[jody2k]

I sold the Arya Stealth a few weeks ago and I've been missing them ever since. I thought owning the HE1000 V2 was going to be enough but something about the Arya Stealth really grabbed my attention in a way that most headphones that I've owned and sold haven't.

I pulled the trigger on buying an Arya Stealth today. I missed not having one so much that I sold my Radiance for it.

Can't wait until they arrive!

What exactly did you miss compared with your H1000 V2? They are non stealth probably?

 

[Kevintj604]

What exactly did you miss compared with your H1000 V2? They are non stealth probably?

I owned the HE1000V2 Stealth before I bought my current HE1000 V2. I absolutely hated the HEKV2 Stealth.

HiFiMan ruined a great headphone in my opinion. The HEKV2 Stealth has ALOT more treble energy in 12K. Really sibilant for me. They also eliminated the sound stage and ruined the midrange.

The HE1000 V2 is quite a bit warmer with much more natural timbre and a massive soundstage. I absolutely love them.

The Arya Stealth has a tad more treble emphasis but smaller stage and less warmth. I really like its tonality though and it’s tuned incredibly balanced especially for the price.

I think they are different enough in a collection to own both.

 

[Lightspeed12]

I sold the Arya Stealth a few weeks ago and I've been missing them ever since. I thought owning the HE1000 V2 was going to be enough but something about the Arya Stealth really grabbed my attention in a way that most headphones that I've owned and sold haven't.

I pulled the trigger on buying an Arya Stealth today. I missed not having one so much that I sold my Radiance for it.

Can't wait until they arrive!

You didn't want to wait for the arya organic just in case it is in fact an improvement on the arya stealth ?
I am not sure what to do as a arya stealth two months old, unwanted gift has come up forsale really cheap but if what they say about the organic is true I would rather buy that new.
I have the ananda bluetooth which I really like but haven't heard the arya & where I live i have to blind buy my headphones as the audio shops are about a days drive away just to get to them.

 

[szore]

I sold the Arya Stealth a few weeks ago and I've been missing them ever since. I thought owning the HE1000 V2 was going to be enough but something about the Arya Stealth really grabbed my attention in a way that most headphones that I've owned and sold haven't.

I pulled the trigger on buying an Arya Stealth today. I missed not having one so much that I sold my Radiance for it.

Can't wait until they arrive!

Wow, that's a pretty high recomendation...

 

[Kevintj604]

You didn't want to wait for the arya organic just in case it is in fact an improvement on the arya stealth ?
I am not sure what to do as a arya stealth two months old, unwanted gift has come up forsale really cheap but if what they say about the organic is true I would rather buy that new.
I have the ananda bluetooth which I really like but haven't heard the arya & where I live i have to blind buy my headphones as the audio shops are about a days drive away just to get to them.

Nah. If the Organic is THAT good I can sell the Stealth and buy one then. I haven't heard any early glowing impressions from Munich High End so I'm not holding my breath.

 

[szore]

My new Arya has 60 hours on it and it is burning in nicely...still a tad bright but I like that after just owning the darkish lcd-X. Instruments sound really natural...listening to the guitar intro to the song summer breeze...so natural and lifelike, very nice...

 

[Tada]

I owned the HE1000V2 Stealth before I bought my current HE1000 V2. I absolutely hated the HEKV2 Stealth.

HiFiMan ruined a great headphone in my opinion. The HEKV2 Stealth has ALOT more treble energy in 12K. Really sibilant for me. They also eliminated the sound stage and ruined the midrange.

The HE1000 V2 is quite a bit warmer with much more natural timbre and a massive soundstage. I absolutely love them.

The Arya Stealth has a tad more treble emphasis but smaller stage and less warmth. I really like its tonality though and it’s tuned incredibly balanced especially for the price.

I think they are different enough in a collection to own both.

I agree with your take on the HEK Stealth. I did not like them either. They were too fatiguing and mid-forward. I'm also selling a newly acquired (though used) HEKSE. They were too analytical and thin-sounding in my opinion. The HEKV2 is my favorite HE1000.

Out of the egg-shaped Hifiman's, a close second to the HEKV2 would be the Arya V2. I never had the chance to listen to the Arya Stealth but some folks say they are similar to the HEKSE in tuning, so maybe Stealth magnet drivers are not for me either.

Do you EQ your headphones btw?

 

[Derek Dean]

Just got the shipping notice for the Arya Organic, should arrive on or around next Thursday : )

 

[Ficcion2]

The HEKv3 is indeed bright. I have my Arya SE in its box now ready for a local sale (that hopefully goes thru).

What music are you guys referring when stating it's sibilant/bright? As someone who mostly listens to jazz/blues/orchestral (think Pat Metheny, Weather Report, Nobuo Uematsu, etc) the HEKv3 is amazing and is better than the Arya SE for those genres IMO due to forward sound that renders strings, brass and wind instruments with a closer to life-like timbre.

