[audiocroissant]

Turns out they honored my discounted order after all. Will be getting the HEKV2 next week. Looking forward to comparing it to Arya V2.

Looking forward to your impressions!

 

[tradyblix]

He's just going to say it's better. I mean it will HAVE to be better, no matter what, or it will have been a mistake. So yeah. I always take those types of "moving up in the family" things with a grain of salt. You'd need to have both headphones side by side for a while to determine what trade offs you're making.

As an example, nobody ever complained about moving from a Clear to a Utopia, except maybe if they were a wallet

 

[haasaaroni]

He's just going to say it's better. I mean it will HAVE to be better, no matter what, or it will have been a mistake. So yeah. I always take those types of "moving up in the family" things with a grain of salt. You'd need to have both headphones side by side for a while to determine what trade offs you're making.

As an example, nobody ever complained about moving from a Clear to a Utopia, except maybe if they were a wallet

I actually bought and the sold off my HEKV2 when I ordered it as an upgrade to my Arya V2. It’s clearly (to me) a set up technically, but it’s helpful for people to know the differences in presentation and tonality to make their choice.

 

[tradyblix]

I actually bought and the sold off my HEKV2 when I ordered it as an upgrade to my Arya V2. It’s clearly (to me) a set up technically, but it’s helpful for people to know the differences in presentation and tonality to make their choice.

That's interesting. I've heard it the other way too tho. All those headphones must share some similar characteristics as they're all built off the same ideas and design.

I have a lot of respect for Hifiman. Their sound is no joke. I was scared of their no frills build quality for a long time, but if it saves me 1500-2000 bucks I can live with it.

Especially once you sit around with a "well built" headphone that's a paperweight because the company won't fix it without dealer authorization. Hifiman seems more lenient than other manufacturers to replace problem headphones too, probably because cost of replacing is lower as they're made less well build wise.

 

[BowWazoo]

@haasaaroni

could you tell and a few words about the difference in bass,
when comparing the Arya Stealth and the HE-1000 V2 hearing EMD?
Does the HE-1000 really have so much less punch?
And have you EQed the HE-1000?

 

[r343]

Couple of weeks intensively using Arya SE and i think its keeper as planar in my collection, small eq bump in sub-bass works wonders and noticing that dynamic headphones lack in there. Damn good in gaming too because soundstage is tall and treble detailed.

If i had to name couple of things where Arya could still improve they would be timbre and treble smoothness, those are fine but heard headphones that do better, ofc quite impossible to have it all.

 

[dali71]

I got my Arya SE a little over a month ago and use them with my Mojo 2. At first, I didn't feel that they were much of an upgrade over my GoldPlanar GL2000 (I have one of the good sets), but after over 150 hours of burn-in, they are clearly much better. After seeing how much they've improved, I'm wondering how much of a difference adding a class A amp would make. I'm considering the Schiit Jotunheim 2, Singxer SA-1, and Burson Soloist 3XP. Anyone insight from someone with a similar setup (or equivalent amp) would be greatly appreciated.

 

[haasaaroni]

@haasaaroni

could you tell and a few words about the difference in bass,
when comparing the Arya Stealth and the HE-1000 V2 hearing EMD?
Does the HE-1000 really have so much less punch?
And have you EQed the HE-1000?

Sure, though it's been a while since I've heard an HEKV2, so take this with a grain of salt. But overall I think it's important to stress that the lack of "punch" or "impact" is not just in the bass. It's the overall presentation of the headphone. It's just a softer, more ethereal sounding headphone. The actual bass level, and no I don't EQ, is actually higher on the HEKV2 than on the Arya. So it's not a question of quantity. And I think one thing the Stealth Magnet designs do better is this very sense of immediacy and impact, which is why going from the HEKV2 to the HEKSE, and from the Arya V2 to the Arya Stealth, people hear a smaller stage but also a more impactful sound. The HEKV2 does exactly the opposite, with such a wide open stage (but with fairly good vocal intimacy) but at the expense of directness, impact, and immediacy.

In the bass particularly, I think aside from the slightly higher bass level, the HEKV2 does bring out more bass nuance and detail than the Arya Stealth, as weIl as a really remarkable sense of positionality in the mix that's unlike anything I've ever heard. But in terms of impact and slam, it's just the nature of this headphone as a whole to be softer. I hope that's helpful. In the end, there's really no substitute for finding a pair to try for yourself!

