[devilboy]

For me Arya's clamping force was too strong as well. I decided to bend headband in corners and in the middle in opposite direction. I had to repeat it several times. Fortunately nothing cracked and now they are really convenient. Very close to my previous Audioquest Nighthawks which were extremely comfy.

???

 

[Dobrescu George]

???

LMAO same

Arya is one of the least clamped headphones I have ever had. If anything, they're a bit too lose.

Funny thing, if @Karister was using Nighthawks, I could believe that he wanted them to be even looser, but man, this is already an extreme, for many headphones I kinda wish they were a bit tighter, Arya is one of them

 

[mixman]

LMAO same

Arya is one of the least clamped headphones I have ever had. If anything, they're a bit too lose.

Funny thing, if @Karister was using Nighthawks, I could believe that he wanted them to be even looser, but man, this is already an extreme, for many headphones I kinda wish they were a bit tighter, Arya is one of them

True, if Karister thinks Arya’s have a tight clamping force, let me introduce him to Audeze LCD’s! He would probably think they also double as head torture device.

 

[devilboy]

True, if Karister thinks Arya’s have a tight clamping force, let me introduce him to Audeze LCD’s! He would probably think they also double as head torture device.

Audeze is straight-up barbaric.

How big is this guy's head?

 

[Dobrescu George]

True, if Karister thinks Arya’s have a tight clamping force, let me introduce him to Audeze LCD’s! He would probably think they also double as head torture device.

Agahahaha, there are headphones that are MUCH tighter than even Audeze, like IDK, Kennerton Thror is quite tight, even Sundara is pretty tight, and there are the closed back ones, especially DJ HEadphones like Ultrasone Sig DXP / Adam SP5, which are so tight you can do karate and run with them without them even budging

In comparison, Arya is like a feather, it would fall off your head if you moved a bit too fast while wearing them

 

[devilboy]

"In comparison, Arya is like a feather, it would fall off your head if you moved a bit too fast while wearing them"

I respectfully disagree. while they are somewhat on the loose or side compared to most headphones, they are nothing like the ZMF Atticus I owned briefly..... Very briefly. If I turned my head with normal speed to the left or right, they would move almost to the point where they would start to come off my ears. I think because they stick out so far that their center of gravity is not close to my skull. I couldn't get rid of those things fast enough. Not to mention I hated the sound. I know I'm in the minority when I say that but it's how I feel.

 

[Dobrescu George]

"In comparison, Arya is like a feather, it would fall off your head if you moved a bit too fast while wearing them"

I respectfully disagree. while they are somewhat on the loose or side compared to most headphones, they are nothing like the ZMF Atticus I owned briefly..... Very briefly. If I turned my head with normal speed to the left or right, they would move almost to the point where they would start to come off my ears. I think because they stick out so far that their center of gravity is not close to my skull. I couldn't get rid of those things fast enough. Not to mention I hated the sound. I know I'm in the minority when I say that but it's how I feel.

Interesting, I haven't heard ot seen ZMF Atticus in reality. Interesting to know that they're like that.

Well, I was probably exaggerating, but you really couldn't jog or headbang with Arya, that's for sure

 

[AxelCloris]

Hey everyone, we've removed some off-topic discussion from the thread. Thank you to everyone who kept the discussion focused on the Arya.

 

[zach915m]

"In comparison, Arya is like a feather, it would fall off your head if you moved a bit too fast while wearing them"

I respectfully disagree. while they are somewhat on the loose or side compared to most headphones, they are nothing like the ZMF Atticus I owned briefly..... Very briefly. If I turned my head with normal speed to the left or right, they would move almost to the point where they would start to come off my ears.

Interesting, I haven't heard ot seen ZMF Atticus in reality. Interesting to know that they're like that.

You can actually bend the headbands on the Atticus and any of our dynamic headphones to increase or decrease clamping as needed. We have a video on our youtube channel for instructions.

Anyways - agreed with @AxelCloris - this is an Arya thread!

 

[penguinofsleep2]

My overall impression of the Arya - if I wanted a softer headphone or something smooth/relaxing all the way around without being warm, colored, etc and only wanted 1 headphone + dac + amp, this would be it. It's a very cohesive and well articulated headphone. Good all around. Really enjoyed the highs on this one. On the flip side, if you're on of those who call new HFM SoftFiMan, then keep looking, Arya isn't for you (properly driver HE6/HE6se would be better if you still wanted HFM).