Mind you; the Arya is no slouch and Im only selling it to recoup funds. That and the HEKv3 is mostly on my head everyday.
Never heard the HEKv2 but apparently the soundstage is something else. I find the HEKv3 to be almost concert hall like and the Arya SE is only a step or two behind.

 

[Kevintj604]

I agree with your take on the HEK Stealth. I did not like them either. They were too fatiguing and mid-forward. I'm also selling a newly acquired (though used) HEKSE. They were too analytical and thin-sounding in my opinion. The HEKV2 is my favorite HE1000.

Out of the egg-shaped Hifiman's, a close second to the HEKV2 would be the Arya V2. I never had the chance to listen to the Arya Stealth but some folks say they are similar to the HEKSE in tuning, so maybe Stealth magnet drivers are not for me either.

Do you EQ your headphones btw?

Nope. I'm part of the No EQ Gang.

I'm not necessarily against it but I'm part of an all Apple ecosystem in my home and Peace EQ isn't available on a Mac.

I also firmly believe to EQ properly you need to measure your exact set of headphones as I've experienced quite a lot of headphone unit variance and I don't own any measurement gear. Nor do I want to.

I think a lot of reviewers don't talk enough about the music and I enjoy music way more than the science behind frequency response.

I agree with you that HE1000V2 Non-Stealth is the most complete HE1000.

 

[Tada]

What music are you guys referring when stating it's sibilant/bright? A

Mostly female vocals. And yes, the HEK Stealth were awesome for string instruments.

 

[Tada]

Nope. I'm part of the No EQ Gang.

I'm not necessarily against it but I'm part of an all Apple ecosystem in my home and Peace EQ isn't available on a Mac.

I also firmly believe to EQ properly you need to measure your exact set of headphones as I've experienced quite a lot of headphone unit variance and I don't own any measurement gear. Nor do I want to.

I think a lot of reviewers don't talk enough about the music and I enjoy music way more than the science behind frequency response.

I agree with you that HE1000V2 Non-Stealth is the most complete HE1000.

I see, one of the things that make the HEKV2 great is it's chameleon-like character of being the most neutral Hifiman while taking EQ very well. This may not concern you as it seems you have multiple headphones in your arsenal, but my current approach is to have multiple EQ presets for different genres. For certain tracks like EDM/house, I add a bass shelf of 7-8dB@100Hz and it makes the HEKV2 slam very hard.

I do reference measurements online and EQ accordingly as a starting point, but I deviate quite a bit with my presets. I know that EQ will color the music but it's for my enjoyment and I don't care if it's accurate or not.

 

[Kevintj604]

I see, one of the things that make the HEKV2 great is it's chameleon-like character of being the most neutral Hifiman while taking EQ very well. This may not concern you as it seems you have multiple headphones in your arsenal, but my current approach is to have multiple EQ presets for different genres. For certain tracks like EDM/house, I add a bass shelf of 7-8dB@100Hz and it makes the HEKV2 slam very hard.

I do reference measurements online and EQ accordingly as a starting point, but I deviate quite a bit with my presets. I know that EQ will color the music but it's for my enjoyment and I don't care if it's accurate or not.

I agree with you and if I had just a couple headphones and a PC with Peace I’d probably have multiple EQ presets as well.

Unfortunately I’m a bit obsessed with the hobby and have explored through roughly 30 or so different headphones in the four years I’ve been in the community. I know basically exactly what I’m looking for in what I would call a complete collection and I’m working towards that goal. I’m in a weird point in the journey where I don’t really see a need to hop up to the Summit-Fi or End Game level. But I’m kind of out of options underneath where I’m at.

The HE1000V2 compliment the Arya Stealth very nicely especially with the source gear that I have so it gives me more genre pairings to play around with. As opposed to using EQ I use source equipment to find a good synergy and different headphones with their own playlists to find good fits.

 

[Tada]

EQ has it's merits but it can't change the inherit sound signature of a headphone, so your approach of having a collection of gear is the right way to truly enjoy this hobby. Unfortunately I don't have the resources (money) to pursue that option. I'm done trying out Summit-Fi headphones as well. Most of them just thin out the mid and upper registers to squeeze out details for the 'Hi-Fi' sound. For now I'm quite content with the HE1000V2 and TH900 pairing.

Sorry for going off-topic. Stopped by because I'm curious about the new Arya Organic.

 

[ezduzit2500]

P.S. Not sure if it was just a bad day, but the HE1000 felt fatiguing on my FiiO K9 pro. On the EF400 + G111 Mk2 it was fine.

That could likely be the difference btwn an IC based DAC/amp (the Fiio) vs an R2R DAC and discrete amp combo, IMO - as my Arya Stealths virtually always sound better on my discrete Class A amp......