[NtraX]

The reason I go for the custom pads is because the humidity is too great in my country. After a year the pads will eventually crack and peel no matter how you keep. Unless you don't use it at all..keep in the box.

So I opt for genuine leather outer. I always feel abit of pressure to my jaw lines from the stock pads. So went for soft memory foam to help, and with Alcantara it doesn't build up heat and is very soft to the skin. Might not be as smooth as micro suede but will be much durable in comparison and it certainly easier to clean with Alcantara. I love genuine leather smell btw and is made of premium full grain leather so is very nice.

A few pages back is posted/presented by member another aftermarket alternative. I've cut that mesh out, there is no need to have two dust protections in place I think. Sound was the same with or without double mesh for m

 

[sennfan83261]

Perfect. I’ll order some as well. I find V2 stock pads too stiff. Is this the only pad alternative for the Aryas? Nothing else thicker and plushies at the moment?

Edit: any reason for taking off the dust covers?

Well, I only took off the dust covers from the Ultrapads to mimic the stock v2 setup (dust covers on ear cups rather than the pads). I was thinking about removing the dust cover from the ear cups and leave the ones on the ultrapads intact but decided against it just in case I decide to sell my v2 one day.

 

[migo]

Well, I only took off the dust covers from the Ultrapads to mimic the stock v2 setup (dust covers on ear cups rather than the pads). I was thinking about removing the dust cover from the ear cups and leave the ones on the ultrapads intact but decided against it just in case I decide to sell my v2 one day.

Wise decision. It has one more advantage, that mesh is far away from your ears and there is little chance touching it with your ears like me with Susvara.

 

[Somatic]

I did not. The soundstage and depth sounded the same to me between these two pads. After cutting out the dust felt from the ultrapads, the only difference between the two pads in my hands was the softer cushioning used in the ultrapads relative to the serenity pads. Neither of them are as soft as an Audeze vegan pad though.

Have you tried the Audeze vegan pad before? Curious on how one would install it? Double sided tape? Wouldn’t it cover up the drivers?

 

[Somatic]

Just received my pair. Quick impression time.

The earpad itself is very well made with good stitching complementing the soft memory foam.
Comfort wise it is a huge improvement compare to the serinity pad. That pad has the stiffest cushion I have ever experienced on a headphone.
After a 1 hour listening session i did not notice any sonic difference between the two pair of earpad. Maybe a tiny bit more bass.
The biggest issue is it does not come with an fitting ring. So i have to tore apart the serenity pad for its ring inorder to install the DIY pad.
And guess what, after I put the earpad on the fitting ring, it cannot be put back on the headphone due to the thickness of the leather from the DIY earpad is creating to much gap for the ring teeth to click on the headphone.
I end put using a gunpla cutting knife to get rid of the teeth on the ring and hard glue the earpad back to the headphone.
so please just get the ultra pad and cut the mash off if u want to replace the serenity pad.

So you glued the new pads directly on the housing? Any reason you didn’t use double sided tape?

 

[Somatic]

My Arya arrived from the factory a few days ago. Fedex from China to an island in the South China Sea in 5 days. Pretty soon we'll be at Star Trek transporter delivery times....

As I hoped, it is brand spanking new.
First impression - it's gorgeous.
Second impression - all the comments about poor build quality are overstated. It's solid as a rock and the fit and finish are perfect. The cups rotate but don't flop around. The metal headband has perfect rigidity. And claims that it is completely plastic are wrong, I think. The grills sure seem like metal to me... The cups are clearly typical plastic. But the yokes are more like that newer kind of 'engineered plastic' or 'composite' material (like Sigma Art lenses, which many people mistakenly believe are metal). This material is very dense, strong, and can be extremely durable (he says hopefully).

Anyway, it's freaking gorgeous and unlike the HEK, actually fits my pin-head. I don't even have to use the smallest setting! Nevertheless, I have already purchased a new headband assembly for it. I'll report how that goes when it arrives.

