gb21011971
100+ Head-Fier
Hi, all
I have finally managed to audition Aryas. I took so long because firstly they were sold out in other city before arriving to one I live in. And here another one was sold out. I managed to audition a test pair (not for sale one). In one sentence - I love them. I had an opportunity to compare them with Focal Clear, Sennhaiser HD660S, Fostex TH909 and Hifiman HE6SE.
Sennhaiser and Fostex - just no. Sennhaiser was harsh sounding to my ears. Fostex was very aggressively V-shaped. Focal Clear was kinda ok. Clear but slightly aggressive vocal, acceptable treble (I am not fan of high tones - those were what I consider acceptable) and too boomy bass. Definitely a good pair of headphones but not exactly what I was looking for.
So, let's move to Aryas. It was simply amazing and exactly what i wanted to hear. Clean, smooth vocals and instruments. Piano, sax, guitars were just amazing. At the same time all those were clearly separated from astonishing, addictive vocals. High tones were definitely present but not highlighted in any way. Definitely warmer sound than MrSpeakrs Ether Flow and waaaaay brighter than Audeze LCD2C that I tested two weeks ago. Very good for me, just sweet spot. Pleasant for ears, not harsh in any way. And finally bass. Exactly what I wanted. Emphasised subbass but without emphasis on higher areas of bass. There is a pleasant and clearly audible *ompf* but without hammers hitting hard my head with higher bass like it happened in Focal Clear and Audeze. Thanks to this sound is powerful and emotional but low tones do not interfere with vocal and do not make sound dull and veiled. Very good separation of all sounds. Just love it. As mentioned, I had an opportunity of AB comparison with HE6SE. HE6SE had slightly more present higher bass and a bit more audible treble. Not exactly what I like. Differences were subtle but in overall I found Arya's sound to be cleaner, smoother, more airy and entertaining. Both Hifiman cans were definitely more power-hungry than rest of headphones. Mentioned before dynamic headphones I was listening to with volume gauge at 9 o'clock from my Marantz HD-DAC1 at low gain. Aryas needed between 10 and 11 while HE6SE 12 to offer the same level of sound.
All in all, it was worth to wait for almost month to audition them. I liked both Hifiman cans but Aryas are just wow. Also local seller said that their kind of magical. Whoever auditions them, takes them home. So I need to wait 2 weeks in queue with my order. But that's no problem at all. This amazing sound is worth it. I was super hyped to be able to audition them and now I am even more hyped to have them a week or two.
Cheers!
Couldn't have described them better. The only thing I would add, is the great soundstage. Not as wide as HD800's, but very wide compared to most other headphones. And not only wide, but high. I have never heard other headphones that have such a tall soundstage. Very 3 dimensional.