[ThanatosVI]

Do you think the Focal Clear is worth to buy over the Arya?

Definitely not, Arya is totally superior imo

 

[descloud]

Do you think the Focal Clear is worth to buy over the Arya?

If you usually listen to tracks that require a larger head stage along with great imaging, the Arya seems to be the better choice based on a lot of anecdotes I've seen around. If you mainly listen to modern genres, I think the Clear is a great option with the known Focal dynamics giving an engaging presentation for modern tracks.

 

[descloud]

I have V2.
My Arya burned in about 300 hours. There is no more smoothness incoming.
I hear silbilance in most headphones. One of the only headphones I never heard it, was the focal clear, because there is a dip in its frequency response by 7200 at about 10 db

Just a word of caution about the Clear, they have peaks in the 6kHz and 8kHz region that can accentuate some of the consonant ranges - meaning "ss" and "tss" can be sharper or have an edgy quality - which some can't tolerate. For me personally, it's a non-issue, especially when you're listening at < 70dB. Higher than that, and those peaks will be more noticeable, and depending on your sensitivity, can be overbearing.

 

[Crazeenick]

I found Focal Clears just a bit too hot in the trebles - it was fine on well recorded music, but too fatiguing for me on less well recorded music. I sent them back and got Aryas instead, which I find less troublesome in the trebles than the Clears. Mind you, even the Aryas can sometimes be a little too bright on some recordings....

 

[ezduzit2500]

Thank you for your impressions Ezduzit, I too considering maybe upgrading to Arya from Anandas and it's very helpful. Can I know what music you're listening to? Do you find bass on Arya stronger or weaker than on Ananda? Thanks.

Adding to my earlier answer to your question about Arya bass compared to Ananda. With further burn in I can add that Arya definitely has more and better bass than Ananda. It's tighter and more detailed. It also rumbles with more authority and control when called to.

 

[Doctortre2481]

Currently only a iem person .I own a custom legend x .Was thinking of getting into open back headphones .How much of an upgrade would something like the arya be ?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

^That is impossible to say..like in literally impossible.
It’s like comparing a shark to a cheetah - both being very quick animals and all.
There is a big difference between having somethinks lodged in your ear vs having this big cup fully engulfing your ear. It’s basically going from music being shot into your ear canal to having speakers playing outside of your head.

..and this is without touching upon your preferences sound quality wise. What sound signature do you go for? What type of music? Etc etc.
If you mainly go for v or u-shaped signatures in your iems though I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere than the Arya. Perhaps try out something a little cheaper just to see if it indeed is something you’d like before you throw Arya-money at an open-back. Good luck

 

[Doctortre2481]

^That is impossible to say..like in literally impossible.
It’s like comparing a shark to a cheetah - both being very quick animals and all.
There is a big difference between having somethinks lodged in your ear vs having this big cup fully engulfing your ear. It’s basically going from music being shot into your ear canal to having speakers playing outside of your head.

..and this is without touching upon your preferences sound quality wise. What sound signature do you go for? What type of music? Etc etc.
If you mainly go for v or u-shaped signatures in your iems though I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere than the Arya. Perhaps try out something a little cheaper just to see if it indeed is something you’d like before you throw Arya-money at an open-back. Good luck

Totally understand everything your saying its hard to compare iem to openbaks headphones. i guess I should provide some context. I use to own isine 20 and loved the large soundstage of an open back .My current daily driver is legend x .my state currently in lockdown and I decided I need a new toy. So I was thinking I should get a open back pair for at home listening .But I need it to be an improvement from my iem .

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Totally understand everything your saying its hard to compare iem to openbaks headphones. i guess I should provide some context. I use to own isine 20 and loved the large soundstage of an open back .My current daily driver is legend x .my state currently in lockdown and I decided I need a new toy. So I was thinking I should get a open back pair for at home listening .But I need it to be an improvement from my iem .

That’s the thing. ‘An improvement’ is wholly dependant on your tastebuds...and then again it’s not even a safe bet that you will enjoy the sensation of a fullsized headphone.
The longer I stay in this hobby the more obvious it has become that the terms ‘better‘ and ‘upgrade’ are meaningless words.
If you ask whether or not the Arya will be an upgrade to X iem in it’s dedicated thread you’re bound to get something like 99% of Arya owners chiming in on why they love their headphone. Then again wouldn’t you if you’d spent 1600$ on a headphone? The thing is..every thread on head-fi works similarly: they become small fan-clubs where you sign in to compare odes to your favourite can...until an ‘upgrade’ is in due, of course.

Then there is the eternal question of taste: One of my old friends recently sold off his beloved LCD-X in favour of his newly acquired HD58X. Why? Because he views the Sennheiser as a clear cut upgrade to the much pricier Audeze. I have a lot of similar stories about folks and friends prefering the cheaper can..even when they can afford to throw multi-buck figures at gear. One of them recently sold off his Utopia because he prefers the sound of his old HD600.
I may have rambled on a bit here..sorry about that There’s just no telling what people go for and what they prefer. I personally prefer my HE500 over the Arya yet you’ll probably find a fair few posters in here who feel the exact opposite.
My main point? ‘Better’ and ‘upgrade’ are words entirely dependant on the ears of the beholder...and unless you are financially well off and can afford chugging 1600$ at an unknown just for kicks, then I strongly recommend checking out something similar in a different pricerange beforehand

 

[ThanatosVI]

Totally understand everything your saying its hard to compare iem to openbaks headphones. i guess I should provide some context. I use to own isine 20 and loved the large soundstage of an open back .My current daily driver is legend x .my state currently in lockdown and I decided I need a new toy. So I was thinking I should get a open back pair for at home listening .But I need it to be an improvement from my iem .

