[cgb3]

It's quite harsh and derogative response.
So you compensate for lost bass with EQ, fortunately I do not use EQ and my HD800 (SDR) are on stock pads.

I cut off EQ after two days (today) of adjustment with the new 64 card. I like the sound without better than with.

The question remains. Are you offended that I question measurements, or that I asked if you own and use any of the products you're choosing to make comments on.

In the end, it really doesn't matter. One is allowed to be offended. Enjoy.

 

[cgb3]

Did you lose any bass on HD800S, graph on Dekoni site looks horrible for those?

I used a profile on Peace EQ that boosted the bass, especially made for Dekoni sheepskin fenestrated. I find that my new Bifrost 64 card negates the need for EQ.

 

[yeboyi]

There’s almost nothing like the HD6XX for vocal timbre. The HEKV2 I thought was pretty darn close though, even better on some songs. And other than that, the ZMF Auteur is the only other headphone I’ve owned that’s beat it on that front. And even though the Arya Stealth does vocal timbre better than other iterations, it’s still it’s weakest point IMO.

Arya SE have a clear coloration in the mids. Did you try any EQ to fill that 1.5k dip and tame the 3-4k upper mids ? This FR sounds little distant, hollow, thin and clear if i have to describe. Filling that 1.5k dip will sound quite different and similar to HD6XX. Richer and intimate. Kinda like pushing both of your pinna forward with your hand. Makes things more concentrated and echoey.

 

[Ichos]

ULTIMATE SILVER by Lavricables.
This was sent for a review and has become my favorite cable and not only for the Arya.

 

[haasaaroni]

Arya SE have a clear coloration in the mids. Did you try any EQ to fill that 1.5k dip and tame the 3-4k upper mids ? This FR sounds little distant, hollow, thin and clear if i have to describe. Filling that 1.5k dip will sound quite different and similar to HD6XX. Richer and intimate. Kinda like pushing both of your pinna forward with your hand. Makes things more concentrated and echoey.

I’m sure that would help, especially taming the upper mids, but I don’t EQ. I know myself too well, and that if I start messing with that stuff, I’ll never stop. Thanks though! I’d rather keep the Arya wide and distant and use other headphones for the warm intimate sound.

 

[tradyblix]

In my opinion with the experience that I have gained over the years it is better to use the stock pads as the headphones are designed and tuned with the stock pads in mind. As soon as you change pads, you change the sound and most of the time not for the better. if the headphone you have does not have good stock pads to start with then don't buy that headphone.

EQ has never worked for me and I really don't like to use it with headphones. it's also cumbersome and annoying to use and never works quite right.

I only make an exception for pads that are made by the manufacturer.

And yes those Dekoni graphs are absolutely shocking. Kudos to them for putting them up to show you what you're going to get but on the other hand I am sure it's going to put people off buying them.

You know sometimes the foams that are more comfortable are not as good for audio reflection so I mean I think that's part of it

 

[vidzegg]

Hi Everyone,

I have been a closet wanna audiophile for sometime and I was happy with my HEX V2 for years before i decided to upgrade and this maddening hobby has taken over my life again. My main use is from my desktop with YouTube music and movies. I got the Arya SE after Meze Empyrean trial made me realize that i surprisingly value spaciousness and immersion more than vocal presence. I was using a portable Fiio E17 with HEX V2 which was enough for HEX V2 but obviously not for Arya. Initially Arya seemed more detailed than HEX V2 but slightly brighter too and I am a little sensitive to highs.

Since most amps recommended with Arya were not going to arrive quickly enough and I was thinking about returning Arya SE, I just went for inexpensive combination of Zen DAC and Xduoo MT 604 hybrid amp recommended earlier in this thread and i must say that it really opened my eyes to potential of Arya SE and impact of tube amp . Sound is expansive, engaging, detailed, visceral and goose bump inducing at least for me.

Now, i have decided on keeping Arya but wanted to upgrade to better tube amp because MT 604 is annoying with 2 volume knobs, insane gain that nearly killed my ears accidently and treble is still slight peaky. But i just cannot decide on high end Tube amp. My goal is to tame the Arya SE treble completely even if I lose some detail and improve vocal impact slightly. Bass, soundstage, detail and everything else is great on Arya SE already. My budget has swelled to $3000 because i just want to get done with my set up and get back to my life. I saw comment of Arya SE synergy with Amsandsound Forge but treble smoothening was not commented on. I am looking into Woo audio WA 7 version 3 but I can not find any comments about synergy with Arya SE anywhere. I may try Amsandsound Kenzio OG but again not sure about synergy. I heard that Lyr 3 has good synergy with Arya but will it tame the treble completely ? Xduoo TA 30 will not arrive for a month.

