[Poganin]

I'm planning to buy a planar this year to complete my headphone collection, and Arya and AFO2 are both on my short list. I'm just trying to decide now while the local distributors are awaiting delivery of new units. If anyone here has heard both of them, I would appreciate a short comparison.
Also, to those that have/had the Arya: what didn't you like about it?

 

[shreyanzh]

I'm planning to buy a planar this year to complete my headphone collection, and Arya and AFO2 are both on my short list. I'm just trying to decide now while the local distributors are awaiting delivery of new units. If anyone here has heard both of them, I would appreciate a short comparison.
Also, to those that have/had the Arya: what didn't you like about it?

Well one would be build quality..... it's built like a 300usd sony or bose anc headphone.....those may be better in terms of build So you kinda have to care for it properly ........

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I'm planning to buy a planar this year to complete my headphone collection, and Arya and AFO2 are both on my short list. I'm just trying to decide now while the local distributors are awaiting delivery of new units. If anyone here has heard both of them, I would appreciate a short comparison.
Also, to those that have/had the Arya: what didn't you like about it?

I have Arya, Ananda and HE1000SE. I love the Arya, but it's bass isn't as good as my Utopia or ZMF VC. The HE1000SE fixes that.

 

[phthora]

I'm planning to buy a planar this year to complete my headphone collection, and Arya and AFO2 are both on my short list. I'm just trying to decide now while the local distributors are awaiting delivery of new units. If anyone here has heard both of them, I would appreciate a short comparison.
Also, to those that have/had the Arya: what didn't you like about it?

I happen to love the Arya, but there are things that I feel could be improved upon.

Build quality, as mentioned, falls well short of other headphones in the price range and even below many much cheaper. However, to me this is entirely because of the lousy headband and comically bad cable. The latter can, and likely will, be replaced by most people, but the headband will remain amateurish and flimsy forever.

I'm not one to chase a perfect frequency response or EQ much at all (no judgment there, that's just me), but if you are so inclined, the Arya has a dip around 2k and some extra presence at 3-4khz that I find makes vocals sound a bit uneven and unnatural. There is also some shoutiness and, of course, treble extension that not everyone will enjoy.

Lastly, the physical weight or impact to sound, while not as ethereal and weightless as the Ananda, does have some of that feel. In particular, the bass just doesn't have the oomph behind it that I'd really want.

 

[haasaaroni]

I'm planning to buy a planar this year to complete my headphone collection, and Arya and AFO2 are both on my short list. I'm just trying to decide now while the local distributors are awaiting delivery of new units. If anyone here has heard both of them, I would appreciate a short comparison.
Also, to those that have/had the Arya: what didn't you like about it?

I’ve heard both, though a long time apart and I only ever demoed the AFO2 side by side with the Ananda, while the Arya came much later for me. So take this with a huge grain of salt!

From what I can remember, the AFO2 had perhaps even less weight to the sound, a smaller, more closed in soundstage, but with a more agreeable FR and much more natural/lifelike timbre to voices/instruments, which was its only saving grace for me. I just remember finding it unimpressive on the whole. That’s without taking into account the big jump from the Ananda to the Arya in layering, impact, and detail retrieval. I really think if you have the option, there is no contest.

I also totally find the vocals a little unnatural on the Arya, but for me they’re much improved over the Ananda. Still, you might find a more natural timbre with the AFO2. I just love the huge sound and stage from the egg shaped Hifiman sound. It’s a very unique experience.

 

[jrlan]

I’ve heard both, though a long time apart and I only ever demoed the AFO2 side by side with the Ananda, while the Arya came much later for me. So take this with a huge grain of salt!

From what I can remember, the AFO2 had perhaps even less weight to the sound, a smaller, more closed in soundstage, but with a more agreeable FR and much more natural/lifelike timbre to voices/instruments, which was its only saving grace for me. I just remember finding it unimpressive on the whole. That’s without taking into account the big jump from the Ananda to the Arya in layering, impact, and detail retrieval. I really think if you have the option, there is no contest.

I also totally find the vocals a little unnatural on the Arya, but for me they’re much improved over the Ananda. Still, you might find a more natural timbre with the AFO2. I just love the huge sound and stage from the egg shaped Hifiman sound. It’s a very unique experience.

As someone who traded up from the Ananda to the Arya, I totally agree with this. The Ananda is great at its price point, but if money is no object, go with the Arya.

 

[mynamesjeff]

Hi guys. I'm looking at a Planar to go along with my collection. I had the LCD2-C in the past and just didn't vibe with it due to weight and sound was only ok.
I'm curious to know how the HD800S and Arya compete and sound against one another or are they too similar?

 

[chrisnyc75]

Hey guys......What would your choice be between Burson Audio Playmate 2 vs Topping A90 for the Arya.....Since Arya pairs well with Class A amps and burson is in that segment......but Topping A90 is really well recommended by Joshua Valour on YouTube.....I am confused.....???