 

[morpheus69]

I got my Arya SE a little over a month ago and use them with my Mojo 2. At first, I didn't feel that they were much of an upgrade over my GoldPlanar GL2000 (I have one of the good sets), but after over 150 hours of burn-in, they are clearly much better. After seeing how much they've improved, I'm wondering how much of a difference adding a class A amp would make. I'm considering the Schiit Jotunheim 2, Singxer SA-1, and Burson Soloist 3XP. Anyone insight from someone with a similar setup (or equivalent amp) would be greatly appreciated.

Arya SE is my daily driver. BiFrost 2 > Jot 2, over 3000hrs of use on the Arya SE. Fantastic.

 

[BowWazoo]

Thank you.
I could not resist and ordered it.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Sure, though it's been a while since I've heard an HEKV2, so take this with a grain of salt. But overall I think it's important to stress that the lack of "punch" or "impact" is not just in the bass. It's the overall presentation of the headphone. It's just a softer, more ethereal sounding headphone. The actual bass level, and no I don't EQ, is actually higher on the HEKV2 than on the Arya. So it's not a question of quantity. And I think one thing the Stealth Magnet designs do better is this very sense of immediacy and impact, which is why going from the HEKV2 to the HEKSE, and from the Arya V2 to the Arya Stealth, people hear a smaller stage but also a more impactful sound. The HEKV2 does exactly the opposite, with such a wide open stage (but with fairly good vocal intimacy) but at the expense of directness, impact, and immediacy.

In the bass particularly, I think aside from the slightly higher bass level, the HEKV2 does bring out more bass nuance and detail than the Arya Stealth, as weIl as a really remarkable sense of positionality in the mix that's unlike anything I've ever heard. But in terms of impact and slam, it's just the nature of this headphone as a whole to be softer. I hope that's helpful. In the end, there's really no substitute for finding a pair to try for yourself!

I suspect the HEKV2 will be more of what I love about the Arya V2. The "ethereal", relaxing, non-fatiguing sound. I have other dynamic headphones that serve that purpose when I want punch, impact, and slam. The HD650, even though a dynamic headphone, wasn't exactly known for their punchiness and slam either. I just loved it for its relaxed presentation and musicality. Will find out in a couple more days!

 

[haasaaroni]

I suspect the HEKV2 will be more of what I love about the Arya V2. The "ethereal", relaxing, non-fatiguing sound. I have other dynamic headphones that serve that purpose when I want punch, impact, and slam. The HD650, even though a dynamic headphone, wasn't exactly known for their punchiness and slam either. I just loved it for its relaxed presentation and musicality. Will find out in a couple more days!

Yeah I'm curious to hear what you think when you get them!

Honestly, another big reason why I don't own the HEKV2 is that I can't stand the look of them haha...they're pretty, but they don't fit in with my aesthetic at all. Funny reason to not own a headphone, I know, but here in LA it's all about appearances

 

[kRed]

@haasaaroni

could you tell and a few words about the difference in bass,
when comparing the Arya Stealth and the HE-1000 V2 hearing EMD?
Does the HE-1000 really have so much less punch?
And have you EQed the HE-1000?

Something that bugs me is that if you look at graphs, down to the 45hz the Sundara has the same if not even more bass presence than the Arya stealth. So, drum kicks should be more or less the same, since they sit around 100hz (if I am not mistaken).

To my ears the Arya SE has WAY more punch and slam, like on a completely different level. Sometime it feels almost too much on some tracks, while the Sundara is just a bit short of what I would find correct and real to the music (not necessarily what I I enjoy the most tho).

So, if you look at the graphs of the HEKv2 it has definitely more sub-bass than the Arya, but you know... I guess it's something that must be heard.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

The eagle has landed.

 

[BowWazoo]

Then I have to tell you my secret weapon that create a lot of punch:

Lower band 1
(from the Oratorys settings
https://www.dropbox.com/s/94h55cwozhyet6m/Hifiman HE1000 V2.pdf?dl=0 ),
from 5.5 dB to 1.5db, and create a new band for it:

FR: 42hz, 4db, Q 1

If you work with Harman target at all.
For me, it's as natural as breathing...