[Passenger11]

For those who traded their V2's for the SE what was your cost? Does your Arya have to be less than a year old?
Thanks!

 

[haasaaroni]

For those who traded their V2's for the SE what was your cost? Does your Arya have to be less than a year old?
Thanks!

Not sure if they have to be less than a year old. Mine were about 6 months old, and I traded them in to Hifiman for $300 plus $15 for shipping. They also asked for the receipt and the serial number, so that price may change based on how long you've had them/what condition they were in when you bought them (my V2 were bought open-box from Hifiman). I'd be curious if that price was different for anyone else who made the trade-in.

 

[ezduzit2500]

For those who traded their V2's for the SE what was your cost? Does your Arya have to be less than a year old?
Thanks!

Mine were about 14 months old and HFM quoted a price of $350 or so. It seemed pretty generous to me considering I'd be getting a BNIB unit. I've been happy so far.

 

[Passenger11]

Not sure if they have to be less than a year old. Mine were about 6 months old, and I traded them in to Hifiman for $300 plus $15 for shipping. They also asked for the receipt and the serial number, so that price may change based on how long you've had them/what condition they were in when you bought them (my V2 were bought open-box from Hifiman). I'd be curious if that price was different for anyone else who made the trade-in.

That sounds reasonable. My V2's were also open-box, and they're about 10 months old.
I've sent them a message. Thanks!

 

[Reputator]

@ezduzit2500 @haasaaroni @MardukSonofEa BTW as I've been getting more used to the V6 Vivids, I'm struck by how smooth they are. It's hard to convey unless you've heard something with the AD797 opamps (or similar), but there was really this etched quality to them, especially in the treble. It could raise the impression of detail (not necessarily that there was more) but there was a hard leading edge to everything, almost even a graininess to them. The HEDDphones were the only pair to manage a silky smooth sound, but the Burson V6 Vivids extend this to the Aryas and whatever else I try with my amp.

As a result I find the Vivids to be an easier listen, less fatiguing, and I can go for longer listening sessions which is an absolute plus!

 

[haasaaroni]

@ezduzit2500 @haasaaroni @MardukSonofEa BTW as I've been getting more used to the V6 Vivids, I'm struck by how smooth they are. It's hard to convey unless you've heard something with the AD797 opamps (or similar), but there was really this etched quality to them, especially in the treble. It could raise the impression of detail (not necessarily that there was more) but there was a hard leading edge to everything, almost even a graininess to them. The HEDDphones were the only pair to manage a silky smooth sound, but the Burson V6 Vivids extend this to the Aryas and whatever else I try with my amp.

As a result I find the Vivids to be an easier listen, less fatiguing, and I can go for longer listening sessions which is an absolute plus!

That’s awesome! I’m loving the V6 vivids in my Soloist and haven’t felt any desire to swap them out for something else. My Arya’s were my classical/jazz/movie headphones, but now I’m enjoying them with much more in my music library.

 

[MardukSonofEa]

@ezduzit2500 @haasaaroni @MardukSonofEa BTW as I've been getting more used to the V6 Vivids, I'm struck by how smooth they are. It's hard to convey unless you've heard something with the AD797 opamps (or similar), but there was really this etched quality to them, especially in the treble. It could raise the impression of detail (not necessarily that there was more) but there was a hard leading edge to everything, almost even a graininess to them. The HEDDphones were the only pair to manage a silky smooth sound, but the Burson V6 Vivids extend this to the Aryas and whatever else I try with my amp.

As a result I find the Vivids to be an easier listen, less fatiguing, and I can go for longer listening sessions which is an absolute plus!

They sound wonderfully smooth for sure! They're very fast but it's almost like that last corner as the note ascends is ever so slightly rounded off so it's not quite so sharp/digital sounding.

I haven't tried the Soloist w/ V6 Vivids as much with my Clear since I've been so in love with how they pair with the Arya Stealth, but I was listening to it with the Clear tonight and it's interesting how it sounds like it exaggerates the speed difference between the Clear and the Arya a bit. The Clear does not sound muffled or soft by any means, but the leading edge of guitar or synth notes just hit their peak in a bit more of a mellow, linear way, whereas the Arya is just asymptotically/laser fast.

So for genres like symphonic/power metal the Arya pulls away from the Clear a bit because the speed of the melodic riffs is just so in your face, but the Clear also widens its lead over the Arya in percussion-dominant genres of metal where the bigger slam is very satisfying and the added smoothness of the attack sounds less fatiguing. I kind of like how this amp is separating the use cases of my (small) collection a bit more. Need to A/B more with other genres.

Leave it to the Arya to make the Clear sound slow. The Clear is NOT slow, but after a good deal of Arya mental burn-in, the difference is very noticeable.

 

[haasaaroni]

They sound wonderfully smooth for sure! They're very fast but it's almost like that last corner as the note ascends is ever so slightly rounded off so it's not quite so sharp/digital sounding.

I haven't tried the Soloist w/ V6 Vivids as much with my Clear since I've been so in love with how they pair with the Arya Stealth, but I was listening to it with the Clear tonight and it's interesting how it sounds like it exaggerates the speed difference between the Clear and the Arya a bit. The Clear does not sound muffled or soft by any means, but the leading edge of guitar or synth notes just hit their peak in a bit more of a mellow, linear way, whereas the Arya is just asymptotically/laser fast.