FWIW, I've had Arya on A90 for several months and realized I was gravitating away from listening to it because the sound was too dry & too two-dimensional. I just received a Schiit Lyr 3 to replace it, and so far it seems like a great pairing. Lyr gives you all the power of solid state plus a hint of tube flavor, which IMO is just what Arya needs.

 

[chrisnyc75]

Hi guys. I'm looking at a Planar to go along with my collection. I had the LCD2-C in the past and just didn't vibe with it due to weight and sound was only ok.
I'm curious to know how the HD800S and Arya compete and sound against one another or are they too similar?

I did a write-up on this earlier in this thread if you search my posts. Long story short - they have similar strengths, but they don't really sound that much alike.

Fwiw, I just let go of my HD800S because I realized I just wasn't listening to it anymore. But it wasn't Arya that made it redundant, it was Verite. Arya and HD800S trade blows with neither coming out a clear winner; Verite is just straight up better at everything than HD800S.

 

[drews]

Hi guys. I'm looking at a Planar to go along with my collection. I had the LCD2-C in the past and just didn't vibe with it due to weight and sound was only ok.
I'm curious to know how the HD800S and Arya compete and sound against one another or are they too similar?

I just received my open-box Arya from the hifiman store and it's fantastic, similar in comfort and sound signature to my HD 800S but much more satisfying bass - I regret I waited so long to pick this set up! (I also picked up a 4.4mm cable from Audiophile Ninja - highly recommended!)

 

[phthora]

Hi guys. I'm looking at a Planar to go along with my collection. I had the LCD2-C in the past and just didn't vibe with it due to weight and sound was only ok.
I'm curious to know how the HD800S and Arya compete and sound against one another or are they too similar?

I've got both, and I don't find them to be redundant. To me, that means that I have clear preference for one or the other depending upon music.

The HD800S has what I consider a flawless tuning, a uniquely wide soundstage, and superb imaging. It falters a bit on bass resolution, even without comparison to the Arya, but it is still very very good in that weakest aspect of its sound. For acoustic, live, or vocals-focused music, I pick the 800S. If I want to chill a bit and kick back, I pick the 800S.

The Arya have better resolution across the spectrum, especially in bass, but the tuning is not quite as coherent. I hear some unevenness to vocals, an occasionally strident quality to strings and guitars, and less soundstage depth, giving the mids some flatness. For busier, more complicated music, I choose the Arya for it's better resolution. For music that relies on synth or deep bass, I definitely choose the Arya.

 

[Poganin]

I’ve heard both, though a long time apart and I only ever demoed the AFO2 side by side with the Ananda, while the Arya came much later for me. So take this with a huge grain of salt!

From what I can remember, the AFO2 had perhaps even less weight to the sound, a smaller, more closed in soundstage, but with a more agreeable FR and much more natural/lifelike timbre to voices/instruments, which was its only saving grace for me. I just remember finding it unimpressive on the whole. That’s without taking into account the big jump from the Ananda to the Arya in layering, impact, and detail retrieval. I really think if you have the option, there is no contest.

I also totally find the vocals a little unnatural on the Arya, but for me they’re much improved over the Ananda. Still, you might find a more natural timbre with the AFO2. I just love the huge sound and stage from the egg shaped Hifiman sound. It’s a very unique experience.

Sounds like it's going to be a pretty difficult choice for me. I can afford the Arya, but I'm wary of the QC issues and how build is being mentioned as a downside. On the one hand, detail is good, but since I don't hear differences in soundstage that one aspect of the Arya is the least important to me. On the other hand, faithful rendition of vocals is important to me because of the genres of music that I listen to the most, so if AFO2 wins in this regard, it would be the right one for me.

 

[tjdub]

I did a write-up on this earlier in this thread if you search my posts. Long story short - they have similar strengths, but they don't really sound that much alike.

Fwiw, I just let go of my HD800S because I realized I just wasn't listening to it anymore. But it wasn't Arya that made it redundant, it was Verite. Arya and HD800S trade blows with neither coming out a clear winner; Verite is just straight up better at everything than HD800S.

I really wished I could have heard what you hear on your verites because they are such beautiful and comfortable headphones but mine always just sounded ok. I guess that is how subjective sound is

 

[chrisnyc75]

I really wished I could have heard what you hear on your verites because they are such beautiful and comfortable headphones but mine always just sounded ok. I guess that is how subjective sound is

Verite is a very picky headphone - its sound signature is VERY dependent on which pads you're using, your audio chain (especially your amp!), and what kind of music you're listening to. With the stock Verite pads, I find the sound flat and overly dynamic to the point of harshness. But with the Universe pads, the sound becomes wide and warm and lush. Jazz, classical, & acoustic are divine on Verite, but to me edm & pop sound weird. Oh, and tubes should be mandatory - Thou shalt not plug thy ZMF into solid state.

But yes, everything in this hobby is highly subjective - one man's trash is another man's treasure. And that's good for all of us.

 

[tjdub]

I think you just nailed it in the head my friend, I barely listen to classical or jazz and you are completely right that it sounds off with edm or pop. The one thing that did impress me is how wide the VC sounded for being closed cans