[ian91]

Arya continues to impress me with its bass that I have eq'ed with a +3 bass shelf. It has such a rumble and impact when it needs to and enough detail and texture to keep me interested. Running off my Jot 2 the bass is clean and dynamic with max detail. Jot 2 with tube preamp becomes more organic and smooth which is comforting for long listens.

Listening to the Arya powered right leaves very little for me to desire...

 

[Oregonian]

Yes, I completely agree. I fed mine from the speaker taps of a fully balanced, Class A Denon SA-1 when I lived in Japan. (A moment of silence for that rig.)
I never understood why so many people claimed the HD800 lacks bass - I thought it was spectacular. And I also had the OG HE-6 at that time. That is why I was asking if PointyFox's comment was sarcasm or not.

I have neither HD800 or HE-6 now, but I chose the Arya specifically because it was described as being HD800-like with flatter bass response. I really wish I could A-B them now; anyway, I freaking love the bass on the Arya.

Oregonian, I I notice you have the SE Master 1 - I had a couple of days with one in Japan, always wished I had bought one for myself. How do you rate it?

I rate it very highly! Definitely my favorite dynamic open back can I've ever tried................had had it for 4 years and still keep it in the rotation.

 

[PointyFox]

I was using an ADI-2 DAC FS when comparing the HD800S and Arya and found Arya's extension and impact to be lacking. Though keep in mind bass is heavily dependent on fit to the particular user's head. Saying anything negative about a particular headphone in that headphone's dedicated thread is like being an outsider walking through a bad neighborhood

 

[betula]

I was using an ADI-2 DAC FS when comparing the HD800S and Arya and found Arya's extension and impact to be lacking. Though keep in mind bass is heavily dependent on fit to the particular user's head. Saying anything negative about a particular headphone in that headphone's dedicated thread is like being an outsider walking through a bad neighborhood

The ADI2 drives the Arya pretty well, but I did notice improvement with the Soloist 3X amp, especially in the bass: more focused and more precise.

Also, I think Arya's bass is better than the HD800S but not as good as Audeze headphones or some others.

 

[PointyFox]

Would there be a fit difference between the Arya and HE1000SE? Is the pad geometry the same?

 

[sennfan83261]

I was using an ADI-2 DAC FS when comparing the HD800S and Arya and found Arya's extension and impact to be lacking. Though keep in mind bass is heavily dependent on fit to the particular user's head. Saying anything negative about a particular headphone in that headphone's dedicated thread is like being an outsider walking through a bad neighborhood

0.7WPC at 32 ohms is not a lot of power for the Arya's (35 ohms at 90 dB) (see also page 7 of RME's userguide: https://www.rme-audio.de/downloads/adi2fs_e.pdf).

From RME's website:

The ADI-2 FS uses a down-scaled version of the ADI-2 Pro's Extreme Power output stage. With power of up to 0.7 watts per channel, 0.1 ohm output impedance, a maximum output level of +19 dBu and very low THD (-110 dB), the High Power² circuitry is universally applicable. A relay ensures click-free on and off switching.

 

[PointyFox]

Thanks. Could be that I was under-driving them, though 90 dB is very loud. I have a TA-ZH1ES now which does 1,200 mW per channel in the balanced outputs at 32 Ohms/1 kHz and the HD1000SE I'm getting is 96 dB vs Arya's 90 dB sensitivity, so I should definitely be good now.

 

[chrisnyc75]

I never understood why so many people claimed the HD800 lacks bass - I thought it was spectacular. And I also had the OG HE-6 at that time.

Just goes to show how much in this hobby is subjective. I love my HD800S, but I would never call its bass "spectacular". I find the low end on the 800 "passable" at best. The Arya's low end, on the other hand, I would 100% call "spectacular" - with a bit of eq Arya can become a bass monster while still retaining the soundstage & treble magic that defines it. What I find most fascinating, though, is that Arya is equally adept at both acoustic jazz AND hard-hitting techno. Seems to me most headphones excel at one or the other, but rarely both ends of the spectrum.

 

[Bboy500]

Just goes to show how much in this hobby is subjective. I love my HD800S, but I would never call its bass "spectacular". I find the low end on the 800 "passable" at best. The Arya's low end, on the other hand, I would 100% call "spectacular" - with a bit of eq Arya can become a bass monster while still retaining the soundstage & treble magic that defines it. What I find most fascinating, though, is that Arya is equally adept at both acoustic jazz AND hard-hitting techno. Seems to me most headphones excel at one or the other, but rarely both ends of the spectrum.

The Arya has excellent bass, a bit above balanced towards the fun spectrum but it cannot match the top contenders in the category. I would argue it has the highest quality bass I have heard from a headphone, but it is definitely lacking in pure impact.

I will take my Pre-Fazor LCD2's for bassy songs 9/10 times. But if I had the Aryas as my sole headphone I would have no issues enjoying them for that purpose. They are pretty fantastic at bass, but there are better headphone in the same price for that aspect.

 

[tudedude]

Half the time I power my Arya balanced with the Fiio Btr-5 for around 230mw and the lows are pretty dang good to me. Doesn't have the detail, resolution, or whatever you get from more power but by no means does the bass feel lacking.

 

[joseG86]

Default Arya bass is decent but sub-bass is lacking unless EQed properly IMO

 

[KenMan85]

Arya bass is detailed and comes from the chest. It doesn't need to shake your head. It's balanced sound. Doesn't bleed into the mids and doesn't over power the other frequencies. I like it as is. I haven't used eq in over a year now.

 

[KenMan85]

Anyone use the Arya with a good silver cable card to speak on experiences with going from copper to silver

 

[Ripper2860]

Sorry, folks. I'm afraid I'm gonna be a bit scarce for the rest of the evening. I'm going to be doing a little less posting and a bit more listening to MY AWESOME ARYA HPs!!!

 

[joseG86]

Sorry, folks. I'm afraid I'm gonna be a bit scarce for the rest of the evening. I'm going to be doing a little less posting and a bit more listening to MY AWESOME ARYA HPs!!!

Today I chose the Arya over the Clear thanks to this EQ profile, very addictive