[der luda]

@der luda, than Elise's output impedance of around 50Ω. as an Elise owner I've generally stayed away from headphones < 50Ω so I'm very interested in your experience and opinion.

Thanks, man!

I have used LCD X, Ananda and Arya V2 / stealth on the Elise so far.
I use the CV181-MK2 tubes, the Elise has the Arya Stealth under control in every position, at every volume. I let the 2 play for 30 hours in a row during the warm-up phase

 

[ezduzit2500]

@der luda, please clarify: Does the stealth match with Feliks Elise than prior Arya version? The stealth still has a relatively low impedance of 32Ω which is less than Elise's output impedance of around 50Ω. as an Elise owner I've generally stayed away from headphones < 50Ω so I'm very interested in your experience and opinion.

Thanks, man!

Please keep in mind that planars don't have impedance curves like dynamic driver HPs. A planar's impedance is flat - virtually like a pure resistance reading on a multi-meter. The main thing to be concerned with when using a planar with tube amps is whether the amp can provide enough power - current-wise - along with it's voltage output. Most tube amps cannot do current well because their power is mostly voltage based via the tubes. Hybrid tube/SS pr output transformer amps have less of a problem with current than pure tube amps, YMMV. To those who are more knowledgeable about the subject please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[cgb3]

That was pretty funny. It got me hungry though...got any crayons? No, seriously though - I respect regular flyboys, TAC-AIR, and especially your Load-Masters. Kept us from loading the C-130's and C-5's with everything imaginable - LIVE rounds, MOGAS, JP-4, JP-5, other - more secret - non-military issue weapons, and our "dates" (I can't say it here - but you know what I mean). They basically made us empty our pockets before every flight. They kept the Marines from blowing up their planes on take-off, mid-flight, landing - and post-flight maintenance. Tall task, indeed.

I don't think there's an American alive that doesn't think of the Marine Corps as the tip of America's Spear.

Much respect for your service.

 

[ezduzit2500]

I don't think there's an American alive that doesn't think of the Marine Corps as the tip of America's Spear.

Much respect for your service.

1st year was boot camp and schools. The next 4 years I personally went to eight different countries. I wasn't even a Grunt - I was a part of a Harrier jump-jet maintenance support squadron. They still constantly kept us moving. It was tough times but I wouldn't trade a minute. It really helped me see that as human beings we are all connected, gave me a great appreciation of other peoples' struggles, and a greater appreciation of the privileges that we have in the U.S. For many reasons, others are not so fortunate. All for you, your family, and our communities. Happy listening.

 

[ezduzit2500]

agreed, very happy with my arya stealth, all around headphone for me. soundstage is good and accurate. Class A amp.

I'm rocking a Gustard H20 amp with upgraded discrete opamps. I really optimized it to have decent punch and warmth for the Arya v2's which needed more dynamics and could have a plasticky timbre issue. With the v3's it's can be almost too punchy sometimes, depending on how the bass in a song is mixed and mastered (it's still neutral overall though and not bass heavy), and there doesn't seem to be virtually any timbre issues with the v3's at all. Not going to fudge around trying to get any more "synergy" though, I don't think I'll get any better results w/o shelling out substantially more $$$($). Sometimes "well enough" is well... well enough. Happy listening folks.

 

[cgb3]

1st year was boot camp and schools. The next 4 years I personally went to eight different countries. I wasn't even a Grunt - I was a part of a Harrier jump-jet maintenance support squadron. They still constantly kept us moving. It was tough times but I wouldn't trade a minute. It really helped me see that as human beings we are all connected, gave me a great appreciation of other peoples' struggles, and a greater appreciation of the privileges that we have in the U.S. For many reasons, others are not so fortunate. All for you, your family, and our communities. Happy listening.

If only the general public knew of the dedication of our military. All for very little money.

Like you, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.

 

[ezduzit2500]

If only the general public knew of the dedication of our military. All for very little money.

Like you, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.

Definitely didn't enlist to get rich. In fact, the Marine Corps pamphlets and my recruiter both expressly said that a Marine Corps career would not make one rich, even after retiring after 20 or 30 years.

 

[pdvm]

Arya V3 on a decent Class A amp has amazing impact on almost every note. I wouldn't describe them as bassy, but what's there in the lower region has fantastic punchiness. It's a very controlled bass, responding more to the music than trying to assert it's own coloration, to the point that you can listen to classical music and have an amazingly light and airy, textured and detailed listen with the lowend staying very reserved and out of the way. And then you click play on an EDM track and have your ears hammered. Amazingly versatile bass.

As far as an all-arounder goes, yeah. There's scarcely anything better in this price range.

(edit: quoted the wrong post)

Arya V2 owner here. Completely agree with your assessment of the Aryas bass.

The following is not directed at you but more a general observation:
What always annoys me is the idea that good/deep/textured/punchy bass is only needed for so-called 'bass-heavy' genres like hip hop, EDM, modern pop etc. and that for classical music it is somehow OK to have weak bass. It's incredible how often a review states something along the lines of "this headphone has amazing detail, but the bass drops off under ...Hz, so it's more suited to classical music." IMHO, it's the EXACT OPPOSITE: because the bass that is there in classical music is often crucial to that music, underpinning whatever crazy harmonic thing the composer is doing, or providing the rhythmic drive in similar ways to modern genres. If you have well-recorded classical music, and a headphone with weak bass, the emotional impact of the music is severely diminished. (For older, bass-light recordings (think 70s-80s Deutsche Gramophone etc), it's even worse: you NEED that bass!).

