SmartCheetah
100+ Head-Fier
Lol, a few days after I bought an open box for 20USD more
But at least I know they did QC on them
HIFIMAN Arya - Arya Stealth - Arya Organic :: Impressions Thread
- Thread starter XERO1
- Start date
But at least I know they did QC on them
Xerosnake90
500+ Head-Fier
The Dune soundtrack is absolutely bonkers on the V2. The use of spacial audio really makes these things shine
Lightspeed12
500+ Head-Fier
Don't believe all higher end headphones are better than lower budget headphones.
My most listen to headphones for me are the hd600 , hd6xx & hd660s2 mainly because I like tube amp sounds. Also I really enjoy the dt1990 pro with valour dekoni pads they were a shock in how well they performed.
I own the arya stealth, he1000v2, lcd-x lcd-2 focal. They are also great but I actually listen to them less.
SchwizzelKick66
100+ Head-Fier
Arya Stealth is now $749. There is no headphone that competes at that price, lol.
analogbox
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2007
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I'm never parting with my HD600. That's for sure.
Xerosnake90
500+ Head-Fier
It's all about preference really. That's not to say some headphones aren't better than others, they are. But if you find a sound you like with a lesser cost then enjoy itDon't believe all higher end headphones are better than lower budget headphones.
My most listen to headphones for me are the hd600 , hd6xx & hd660s2 mainly because I like tube amp sounds. Also I really enjoy the dt1990 pro with valour dekoni pads they were a shock in how well they performed.
I own the arya stealth, he1000v2, lcd-x lcd-2 focal. They are also great but I actually listen to them less.
I went back to my 1990s once after getting the Arya and put them back as my keyboard headphones promptly lol.
SmartCheetah
100+ Head-Fier
My Arias arrived today, I'm willing to do a proper comparison in the upcoming days, but I'm happy to share some initial impressions of The Aryas Stealth vs The Ananda Nano vs The Edition XS. I'm using the same balanced cable for all three, and I'm compensating for any volume differences with APO EQ to make the test as fair as possible. The Nanos are by far the loudest (easiest to drive), followed by the Arya, with the Edition XS being slightly more demanding.
My current source setup is the Aune S17 Pro feeding the Hifiman EF400 in DAC mode. Later, I'll test them with the Earmen ST-AMP and the EF400 solo.
First of all, this is how they measure, they're very much alike in their tuning. But does it mean they sound the same? Hell no!
The Edition XS is the warmest of the bunch, a little muddy in the mids compared to the other two. The Nanos are razor sharp, sterile and the brightest. The Aryas fall in between, as I expected after reading through countless of reviews and opinions. However - and this is interesting - even though the Aryas are more transparent and resolving than the Edition XS, they're actually less fatiguing. Example:
I suggest to play it lossless on Tidal or so.
This track from 2:30 - when I ramp up the volume to the levels I don't normally listen with, the Aryas sound cleaner and more transparent than the Edition XS, but at the same time easier on my ears. I have to turn down the volume because it's too loud, not because it's piercing or harsh. This is quite impressive and means that the Aryas are technically superior.
The Nano as mentioned are the brightest. It really works in some music, i.e. acoustic rock. But they also can be too sterile and shouty in certain tracks, on the verge of being unpleasant. I've been testing them for a week now, and there have been evenings when i was tired I found myself grabbing the Edition XS instead, even though the Nanos outperform them. And this is with the Aune S17 Pro, which is rather warm and creates a great synergy with the Nanos or neutral-bright headphones in general. It's not that Nano are particularly spiky in higher frequencies, in fact all 3 require EQ in the ~10k hz range. It's more about the overall presentation. The Nanos are much less forgiving for shoutier, more aggressive or badly recorded music.
The bass. The graph above doesn't confirm it, but the Aryas Stealth has the least of it. Both the Edition XS and the Nanos are more bassy, which is much more to my liking, though I'm not a basshead. Especially the Nanos are great with in the lows. But the Aryas, being Hifiman planars with great technicalities, respond to EQ like a boss. I fine tuned them to my liking, they can produce absolutely spectacular low frequencies.
Soundstage - I thought that the Edition XS was hard to beat for a mid-fi. Well, I was wrong
The Nanos are similar in the width but better in depth. The Aryas are significant wider than both and more "3d" in depth. But it's not like they present everything from afar. If the recording is supposed to be close and intimate, they will deliver it easily.
Lastly, they're the most comfortable. Lack of swivel in the Nanos is disturbing me more than I expected, I have this irritating feeling that they don't seal around my ears and jaw at all. The Edition XS don't have this problem, but they create a hot spot on top of my head after a while instead. The Aryas just disappear.
Overall: Arya Stealth <- Ananda Nano <- Edition XS <- Meze 109 Pro (I tested them recently too, borrowed from a friend of mine)
They're for 749$ new from the HFM store. Hard to beat.
My current source setup is the Aune S17 Pro feeding the Hifiman EF400 in DAC mode. Later, I'll test them with the Earmen ST-AMP and the EF400 solo.
First of all, this is how they measure, they're very much alike in their tuning. But does it mean they sound the same? Hell no!
The Edition XS is the warmest of the bunch, a little muddy in the mids compared to the other two. The Nanos are razor sharp, sterile and the brightest. The Aryas fall in between, as I expected after reading through countless of reviews and opinions. However - and this is interesting - even though the Aryas are more transparent and resolving than the Edition XS, they're actually less fatiguing. Example:
I suggest to play it lossless on Tidal or so.
This track from 2:30 - when I ramp up the volume to the levels I don't normally listen with, the Aryas sound cleaner and more transparent than the Edition XS, but at the same time easier on my ears. I have to turn down the volume because it's too loud, not because it's piercing or harsh. This is quite impressive and means that the Aryas are technically superior.
