So I'm guessing the Arya Stealths are not total crap?
HIFIMAN Arya - Arya Stealth - Arya Organic :: Impressions Thread
- Thread starter XERO1
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Temudschin
New Head-Fier
I actually rediscovered my Ayra Stealth the other day, when I was testing my new Feliks Audio Elise Mk2 amp. To my surprise the Aryas work really well with it. Even better in some ways, because it takes away some of the harshness.
So to me the Arya Stealth is still a good headphone.
So to me the Arya Stealth is still a good headphone.
Shane D
Headphoneus Supremus
I have been running the Arya's since Monday and I am super impressed! Today I started comparing the Arya's to the HE6se V2's and to the FiiO FT5's. Very different headphones.
I just bought two singles from one of my favourite sax players, Nubya Garcia:
1) Fortify (2024)
And
2) Lean In (2023)
The Arya's played her work beautifully with a wide soundstage and great imaging. A really full, precise sound.
The HE6se V2's were not quite as wide or precise, but still Very nice. Just a step behind.
The FiiO FT5's sounded warm/dark/bassy and didn't really compete with the others.
Set-up is Schiit BF2 to iFi Pro iCAN and balanced out. HE6se V2's need mid-gain pushing on past 10:00.
Arya's sound best at mid-gain and can't go past 9:00.
The FT5's are in low gain and not breaking 9:00.
Just found a new band that I am really enjoying, that are called No Money Kids. I bought three singles and a full album. They call themselves lo-fi and that is Very true! They did not sound great with the Arya's, which are just too precise and revealing. The HE6se V2's sounded better and I really enjoyed the FT5's a Lot with this band.
Over the ton of music that I played this week, I LOVED these 'phones with just about everything. They jump right to the top of my collection with the Grado GH2's, Focal Clear's, Senn HD660S2's. I think they might/will displace the HE6se V2's.
Trading the Meze 109 Pro's for these was my best trade ever.
I just bought two singles from one of my favourite sax players, Nubya Garcia:
1) Fortify (2024)
And
2) Lean In (2023)
The Arya's played her work beautifully with a wide soundstage and great imaging. A really full, precise sound.
The HE6se V2's were not quite as wide or precise, but still Very nice. Just a step behind.
The FiiO FT5's sounded warm/dark/bassy and didn't really compete with the others.
Set-up is Schiit BF2 to iFi Pro iCAN and balanced out. HE6se V2's need mid-gain pushing on past 10:00.
Arya's sound best at mid-gain and can't go past 9:00.
The FT5's are in low gain and not breaking 9:00.
Just found a new band that I am really enjoying, that are called No Money Kids. I bought three singles and a full album. They call themselves lo-fi and that is Very true! They did not sound great with the Arya's, which are just too precise and revealing. The HE6se V2's sounded better and I really enjoyed the FT5's a Lot with this band.
Over the ton of music that I played this week, I LOVED these 'phones with just about everything. They jump right to the top of my collection with the Grado GH2's, Focal Clear's, Senn HD660S2's. I think they might/will displace the HE6se V2's.
Trading the Meze 109 Pro's for these was my best trade ever.
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A bit of a late response, but to answer the question about amp/dac, I got a sixty dollar one driven off 5V usbc that I found recommended at that price point. I can already hear the "well what do you expect at that price" responses, but I'm not going to shell out hundreds of dollars just to test if the phones I have are broken. And, there are no hifi stores near me; so, I don't have anywhere to go to test these phones for free. Besides, these phones shouldn't sound this poor even with a cheap amp.
Since the return period lasts until the end of the month, I might go on CL to look for a better amp at a reasonable price before mailing these. I've tried all the EQ suggestions on here, and I've tried to compensate for the areas I find these phones deficient, which is pretty much everywhere. But, there's really no improvement. It's interesting the poster above mentions these being used with sax, as I found these to be especially lifeless and flat with sax. I'd say I'll sell them, but I'm not going to try and sell something that I think is broken. No soundstage, no depth, no fullness. It's remarkable how something can produce so much noise and yet so little discernable or decent sound at any frequency. Like someone is decribing the sound to you through a wall, rather than just hearing it. It really makes me think they're broken.
Since the return period lasts until the end of the month, I might go on CL to look for a better amp at a reasonable price before mailing these. I've tried all the EQ suggestions on here, and I've tried to compensate for the areas I find these phones deficient, which is pretty much everywhere. But, there's really no improvement. It's interesting the poster above mentions these being used with sax, as I found these to be especially lifeless and flat with sax. I'd say I'll sell them, but I'm not going to try and sell something that I think is broken. No soundstage, no depth, no fullness. It's remarkable how something can produce so much noise and yet so little discernable or decent sound at any frequency. Like someone is decribing the sound to you through a wall, rather than just hearing it. It really makes me think they're broken.
