[OCC7N]

Changing the pads was nerve wracking because I read you can damage the headphones if you aren't careful and they are an expensive toy to break. I followed this video and gently but firmly pulled up with no twisting or turning, just straight up and they popped off. For the record I got the official pads I don't like Dekoni pads they ruined my LCD2:


I couldn't get the new pads on at first and realized I wasn't using enough force because I was so afraid of breaking them. I was more firm and I managed to clip them in. Just go slow and careful and you should be ok.

Also holy crap they sound so much better, the old pads were in terrible shape. They sounded so bright before, now the bass is on point.

Thanks! So you got the stock pads?

 

[Svperstar]

Thanks! So you got the stock pads?

Yes, I got the current pads they sell for the Arya off hifiman.com

 

[dan3952]

Man, you said you had experience with amps which had op amps AND Switch mode ps.
How can you talk with such confidence? that discrete is better when your amps are completely different in every way possible including power supply.
Op amps is more accurate, discrete is more colored. No discrete circuitry gonna match best op amps performance, they are not used in amps much cause they cant deliver much power.
Cant see why dacs for example need discrete stage besides creating some sort of coloration. Not saying that coloration is bad, its just preference thing.
Sorry for offtopic guys.

You had deliberately spread misinformation in much the same manner as the person you had criticized

 

[dan3952]

Why its all to do with class a or ab or this other nonsense?
There are enough information that power supply is biggest difference maker.
From, Ferrum oor and hypsos to Chord Dave and its aftermarket power supplies to MSB additional power supply.
You cant compare different dac or amp with completely different power supplies and decided that circuitry is all that matters.
This is narrow minded thinking as from ASR folks.

There is little information "that power supply is biggest difference maker". Most aftermarket power supplies are a complete and utter waste of money. They sell mainly because the neither salespeople or the buyers, are well versed in electrical engineering (but, think they know so much more than the electrical engineers who had designed the circuit in the first place). People, can start by reading the data sheets for all of the ICs on their board, to figure out if their power supply is up to snuff. Most of DAC chips, can take between 4.8 volts and 5.2 volts, making ripple not worth worrying about. People can put their gear on an oscilloscope, and see noise, but still can't prove that any of it is audible, in most cases.

 

[OCC7N]

R2R + Arya = are meant to be!

dS dacs are boring with Arya. Arya becomes more alive with R2R dac.

 

[Svperstar]

R2R + Arya = are meant to be!

dS dacs are boring with Arya. Arya becomes more alive with R2R dac.

Arya sounds pretty good out of my RME ADI-2 in either NOS or Brickwall filter mode.

 

[OCC7N]

Arya sounds pretty good out of my RME ADI-2 in either NOS or Brickwall filter mode.

Im only amazed of the highs on that dac. It really is crystal/glass like with iFi Elite psu, which do adds some lowend to the ADI2

 

[Svperstar]

Im only amazed of the highs on that dac. It really is crystal/glass like with iFi Elite psu, which do adds some lowend to the ADI2

I have no custom PSUs for my gear. When I got into the hobby power conditioners were starting to become all the rage, in 2023 they don't seem popular. Perhaps they will come back.

Funny back then people said plugging a DAC/amp directly into the wall was using "dirty power". People don't seem to talk like that anymore.

I paid I think $150 for this Belkin in I think 2006? It has 4 power jacks for filtering audio and I always plug my DACs into those jacks. Long since discontinued but still on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-AP211...000637RMU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Vijay74]

Checked with Supercharger for Burson Soloist 3XP but unfortunately its still no. Soloist seems to have power and punch but clarity is missing. Without Supercharge it was worse on clarity; after super charge it became bad on clarity! For me Singxer SA1 it is as amp. I feel it is better than A90 and Soloist 3XP with RME/Qutest/E30 and Arya v2.

Next plan to check the chain with DDC.

Checked with Singxer SU1 DDC.

DDC Chain: PC with Equalizer APO EQ -> USB->Singxer SU1 -> BNC -> Qutest -> RCA-> Singxer SA1 -> Arya v2
Comparison chain: PC with Equalizer APO EQ ->USB->RME ADI 2 DAC -> XLR -> Singxer SA1 -> Arya v2

It did seem to make changes to Qutest output but when compared to RME output, RME still sounded equally/marginally better to me with SA1!

I think RME is solid DAC in itself but needs Amp depending on HP used. RME + Singxer SA1 combo seems a great combo to me.

Next, plan to check the chain with Linear Power Supply!

Also will try the chain with HeKSE. I think HeKSE upgrade should be worth it... compared to device upgrades Let's see ...

