[antanast]

I read schiit jotunheim amps seem to be good (haven’t heared one myself though)

Im thinking more portable to connect to an iPhone.

 

[McCheese]

Im thinking more portable to connect to an iPhone.

Questyle M15 perhaps? People report that it doesn't work out of the box with the iPhone, but they say if you get the Lightning to USB3 camera adapter and then use the USB-A to USB-C cable to the M15 it should work. Your call of course if you want to go through all that trouble.

I've used the M15 with my Arya and it sounds pretty good off the balanced port and has plenty of volume.

 

[jjazzy]

I would try an mojo2 or ifi xdsd gryphon, with the ananda stealth they work (it is 103db 27 ohm, de arya stealtg you should try first, that one is 94db 32 ohm). With the gryphon the strongest 4.4 balanced 1000mw at 32 ohm, 6.7v

 

[sahmen]

Any suggestions for a good portable amp/dac? Anything that gives some good performance without having to spend 800$ (hint: mojo)

The ifi micro i-dsd Signature ed seems to have your name written all over it, but some prefer to call it transportable rather than simply portable:

By the way I got mine at Adorama for $500 during a sale, so if interested, you might want to look out for it. Amazon has a 9% off deal running on this unit as we speak:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LW4VZL...comp-feature-scomp-feature-scomp&ref=aa_scomp

if this signature ed option is too large or too "transportable" (as opposed to "portable") for your taste, then maybe one of these go bar options might be more up your alley:

The Cayun RU6 is also not a slouch as a dongle, but I do prefer the ifi gold bar by a slight margin

I do not think you will be disappointed with any of these three, although one could say I am biased. They all drive my Arya SE pretty well.

 

[antanast]

The ifi micro i-dsd Signature ed seems to have your name written all over it, but some prefer to call it transportable rather than simply portable:

By the way I got mine at Adorama for $500 during a sale, so if interested, you might want to look out for it. Amazon has a 9% off deal running on this unit as we speak:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LW4VZL...comp-feature-scomp-feature-scomp&ref=aa_scomp

if this signature ed option is too large or too "transportable" (as opposed to "portable") for your taste, then maybe one of these go bar options might be more up your alley:

The Cayun RU6 is also not a slouch as a dongle, but I do prefer the ifi gold bar by a slight margin

I do not think you will be disappointed with any of these three, although one could say I am biased. They all drive my Arya SE pretty well.

Thank you very much for such a detailed response.

Would the iFi Go Bar in your opinion perform better than the one I currently have (Fiio Q3 ESS)? What about the Chord Mojo USB? I found it second hand at about 150 USD.

 

[sahmen]

Thank you very much for such a detailed response.

Would the iFi Go Bar in your opinion perform better than the one I currently have (Fiio Q3 ESS)? What about the Chord Mojo USB? I found it second hand at about 150 USD.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with either the fiio or the Mojo, but this comparative review of the 2 go bar types and the mojo might interest you :

 

[cloudconnected]

Many other told me the Arya Stealth or v2 were better then the HE1000V2.
Why is that so?

 

[jjazzy]

Many other told me the Arya Stealth or v2 were better then the HE1000V2.
Why is that so?

Don’t know if it is better, the sound is different. So it is also a little bit personal preference which sound signature you prefer (regardless more detail or not)

 

[ezduzit2500]

Found this combo for $150

SCHIIT SYS + MODI 2 UBER + MAGNI 3​

Any thoughts?

If you have nothing right now - why not try it and see??? I have the Magni 3+ (discrete, vs the Heresy), and it's pretty decent when you feed it at least 2V from a DAC.

Could somebody give me hand in some advice. I just returned a pair of Ananda Stealth in combination with ifi xdsd gryphon, a little bright at times. But what annoyed me a lot was the pressure on my jaws.

Is the Arya more comfortable? and in what way does the Arya sound better. I missed a little warmth/smoothness in te sound, is that better in the Arya?

And is the ifi xdsd Gryphon Powerfull enough for the Arya? It was for the Ananda stealth.

I use it balanced 4.4 with a meze cable. The Gryphon has 1000mw on the balanced port

Where the Ananda is sort of "threadbare" - the Arya fills in what the Ananda merely hints at. The Arya has deeper, more textured, and more impactful bass; it has better realism, imaging, and layering; and it's a more complete "listening experience" compared to the Ananda - which sounds more like a simple HP. The Arya draws you into the music in a way that the Ananda doesn't quite muster.......