For those who have experience of Arya SE with high end tube amps, plz save me before l lose my marbles and provide some insights on Arya SE synergy with Tube amps. Thanks.

 

[Mhog55]

Hey folks. A bit off topic, but I don't want to start another thread. Is the HEX V2 a little more mellow and reserved in the upper mids and lower treble compared to the Arya? Any difference in the sub and mid bass?

 

[haasaaroni]

Hi Everyone,

I have been a closet wanna audiophile for sometime and I was happy with my HEX V2 for years before i decided to upgrade and this maddening hobby has taken over my life again. My main use is from my desktop with YouTube music and movies. I got the Arya SE after Meze Empyrean trial made me realize that i surprisingly value spaciousness and immersion more than vocal presence. I was using a portable Fiio E17 with HEX V2 which was enough for HEX V2 but obviously not for Arya. Initially Arya seemed more detailed than HEX V2 but slightly brighter too and I am a little sensitive to highs.

Since most amps recommended with Arya were not going to arrive quickly enough and I was thinking about returning Arya SE, I just went for inexpensive combination of Zen DAC and Xduoo MT 604 hybrid amp recommended earlier in this thread and i must say that it really opened my eyes to potential of Arya SE and impact of tube amp . Sound is expansive, engaging, detailed, visceral and goose bump inducing at least for me.

Now, i have decided on keeping Arya but wanted to upgrade to better tube amp because MT 604 is annoying with 2 volume knobs, insane gain that nearly killed my ears accidently and treble is still slight peaky. But i just cannot decide on high end Tube amp. My goal is to tame the Arya SE treble completely even if I lose some detail and improve vocal impact slightly. Bass, soundstage, detail and everything else is great on Arya SE already. My budget has swelled to $3000 because i just want to get done with my set up and get back to my life. I saw comment of Arya SE synergy with Amsandsound Forge but treble smoothening was not commented on. I am looking into Woo audio WA 7 version 3 but I can not find any comments about synergy with Arya SE anywhere. I may try Amsandsound Kenzio OG but again not sure about synergy. I heard that Lyr 3 has good synergy with Arya but will it tame the treble completely ? Xduoo TA 30 will not arrive for a month.

For those who have experience of Arya SE with high end tube amps, plz save me before l lose my marbles and provide some insights on Arya SE synergy with Tube amps. Thanks.

Welcome to the never ending quest to fix the Arya I’m serious! If vocal timbre/peaky high frequency sensitive is what aggravates you, no amp will fix it. You can try EQ, which is a much safer bet. An amp will, at best, decrease the level of the treble with some roll off, but will never smooth over treble peaks like the Arya SE has that affect timbre and occasional sibilance.

I do still love the Arya with my Ampsandsound Forge, so much that I’m probably going to sell my solid state amp and go all tubes. And yes, it does smooth out the treble response a good bit, in that some tracks that were sibilant before aren’t anymore (especially with my red base RCA 5691). But I hesitate to say it solves all the issues with the treble, for certain genres anyway.

I also tried the Arya with a Kenzie Encore and really liked the synergy from the 32 ohm tap. It was warm, liquid, and quite smooth from what I remember, with a really powerful bass response. The Forge does so as well, but I haven’t compared the two directly. A lot depends on the tubes you use. I would think the Kenzie OG would be a very good fit.

The last thing to consider is that maybe the HEKV2 is a safer bet for you. For me, having owned both the HEXV2 and HEKV2, the latter really seems to be the ultimate version of the former. The Arya’s sound is exciting and highly detail-forward, but if you’re looking for a similar sound to the HEX, then the HEKV2 is next in that upgrade path. I would just hate to see you upgrade to a $3K tube amp only to find out that it doesn’t quite do it for you. That money might be better spent on a better transducer rather than amplifier.

 

[BowWazoo]

Yes, I see it the same way.
No amplifier can "eliminate" the basic character of the Arya.
Even with EQ you don't make a DCA softie out of it.
You can try adding some tube distortions, AND EQ.
Whereas the second one is much more effective for me.
Best to take Oratory's settings as a starting point and personalize afterwards.
At least, if you find it too sharp, you should play with band 6.
These headphones are "edgy", or ultra precise, and always will be....

