[T 1000]

It always seems to me that the plastic on the headphones has a very small admixture of metallic green, I don't have anything green nearby to give a reflection?
I think they would be more interesting to have an admixture, barely visible, of different colors

 

[Sense]

Arya's ear candy...or sample #1 for those who think Arya has no bass punch.

Have you listened to the entire new tool album on the Arya? Is it a good pairing?

 

[In1unison]

Just wondering are these end game for alot of you guys? or do you feel the need to still upgrade?

I currently have the Sundara which I think for the price are just ridiculous for the price to performance you get.

I listened to Ayra and I want......but at $1999 au or 4x what I paid for the Sundara I'm having a hard time justifying the priceC
Then there's the Focal Clears which I can get at $1200au which are almost half the price of Ayras throwing me a curve ball.

Who has listened to all 3 of these cans? and how much would I gain going from Sundaras > Clear > Ayras. I listen to literally everything but Jazz and Classical.

Thanks for your help

End game yes, unless you would like a warmer presentation to balance Arya's out.

 

[In1unison]

Have you listened to the entire new tool album on the Arya? Is it a good pairing?

Yes, very good. My preference is warmer sound, so with this type of music I often use LCD-2F, but really have no complaints when using Arya!

 

[Somatic]

Yea I seen them state that also, but you would think that after customer feedback they’d go back to original design. Also I want to add that when I got my first set of Arya’s I noticed that the drivers didn’t look the same, one of the drivers looked completely smooth and flush while the other had quite a few crinkles in it, and upon doing a driver matching test I noticed there was an imbalance around 4-5k (maybe higher)...anyhow, hifiman took really good care of me and replaced it with a fresh model that has drivers that look exactly alike. Made me think maybe they want people to stop looking at the drivers lol being how the majority of us audiophiles are OCD and all lol

How do you do a driver matching test?

 

[Sense]

Yes, very good. My preference is warmer sound, so with this type of music I often use LCD-2F, but really have no complaints when using Arya!

I’m sort of stuck.
I was looking at the Diana Phi but they say the soundstage is small…and for that money

I’m interested in the LCD-X or the LCD-3/4 but with the recent changes I’m waiting for reviews and to see if they come out with new stuff this year. I don’t have a way to EQ so it would be out of the box for me.

Then I’m also looking at the Arya but if they sound harsh for guitars…not sure it’s right for me.
I don’t listen to slow music…but I’m not listening to Green Day either. Lots of Tool…Maynard’s other projects…Coheed…Panic at The Disco…Taking Back Sunday…Twenty One Pilots…Bleachers…mix of old stuff I grew up on and some new stuff. Some acoustic stuff and maybe some Sublime and Dispatch.

I feel paralyzed by choice

 

[haasaaroni]

I’m sort of stuck.
I was looking at the Diana Phi but they say the soundstage is small…and for that money

I’m interested in the LCD-X or the LCD-3/4 but with the recent changes I’m waiting for reviews and to see if they come out with new stuff this year. I don’t have a way to EQ so it would be out of the box for me.

Then I’m also looking at the Arya but if they sound harsh for guitars…not sure it’s right for me.
I don’t listen to slow music…but I’m not listening to Green Day either. Lots of Tool…Maynard’s other projects…Coheed…Panic at The Disco…Taking Back Sunday…Twenty One Pilots…Bleachers…mix of old stuff I grew up on and some new stuff. Some acoustic stuff and maybe some Sublime and Dispatch.

I feel paralyzed by choice

Maybe think about the HE6se v2 if it becomes available again at that $700 price. I just got an Arya and am loving it, but actually prefer the sound of the HE6se...just not the comfort.

I'm also not EQ-ing, and I find the HE6se to have a much more refined treble and upper midrange for guitar stuff. It also slams much harder and has a sort of magical tactility to the sound. Soundstage (with DCA angled ether pads) is actually slightly wider than the Arya, just not with nearly as much depth or "immersion."

Anyway, I feel ya. Too much choice makes things difficult! Despite the difference in sound, the sense of scale and comfort of the Arya's are making it very hard for me to decide to return them or not.

 

[In1unison]

I’m sort of stuck.
I was looking at the Diana Phi but they say the soundstage is small…and for that money

I’m interested in the LCD-X or the LCD-3/4 but with the recent changes I’m waiting for reviews and to see if they come out with new stuff this year. I don’t have a way to EQ so it would be out of the box for me.

Then I’m also looking at the Arya but if they sound harsh for guitars…not sure it’s right for me.
I don’t listen to slow music…but I’m not listening to Green Day either. Lots of Tool…Maynard’s other projects…Coheed…Panic at The Disco…Taking Back Sunday…Twenty One Pilots…Bleachers…mix of old stuff I grew up on and some new stuff. Some acoustic stuff and maybe some Sublime and Dispatch.