Could also be due to lack of proper Amp (A90) to drive Susvara

Probably this^^^........

OK.. I'm just asking because some are calling it the HE1000V2 Stealth but we haven't seen any official release saying there is going to be a V2 stealth.... so far we are seeing HE1000 Stealth.... there is a post over on reddit that shows pics of the new stealth version.... hifiman web site is also showing HE1000 Stealth for $1900.... this model could get very very close to the Susvara in sound sig and easier to drive... can't wait to see the reviews

HE-1000SE already has neodymium stealth magnets all-around, inside and out. The HE-1000v2 Stealth Magnets version is a new HP from HFM that's added to the HE-1000v2 family apart from the HE-1000SE......

I think a perfect DAC/AMP pairing with Aryva is a R2R. It gives Arya some more body/texture. Delta Sigma can make it sound harsh in the highs.

Depends on the amp, IMO.....

Does anyone know if the Topping DX5 has enough power to drive the non-stealth version of the Arya single ended?

I can't find the single-ended specs on the DX5 anywhere, but balanced it does 1.8W into 32ohms and 1W into 64ohms.

The non-stealth Arya has a sensitivity of 90dB and an impedance of 35ohms.

Using a headphone power calculator, to achieve 140dB (which I'm guessing is probably needed just for some headroom for quieter recordings) it looks like you would need 100W to drive the Arya to that level?

I'm guessing that the DX5's single-ended output is half as powerful as its balanced output (I know it's not always that simple) so it looks like it only outputs 0.9W single-ended into 35ohms when I need 100W?

For the V2, I wouldn't want to drive them with less than 2W BAL - they can suck up some current.......

Thanks. It sounded s**t because it was underpowered, or just because it was poor synergy/a bad sounding amp?

Both. Topping's IC based amps don't really gel to well with HFM planars. The Aryas thriiiive on discrete Class A amps, IMO......

So how about the Arya Stealth?

I actually sometimes get quite anoyed (not you reaction, I mean in general) by some reactions. Yes if you have unlimited budgets let’s buy this let’s buy that. Let’s buy thousands worth of headphone amps.

To give an example, I have eletrostatic speakers, connected to a high power musical fodelity pre and poweramp stereo amp. I also have own yamaha surround receiver. The first brings the full potential, yes 8 times the price. Now to the Yamaha receiver 1500 euro. It doesn’t mean it sounds crap connecting that one, it is not
Even close to day and night difference. No I can honestly even say that my 12000 euro combination, sound better but if I have to say fair, the yamaha surround receiver of 1500 make them sound really really nice too! Maybe not full potential but say at least 90 maybe even 95% of the first combination.

What I read here sometimes are real crap reactions towards people who try to find a affordable combination, because they like the hifiman sound, the airy quality (so not the sundara) but say a ananda stealth or arya stealth. And are happy with the 95% performance. They were happy beeing able to buy an arya. They don’t want to spend another 1000 for a amp, maybe don’t even have the money for it.

So don’t look down on those, no try to help those with a affordable combination to give them at least that 95% performance. Instead of starting of directly with 1000 euro and more amps for advice.

I bought my discrete Class A BAL amp from the used market (ie: Gustard H20) - for less than an OG Topping A90........

Can confirm about Amping v2 better. I have the recent Piety amp and that amp works better with my 580 and 6XX. Absolutely lovely with those cans but the Arya v2 sounded more refined and imo just well rounded and better on my E50 L50 topping stack. Been thinking about going up the chain to the E and L70 stack and calling it quits there with all that power and nice clean sound it provides. But yeah my Arya v2 sounded like itself much better on the L50 than the Piety. I even preferred the L50 to the Schiit Asgard.

Discrete Class A FTW!!! Shop used for great deals, IMO......

Before someone screams placebo; the apple dongle is a meme to me. It sounds very veiled, constrained and the amp in your phone won't cut for the Arya.
Im sure someone will state it gets loud If enough = good enough for me. Thats fine and dandy but after picking up my iFI Go Bar to pair my IEMs with after months of just using this dongle the difference is pretty notable.