 

[tradyblix]

Hi Everyone,

I have been a closet wanna audiophile for sometime and I was happy with my HEX V2 for years before i decided to upgrade and this maddening hobby has taken over my life again. My main use is from my desktop with YouTube music and movies. I got the Arya SE after Meze Empyrean trial made me realize that i surprisingly value spaciousness and immersion more than vocal presence. I was using a portable Fiio E17 with HEX V2 which was enough for HEX V2 but obviously not for Arya. Initially Arya seemed more detailed than HEX V2 but slightly brighter too and I am a little sensitive to highs.

Since most amps recommended with Arya were not going to arrive quickly enough and I was thinking about returning Arya SE, I just went for inexpensive combination of Zen DAC and Xduoo MT 604 hybrid amp recommended earlier in this thread and i must say that it really opened my eyes to potential of Arya SE and impact of tube amp . Sound is expansive, engaging, detailed, visceral and goose bump inducing at least for me.

Now, i have decided on keeping Arya but wanted to upgrade to better tube amp because MT 604 is annoying with 2 volume knobs, insane gain that nearly killed my ears accidently and treble is still slight peaky. But i just cannot decide on high end Tube amp. My goal is to tame the Arya SE treble completely even if I lose some detail and improve vocal impact slightly. Bass, soundstage, detail and everything else is great on Arya SE already. My budget has swelled to $3000 because i just want to get done with my set up and get back to my life. I saw comment of Arya SE synergy with Amsandsound Forge but treble smoothening was not commented on. I am looking into Woo audio WA 7 version 3 but I can not find any comments about synergy with Arya SE anywhere. I may try Amsandsound Kenzio OG but again not sure about synergy. I heard that Lyr 3 has good synergy with Arya but will it tame the treble completely ? Xduoo TA 30 will not arrive for a month.

For those who have experience of Arya SE with high end tube amps, plz save me before l lose my marbles and provide some insights on Arya SE synergy with Tube amps. Thanks.

Well, I don't have a high end tube amp, I've got little mid-range project ember which is also a hybrid amp, but the Arya sounds fantastic out of it. I'm using a Bugle Boy it's a 12AX7 tube. I always use bugle boys for this type of tube because they just seem more airy and transparent to me than other tubes I've used. Can't comment about other amps they're all different and the ones with multiple tubes, you're gonna have to practice to find what's best for you.

Project Ember puts out 1.4 Watts into the Arya @32 ohms with it's resistance jumpers set to the lowest setting (and it's low end is definately more present than out of a 300mw connection or a 768mw Single ended connection or a 1.2 W balanced setup, the other way I've tried it with my other, solid state amps.) Also the highs are more tamed for me although since I've burned in the Arya (about 50-100 hours in) I am not having the very early issues I was having with it's metallic tone and sharpness when I first got it. I ran it through pink noise, FWIW, but I don't play stuff for longer than 8 hours as manufacturers warn you against excessive burn in times. Or volumes. It's probably TOTALY PLACEBO but I swear it was tamed after that session lol. I swear, that's just my subjective impression. Someone here suggested it, I usually roll my eyes at that, but since I know cables make a difference and people pooh-pooh cables all the time as well, I figured, why not try it can't hurt.

Now it can be really cool out of the Hugo2 and very technical but the tube AMP is just heaven. The TA-ZH1ES can simulate an analog amp with it's DC Phase Linearizer feature and it's also pretty pleasant out of that, but I just love whenver there's a tube involved, even in a hybrid tube amp. It does trade off some detail and imaging, slightly. YMMV.

 

[Kevintj604]

Hey folks. A bit off topic, but I don't want to start another thread. Is the HEX V2 a little more mellow and reserved in the upper mids and lower treble compared to the Arya? Any difference in the sub and mid bass?

The HE1000 V2 definitely has more mid bass presence and is less dry compared to the Arya SE. Tonaly the HEK V2 also has quite a bit more musicality and note weight as well. I would say the sub bass is ever so slightly elevated on the V2 compared to the Arya but it's not a huge difference. Maybe +2db.

Having said all that I'm three weeks in on the HE1000 V2 ownership and can't say definitively that I prefer them more than the Arya SE. The Arya's sounded incredible with the iFi Gryphon and the HEKV2 doesn't really like that pairing at all.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Hi Everyone,

I have been a closet wanna audiophile for sometime and I was happy with my HEX V2 for years before i decided to upgrade and this maddening hobby has taken over my life again. My main use is from my desktop with YouTube music and movies. I got the Arya SE after Meze Empyrean trial made me realize that i surprisingly value spaciousness and immersion more than vocal presence. I was using a portable Fiio E17 with HEX V2 which was enough for HEX V2 but obviously not for Arya. Initially Arya seemed more detailed than HEX V2 but slightly brighter too and I am a little sensitive to highs.