Rather than repeat various details already mentioned in previous pages, I'll sum up the specifics of the sound as overall very similar sound to HE1000 to me. The step between this and HE1000 is smaller than the step between many other "big and little brother" models at other companies (not say HD600 vs HD650 which I think are meant to have distinctly different sounds). Arya is about 96% of HE1000 and actually slightly better than newer HEK in tone and energy (here HEK would be ~98% of Arya). For reference, I think Focal Elear is about 88/89% of Clear. LCD2 is roughly about 89/90% of LCD3 (but with slightly different sound signatures, like how HD600 vs HD650 is different).

 

[ExplodingFist]

I currently have the Schiit Modi/Magni Uber 2 stack. In order to get really nice audio from the system I need to turn the volume to about 2:00-3:00 on the dial. They sound absolutely great and I don't hear the noise floor until I turn the nob another 20% more.

Am I under powering these, and would I actually hear a difference getting a larger amp like the THX AAA? Has anyone compared between similar setups A/B?

 

[tylerfutrell]

On "Burn In"

I pulled the trigger on these and noticed the booklet said they should be burnt in 150 hours. I was agnostic about this, having always bought used or factory burnt in HPs. But I thought I'd test it. I can say, I was hoping it was true, because they sounded different (worse) than the store's demo model, but thought that could be the DAC/amps. (Store was running Modi to Asgard, which are "warmer", whereas I was running SDAC to Atom, which are more "neutral".) Long story short, burn in is quite real for these phones. It doesn't take the full 150 hours, but it is an obvious difference. There is an objective-ish part I can mention to strengthen the case, which is that treble extension plus high energy for me equals immediate ear pain in my right ear. It's why Beyer T90, Focal Clear, etc. are off the table for me. And out of the box, the Arya triggered this on any track with jacked up treble, and even some more naturally mixed tracks, but 70 hours into the burn in, they no longer did, on anything. Subjectively, the sound became less brittle, sterile, dry, metallic, etc. and the extension and energy calmed down. I also perceived the soundstage to open up (somewhat paradoxically), but I'm less sure if I'm actually right about that. But there was a point around 80 hours where everything just clicked and everything sounded fantastic on this headphone. At this point, I don't think I'd want to add warmth or high roll-off, although on some tracks treble is juuust past the crispness I'd like, which is more an "edge" issue (and a mix issue). I don't know if it's the driver loosening, pads breaking in, etc. but "burn in" is real in this case. Others have similar experience?

Ok, I just have to add: Reddit is a hellhole. I posted a version of the same thing there, and... jeez, why bother. A peer-reviewed study or large sample size blind AB test would be great to figure this out, too bad that won't happen... (I thought the added element of my ear pain made this quasi-objective info.) I'm pretty sympathetic to "objective" positions, but at some point they become the dogmatic, unreasonable ones (see what you've made me say, Reddit?)...

 

[tylerfutrell]

I currently have the Schiit Modi/Magni Uber 2 stack. In order to get really nice audio from the system I need to turn the volume to about 2:00-3:00 on the dial. They sound absolutely great and I don't hear the noise floor until I turn the nob another 20% more.

Am I under powering these, and would I actually hear a difference getting a larger amp like the THX AAA? Has anyone compared between similar setups A/B?

Are you in high or low gain at 3:00? I think Magni 2 is around the minimum you'd want to drive these. I have an Atom, which is similar, and has enough power.

 

[ExplodingFist]

Are you in high or low gain at 3:00? I think Magni 2 is around the minimum you'd want to drive these. I have an Atom, which is similar, and works well.

High gain. I normally have it at 12:00 for more casual listening, but put it to 2:00-3:00 for more critical listening for short periods.

 

[tylerfutrell]

High gain. I normally have it at 12:00 for more casual listening, but put it to 2:00-3:00 for more critical listening for short periods.

Ok, when I'm at 3:00 on Atom it's low gain, and pretty loud. High gain is 10:00 to be loud. So it's possible you could benefit from a little more power, but I'm sorry I can say for sure. Hopefully someone with a THX will respond.