Much cleaner sound and of course more current available from the Go Bar. My go to portable for my full sized cans is the iFI Diablo which pairs very nicely with the Arya.

I understand we all have different budgets and priorities but Im always amused when people blow so much on headphones just to undermine their experience with sub par electronics. We all have the right to enjoy what we have/can afford though so ultimately just have fun. =]

This^^^^!!! Hamstrung HPs and leaving A LOT of performance and SQ on the table......

This concept of amps needing headroom for headphones to sound good has never made sense to me. Power is volume, period. If it's loud enough, then it's getting enough power.

"Headroom" is there to give planar HPs proper bass dynamics. "Loud enough" is okay until a song with deep, impactful bass comes on - then you'll have wimpy, lean bass if not any bass impact at all. IOW, what's "loud enough" won't be powerful enough when the power for proper bass is needed......

 

[McCheese]

Next time use this.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Analogies aren't going to work here. Explain with physics.

Why is power that's not being used significant in any way?

Your music has the dynamic range built into it already (or it doesn't and no amplifier will help you with that). The headroom is already there if you can get to listening volume. That's because the room for dynamic range is everything *below* your listening volume. What you're trying to claim is that an amplifier requires transient power vastly in excess of continuous listening power. If these amps were actually using this headroom you so venerate none of you would have eardrums left.

Music isn't sine waves and is always moving and peaking.......

Next time use this.

Noted.....

 

[LepakVT]

After a lot of indecision, I finally placed an order yesterday evening for the Arya SE to ring in the New Year! Over the last two months, I purchased the Edition XS and LCD-X (2021, b-stock) but ended up returning both. I preferred the sound signature of the Edition XS but the headband was not comfortable with my smaller head. I would get a hot spot at the top of my head within an hour of listening and additional headband padding didn't solve the issue either.

I currently have the Drop+THX AAA One Linear amplifier. Reading through this thread, it seems like it's not an ideal match with the Arya SE so I am thinking about upgrading my amp as well. For my setup, I frequently switch over to the desktop speakers for content that doesn't require much attention (background noise ... tv shows, YouTube, sports) so a physical switch on the front of the unit to swap between HP out and Preamp out is a must, which is why I picked up the AAA One. I think the Jotunheim 2 leaves the HP out on all the time which isn't ideal for me. Is there anything in the same price ballpark as Jot2 that has what I'm looking for and will be better for the Arya SE than AAA One?

 

[jjazzy]

For the V2, I wouldn't want to drive them with less than 2W BAL - they can suck up some current.......

Would you say the arya v3 stealth would sound nice with 1000mw- 32ohm you have to start somewhere (I am not a loud listener, 95% jazz/ old blues).

Lot of people mention, you need stronger amp, but spending 1500 voor a headphone and right away another 1000 for the amp is hard to sell in the house

 

[McCheese]

Music isn't sine waves and is always moving and peaking.......

Power is still volume. Your music peaks at 0 dBFS and your average loudness is not going to be far below that. As I said earlier, if your amplifier is actually pushing such power excursions to your headphones, you'd have blown your eardrums out.

I see people here talking about feeding into Arya with amps that deliver 2 watts of power. That's 127 dB SPL according to the Arya's sensitivity specification. I wasn't kidding about the eardrums.

You're not using that amount of power. Not even at peaks. Stop deluding yourselves into thinking you need extremely powerful amps.

 

[cgb3]

To anybody thinking you gonna get a better of everything upgrading to Susvara.

Susvara wont match the open beautiful highs of Aryas. No matter the amp. Its emphasized on mids, very elegant beautiful mids.

Arya is just more spacious(live performances) because it is literally bigger(physically). Susvara is more focused upfront.

Im considering downgrading because of the form factor. Arya is just better on my head.

Yes you are going to get more details in the mid. But its not worth the price vs Arya. Get Susvara under 4000 dollars.

Here is a song to test:

Michael Jackson - Don’t stop ‘Til You Get Enough.



Susvara can not simply reproduce these highs. Its magic on AryaV2

Buy Susvara as side grade not upgrade

You had me until "Michael Jackson".

No kiddie rapers... ever.

Maybe tell me the virtues of Bill Cosby's comedy.