Do you already have an amp and dac?
If so order the Arya, try them and in case you don't like them return them.

The Arya is amazing in its price region so the probability is high that you will like them.

Listening test at home is the only thing that can satisfy this question

 

[Docharsha89]

Currently only a iem person .I own a custom legend x .Was thinking of getting into open back headphones .How much of an upgrade would something like the arya be ?

What are your musical preferences ?
--- Classical/hip-hop/rock/pop ?
--- Are you sensitive to a mildly bright sound ?
--- Are you okay to have both your ears blanketed by the said headphone during listening time ?
-- IEM are easy to pop in, your pinnae feels comfortable, no sweating/itching, no need to adjust the ear cups every 30 min or so.
-- Also Amp pairing is very important with the Arya. You need an Amp with atleast 1W @ 32 ohm for it to sound its best.
-- And last of all, don't even think about using these when there are other noises around you, because you can even hear a whisper close to you whilst wearing them.

 

[Doctortre2481]

I plan on using my headphones with the hiby r8 hoping the turbo mode would be enough to drive it .Might look into a desktop amp in the future .Can't listen to anything at the moment because of lockdown in Australia. I could start off with something cheaper but it feels a bit redundant if my iem cam offer better sound. which is why I'm looking at higher end stuff . I listen to pretty much every genre besides classic .I'm sure I'll be better off waiting but lockdown got me thinking ......

 

[Docharsha89]

I plan on using my headphones with the hiby r8 hoping the turbo mode would be enough to drive it .Might look into a desktop amp in the future .Can't listen to anything at the moment because of lockdown in Australia. I could start off with something cheaper but it feels a bit redundant if my iem cam offer better sound. which is why I'm looking at higher end stuff . I listen to pretty much every genre besides classic .I'm sure I'll be better off waiting but lockdown got me thinking ......

Your Hiby R8 outputs ~1W @ 32 ohm, So I guess it should drive the Arya well. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed by the sound by any means, no matter which headphone/IEM you come from, as the Arya plays at a high level of fidelity. If you have a return policy from the place of purchase, then all the more better.

 

[Dramlin]

Got a Topping E30 DAC, and with it two amps that I tested back and forth with the Arya's:

• Topping L30 : ~1 Watt @35 ohm. About $139
• S.M.S.L SP200: ~2.7 Watt @35 ohm (~1.7W on low gain). About $265

For those that haven't heard of the L30 before, it's a fairly new release from topping that is intended to be the single ended version of the A90 with less power & features.

The sound difference between the L30 & SP200 to me is:

• SP200 pushes the main sound stage forward, as if you are observing it in front of you. The L30 stage is all around you, as if you are in the middle of the music.
• SP200 has a wider and deeper sound stage, but somehow it doesn't seem correct. Almost as if sounds are being split too far apart. You lose some ambience compared to the L30. The L30 stage seems correct as-is.
• SP200 sounds slightly thinner/less full compared to the L30. Due to this the SP200 has a little less detail, and again less ambience

Both are excellent amps, but for my tastes the L30 sounds better. Well.. not only better but the L30 doesn't have any downsides at all that I can find. At "only" 1 watt to the Arya's, I can't find anything missing compared to the higher powered SP200. I hesitate to say this as this hobby never truly ends, but the L30 appears to be my end game desktop amp; I'm happy ending my AMP search. It provides the sound I'm looking for with the Arya's.

Regarding the DAC, the E30+L30 combo with the Arya's is ridiculously good, but I don't know if additional increases can be had with a different DAC. That said, my tinkering with different DACs will continue until I know if the E30 is the best bang for the buck with the L30.

In all this Amp testing I also tried 5 pairs of RCA's. I won't bore you with the details, but easily the best sounding of the 5 was the 'Worlds Best Cables Mogami 2497'.

 

[Docharsha89]

Got a Topping E30 DAC, and with it two amps that I tested back and forth with the Arya's:

• Topping L30 : ~1 Watt @35 ohm. About $139
• S.M.S.L SP200: ~2.7 Watt @35 ohm. About $265

For those that haven't heard of the L30 before, it's a fairly new release from topping that is intended to be the single ended version of the A90 with less power & features.

The sound difference between the L30 & SP200 to me is:

• SP200 pushes the main sound stage forward, as if you are observing it in front of you. The L30 stage is all around you, as if you are in the middle of the music.
• SP200 has a wider and deeper sound stage, but somehow it doesn't seem correct. Almost as if sounds are being split too far apart. You lose some ambience compared to the L30. The L30 stage seems correct as-is.
• SP200 sounds slightly thinner/less full compared to the L30. Due to this the SP200 has a little less detail, and again less ambience

Both are excellent amps, but for my tastes the L30 sounds better. Well.. not only better but the L30 doesn't have any downsides at all that I can find. At "only" 1 watt to the Arya's, I can't find anything missing compared to the higher powered SP200. I hesitate to say this as this hobby never truly ends, but the L30 appears to be my end game desktop amp; I'm happy ending my AMP search. It provides the sound I'm looking for with the Arya's.

Regarding the DAC, the E30+L30 combo with the Arya's is ridiculously good, but I don't know if additional increases can be had with a different DAC. That said, my tinkering with different DACs will continue until I know if the E30 is the best bang for the buck with the L30.

In all this Amp testing I also tried 5 pairs of RCA's. I won't bore you with the details, but easily the best sounding of the 5 was the 'Worlds Best Cables Mogami 2497'.

Your observation are correct. Watts/Ohm never dictates how well a headphone is driven by an amp. Headphone/Amp synergy based on sound signature - Warm headphone with an Analytical amp and vice versa, is a more fool proof way of finding the right combo. Also equally important is the Voltage supplied by the amp during peak performance and Sound level dB.