[BubbaJay]

(deleted)

 

[Gabehcuod]

Tube amp with a planar.
Heard it works wonders...

 

[BubbaJay]

I keep changing my mind on an amp but I finally pulled the trigger on not the A90 but the A50s. After seeing the specs and reading panthers review and measurements on ASR I figured I'd save $300 and go with the A50s. I know measurements aren't everything but seeing how it beats my SMSL SP200 and the fact it's only $199 I feel like this was the right choice for what I was looking for at this time. Plus, I already have the D50s as my main Dac so why not complete the stack. The A50s uses a lot of the same circuitry as the A90 but with less power in a smaller form factor and from what I've seen I don't think it will be far off in terms of SQ compared to the A90 either. I think the Arya will sound quite nice with this little setup but either way, I'll let you know when I get it how it compares to my other amps.

 

[phuoctue]

I remember saw somewhere on the internet of a review Arya on Audio GD R7 and Master 9 headamp, but cant find it now.
Anybody has ever tried this? Please share some thoughts.

 

[Flextreme]

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

I like to use adjectives when I'm enthusiastic. I probably shouldn't... So the Arya grows just balls with EQ...

However, just found with a +5db bass shelf Aryas grown not just massive, but gigantuan bazooka blastin starkiller balls...

Oopsie!

Seriously, I am amazed how well the Arya handles EQ on the A90. With my typical suggested +3.5db bass shelf the Aryas keep their typical audiophile tuning.

Just tried +5db (and adjusted headroom to -5.5db): so impressive to experience all other frequencies unscaved, no bloat, and zero impact on all other Arya qualities. With this EQ they remind me of Audeze's bass performance in the best possible way. It is never congested, and it doesn't sound slow. Just Fun, especially with my favorite genre melodic/organic techno...

 

[BubbaJay]

I go up about 2dB on my Loki and find that to be plenty when listening to electronic music but I've cranked it up the whole way which is +6dB and while that's a bit too much for my taste the Arya handled it like a champ. They do have more bass than I was expecting after having the Ananda and Sundara which have a more lean sound in the lows.

I still can't get over just how good the imaging is, everytime I listen to them it still wows me. The placement of everything is so perfect with a soundstage that's large but not overly so like I feel the HD800 is.

 

[Flextreme]

I still can't get over just how good the imaging is, everytime I listen to them it still wows me.

Same!!

Sometimes, I feel sorry for folks who did not get to experience the Arya magic because they gave her up for the wrong reasons...

 

[Gabehcuod]

gave her up

It wasn't really until I ran them balanced that i completely fell inlove. With enough current and clean output, these things really sounded onpar with the more expensive hekv2.
I feel like alot of people based impressions off whimpy sources and underpowered them.

 

[PhazeCrive]

^ Alot of them say the Aryas are hard to drive, but I'm not buying that honestly. Use balanced cables. The current is always stronger on those.

Get yourself an adapter or aftermarker cable and boom. Suddenly the Aryas aren't hard to drive anymore. This is something even I know and I don't have anything of the sort. I'd say I'm really lucky to have come across the Arya. Thank you, Josh.

 

[ciber]

awesome customer review on Hifiman Arya from Reddit

 

[PhazeCrive]

Gotta ask him about the bass and the soundstage since he most likely has the Revision 2. I've heard mixed things about those two qualities in the new model but can anyone confirm if the new version is better?

 

[Flextreme]

It wasn't really until I ran them balanced that i completely fell inlove. With enough current and clean output, these things really sounded onpar with the more expensive hekv2.
I feel like alot of people based impressions off whimpy sources and underpowered them.

This is exactly my point.

BTW: From what I understand is that the Arya was originally designed for Drop and based on the hekv2.

What I learned, and what experienced head-fi folks confirm, people often think the power rating of their amps is enough. Officially the Arya needs 1000mw to play loud. But very similar like to speakers set-ups, with high power/voltage/current amps, the tighter the bass and more capable dynamics are at the same volume to smaller amps. In addition, Arya need amps to be able to really great at voltage swing (correct me if I'm using the wrong terminology): the upgrade from the SMSL SP200 to the A90 was an eye opener to me.

Minor note, balanced is prefered when the amp has more power on the balanced output, which is often the case. But with some amps, like the SMSL SP200 and the truly high end Benchmark HPA4, the output power of both Single ended and Balanced is the same. Benchmark even states they prefer the single ended output. I'm just saying because balanced is prefer for sure, but with some amps it does not make a big difference because both are the same.

 

[Flextreme]

Just wondering: which headphone beats Arya in imaging, and more importantly has a larger soundstage?

HD800s are great, but nowhere near as 3D (incl height and being able to be intimate, not just consistently away from you face)

 

[sennfan83261]

Just wondering: which headphone beats Arya in imaging, and more importantly has a larger soundstage?

HD800s are great, but nowhere near as 3D (incl height and being able to be intimate, not just consistently away from you face)

I don't know about beating the Arya, but my HE-6 (modded 4-screw) is similarly holographic in its imaging but its soundstage is definitely less wide and tall compared to the Arya. My AKG K-501 is probably the closest in imaging and soundstage, but I feel that the HE-6 is better than it in the holographic imaging department, still very impressive for a $150 can though. In my opinion, my Arya and HE-6 are probably my best two headphones when it comes to holographic imaging in my collection (maybe my HEXv2 as well but it is stuck in my office and I haven't been back there since middle of March). I agree with your assessment of the HD800S. As for other cans, I only briefly auditioned the Utopia awhile ago and forgot whether its imaging was holographic, likewise with an LCD-4 (albeit a longer session) that I auditioned that same day. With the LCD-4, I do remember coming away not particularly wow'd by its imaging and soundstage. I also tried the HEDDphone, Verite (closed), and the Empyreans, but it was during meet conditions, so I couldn't really get a good handle on any aspects of them other than maybe their respective FR's (slightly).

 

[SilverEars]

Just wondering: which headphone beats Arya in imaging, and more importantly has a larger soundstage?

HD800s are great, but nowhere near as 3D (incl height and being able to be intimate, not just consistently away from you face)

HD800s has large sound stage, but the objects in the image doesn't have have depth, and it's like the objects are in 2D in the large space.