Since most amps recommended with Arya were not going to arrive quickly enough and I was thinking about returning Arya SE, I just went for inexpensive combination of Zen DAC and Xduoo MT 604 hybrid amp recommended earlier in this thread and i must say that it really opened my eyes to potential of Arya SE and impact of tube amp . Sound is expansive, engaging, detailed, visceral and goose bump inducing at least for me.

Now, i have decided on keeping Arya but wanted to upgrade to better tube amp because MT 604 is annoying with 2 volume knobs, insane gain that nearly killed my ears accidently and treble is still slight peaky. But i just cannot decide on high end Tube amp. My goal is to tame the Arya SE treble completely even if I lose some detail and improve vocal impact slightly. Bass, soundstage, detail and everything else is great on Arya SE already. My budget has swelled to $3000 because i just want to get done with my set up and get back to my life. I saw comment of Arya SE synergy with Amsandsound Forge but treble smoothening was not commented on. I am looking into Woo audio WA 7 version 3 but I can not find any comments about synergy with Arya SE anywhere. I may try Amsandsound Kenzio OG but again not sure about synergy. I heard that Lyr 3 has good synergy with Arya but will it tame the treble completely ? Xduoo TA 30 will not arrive for a month.

For those who have experience of Arya SE with high end tube amps, plz save me before l lose my marbles and provide some insights on Arya SE synergy with Tube amps. Thanks.

My dream is to pair the HEKV2 with a high power, quality tube amp as well. I think the Burson 3XP does a pretty good job but I'm looking for the extra wide soundstage and dynamic swing. Particularly in the bass texture. Tonally, I'm pretty happy the way it is.

I have the WA7 fireflies 3rd Gen. It has the tube warmth but doesn't drive the Arya V2 or HEKV2 to it's potential. Sounds very closed in. I feel like that amp does better with higher impedance cans.

Gonna spend some more time with HEKV2 this weekend. But I think @haasaaroni's comparison is spot on. The presentation is different compared to Arya V2.

The analogy is like watching a beautiful movie or painting from afar with HEKV2 vs being in the center and surrounded by music all around you on the Arya. Arya is a more immersive and engaging experience.

Arya can sometimes put me in awe and make my jaw drop. HEKV2 can put me in tears just appreciating how beautiful and ambient the music is presented. Both can be listened to hours on end without fatigue.

Detail wise, I didn't really notice a difference until I switched back to Arya and I found things I noticed on HEKV2 that wasnt there. HEKV2 captures micro details in the recording better. Like your actually in the recording studio.

I think I'll most likely keep the HEKV2, but I'm not quite ready to let go of the Arya yet...kind of thinking of maybe trading in the V2 for the Stealth since I want something more efficient to drive.

 

[haasaaroni]

Hey folks. A bit off topic, but I don't want to start another thread. Is the HEX V2 a little more mellow and reserved in the upper mids and lower treble compared to the Arya? Any difference in the sub and mid bass?

Yeah, the HEX V2 is definitely mellower in the upper midrange/lower treble. The word "blunted" applies really well IMO, whereas the Arya is sharper and more exacting, but with more elevation. I remember the bass being a little bloated and not as textured on the HEX too, but can't remember how it compares as far as extension. Compared to the HEX, the Arya is much more punchy, tight, and textured.

 

[haasaaroni]

The HE1000 V2 definitely has more mid bass presence and is less dry compared to the Arya SE. Tonaly the HEK V2 also has quite a bit more musicality and note weight as well. I would say the sub bass is ever so slightly elevated on the V2 compared to the Arya but it's not a huge difference. Maybe +2db.

Having said all that I'm three weeks in on the HE1000 V2 ownership and can't say definitively that I prefer them more than the Arya SE. The Arya's sounded incredible with the iFi Gryphon and the HEKV2 doesn't really like that pairing at all.

I think the question was directed towards the Edition X V2 rather than the HE1000 V2...but it sure does get confusing when the shorthand is HEX vs HEK Glad you're liking the HEKV2! Y'all are tempting me to make the switch eventually myself and see how the Forge plays with it...