[NikTe]

What did you use for dac for the AGD?

Ini

What did you use for dac for the AGD?

In the beginning when i used the HD650, I used the audio-gd internal dac (Ladder pcm1704 OSx8) then Audio-gd was changed by factory to NOS mode. More natural sound, more dynamic and with tracks at 44100Hz slightly descending at high frequencies. Then i bought a DT880 and the ARYA and joined to the audio-gd an ANK 4.1 DAC (ladder AD1865 NOS tube output) my current DAC.

Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO​

 

[malenak]

Is there someone who can compare these with Empyrean? Or with HE6se V2. I tried them, but I would like to hear what others thinks about if my findings are similar. Thanks.

 

[Ichos]

Is there someone who can compare these with Empyrean? Or with HE6se V2. I tried them, but I would like to hear what others thinks about if my findings are similar. Thanks.

They are very opposite sounding.
The Empyrean is thick and warm with slightly emphasized bass and mid-bass and smooth treble when the Arya Stealth is reference neutral with slightly emphasized treble and more lean and dry on the texture.

 

[malenak]

They are very opposite sounding.
The Empyrean is thick and warm with slightly emphasized bass and mid-bass and smooth treble when the Arya Stealth is reference neutral with slightly emphasized treble and more lean and dry on the texture.

From these two, which one do you think has better bass quality in terms of speed, resolution and "visceral attack"?

 

[Ichos]

From these two, which one do you think has better bass quality in terms of speed, resolution and "visceral attack"?

The Arya covers the first two and the Empyrean the third!!

 

[malenak]

The Arya covers the first two and the Empyrean the third!!

I have quite similar experience. What amazes me on Empyrean, firstly it sounded like Arya Stealth has bigger soundstage than Empyrean. Actually more taller than wide comparing to Empy. But it depends on the song. Where Arya soundstage width and height sounds very simillar on each song, Empyrean soundstage change with each track. Once the stage is small and narrow, but when song ask for it, then it is huge. And the depth, width and height of soundstage sounds more real for me, than on Arya, despite their bigger drivers.

 

[enz0pt]

Someone here tried the Aryas SE with the Gustard H16? what are you impression on that amp?

 

[SeifemitCola]

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......

That's the next thing, that I'll try and tweak. I have not yet had the opertunity to try out many different headphone amps. As I said the change in DAC already made a massive improvement so I guess one could go either way in improving the chain(?).
I need to get another point of reference for amps though, to varify if either way has a larger impact. But imo su9 + a90 does really not pair well with the Arya.

 

[ezduzit2500]

That's the next thing, that I'll try and tweak. I have not yet had the opertunity to try out many different headphone amps. As I said the change in DAC already made a massive improvement so I guess one could go either way in improving the chain(?).
I need to get another point of reference for amps though, to varify if either way has a larger impact. But imo su9 + a90 does really not pair well with the Arya.

But imo su9 + a90 does really not pair well with the Arya.

For me it was totally on the A90 not pairing well due to it's IC based topology. Once I switched to my cheaper discrete Class AB amps (Emotiva A-100, Schiit Magni 3+), the timbre, naturalness, and soundstage depth either got better or fully returned. It wasn't even that close, IMO, especially with the Arya V2......

 

[ezduzit2500]

Someone here tried the Aryas SE with the Gustard H16? what are you impression on that amp?

I've got the H20. Gustard's house sound is punchy and revealing yet not too bright/harsh. I think you'll be good - it's Class A and a discrete/IC hybrid. Plus, R2R volume with remote - FTW....

 

[Schuie Driver]

I'm such an idiot........just realized I posted the below in the Ananda thread when I meant to post it here.

So I recently traded up my b-stock Ananda stealth edition for some open box Arya stealth edition through HFM and they finally arrived this week. Having falling in love with the Ananda so quickly and reading so many positive reviews of the Ayra, I thought that an upgrade to the Arya would just provide me even more of the Ananda goodness, but now I'm not so sure. Playing the Arya via Qobuz -> Eastern Electric Minimax DAC -> Burson Soloist. The Soloist was a recent upgrade from an OG Schiit Magni and the Ananda's had never been played through it so maybe some of what I'm hearing is due to that change as well and I do plan to try the Arya on the Magni as well soon. All listening is done without any EQ being applied and I'm all over the map in terms of what I like to listen to musically.
Initially, I felt like there was something potentially wrong with the Arya when they first arrived as the bass was not very impressive, the highs were a little piercing and the midrange seemed recessed. After maybe 8 hours of listening with the Arya, that impression changed though as the bass became much more noticeable and it felt like the sound just opened up more. (Not sure if this is due to just becoming more accustomed to the sound of the headphone in general or some sort of mechanical "burn in" happening.) Probably have 40 hours on them now and here are my pros and cons vs Ananda so far keeping in mind I'm not nearly as good as many of you when trying to explain what I'm hearing.