And I just had to get those lambskin pads that freeza2001 posted about earlier here. Based on his experience, rather than trying to reuse the current rings, I am going to make new rings and attach with double-sided tape, a la Audeze and DCA. About these lambskin pads, I agree with him completely that they are "very well made with good stitching complementing the soft memory foam." I'll report back with that mod when it's done. I'm actually surprised at how much I like the stock pads, though. Again, all the negative reviews about how uncomfortable they are don't match my experience.....

How did you make new rings?

 

[sennfan83261]

How did you make new rings?

Probably 3D printing. Hopefully they were successful and can share the stl file.

 

[sennfan83261]

Have you tried the Audeze vegan pad before? Curious on how one would install it? Double sided tape? Wouldn’t it cover up the drivers?

Double-sided tape. As you can see from the link in my post, it may cover some parts of the drivers but not all of it. Anyways, I haven't tried it. It was just an idea from a modder that I remember seeing in the past.

 

[MardukSonofEa]

About Josh V., I like his vids/reviews but he uses the A90 with his Aryas and it is known to have a flat soundstage, to not reproduce spatial cues well, and to not be the most natural sounding amp. BTW, it's the V6 Classics that add the warmth. The Vivids add clarity, I'm evaluating a set of them now. That may be why there's some sense of sibilance - along with the Aryas not being quite burned in (nor the opamps). Also note, the Vivids take about a good 20-30 days to burn in/mellow out too - Burson told me 30 days but I played pink noise overnights for 2-3 weeks to speed along the process. That's a super looking unit you got there. Happy listening.

Well crap, I wasn't sure I believed in burn in before, much less amp burn in, but the Vivids definitely have mellowed as of today and the sibilance I noticed is much tamer. I'll be damned. (The Arya should have already had enough hours on them.)

 

[ezduzit2500]

Well crap, I wasn't sure I believed in burn in before, much less amp burn in, but the Vivids definitely have mellowed as of today and the sibilance I noticed is much tamer. I'll be damned. (The Arya should have already had enough hours on them.)

I noticed that too, they were up-front and bright sounding when brand new, with not much nuance or depth. After about a month (100+ hours) they've mellowed and bloomed with better shades/trailing edges of notes and less forward sounding vocals. Still slightly mid-focused though.

 

[Reputator]

People harp on the build quality on the Aryas, but night before last mine took a nasty fall and came out just fine.

0/10 on the experience. Would not recommend. Although having witnessed the horror of hearing/seeing my Aryas clatter to the floor, the only thing actually damaged was my underwear.

(And no, I do not have carpet.)

 

[ezduzit2500]

People harp on the build quality on the Aryas, but night before last mine took a nasty fall and came out just fine.

0/10 on the experience. Would not recommend. Although having witnessed the horror of hearing/seeing my Aryas clatter to the floor, the only thing actually damaged was my underwear.

(And no, I do not have carpet.)

Full disclosure: I don't even put mine back in the case or hang them up after I finish listening to them, they go on the bottom shelf of my desk onto a piece of foam (silly, I know).
Wow. New underwear it is then.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Stealth Underwear?

 

[ezduzit2500]

Stealth Underwear?

Yes, they were Stealth before the drop,...not afterwards.

 

[K.J.]

Debatable. My silver plated cables - that were bright and rough/harsh sounding when brand new - are still revealing but quite a bit smoother now after a few months, for whatever reason. I'd not even consider cable burn in to be a thing before but this experience has changed my mind. Of course, if one's chain, transducers, ears, or mind are not revealing of (or even open to) small changes then a cable change wouldn't matter. As always, YMMV.

I'm not sure how you got to replying to me about cable burn in, when I was replying to a person asking if they could damage their headphone with an underpowered amplifier.

Leave me out of the cable discussion altogether lmao. I'm good. Believe what gives you peace of mind.