[ezduzit2500]

Eh, pretty sure that is not accurate framing, but those are your conclusions. I would never suggest to a user to consume less information though just because you don't think its useful. Consume all of the information and let people come to their own conclusions.

Noted.....

 

[BowWazoo]

...Separately I was impressed by HiFiMan's R2R DAC. It sounded to me like it had a slight delay effect added to the sound. I wouldn't call it accurate but it was really fun and enjoyable

probably the phase shift between the channels will be responsible for it...

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Maybe I'm just less fussy... or maybe I'm losing a little bit of the top end of my hearing range as I approach 40 (although I don't feel like I've lost any range just yet)... but I spent a long time at the HifiMan table at CanJam London this weekend testing out lots of things that I'm writing about in various as relevant, one of which is to give the Arya Stealth another go, having already turned it down around 9 months ago when I opted for the V2 instead.

If anything, i'd say the Stealth I heard yesterday will have been more burned in than the one I tested last year. What I found was that it was really very similar sounding to the V2. More than my original test. Still that slightly reduced stage, and more punch, but I barely noticed any difference in the highs between the two.

I've spent tonight re-kindling my bond with my V2 on the Ares II / Soloist 3XP combo. I honestly cannot find a fault with it. Places where I expected to have my ears hit by the sharp highs did happen. The Space and stage have better than everything I've tested so far (I have Atriums on the way so let's see if that changes things). And the bass extension has been perfect for my taste.

Separately I was impressed by HiFiMan's R2R DAC. It sounded to me like it had a slight delay effect added to the sound. I wouldn't call it accurate but it was really fun and enjoyable

Ares II is on my wishlist for next dedicated DAC. I've been enjoying my V2 straight out of the EF400 built in Himalayan R-2R though. Although the 3XP has slightly better separation and stage width, I find everything sounds a bit more distant with them. I get a more fun and immersive feeling with EF400 and performance wise is not far off.

 

[zerogun]

How about a chord mojo 2? Warm sound, enough power for the Arya Stealth, and very little space. They're also pretty popular now, so re-selling it if you don't get along wouldn't be the hardest thing.

ooo you know, that never crossed my mind! Thanks for that suggestion! There should be plenty of second hands too, must look into this now. Oh great, now you've got me spending more money lmao

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

probably the phase shift between the channels will be responsible for it...

That seems very plausible to me. The way I described it to the guy at the stand was as though you've run the sound through a delay pedal (as guitarists, bass players, etc, do) with a very very quick delay which creates a sense of slight echo which widens the "room".

I'm glad to see that I didn't just imagine it. 40 year old ears still holding up

 

[BowWazoo]

At the beginning, I also felt that this was positive, "analog" like.
But over time it has changed, and I noticed more and more, that the imaging was destroyed...

 

[haasaaroni]

ooo you know, that never crossed my mind! Thanks for that suggestion! There should be plenty of second hands too, must look into this now. Oh great, now you've got me spending more money lmao

Happy to be an enabler in this hobby/addiction

 

[zacoist]

Hey y'all, Dekoni was kind enough to send another pair to me after the QC mishap. So I'll let the picture do the talking:

 

[Doc21]

Hey y'all, Dekoni was kind enough to send another pair to me after the QC mishap. So I'll let the picture do the talking:

Uhhhh . . .

 

[zacoist]

Uhhhh . . .

Sorry for the lack of words, it's just that I'm done talking about Dekoni. See my other posts if you want to know what I think about them.

 

[ezduzit2500]

It lacks punch, yes, but it’s also just laid back in its presentation. It’s almost like each note has what Resolve once referred to (when talking about the Auris Euterpe amp) as a “pillow filter” that’s always turned on. It’s almost hauntingly beautiful and ambient in certain tracks, but lacks energy and a sense of directness in others. If you want to relax and get TONS of natural-sounding detail, the HEKV2 is an extraordinary headphone. But if you want drive, the Arya Stealth does it better.

Though I haven't had/heard the HEKV2, I did have the Arya V2 for over a year (I traded it in for the Stealth). It too was sorta "wimpy" in the bass dynamics dept - that was, until I drove it with much more power than what it was regularly driven with. After driving them via a preamp-levelled ~12W amp. After they were hooked up with that amount of (preamp governed) power, they could no longer be called "wimpy" in the bass dynamics dept at all - the extra power seemed to literally make those drivers "jump", LOL. I wonder if the HEKV2 would do/be the same???

 

[ezduzit2500]

Oh great, now you've got me spending more money lmao

Don't worry, that's what money is made for - to spend it, LOL. Seriously though, used high end gears are some of the best price to performance ratio'd gears one can find - the hardest parts being to narrow down your choices and then finding the exact piece you want within reason.

 

[haasaaroni]

Though I haven't had/heard the HEKV2, I did have the Arya V2 for over a year (I traded it in for the Stealth). It too was sorta "wimpy" in the bass dynamics dept - that was, until I drove it with much more power than what it was regularly driven with. After driving them via a preamp-levelled ~12W amp. After they were hooked up with that amount of (preamp governed) power, they could no longer be called "wimpy" in the bass dynamics dept at all - the extra power seemed to literally make those drivers "jump", LOL. I wonder if the HEKV2 would do/be the same???

That’s what I found with the Arya V2 as well with the FA-10, but I owned that amp at the same time I owned the HEKV2, and I didn’t find it to be the case. There’s more bass quantity on the HEK, but it doesn’t affect a certain softness heard across the frequency range. The only amp I’ve heard really inject the HEKV2 with some intensity was a friend’s fully burnt-in THR-1, possibly because of its relatively high output impedance.

 

[ezduzit2500]

That’s what I found with the Arya V2 as well with the FA-10, but I owned that amp at the same time I owned the HEKV2, and I didn’t find it to be the case. There’s more bass quantity on the HEK, but it doesn’t affect a certain softness heard across the frequency range. The only amp I’ve heard really inject the HEKV2 with some intensity was a friend’s fully burnt-in THR-1, possibly because of its relatively high output impedance.

Thanks for the response. Isn't it sort of amazing how different pieces in a chain make up different final SQ outcomes. This is another feather in the cap for system synergy, IMO.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Bit the bullet and ordered a HEKV2 for 50% off at Audio Advisor. Was gonna wait a bit and eventually trade in my Arya V2, but the deal was too good to pass on. Just hoping I don't have to upgrade any of my amps again to be able to drive HEKV2 properly.

Now only if the Susvara would come down in price...