Pros:
-Better comfort than Ananda with the ear cups having the ability to swivel. (At least on my head anyway.) Ananda clamp at times was a bit much on my jaw.
-Deeper bass than Ananda. It really can at times feel like you are listening to a subwoofer for as low as these seem to play and sometimes the bass presents like this HUGE wall.
-More bass impact than Ananda. Having listened to the Audeze LCD-X recently as well they are not in the same league as those, but it's more noticeable over Ananda.
-Easier to pick out individual instruments in the music mix vs. Ananda. If you want to focus on a particular instrument being played within a band this makes it much easier.
-Soundstage seems a smidge wider, but I'd say they are fairly close. (This is one of the reasons I really enjoy HFM.......the presentation is so different from my previous headphones in that it feels more like listening to speakers and not just music shot directly into your ear canal.)

Cons:
-Cost vs. Ananda
-The treble presented at times feels a little shrill vs. Ananda. Couple of wince moments through tracks which I don't recall experiencing with Ananda.
-The recessed midrange I spoke of earlier. Now I'm realizing it's not so much recessed as it's more that both the treble and the bass has increased over the Ananda and so the midrange feels less prominent in the overall mix.
-My largest con so far is that I feel like the presentation through the Ayra is a bit more "dry" than the Ananda for lack of a better term. I feel less emotionally engaged to the music despite there being more information presented. Hoping that perhaps with further burn in this will change or perhaps my listening sessions so far I've just not had the right frame of mind to sink into the music.

I'd be curious if any of you may have felt the same way about the perceived sense of loss of engagement to the music with the Arya vs Ananda if you also made the upgrade

 

[PlanarBunny]

I'm such an idiot........just realized I posted the below in the Ananda thread when I meant to post it here.

So I recently traded up my b-stock Ananda stealth edition for some open box Arya stealth edition through HFM and they finally arrived this week. Having falling in love with the Ananda so quickly and reading so many positive reviews of the Ayra, I thought that an upgrade to the Arya would just provide me even more of the Ananda goodness, but now I'm not so sure. Playing the Arya via Qobuz -> Eastern Electric Minimax DAC -> Burson Soloist. The Soloist was a recent upgrade from an OG Schiit Magni and the Ananda's had never been played through it so maybe some of what I'm hearing is due to that change as well and I do plan to try the Arya on the Magni as well soon. All listening is done without any EQ being applied and I'm all over the map in terms of what I like to listen to musically.
Initially, I felt like there was something potentially wrong with the Arya when they first arrived as the bass was not very impressive, the highs were a little piercing and the midrange seemed recessed. After maybe 8 hours of listening with the Arya, that impression changed though as the bass became much more noticeable and it felt like the sound just opened up more. (Not sure if this is due to just becoming more accustomed to the sound of the headphone in general or some sort of mechanical "burn in" happening.) Probably have 40 hours on them now and here are my pros and cons vs Ananda so far keeping in mind I'm not nearly as good as many of you when trying to explain what I'm hearing.

Pros:
-Better comfort than Ananda with the ear cups having the ability to swivel. (At least on my head anyway.) Ananda clamp at times was a bit much on my jaw.
-Deeper bass than Ananda. It really can at times feel like you are listening to a subwoofer for as low as these seem to play and sometimes the bass presents like this HUGE wall.
-More bass impact than Ananda. Having listened to the Audeze LCD-X recently as well they are not in the same league as those, but it's more noticeable over Ananda.
-Easier to pick out individual instruments in the music mix vs. Ananda. If you want to focus on a particular instrument being played within a band this makes it much easier.
-Soundstage seems a smidge wider, but I'd say they are fairly close. (This is one of the reasons I really enjoy HFM.......the presentation is so different from my previous headphones in that it feels more like listening to speakers and not just music shot directly into your ear canal.)

Cons:
-Cost vs. Ananda
-The treble presented at times feels a little shrill vs. Ananda. Couple of wince moments through tracks which I don't recall experiencing with Ananda.
-The recessed midrange I spoke of earlier. Now I'm realizing it's not so much recessed as it's more that both the treble and the bass has increased over the Ananda and so the midrange feels less prominent in the overall mix.
-My largest con so far is that I feel like the presentation through the Ayra is a bit more "dry" than the Ananda for lack of a better term. I feel less emotionally engaged to the music despite there being more information presented. Hoping that perhaps with further burn in this will change or perhaps my listening sessions so far I've just not had the right frame of mind to sink into the music.

I'd be curious if any of you may have felt the same way about the perceived sense of loss of engagement to the music with the Arya vs Ananda if you also made the upgrade

I don't have Ananda, other headphones I own are HD580, HD600, HD6XX, and Focal Elex.

