while Yao Si Ting singing.
Treble: A bit harsh to my ears on some tracks.

I know I have made the right decision. Hope it will sound a lot better after a few more weeks.

 

[MisterNguyen]

My first step into "higher-end" headphone, my Arya arrived today and I must say that it I am very impressed with its ability from the first hour. As previous owner mentioned, it has run for about 10 hours before.

My impressions after a short 45 mins relaxing after dinner.

The look:
Pretty big for my head size. The headband is pulled down all the way to the cans.

The feel:
Not so bad and not that feeling cheap or cracky. Never have a chance to touch other full size headphones, so I cannot compare here.
No weight pressure feeling on the head, just a slight push-in feeling on the ear, which is fine with me.

The sound:
I am looking for 2 things: raw (natural) details and soundstage. And this Arya currently have done the job quite well.
I connect the Arya to my humble Hugo and it sound really good. Many more details from familiar tracks are revealed, comparing to my active speakers and to the CA Andromeda 2020. I can hear the vibrations of the cymbals, the click mad by drum sticks of the drummers when he accidentally crashed them together while doing a fill. Also the vibrations and echoes of the guitar, bass strings. I realized that I am enjoying the tracks more than before, even some track with just OK quality on Youtube.
Soundstage is a lot bigger , hope it will be even bigger when I upgrade to a decent head-amp and R2R DAC.
Bass: Gets really deep, but not very punchy. I can hear and distinguish every bass notes in busy tracks in Hans Zimmer Live in Prague and Nightwish albums.
Mids: As natural as it gets, I feel like sitting in the front row of a small club while Yao Si Ting singing.
Treble: A bit harsh to my ears on some tracks.

I know I have made the right decision. Hope it will sound a lot better after a few more weeks.

Ahhh Hans Zimmer Live in Prague. Such a good listen. I was fortunate enough to see him live when he toured the US maybe 3 years ago. Unforgettable. I should give it a listen with my Arya's too.