[amele]

You'll get better thoughts on this in the V550 thread, but based on the research I did when I was considering buying, the real difference between the 380 & 550 is that 380 does not have preamp functionality and the 550 is more powerful at 50ohms to better drive Susvara & 1266TC. In both cases I think the DAC add-in is generally considered very good. Unless you plan on using the preamp and/or upgrading your Arya to a Susvara or 1266 at some point, I think the V380 is probably the better choice. Sonically I don't think they are any different.

both are outstanding, some say the dac is better than the Topping 90SE. 380 is Pre-amplifier

 

[chrisnyc75]

both are outstanding, some say the dac is better than the Topping 90SE. 380 is Pre-amplifier

Oops, yes you're right, it does have a pre-amp. It's been months since I looked into it, I should have double checked the specs before I posted.

 

[ezduzit2500]

I am buying an amp / dac for Arya Stealth and I have decided to buy Violectric DHA V380 MK2 or Violectric HPA V550 + DAC, but in case I buy Violectric HPA V550 I will be forced to opt for low bucket DAC. The DAC would then be something in the sense of the Gustard DAC-X16 Balanced DAC. What do you think which variant is better.
tnx

I wouldn't be opposed to the x16, I've heard good things about it and I like Gustard - judging from my experience with the H20 amp. Seems the x18 or x26pro would be in your wheelhouse too.

 

[amele]

I wouldn't be opposed to the x16, I've heard good things about it and I like Gustard - judging from my experience with the H20 amp. Seems the x18 or x26pro would be in your wheelhouse too.

in all probability (99%) I will take the Violectric DHA V380 MK2, if I took the Violectric HPA V550 I would be forced to take the low budget Dac because I would not have the money to reach higher on the scale, otherwise I would later take the Gustard DAC-X26 Pro when I recover financially. So I asked here is it wise to take such a good amp and a bad dac to begin with, what sound would I get?

 

[ezduzit2500]

Have to disagree with the last paragraph

Verite lover here, and I have hard time to understand how to enjoy Arya (regardless the version), except with few specific acoustic/jazz songs when paired with the right set-up. For me the planar alternative to Verite (with cheaper price) would be LCD-X, of course not exactly the same, but closer than what Arya offer.

How you enjoy the Arya depends a lot on how it's amped, along with the rest of your chain. Really bright or harsh amps, or not enough power (v1's and v2's) will make the Arya either bright, bass light, or both. Best to pair with a decently powered and warm-ish (or not annoyingly bright), Class A amp for the v1's and v2's, and the same but needing less power for the v3's. I find them to be anywhere from good to excellent in mostly all genres. YMMV.

 

[ezduzit2500]

in all probability (99%) I will take the Violectric DHA V380 MK2, if I took the Violectric HPA V550 I would be forced to take the low budget Dac because I would not have the money to reach higher on the scale, otherwise I would later take the Gustard DAC-X26 Pro when I recover financially. So I asked here is it wise to take such a good amp and a bad dac to begin with, what sound would I get?

I've not heard any Violectric amp or DAC/amp combo. I have a midrange SMSL Su-9 DAC ($450) and a used Gustard H20 Class A amp ($450 used/$900 new), both for less than $1000. I get great results with both of them driving my Arya Stealth Edition. I did invest in Sparkos Labs discrete opamps to replace the stock lme-49720 ic opamps. My chain is decidedly not super high-end and they drive my Arya well. If I were you, I'd get the best amp I could get but I'd also get a decent enough DAC, one that wouldn't be a bottle-neck holding the amp back. It may be good to take a balanced approach. To me, amps are more important than DACs, but I'd still want a decent enough DAC to put before it. I rather like the idea of separates myself for the flexibility but either of those would be fine it seems.

 

[ltcHD]

Hey guys! I am planning to buy a headphone around $1500USD.

I checked some reviews online. And set my target between Arya, HEDDphone, Clear MG, AXD5000, Lyric.

My driving gears are Fiio M17 and Topping A90. Looking for a wider speaker like soundstage, quality bass. And the range of music I will listen are quite huge, from Jazz, Classic and even heavy metal.

After doing some research, looks like Arya is the better choice, that's why I'm asking in here. But I will go try them all in the following few days before I buy.