I feel paralyzed by choice

There is no guitar harshness sound coming from Arya in my setup...whatsoever.

 

[rrabtsevich8980]

I just listened to both Rage Against The Machine albums in DSD, that was WOW, its amazing how many details i never noticed before. My setup is m400 smsl - xlr - topping a9 - balanced cable - arya. Its a huge upgrade from my older setup (benchmark dac1 usb balanced to hd6xx)
But i still like dac1 though, just to have a different perspective)))

 

[T 1000]

There is no guitar harshness sound coming from Arya in my setup...whatsoever.

It can be due to the poor quality of the song or as in my case, I have a slight reflection on Tidal, and the same song through Audirvana shines nowhere
otherwise so rare, I think I’ve only heard it twice
... here it is, guitars at the beginning -The Stooges-I wanna be your dog (2019 remastered)

 

[max1236]

I’m sort of stuck.
I was looking at the Diana Phi but they say the soundstage is small…and for that money

I’m interested in the LCD-X or the LCD-3/4 but with the recent changes I’m waiting for reviews and to see if they come out with new stuff this year. I don’t have a way to EQ so it would be out of the box for me.

Then I’m also looking at the Arya but if they sound harsh for guitars…not sure it’s right for me.
I don’t listen to slow music…but I’m not listening to Green Day either. Lots of Tool…Maynard’s other projects…Coheed…Panic at The Disco…Taking Back Sunday…Twenty One Pilots…Bleachers…mix of old stuff I grew up on and some new stuff. Some acoustic stuff and maybe some Sublime and Dispatch.

I feel paralyzed by choice

I listen to a lot of those bands, Arya does very well for them

 

[Sense]

I listen to a lot of those bands, Arya does very well for them

Thank you to everyone. I decided to pick them up. I’m moving from the $300 - $800 range into the $1000-$4000 range at the moment…trying to make sure I pick the best 2-4 headphones in that range. This is going to be my HIFIMAN pick.

I am also going from no amp/dac to mid range amp/dac. Picked up a/d90 stack…how does that pair with Arya?

 

[In1unison]

Thank you to everyone. I decided to pick them up. I’m moving from the $300 - $800 range into the $1000-$4000 range at the moment…trying to make sure I pick the best 2-4 headphones in that range. This is going to be my HIFIMAN pick.

I am also going from no amp/dac to mid range amp/dac. Picked up a/d90 stack…how does that pair with Arya?

Arya does better with the amps with LPS, like Jot2, Singxer Sa-1, Gustard H16 or H20 etc.

 

[chrisnyc75]

Just wondering are these end game for alot of you guys? or do you feel the need to still upgrade?

I currently have the Sundara which I think for the price are just ridiculous for the price to performance you get.

I listened to Ayra and I want......but at $1999 au or 4x what I paid for the Sundara I'm having a hard time justifying the priceC
Then there's the Focal Clears which I can get at $1200au which are almost half the price of Ayras throwing me a curve ball.

Arya probably isn't "endgame" for me. My plan is to keep Arya for a few years and then hopefully trade up to a Susvara, 1266, or lcd-4. I don't think I'll ever part with my HD800S or Verite, but I don't think Arya is my planar magnetic endgame, it's just the first stop on my journey.

Fwiw, I've found that trying to justify the price of hifi equipment is a fruitless task. There is no 1-to-1 ratio of price to performance - stuff costs what it costs. We're all chasing the mojo. A piece of gear either has that mojo, or it doesn't. If it has the mojo, then it's "worth" whatever it costs. If it doesn't have the mojo then it's not worth anything, don't waste your money on it. Ananda is definitely a better value proposition than Arya, but only if Ananda's sound makes you happy, otherwise spending even 1 dollar on it is a waste. Arya vs Clear is a difficult comparison to make because they are fundamentally different - dynamic vs planar, intimate vs spacious, impactful vs open & airy.

 

[X1787X]

Thank you to everyone. I decided to pick them up. I’m moving from the $300 - $800 range into the $1000-$4000 range at the moment…trying to make sure I pick the best 2-4 headphones in that range. This is going to be my HIFIMAN pick.

I am also going from no amp/dac to mid range amp/dac. Picked up a/d90 stack…how does that pair with Arya?

I would go for a warmer amp personally for arya. To be honest, I think op amp based amps aren't really that good sounding. A Jotunheim 2 would be nice, and a Monolith Liquid Platinum by Alex Cavalli would be amazing