[Tada]

Could someone give me an honest answer as to what amp/dac class you need to get 99% of what the Stealth has to offer? I don't want to spend stupid money and currently have the Fiio K5 Pro

I'm not sure about the Stealth but for my V2 I started off with a Topping DX3pro+ which is a similar class amp as your K5 Pro. It sounded lean, harsh, and lifeless. I tried them on a Burson Conductor 3 Performance and it added a lot of warmth/fullness with smoother treble and much deeper bass. I then got the Conductor 3 Reference (I buy everything used btw) and that's when the Arya's finally opened up with the incredible separation and immersive soundstage.

I'm sure the Stealth would scale better than the V2 so maybe the Conductor 3 Performance would be more than sufficient? If you are looking for a DAC/AMP it's worth trying out a Burson, especially if you are local to them!

 

[Vijay74]

To anybody thinking you gonna get a better of everything upgrading to Susvara.

Susvara wont match the open beautiful highs of Aryas. No matter the amp. Its emphasized on mids, very elegant beautiful mids.

Arya is just more spacious(live performances) because it is literally bigger(physically). Susvara is more focused upfront.

Im considering downgrading because of the form factor. Arya is just better on my head.

Yes you are going to get more details in the mid. But its not worth the price vs Arya. Get Susvara under 4000 dollars.

Here is a song to test:

Michael Jackson - Don’t stop ‘Til You Get Enough.



Susvara can not simply reproduce these highs. Its magic on AryaV2

Buy Susvara as side grade not upgrade

I preferred Arya over Susvara. Susvara doesnt have holographic sound effects like Arya has. That makes Arya more interesting. Could also be due to lack of proper Amp (A90) to drive Susvara or due to music preferences (EDM vocals kind hence bass was important)

 

[Vijay74]

Could somebody give me hand in some advice. I just returned a pair of Ananda Stealth in combination with ifi xdsd gryphon, a little bright at times. But what annoyed me a lot was the pressure on my jaws.

Is the Arya more comfortable? and in what way does the Arya sound better. I missed a little warmth/smoothness in te sound, is that better in the Arya?

And is the ifi xdsd Gryphon Powerfull enough for the Arya? It was for the Ananda stealth.

I use it balanced 4.4 with a meze cable. The Gryphon has 1000mw on the balanced port

For my case I realized that it was not the improper fitting but improper tuning that was putting pressure on my jaws. Irritating sound (sharp treble/ringing) may cause jaws to tighten up subconsciously. Try using EQ to tune/soften the sharpness, if that helps?

 

[Vijay74]

Looking for some advice on choosing between the Arya SE and HE1000SE.

I run the Arya V2 on a Conductor 3R on low gain at around 85-90% volume. With older recorded songs I regularly have to switch to high gain, which is a slight inconvenience because all my other headphones run on low gain, but more importantly, I prefer the sound on low gain as it provides better clarity and separation (vs high gain) I rather not purchase/change my amp because it works beautifully for everything else and it would only further complicate things. Swapping the V2 for a SE model with better sensitivity would be a simpler solution.

The Arya V2s are currently my favorite headphones, but I wouldn't mind some more punch in the mid-bass region. I've read conflicting reports, but between the HEK SE and Arya SE, which offers more? The extra treble resolution/detail of the HEK would be nice, but I prefer mid-bass punch/dynamics over it. If it has both, I'll probably get the HEK. I've also read that the Arya SE has a smaller soundstage compared to the V2, but I'm sure it's minor and it's really not a concern to me. How is the HEK in that regard?

When I compared HEKSE with Arya, the first thing I noticed was ease of driving HEKSE and better Bass. Other things I found to be about 10% better. However, HEKSE may have more potential and could have been constrained by my kinda average setup (Qutest + A90). May be it performs much better with much better gears? I couldn't test it.

 

[sahmen]

. Could also be due to lack of proper Amp (A90) to drive Susvara

This is where the main key of the comparison lies, since both Arya and Susvara are very responsive to the chains in which they are deployed. Comparisons between the two are neither helpful nor fair if each one is not deployed in a system with which they have decent-to-great synergy. On the wrong amp, the Susvara, particularly can be mischaracterized beyond recognition. I am very surprised to hear you mention, for example, a lack of holography regarding the Susvara, and I am sure many people who have heard the Susvara on other systems would be as well. This is coming from someone who also owns and enjoys the Arya SE as well.