What do you guys think? Please give some suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Reputator]

Hey guys! I am planning to buy a headphone around $1500USD.

I checked some reviews online. And set my target between Arya, HEDDphone, Clear MG, AXD5000, Lyric.

My driving gears are Fiio M17 and Topping A90. Looking for a wider speaker like soundstage, quality bass. And the range of music I will listen are quite huge, from Jazz, Classic and even heavy metal.

After doing some research, looks like Arya is the better choice, that's why I'm asking in here. But I will go try them all in the following few days before I buy.

What do you guys think? Please give some suggestions. Thanks!

Being able to try them all yourself is a nice luxury. I do think the Arya Stealth is a good choice for what you're looking for. The HEDDphone is great with jazz, but the bass isn't quite as well controlled and textured for other genres. There's other practical considerations with the HEDDs that you have to factor in, such as weight/comfort, build quality (lots of cracked plastic in the HEDDphone thread if you look), etc.

 

[Tachyon88]

Hey guys! I am planning to buy a headphone around $1500USD.

I checked some reviews online. And set my target between Arya, HEDDphone, Clear MG, AXD5000, Lyric.

My driving gears are Fiio M17 and Topping A90. Looking for a wider speaker like soundstage, quality bass. And the range of music I will listen are quite huge, from Jazz, Classic and even heavy metal.

After doing some research, looks like Arya is the better choice, that's why I'm asking in here. But I will go try them all in the following few days before I buy.

What do you guys think? Please give some suggestions. Thanks!

I have only heard the Arya out of the headphones you are looking at, but out of your selection I would consider the arya or liric. If sound stage is important I would choose arya over liric for obvious open/closed back reasons. Hedd would be a no go for me because I wouldn't want two mini fridges strapped to my head that are distortion factories. Clear has potential of the driver clipping with EQ. ADX5000 has a terrible stock FR and distortion.

Arya has pleasing stock FR and is low in distortion so it takes EQ well and IMO sounds even better. It ticks your sound stage and bass requirements while being light and comfy too.

 

[MardukSonofEa]

Now that I'm pretty set on Arya Stealth as my daily drivers for the next 3ish years, I'm looking at the rest of my chain - currently a Modius and Magnius so pretty entry level. A lot of people swear up and down that the quality if a DAC and Amp don't matter for low impedance headphones past like a Magni and Modi, but I just have to find out for myself.

Just got an unexpected bonus from work, so I pulled the trigger on a Burson Soloist 3XP with the Supercharger. Pretty excited for it! I'm hoping it juices the bass and slam of the Arya, which I already find to be quite nice.

Does anyone have experience with the Modius and the Soloist with the Arya? Will the DAC be a bottleneck in resolution/layering/soundstage in your experience?

 

[Reputator]

Now that I'm pretty set on Arya Stealth as my daily drivers for the next 3ish years, I'm looking at the rest of my chain - currently a Modius and Magnius so pretty entry level. A lot of people swear up and down that the quality if a DAC and Amp don't matter for low impedance headphones past like a Magni and Modi, but I just have to find out for myself.

Just got an unexpected bonus from work, so I pulled the trigger on a Burson Soloist 3XP with the Supercharger. Pretty excited for it! I'm hoping it juices the bass and slam of the Arya, which I already find to be quite nice.

Does anyone have experience with the Modius and the Soloist with the Arya? Will the DAC be a bottleneck in resolution/layering/soundstage in your experience?

The amp definitely makes a big difference, even on low impedance headphones. Despite being called an "amp", even outputting at negative dB of the line input, the quality of the output is what matters most.

As far as what has the most influence over sound, my list goes:

1. Transducers
2. Pads/room acoustics
3. Amp
4. .....
5. Phase of the moon
6. DAC
7. Cables

 

[MardukSonofEa]

5. Phase of the moon

XD

 

[ltcHD]

Being able to try them all yourself is a nice luxury. I do think the Arya Stealth is a good choice for what you're looking for. The HEDDphone is great with jazz, but the bass isn't quite as well controlled and textured for other genres. There's other practical considerations with the HEDDs that you have to factor in, such as weight/comfort, build quality (lots of cracked plastic in the HEDDphone thread if you look), etc.