Of course, in a sense, most mediocre bass-heavy headphones are more suited to EDM, pop etc., for the simple reason that the sounds and samples used in those genres have no reference in the real world. Therefore, the range of bass-response that can sound somewhat right is broader, after all, who knows what the artist intended? It's just a sound. In classical music though, there is a reference, which is why a lot of headphones that sound reasonably good in other genres quickly fall apart when listening to classical (or jazz or other well-recorded acoustic music). You can still have a more or less 'bassy' headphone, but the quality of that bass has to be really good to get away with it; for a big bass response to sound natural.

Many, many people listen to intense, dramatic, large-scale orchestral works like Mahler symphonies or Wagner operas, which have content all the way down the frequency spectrum. And not only (huge) orchestral bass-drums (that can be punchy AF by the way, and should sound the part), also harmonic content, think organs, tam-tams etc. At loud climaxes, this kind of music demands far more from headphones and amps than the steady *thump thump* of modern pop. Any deficiency is immediately noticed. Any bass bloat immediately obscures instrumental textures in the midrange.

That's the thing: when called for, I want Mahler to hammer my ears just as hard as an EDM track. (Pun intended).

 

[haasaaroni]

Purchased a v2 Arya directly from Hifiman. Sold as an "open box" unit, for $1,099 (no tax or shipping), on their "Black Friday sale". Received looking as a new unit. 3 day shipping, I was impressed.

I'm enamored with the phones. Not bad naked, I like them with EQ. I use"Peace EQ", and the Oratory settings.

The HiFiman Arya present a quandary to me. I have too many headphones. Sell something on and keep, which is what I'm thinking. Yes, they're very close to my Senheisser HD 800S, my benchmark phones, but there's enough of a differance. More low end on the Arya's, more "balls". Could the mighty HD 800S's be on the way out? Probably not.

I think my Dan Clark Aeon 2 Opens (perfect, with additional Deconi Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin pads, +unused original pads) may find a new home soon.

​

Yeah the Aeon 2 Opens for me didn't stand a chance once I heard the Arya. Very different sound signature and presentation, but the Arya clearly won my favor. Enjoy 'em!

What always annoys me is the idea that good/deep/textured/punchy bass is only needed for so-called 'bass-heavy' genres like hip hop, EDM, modern pop etc. and that for classical music it is somehow OK to have weak bass.

Here's someone speaking my language!! Nothing like that feeling of feeling the double bass/cello sections reverberating through a good performance hall. The Arya does it brilliantly. Listen to the Rattle/Berlin Philharmonic recording of Mahler 2 with the Arya, especially the last movement, if you haven't already. Out of this world.

 

[lugnut]

What always annoys me is the idea that good/deep/textured/punchy bass is only needed for so-called 'bass-heavy' genres like hip hop, EDM, modern pop etc. and that for classical music it is somehow OK to have weak bass.

Many, many people listen to intense, dramatic, large-scale orchestral works like Mahler symphonies or Wagner operas, which have content all the way down the frequency spectrum. And not only (huge) orchestral bass-drums (that can be punchy AF by the way, and should sound the part), also harmonic content, think organs, tam-tams etc. At loud climaxes, this kind of music demands far more from headphones and amps than the steady *thump thump* of modern pop. Any deficiency is immediately noticed. Any bass bloat immediately obscures instrumental textures in the midrange.

I agree. I was into 2 channel speakers for many years before adding headphones to the way I listen to music. Among my group of peers that listened to progressive rock, it was a standard method of testing potential new speakers to use classical music for the evaluation. Reason being, most high end speakers were not voiced with rock music. Where as some type of classical was always used in tuning the speakers. So Mahler was one of the favorites to use and if they could play that well, it was pretty much a given that the speakers could handle rock well.

 

[amele]

can someone compare Arya Stealth vs He1000 V2?

 

[haasaaroni]

can someone compare Arya Stealth vs He1000 V2?

From memory with the HE1000 V2…

Arya Stealth = punchy detailed bass, more detail forward, still eeeever so slightly peaky in the treble (I’m at 110 hours of burn-in) but you won’t notice with well-recorded music, great soundstage/imaging, great timbre, very engaging listen.

HE1000 V2 = Warmer bass and lower midrange, softer sound overall, more resolving but less detail forward, smoother treble, enormous soundstage and perfect imaging, dead perfect timbre, very relaxing listen.

 

[amele]

so it is not worth taking he1000 v2, and its more expensive headphones are compared to Arya Stealth. He1000 v2 are 5 years old during this time a lot changes
tnx

 

[haasaaroni]

so it is not worth taking he1000 v2, and its more expensive headphones are compared to Arya Stealth. He1000 v2 are 5 years old during this time a lot changes
tnx

Depends on what you want! I found the HEK V2 to be a little too relaxing. The extra energy of the Arya is something I really enjoy.

 

[amele]

Depends on what you want! I found the HEK V2 to be a little too relaxing. The extra energy of the Arya is something I really enjoy.

i'm pretty sure i want arya stealth as much as i read and the he1000 v2 is already grandpa and money wise