 

[OCC7N]

Arya V2 is a hungry one too. It even changes to a better character the more power it gets.

My Arya is just a notch under Susvara volume.

The way Arya covers the head with the planar is awesome. Better stagefeel.

Susvara is like playing a part in the band. Arya is like getting that live/ambient feel.

If Arya had a more upfront mid just a little, I would sell my Sus in a heartbeat. The mids on Sus are golden

 

[Odezra]

Arya V2 is a hungry one too. It even changes to a better character the more power it gets.

My Arya is just a notch under Susvara volume.

The way Arya covers the head with the planar is awesome. Better stagefeel.

Susvara is like playing a part in the band. Arya is like getting that live/ambient feel.

If Arya had a more upfront mid just a little, I would sell my Sus in a heartbeat. The mids on Sus are golden

Have you tried eq?

 

[OCC7N]

Have you tried eq?

EQ will only raise level. It wont change the tone/tune.

The biggest misconceptions of EQ is thinking it will change the tune/tone.

“Upfront” should have said it differently. I meant actually tone wise. The Susvara is better tuned in the mids

 

[cactus_farmer]

Does anyone know if the Topping DX5 has enough power SINGLE-ENDED to drive the non-stealth version of the Arya?

 

[Tada]

When I compared HEKSE with Arya, the first thing I noticed was ease of driving HEKSE and better Bass. Other things I found to be about 10% better. However, HEKSE may have more potential and could have been constrained by my kinda average setup (Qutest + A90). May be it performs much better with much better gears? I couldn't test it.

Thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. With the way the Burson C3R is driving the Arya V2, I think it should be fine with the HEkSE.

Now I just need a good deal to pop up locally....

 

[Vijay74]

This is where the main key of the comparison lies, since both Arya and Susvara are very responsive to the chains in which they are deployed. Comparisons between the two are neither helpful nor fair if each one is not deployed in a system with which they have decent-to-great synergy. On the wrong amp, the Susvara, particularly can be mischaracterized beyond recognition. I am very surprised to hear you mention, for example, a lack of holography regarding the Susvara, and I am sure many people who have heard the Susvara on other systems would be as well. This is coming from someone who also owns and enjoys the Arya SE as well.

Agree on lack of proper Amping part. Even though A90 was able to drive Sus to the point of giving decent enough volume but I found dynamic s to be very lacking and Sus sounded very flat. I suspected two things: 1. Lack of proper amping or 2. Sus was not meant to be dynamic HP .. rather for classical stuff! Good to know its first one.
Next question that I always wondered was what could be a good Amp for Sus? I think HFM recommends about $15k EF1000 .. Anything good in decent range?

 

[Tada]

According to the link below, the A90 only scores a 6.5/10 in dynamics with the Susvara. If you want to drive the Susvara to it's potential you need more power. Speaker amps are preferred.

https://soundnews.net/headphones/full-size/the-ultimate-hifiman-susvara-review/

 

[afgani]

now I have ananda v1 old, Arya is too expensive for me yet
want to compare them them, should I chase more expensive hifiman models like Arya
or can I be content with what I have for now

 

[jjazzy]

For my case I realized that it was not the improper fitting but improper tuning that was putting pressure on my jaws. Irritating sound (sharp treble/ringing) may cause jaws to tighten up subconsciously. Try using EQ to tune/soften the sharpness, if that helps?

The jaw thing had mostly to do with the pads not beeing able to rotate. But I know what you mean with the treble.

Just thinking about tha arya v3 stealth, regarding more confory l, but not if the treble is bigger. Ananda has enough treble

What I also can’t figure out, if the ifi xdsd gryphon Is powerfull enough, it was voor de Ananda stealth? But that one is 103db performance over 94db arya.

And yes, for al those desktops unit advices, yes ofcourse it would probably a better performer BUT, a BIG but, that’s not a device I like to sit with in every location in the house, I like to move around and sit where ever I like, not beeing forced to sit with a desktop unit.

So would the ifi xdsd gryphon be suficient enough to make it play nicely

 

[Tada]

Thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. With the way the Burson C3R is driving the Arya V2, I think it should be fine with the HEkSE.

Now I just need a good deal to pop up locally....

Just picked up a new HEKV2SE (released earlier this month). I usually don't buy things until reviews come out but it was worth the risk at around 2,000 USD

Probably going to sell the Arya V2 and Clear OG if I like this new HEK.