[Shockadelica]

I've just pulled the trigger on a pair of the Arya Stealths, and so am in the hunt for a suitable carry case (would've been nice if they came with one already of course!).

Has anyone had experience of the official HiFiMan case (as linked below)? Any good, or better, similarly priced options out there?

https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/headphone-travel-case.html

Note: I ideally want to be purchasing any item from within the UK, to avoid any horrendous shipping costs.

 

[Ichos]

For anyone looking for a budget friendly amplifier for the Arya, I strongly recommend the SMSL/Aoshida HO100.
Drives them with ease and with great sonic results, pretty close to your source without inducing artificiality or sucking it's soul.

 

[Thetaburn]

In any case, what a set of headphones. I got a balanced cable I’m dying to try out. What in general can I expect from going balanced vs single ended?

Depends on your chain.
Some amps and DACs have a different power rating for single vs balance.
More power and current usually equals to tighter bass, clarity and a better sound signature for planars.

 

[Thetaburn]

I'm about to buy the Arya Stealth soon and I have the Zen One Dac + Zen Can amp at the moment, will that combo be powerful enough to power Arya Stealth? I have plans to upgrade to the EF 400 in the future but was thinking of using the Zen stack for the time being, if it works.

Even a smart phone can get the Arya SE to a loud enough listening level. Unfortunately, the sound signature will be flat / 2d with muddy dull bass.

The amp and DAC is where you pay for your sound signature preference.

If you want to drive the Arya se to its full potential and hear thumping bass, emotional vocals, 3d soundstage you have to get a high quality DAC and amp or tube amp.

 

[Reputator]

I took a break from giving the Auteur OG my exclusive attention and came back to the Arya SE. Listening to some Macroblank.



Man the Arya SE continues to be my ideal. Such a full-spectrum, balanced response. Every sound given its space, suitable impact, and the soundstage pulls back the curtain between the foreground and background, so you have layers of various depths playing at once, as well as verticality.

And as nice and smooth as the Auteurs are, their purported midrange strengths aren't much different from the full natural mids of the Arya SE, which still have great presence and a touch of lower midrange warmth. The treble is much more splashy, but if excitement is what you want, that's the kind of treble you need.

 

[tradyblix]

Depends on your chain.
Some amps and DACs have a different power rating for single vs balance.
More power and current usually equals to tighter bass, clarity and a better sound signature for planars.

Exactly.

For example I use my Arya out of my tube amp and get 1300mw Single Ended with it's low resistance setting enabled.
but if I were to use it out of my TA-ZH1ES I'd only get 300mw Single Ended.
So out of the TA-ZH1ES I run it balanced and get 1200mw. it's better to have more power with Planars.
However when I run it out of my Hugo 2 directly I get 768mw Single Ended and it's so pure sounding I really love it. So it's not all about power, but power is a factor. Sometimes I think people over-emphasize it tho. I mean there's amps out there that run incredible amount of watts into headphones, stuff that far exceeds what the manufacturer suggests.

Just one of the many variables that influence how a headphone sounds.

I feel like sometimes people blame the headphone when the source chain is responsible. Especially people that don't have more than a single amp so they can't check sounds from different chains and compare and contrast.

Plus it just takes time to get experience with it, and then there's sometimes just an inexplicable "I liked it more out of this setup... but just today." X-factor.
That's kind of part of the whole burn in vs brain burn in thing as well.

Had a solid weekend of sounds.... cheers folks

 

[Thetaburn]

Exactly.

For example I use my Arya out of my tube amp and get 1300mw Single Ended with it's low resistance setting enabled.
but if I were to use it out of my TA-ZH1ES I'd only get 300mw Single Ended.
So out of the TA-ZH1ES I run it balanced and get 1200mw. it's better to have more power with Planars.
However when I run it out of my Hugo 2 directly I get 768mw Single Ended and it's so pure sounding I really love it. So it's not all about power, but power is a factor. Sometimes I think people over-emphasize it tho. I mean there's amps out there that run incredible amount of watts into headphones, stuff that far exceeds what the manufacturer suggests.

Just one of the many variables that influence how a headphone sounds.

I feel like sometimes people blame the headphone when the source chain is responsible. Especially people that don't have more than a single amp so they can't check sounds from different chains and compare and contrast.

Plus it just takes time to get experience with it, and then there's sometimes just an inexplicable "I liked it more out of this setup... but just today." X-factor.
That's kind of part of the whole burn in vs brain burn in thing as well.

Had a solid weekend of sounds.... cheers folks

A while back, I was using a Topping D50s to JDS Atom Amp to Arya v2. I remember thinking where is the 'wow' factor others were experiencing?

Only when I got the Ares2 and Singxer sa1 / Lyr3 hybrid tube amp did I experience the 'wow' factor, 3d holographic soundstage and etc.
Of course, there is better and more expensive gear but I am pretty content with the current setup.

 

[kRed]

I feel like sometimes people blame the headphone when the source chain is responsible. Especially people that don't have more than a single amp so they can't check sounds from different chains and compare and contrast.

I was convinced by some well known YouTube channels that amp didn't matter (as long as it gets loud enough) but somehow it didn't make sense. How could all that people get fooled by any damn company that sold something more than a entry level topping (it measures so well...)? I get some snake oil magic must be there, but all this much?

Then I started experimenting with my own gear, building multiple chains and oh boy, how wrong those channels are!

Yeah, maybe with some mobile friendly designed product the chain is less relevant (naming my Beyer 300R), but with Sundara 2020 it's pretty much night and day. And it's not gatekeeping, it's just the way this thing work.

 

[Tachyon88]

I guess some people buy amps to listen to headphones and others buy headphones to listen to amps ! ;p

 

[haasaaroni]

I guess some people buy amps to listen to headphones and others buy headphones to listen to amps ! ;p

Haha that’s how you know you’re deep in the rabbit hole. It’s not even about the music anymore

 

[Reputator]

I was convinced by some well known YouTube channels that amp didn't matter (as long as it gets loud enough) but somehow it didn't make sense. How could all that people get fooled by any damn company that sold something more than a entry level topping (it measures so well...)? I get some snake oil magic must be there, but all this much?

Then I started experimenting with my own gear, building multiple chains and oh boy, how wrong those channels are!

Yeah, maybe with some mobile friendly designed product the chain is less relevant (naming my Beyer 300R), but with Sundara 2020 it's pretty much night and day. And it's not gatekeeping, it's just the way this thing work.

Being an audiophile must be SO cheap for those types of people. Think of all the money they're saving! Since a Topping A30 measures better than a Burson Soloist 3XP, and soundstage, impact, detail and separation don't actually exist, you can just buy a Sundara and EQ it to be equal to a STAX SR-X9000, and laugh at all the chumps wasting their money!

 

[SwedishBass]

I'm listening to Periphery's "Reptile", and boy, what a stellar production it has, and how amazing these headphones recreate the lowest lows to the highest highs! Simply stunning.

 

[mformoriarty]

My Aryas v3 should arrive today. Patiently (not really) waiting for UPS.

 

[mformoriarty]

UPS delivered!

 

[SwedishBass]

Congrats! First impressions?