So for genres like symphonic/power metal the Arya pulls away from the Clear a bit because the speed of the melodic riffs is just so in your face, but the Clear also widens its lead over the Arya in percussion-dominant genres of metal where the bigger slam is very satisfying and the added smoothness of the attack sounds less fatiguing. I kind of like how this amp is separating the use cases of my (small) collection a bit more. Need to A/B more with other genres.

Leave it to the Arya to make the Clear sound slow. The Clear is NOT slow, but after a good deal of Arya mental burn-in, the difference is very noticeable.

You’re making me want to pick up a Clear now Do you hear any of that metallic timbre on them with the 3XP? Or does it magically fix the Clear’s timbral issues like it seems to do for the Arya?

 

[MardukSonofEa]

You’re making me want to pick up a Clear now Do you hear any of that metallic timbre on them with the 3XP? Or does it magically fix the Clear’s timbral issues like it seems to do for the Arya?

I'm not someone who noticed the metallic timbre very much - I would guess it's more noticeable with extremely clinical amps like THX - but I did pick up these things occasionally when driving the Clear on the Magnius:

- Higher octave female vocals had a little too much treble resonance / ringing at times

- Slightly harsh leading edge on loud cymbal hits (the first hit in Fleetwood Mac - Dreams is my reference for that)

- Some spiciness on tracks prone to sibilance with S's and Tch's

I think some combination of these qualities adds up to the metallic timbre people talk about, and indeed the Soloist smooths all of this out and makes the Clear a more relaxed listen, without losing detail. I've started to listen to acoustic / singer-songwriter tracks and it very much makes the whole experience as buttery as the midrange has always been. Really nice. I would probably use the Clear over the Arya for long background listening sessions while working because of this.

 

[haasaaroni]

I'm not someone who noticed the metallic timbre very much - I would guess it's more noticeable with extremely clinical amps like THX - but I did pick up these things occasionally when driving the Clear on the Magnius:

- Higher octave female vocals had a little too much treble resonance / ringing at times

- Slightly harsh leading edge on loud cymbal hits (the first hit in Fleetwood Mac - Dreams is my reference for that)

- Some spiciness on tracks prone to sibilance with S's and Tch's

I think some combination of these qualities adds up to the metallic timbre people talk about, and indeed the Soloist smooths all of this out and makes the Clear a more relaxed listen, without losing detail. I've started to listen to acoustic / singer-songwriter tracks and it very much makes the whole experience as buttery as the midrange has always been. Really nice. I would probably use the Clear over the Arya for long background listening sessions while working because of this.

This is great info to have, thanks! I remember deciding between the Auteur and Clear, and though I’m sure the Auteur lacks detail compared to the Clear, I think I’m safe where I am. Still wish I could have some of that famous Focal slam to really balance out the Arya though.

 

[cgb3]

The value debate can be an interesting one. If I were to compare my Edition XX (which I paid $500 for new) to my Arya, there's a lot of areas where you might not hear much difference. In fact, you actually have to be mentally trained to really hear the difference between highend gear, usually. By "trained", I just mean experienced. An inexperienced listener may not be able to hear the difference, or if they do, may not be able to articulate what it is they're hearing. And those same people would probably never understand why we pay $1600 for an Arya versus a Sundara or similar. Hell, even $350 for a Sundara is a crazy amount to spend on a headphone for most people.

And then from the perspective of someone playing with highend headphones, the Arya can be seen as a bargain compared to TOTL headphones. And that's even when your brain is trained to hear the differences. Perspective is a funny thing.

In the movie "Ray" (Ray Charles, a great performance by Jamie Fox), there's a scene where Ray is courting his future wife in a restaurant. He hears a hummingbird outside the window.

I hear hummingbirds, wind, creaks, squeaks, farts... And I still have great vision.

Once one's ears are trained, one hears everything. Reward one's self with quality gear.

 

[cgb3]

For those who traded their V2's for the SE what was your cost? Does your Arya have to be less than a year old?
Thanks!

I'm curious, why?

I specifically searched for a v2,

 

[N0sferatu]

Periapt cable and be done with it. Excellent build quality, low price, lack of snakeoil.

I like their pricing. Which one is the right one to grab? Type 8 with Pro termination to match stock cable? Per their FAQ if it plus into a headphone jack (the standard one on older cell phones) that's the one to use. It seems my stock Arya cable plugs into that fine.

https://periaptcables.com/products/8-type-8-dual-3-5mm?variant=13627726921833

 

[Ficcion2]

I like their pricing. Which one is the right one to grab? Type 8 with Pro termination to match stock cable? Per their FAQ if it plus into a headphone jack (the standard one on older cell phones) that's the one to use. It seems my stock Arya cable plugs into that fine.

https://periaptcables.com/products/8-type-8-dual-3-5mm?variant=13627726921833

Here's another suggestion with a shorter lead time. I had my balanced set 4 days after ordering.

https://www.audiophileninja.com/product/focal-hifiman-dual-3-5mm/

 

[swva]

Here's another suggestion with a shorter lead time. I had my balanced set 4 days after ordering.

https://www.audiophileninja.com/product/focal-hifiman-dual-3-5mm/

I also have an Audiophile Ninja cable I use often.