 

[Svperstar]

I think RME is solid DAC in itself but needs Amp depending on HP used. RME + Singxer SA1 combo seems a great combo to me.

The only can I have that makes my RME work is my Arya v2(I think v2 I got it in summer 2020). I keep the SP200 hooked up balanced just for that. It sounds the same on the RME but there is way more knob left on the SP200 High Gain then the RME on Extreme Power.

 

[NikTe]

R2R + Arya = are meant to be!

dS dacs are boring with Arya. Arya becomes more alive with R2R dac.

I replaced my Audio-GD ref.10 (a very good amp, refined and powerful but a little polite) with a Burson Soloist 3xp to give Arya more punch and presence. Arya is a low impedance device needs fast current in transients. With the Soloist this can gain liveliness in the lows and mids.

 

[OCC7N]

I replaced my Audio-GD ref.10 (a very good amp, refined and powerful but a little polite) with a Burson Soloist 3xp to give Arya more punch and presence. Arya is a low impedance device needs fast current in transients. With the Soloist this can gain liveliness in the lows and mids.

What did you use for dac for the AGD?

 

[SeifemitCola]

Let us know your feedback with new r2r dac.

My new DAC arrived yesterday (holo audio spring 1 kte).
My chain at the moment consists of:
spring (mostly in NOS) -> a90 -> arya v2
The dac that I used previously was a smsl su9 and my complaint originally was, that my chain sounded to bright, bordering sibilance on some occasions.
So let's start with that point: While the DAC wasn't warmed up It sounded fairly bright and odd, but that's before giving it half a day to settle in.
During that time bass and mid presence improved a lot - I don't have to drive my headphones as hard to get the same degree in bass detail leaving the treble more tamed and resulting in the headphones sounding fuller overall.
But that's not the thing that amazed me the most: the soundstage got wider and the dynamics and the timbre improved A LOT resulting in the music sounding much more tangible than before.
I very much like the change in my setup for now. I am looking forward to do a comparative listening session with a friend of mine on the upcoming weekend.

 

[dan3952]

I have no custom PSUs for my gear. When I got into the hobby power conditioners were starting to become all the rage, in 2023 they don't seem popular. Perhaps they will come back.

Funny back then people said plugging a DAC/amp directly into the wall was using "dirty power". People don't seem to talk like that anymore.

I paid I think $150 for this Belkin in I think 2006? It has 4 power jacks for filtering audio and I always plug my DACs into those jacks. Long since discontinued but still on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-AP211...000637RMU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

The first step for anyone, should be studying the data sheets for the decoder, DAC, and op amps that are present for their specific DAC. Idea being, figuring just how clean the power has to be for the given application. The TI Burr Brown 1795s I used to have in a Musical Fidelity MX-DAC, for example, can tolerate between 4.8 volts and 5.2 volts: so, reducing ripple would be of little value in that case. I personally, would be using an oscilloscope to study just how dirty the power really is, at the input pins to the ICs, before going any further with mods. There's lots of things people can do to improve the power supply in what they have, before getting a new one. My SMSL SU-9n probably has a switching power supply, I can tell by how small it is. It sounds so good, that, I do not think, for a minute, think that putting in a linear one, would improve the sound. There are things people can do, to lower noise, in any application. You can order all sorts of things for under $100 off of Digikey (like snubber capacitors, and anti EMI foil). I cannot say if the real or imagined noise reduction would be audible, either.

 

[ezduzit2500]

My new DAC arrived yesterday (holo audio spring 1 kte).
My chain at the moment consists of:
spring (mostly in NOS) -> a90 -> arya v2
The dac that I used previously was a smsl su9 and my complaint originally was, that my chain sounded to bright, bordering sibilance on some occasions.
So let's start with that point: While the DAC wasn't warmed up It sounded fairly bright and odd, but that's before giving it half a day to settle in.
During that time bass and mid presence improved a lot - I don't have to drive my headphones as hard to get the same degree in bass detail leaving the treble more tamed and resulting in the headphones sounding fuller overall.
But that's not the thing that amazed me the most: the soundstage got wider and the dynamics and the timbre improved A LOT resulting in the music sounding much more tangible than before.
I very much like the change in my setup for now. I am looking forward to do a comparative listening session with a friend of mine on the upcoming weekend.

I have the SU-9 also - and have tried the OG A90. The best thing I did for my chain's brightness, timbre, and tonality - was to send back the A90 and replace it with a used discrete Class A amp (Gustard H20). It only cost me $475 used at the time - about the same price as a new A90 - but the H20 crushes it w/ the Arya. No more harsh brightness unless the music is recorded or mastered poorly, with real soundstage depth too......