Thx so much! I also think HEDDphone is too heavy and limited my listening time. If it's sound not extremely outstanding than I won't pick it.

 

[ezduzit2500]

The amp definitely makes a big difference, even on low impedance headphones. Despite being called an "amp", even outputting at negative dB of the line input, the quality of the output is what matters most.

As far as what has the most influence over sound, my list goes:

1. Transducers
2. Pads/room acoustics
3. Amp
4. .....
5. Phase of the moon
6. DAC
7. Cables

#5 is for real though. Ever listen to your HP setup and it sounds "off"? Then you put your cans on later the same day and everything is even better than usual. Phase of the Moon indeed...

 

[dan3952]

I've tried the Focal Clear (original not MG), Arya V2, and LCD-X 2021. The Clear and the Arya are in the same ballpark for detail retrieval and overall sound quality (imo) but are on opposite ends of the presentation spectrum.

The Arya has a large soundstage (with a large range, as sounds can seem close to you or far away from you), while the Clear as a very intimate soundstage (but very even in a circle around your head) where everything sounds close to you. The Arya also has the planar driver advantage when it comes to instrument separation. The Clear feels like a wall of sound hitting you, whereas with the Arya the instruments/vocals can come from different parts of the soundstage and sound more distinct from each other.

For punch and slam, the Clear is one of the punchiest headphones on the market. So much so that I actually found the punch to be a little fatiguing after a while. The V2 Arya is towards the other end of the punch/slam spectrum, so not very punchy (apparently it's still more punchy than the Ananda or the Dan Clark Audio headphones). The V3 Arya apparently has more punch/slam than V2, but I haven't heard that one yet. I actually found the LCD-X 2021 to have the perfect amount of punch/slam for my tastes, being energetic and engaging without being fatiguing like the Clear.

When I heard the Clear, I was surprised by the metallic timbre. Reviewers had mentioned this, but I found it to be a bigger issue for me than I was expecting given the reviews. I also have issues with the V2 Arya's midrange and treble timbre being a little plasticky/unnatural, so maybe I'm just sensitive to timbre. I found the LCD-X with EQ to be a little more natural to my ears than either the Clear or the V2 Arya. Note again that people have reported that the V3 Arya has improved timbre over the V2.

I haven't heard the Sundara or R70x, so I'll leave that up to someone else.

I had gone from the original Clear, to the Arya v1, to the Audeze LCD-3: and had gotten rid of the first two for the same reasons you had. Even my back up headphone, the cheap closed back Shure SRH-1540, had a better soundstage than the Clear (and a surprising amount of bass, for something that only weighs 285 g). Female vocals in particular, had sounded hollow and unnatural with the Arya. I hadn't noticed it as much with electric guitars or synthesizers. . HiFiMan, does let you return open box items, no questions asked. Arya soundstage is so large, that it hadn't felt natural to me, with some music. If I'm listening to a live band, what is a natural soundstage, could vary depending on how far away I'm sitting from the stage. No headphone I had used, had a soundstage as small as IEMs had; about to sell my first and only pair.

LCD-3 is definitely not a detail monster at its price point, but I had gotten a used pair at a price I couldn't refuse. LCD-3, had offered a wonderfully natural timbre with female vocals, they have this creamy quality in the midrange that I'd loved. But, it's getting old. I would not use them without EQ; or I wouldn't spend that on a headphone where half of the upper mids are missing. One of my old favorite rock albums for 34 years now, U2's The Joshua Tree, had sounded splendid on Audeze headphones: any song that had electronic instruments, the experience was bombastic. It felt like the times when I had turned my subwoofer up, and I had shook the walls. That's one of the benefits of putting up with their weight. You need only play the first few seconds of that album, or Pink Floyd's DSOTM, to test the bass on most headphones. Those, were mastered that well.

Now, I'm not impressed with Audeze for not offering more new products at consumer grade price points (their new ideas all seem to be implemented in products that cost $3000+), so I had no choice than to go with the LCD-X 2021. I'm not surprised that they had upgraded their best seller first. If I don't like them, I will probably go with the Arya v3. I would get ZMF Verite opens if I could come to terms with spending that on a pair of headphones.