MrHaelscheir
100+ Head-Fier
Could you specify the model of the DAC/amp or the power rating for 32 Ohm headphones so we can absolutely discount that it is an amp power issue? Can you try listening to the distorted examples in https://www.klippel.de/listeningtest/ using your other headphones just to confirm whether that is what the Arya is sounding like? And you aren't hearing any severe high-frequency distortion (like the sound of blowing on a microphone) evincing digital clipping? If you are, try reducing your music player's volume until the clipping goes away (should it go away at all). Alternatively, maxing out your DAC/amp's volume may have a chance to cause it to clip depending on how it was implemented. And also double-check that your own PC isn't introducing any "sound enhancements" or other EQ profiles that could be forcing the audio to sound muffled (higher frequencies rolled off).
If the headphones are indeed defective, then it is best to decide whether the comfort style or pad largeness is still to your preference so as to determine whether seeking out a replacement unit would be worth a try.
Light - Man
Headphoneus Supremus
SecretAgent
100+ Head-Fier
I'm quite concerned about qc issues with hifiman. Are those as reliable as the competition?
Atomicman
New Head-Fier
I am looking for a new amp/dac aio and i cannot decide between the EF600 and the Serenade (and xduoo at-22h
I like the Idea of the headphone stand on the er600, but the price for the Serenade is only 300$ more - which should offer better Performance, optical in as well as the network streaming capability.
Does anyone has experience together with an Arya Stealth?
I like the Idea of the headphone stand on the er600, but the price for the Serenade is only 300$ more - which should offer better Performance, optical in as well as the network streaming capability.
Does anyone has experience together with an Arya Stealth?
SecretAgent
100+ Head-Fier
There's always something better and more expensive. Enjoy what you have is the name of the game.
Eikthyrnir
New Head-Fier
I've had multiple Hifiman headphones over the years, including the Arya stealth for roughly 2 years now at this point. Haven't had any issues whatsoever, and I'm actually impressed that the pads have held up as well as they have.
Three and a half years with my Anandas. Daily use, no issues. I have only had to replace the ear pads and the headband strap, i.e. the parts of the headphones that are in contact with the skin and are prone to wear.
Super stoked with Arya Stealth Magnet version now that I finally got Tidal desktop to work. Very warm yet detailed, big upgrade from HE-4xx and Senny HD600 and AKG k712's. Loved my hifiman he-4xx drop version, but were a bit muddy. This is a big upgrade. Diminishing returns of course, 5x the price at 800 usd. Off of Schiit magni and modi. But now my favorite cans! Still listening to jazz on Tidal. When Tidal works that is. Big plus that I didn't pay VAT on import! Hehe always good there China! No seriously good cans, have 8 cans from before, and these are clearly the best. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these for a second! (with a good DAC and amp of course!).
Just picked up 2nd hand Valhalla 2 which is not supposed to be a good pairing, but have senny hd600's which are. Curious to see how Arya + Valhalla2 work out. The Valhalla in low gain mode is only 3 ohms whereas if I'm right the Arya stealth are 28 ohms, so shouldn't be too terrible. Still have Magni for low impedance cans, which are basically all of them except of hd600 and dt-770 80 ohm.
Well on a first listen Arya with Valhalla 2 to Brahms piano, need to turn volume up to max in low gain mode. Then achieve comfortable listening volume but not by any means loud. No dice either in hi gain mode. Failure. Over to Sennheiser hd600. Good. Still have to set up rca splitter cable to A/B with magni.
No wonder it was soft! Had volume on pc turned way down, running tidal. Comfortable volume with hd600 is around 2 oclock. Will have to give Aryas another shot.
Aryas much better with pc volume at 100% Duh!! Don't sound terrible at all. On low gain. May be some bass distortion, hard to tell. Could be the track. Very similar to hd600's.
Still need to properly A/B magnis and Valhalla. But would say Valhalla is useable with planar magnetics and low ohm cans. Maybe not ideal, but pretty much splitting hairs.
Very spacious sound, good soundstage. But not a hi-fi guru. Will leave accurate descriptions to others. Overall I prefer the hd600's on the valhalla, there seems to be some distortion on the aryas. So will stick to magni for planar cans and low ohm cans. Easily done with splitter cable.
No wonder it was soft! Had volume on pc turned way down, running tidal. Comfortable volume with hd600 is around 2 oclock. Will have to give Aryas another shot.
Aryas much better with pc volume at 100% Duh!! Don't sound terrible at all. On low gain. May be some bass distortion, hard to tell. Could be the track. Very similar to hd600's.
Still need to properly A/B magnis and Valhalla. But would say Valhalla is useable with planar magnetics and low ohm cans. Maybe not ideal, but pretty much splitting hairs.
Very spacious sound, good soundstage. But not a hi-fi guru. Will leave accurate descriptions to others. Overall I prefer the hd600's on the valhalla, there seems to be some distortion on the aryas. So will stick to magni for planar cans and low ohm cans. Easily done with splitter cable.
Well HD600 and Arya sound very similar on acoustic tracks such as Pat Metheny's MoonDial off Tidal. So that's a relief. What Valhalla has done is really lift the hd600 to new levels beyond the magni, so it's very close to Arya Stealth, which costs 3x as much. Impressive.
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