[genck]

I agree. There are no reviewers on Head-Fi that get paid in either free product or cash to promote products.

I caught your sarcasm, it's up to you to decide.

 

[AlexZK]

Just a heads up, I was in HK last month and ordered the Arya off jd.com (most reputable electronics website in China) while I was there. It was bundled with a carrying case and stand(did not keep) and cost me the equivalent of £950/$1150, which I think is a fantastic deal. I believe the store I bought from also had the same deal on taobao.com, but I went with jd due to its stellar reputation (I had nothing to worry about as it turns out).

The downside is that you need a Chinese payment method like Alipay, luckily a mainlander friend helped me out.


My thoughts regarding the headphones themselves largely mirror the positive sentiments shown in this thread. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. Not exactly premium but solid and comfortable.

 

[superfrognyc]

Z reviews sprouted so much BS re. the HD58X. Sadly, many people still think it's a giant killer after believing the hype.

As much as I disagree with Z's ARYA review, he is right about the HD58X it is quite a fantastic headphone for the $160 asking price.
Z reviews are often funny and entertaining but his final opinions have to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Jodet]

As much as I disagree with Z's ARYA review, he is right about the HD58X it is quite a fantastic headphone for the $160 asking price.
Z reviews are often funny and entertaining but his final opinions have to be taken with a grain of salt.

More like a boulder of salt.

 

[devilboy]

More like a boulder of salt.

Big +1 on that.

 

[buffalomatt]

Just a heads up, I was in HK last month and ordered the Arya off jd.com (most reputable electronics website in China) while I was there. It was bundled with a carrying case and stand(did not keep) and cost me the equivalent of £950/$1150, which I think is a fantastic deal. I believe the store I bought from also had the same deal on taobao.com, but I went with jd due to its stellar reputation (I had nothing to worry about as it turns out).

The downside is that you need a Chinese payment method like Alipay, luckily a mainlander friend helped me out.


My thoughts regarding the headphones themselves largely mirror the positive sentiments shown in this thread. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. Not exactly premium but solid and comfortable.

Can you tell me which vendor you bought from? I am looking for the deal on Taobao and JD, but I'm not seeing anything less that 9599 RMB

 

[UsoppNoKami]

As much as I disagree with Z's ARYA review, he is right about the HD58X it is quite a fantastic headphone for the $160 asking price.
Z reviews are often funny and entertaining but his final opinions have to be taken with a grain of salt.

i bought the 58X to test after seeing his review and reading comments on MD. what a bait. the 6xx for $40 more is wayyyyyyyy better, in my humble opinion of course. Didnt think the 58X sounded like the 660S i tried at a local sennheiser shop either. YMMV

 

[Ty89m]

Hey all, picked up a pair of these last night from TTVJ - currently down to the Schiit Fulla 2, don’t think it’s got the oomph yo drive these properly.

With that said, how much power is actually useful for these? Considering THX 788 or perhaps Atom to test. 788 via balanced is probably more than enough, but unsure on SE.

Maybe iFi Black label? Would prefer something with AC power though.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[superfrognyc]

i bought the 58X to test after seeing his review and reading comments on MD. what a bait. the 6xx for $40 more is wayyyyyyyy better, in my humble opinion of course. Didnt think the 58X sounded like the 660S i tried at a local sennheiser shop either. YMMV

I never listened to the 6xx but I had the Sennheiser HD 660 S for a week or so and I prefered the 58xx to the 660S, I'm not saying the 58xx is better than the 660S but the 58xx sounded more enjoyable headphone of the two to me.

 

[superfrognyc]

What power amps are you guys using with the ARYA?

I have AYRE CODEX Amp/DAC it is a wonderful DAC but I'm not sure if the amp side of the unit is up to driving the ARYA properly.

Here are the specs:

Output Level Headphone Mode : 7.0 volts balanced, 3.5 volts single-ended.

Do you guys think it is enough to power the ARYA?

 

[ExplodingFist]

Hey all, picked up a pair of these last night from TTVJ - currently down to the Schiit Fulla 2, don’t think it’s got the oomph yo drive these properly.

With that said, how much power is actually useful for these? Considering THX 788 or perhaps Atom to test. 788 via balanced is probably more than enough, but unsure on SE.

Maybe iFi Black label? Would prefer something with AC power though.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

I had a Schitt Modi/Magni Uber 2 and purchased the 788 from Amazon with the intent of returning it just to see if there was a difference. After A/B testing songs for a few hours the 788 was proved to be clearer in every scenario, which was a surprise to me. I also noticed that I could listen to music louder without it bothering my ears as much (not sure why, but maybe there was some clipping going on). I ended up not returning the 788. The leap from the Fulla I'd imagine would be even more significant. Now does balanced make a difference? I'm not so sure. I did just design and make a really nice balanced cable to connect the 788 to the Aryas and the only difference I noticed was the volume was louder on with less dB on the 788. I don't think they sound any different after volume matching.

 

[devilboy]

I'm using the Burson Conductor V2+ and I love it with the Arya. I'm not using it's DAC, just the headphone amp.

 

[sennfan83261]

I had a Schitt Modi/Magni Uber 2 and purchased the 788 from Amazon with the intent of returning it just to see if there was a difference. After A/B testing songs for a few hours the 788 was proved to be clearer in every scenario, which was a surprise to me. I also noticed that I could listen to music louder without it bothering my ears as much (not sure why, but maybe there was some clipping going on). I ended up not returning the 788. The leap from the Fulla I'd imagine would be even more significant. Now does balanced make a difference? I'm not so sure. I did just design and make a really nice balanced cable to connect the 788 to the Aryas and the only difference I noticed was the volume was louder on with less dB on the 788. I don't think they sound any different after volume matching.

Nice cable split. Did you purchase it somewhere or 3D print it yourself?

 

[ExplodingFist]

Nice cable split. Did you purchase it somewhere or 3D print it yourself?

I couldn't find one anywhere, so I made one and printed it. Fits a Canare cable perfectly. If you're interested, I published it on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3816105

 

[AlexZK]

Can you tell me which vendor you bought from? I am looking for the deal on Taobao and JD, but I'm not seeing anything less that 9599 RMB

https://item.jd.com/40898862664.html

This is the one, there are a few options under 9000, but this vendor will give a case+stand also. I asked them if they had any deals and they gave me a 500RMB voucher, which knocked it down even further.

They only sent the headphones to begin with, I had to nudge them to send the case, but it arrived 2 days after I asked so I can't complain.

Just a warning if you were in HK like I was, there was a problem with their checkout for non-mainland addresses, so I had to pay and then give them my address via chat. Luckily I had a Chinese friend to do this all for me...