When it comes to first putting on my Arya, it definitely takes a bit of time to get used to, especially if your brain and ears are more used to the tuning of another headphone. Once you do get used to the Arya after a while, it's like, oh. OH. Okay this is why I'm in love with this thing. Over time it unveils itself and it's honestly a real special headphone. I have the Arya v2 but tbh any version will bring something special to your collection. If I want better midrange, my Sennheisers and Focal Elex are right there, but the Arya does a lot of other things that I love anyways so it's okay. And yes I feel that the treble at times was a bit much but it kinda depends on what you're listening to. Sometimes it sounds perfectly fine and other times it feels like there's something wrong like, oh am I not powering these enough? Should I buy another amp? Nah you're not tripping, it definitely does have that Hifiman treble. But it's easily taken care of with EQ or new pads or a certain synergy with your dac and amp with your Arya. Schiit amps usually pair really nicely with the Arya as from personal experience, I use my Modi+ and Asgard 3 with my Arya v2 and it works wonderfully. I also use the Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads and it's extremely comfortable, and sound-wise doesn't impact it in a negative way. I know for sure that if these pads deflate badly in several years, depending on how much I use the Arya, I'll definitely be on the lookout for another pair of Dekoni Hybrid pads again!

Also yeah as far as engagement, the Arya feels like a bit more laid back as opposed to aggressive or visceral, which is what I'd recommend a Focal Elex for if you want that impact and dynamic sound. The Arya soundstage and resolution is crazy nice though. And wonderful bass extension, it doesn't sound bass-light, just not as punchy and dynamic. In return though, you do get really great soundstage. Arya has this really good ability of making music sound "big" and "grand." It's definitely my favorite headphone for gaming. Playing Bloodborne or Elden Ring or FFXIV is always such a treat with cans that have big soundstage. Also another point, yeah imaging and layering is incredible with the Arya. Very easy to pick and dissect music when you're listening to it, it's a ton of fun. It's definitely up to you if you wanna go back to Ananda or stick it out with Arya. I'd say give the Arya more time till you decide to go back to Ananda.

 

[NikTe]

I don't have Ananda, other headphones I own are HD580, HD600, HD6XX, and Focal Elex.

When it comes to first putting on my Arya, it definitely takes a bit of time to get used to, especially if your brain and ears are more used to the tuning of another headphone. Once you do get used to the Arya after a while, it's like, oh. OH. Okay this is why I'm in love with this thing. Over time it unveils itself and it's honestly a real special headphone. I have the Arya v2 but tbh any version will bring something special to your collection. If I want better midrange, my Sennheisers and Focal Elex are right there, but the Arya does a lot of other things that I love anyways so it's okay. And yes I feel that the treble at times was a bit much but it kinda depends on what you're listening to. Sometimes it sounds perfectly fine and other times it feels like there's something wrong like, oh am I not powering these enough? Should I buy another amp? Nah you're not tripping, it definitely does have that Hifiman treble. But it's easily taken care of with EQ or new pads or a certain synergy with your dac and amp with your Arya. Schiit amps usually pair really nicely with the Arya as from personal experience, I use my Modi+ and Asgard 3 with my Arya v2 and it works wonderfully. I also use the Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads and it's extremely comfortable, and sound-wise doesn't impact it in a negative way. I know for sure that if these pads deflate badly in several years, depending on how much I use the Arya, I'll definitely be on the lookout for another pair of Dekoni Hybrid pads again!

Also yeah as far as engagement, the Arya feels like a bit more laid back as opposed to aggressive or visceral, which is what I'd recommend a Focal Elex for if you want that impact and dynamic sound. The Arya soundstage and resolution is crazy nice though. And wonderful bass extension, it doesn't sound bass-light, just not as punchy and dynamic. In return though, you do get really great soundstage. Arya has this really good ability of making music sound "big" and "grand." It's definitely my favorite headphone for gaming. Playing Bloodborne or Elden Ring or FFXIV is always such a treat with cans that have big soundstage. Also another point, yeah imaging and layering is incredible with the Arya. Very easy to pick and dissect music when you're listening to it, it's a ton of fun. It's definitely up to you if you wanna go back to Ananda or stick it out with Arya. I'd say give the Arya more time till you decide to go back to Ananda.

I agree with you on the sound of the Arya, my suggestion for tuning the Arya is:

I use Schiit Loky mini+ EQ setting bass 20Hz band to +5db. This is very important with rock music. The insertion of the Loky is almost transparent and with little expense gives you the ability to make adjustments to the overall tone of all headphones to suit your ear.

Burson Soloist 3X (my amp): replace the volume Vivid OPAs with SParkos Labs SS3602. It's a slight tweak to make the Aryas less aggressive in the low-treble range.

​

 

[kRed]

Always felt EQ takes out the magic of a well tuned, detailed headphone.

I don't mind EQ a bit something like my R70X, which doesn't have anything special to start with, so you are not losing that much.

But with stuff like the Arya... I don't know, it always feel weird and fake, probably because I'm used the stock FR and it sounds off if I eq.

If I want more bass weight and presence I just reach for another headphone.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I'd be curious if any of you may have felt the same way about the perceived sense of loss of engagement to the music with the Arya vs Ananda if you also made the upgrade

It is not always about being win/lose, how about change the perception, Ananda and Arya need different system to synergise well. I can understand about your impression, but with some tube amp like Cayin HA-3A, Arya has big win over Ananda (at least for me). The transparency, expansive soundstage, extension treble & bass, imaging structure, and richness in texture, all of them better with Arya.

I'm not really a fan of pairing Arya with SS amp, while Ananda, may sound great even from small SS amp.