The Nano as mentioned are the brightest. It really works in some music, i.e. acoustic rock. But they also can be too sterile and shouty in certain tracks, on the verge of being unpleasant. I've been testing them for a week now, and there have been evenings when i was tired I found myself grabbing the Edition XS instead, even though the Nanos outperform them. And this is with the Aune S17 Pro, which is rather warm and creates a great synergy with the Nanos or neutral-bright headphones in general. It's not that Nano are particularly spiky in higher frequencies, in fact all 3 require EQ in the ~10k hz range. It's more about the overall presentation. The Nanos are much less forgiving for shoutier, more aggressive or badly recorded music.
The bass. The graph above doesn't confirm it, but the Aryas Stealth has the least of it. Both the Edition XS and the Nanos are more bassy, which is much more to my liking, though I'm not a basshead. Especially the Nanos are great with in the lows. But the Aryas, being Hifiman planars with great technicalities, respond to EQ like a boss. I fine tuned them to my liking, they can produce absolutely spectacular low frequencies.
Soundstage - I thought that the Edition XS was hard to beat for a mid-fi. Well, I was wrong
The Nanos are similar in the width but better in depth. The Aryas are significant wider than both and more "3d" in depth. But it's not like they present everything from afar. If the recording is supposed to be close and intimate, they will deliver it easily.The winner is the Arya Stealth to me. They are the best headphones of the three. Better than the Nano, with better overall timbre, better imaging and with the widest, immersive soundstage. It is a higher level headphone at it shows (sounds). They're also better at technical nuances - dynamics, sound decay, binaural/spatial audio. They are the most musical of them all. Less dark, more transparent than the Edition XS, but even less fatiguing. But unlike the Nanos, more forgiving towards sources and music, less sterile and clinical, but as resolving and transparent. Nearly perfect allrounders, there's no thing they can't do very good at least.My Aryas Stealth just arrived. I'm comparing them to the Ananda Nano and Edition XS. Will add my 2 cents, but I already know the winner
Lastly, they're the most comfortable. Lack of swivel in the Nanos is disturbing me more than I expected, I have this irritating feeling that they don't seal around my ears and jaw at all. The Edition XS don't have this problem, but they create a hot spot on top of my head after a while instead. The Aryas just disappear.
Overall: Arya Stealth <- Ananda Nano <- Edition XS <- Meze 109 Pro (I tested them recently too, borrowed from a friend of mine)
They're for 749$ new from the HFM store. Hard to beat.
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MrHaelscheir
100+ Head-Fier
I'm willing to do a proper comparison in the upcoming days, but I'm happy to share some initial impressions of The Aryas Stealth vs The Ananda Nano vs The Edition XS. I'm using the same balanced cable for all three, and I'm compensating for any volume differences with APO EQ to make the test as fair as possible. The Nanos are by far the loudest (easiest to drive), followed by the Arya, with the Edition XS being slightly more demanding.
My current source setup is the Aune S17 Pro feeding the Hifiman EF400 in DAC mode. Later, I'll test them with the Earmen ST-AMP and the EF400 solo.
First of all, this is how they measure, they're very much alike in their tuning. But does it mean they sound the same? Hell no!
The Edition XS is the warmest of the bunch, a little muddy in the mids compared to the other two. The Nanos are razor sharp, sterile and the brightest. The Aryas fall in between, as I expected after reading through countless of reviews and opinions. However - and this is interesting - even though the Aryas are more transparent and resolving than the Edition XS, they're actually less fatiguing. Example:
I suggest to play it lossless on Tidal or so.
This track from 2:30 - when I ramp up the volume to the levels I don't normally listen with, the Aryas sound cleaner and more transparent than the Edition XS, but at the same time easier on my ears. I have to turn down the volume because it's too loud, not because it's piercing or harsh. This is quite impressive and means that the Aryas are technically superior.
The Nano as mentioned are the brightest. It really works in some music, i.e. acoustic rock. But they also can be too sterile and shouty in certain tracks, on the verge of being unpleasant. I've been testing them for a week now, and there have been evenings when i was tired I found myself grabbing the Edition XS instead, even though the Nanos outperform them. And this is with the Aune S17 Pro, which is rather warm and creates a great synergy with the Nanos or neutral-bright headphones in general. It's not that Nano are particularly spiky in higher frequencies, in fact all 3 require EQ in the ~10k hz range. It's more about the overall presentation. The Nanos are much less forgiving for shoutier, more aggressive or badly recorded music.
The bass. The graph above doesn't confirm it, but the Aryas Stealth has the least of it. Both the Edition XS and the Nanos are more bassy, which is much more to my liking, though I'm not a basshead. Especially the Nanos are great with in the lows. But the Aryas, being Hifiman planars with great technicalities, respond to EQ like a boss. I fine tuned them to my liking, they can produce absolutely spectacular low frequencies.
Soundstage - I thought that the Edition XS was hard to beat for a mid-fi. Well, I was wrong
The winner is the Arya Stealth to me. They are the best headphones of the three. Better than the Nano, with better overall timbre, better imaging and with the widest, immersive soundstage. It is a higher level headphone at it shows (sounds). They're also better at technical nuances - dynamics, sound decay, binaural/spatial audio. They are the most musical of them all. Less dark, more transparent than the Edition XS, but even less fatiguing. But unlike the Nanos, more forgiving towards sources and music, less sterile and clinical, but as resolving and transparent. Nearly perfect allrounders, there's no thing they can't do very good at least.
Lastly, they're the most comfortable. Lack of swivel in the Nanos is disturbing be more than I expected, I have a feeling all the time the don't seal around my ears and jaw at all which I find irritating. The Edition XS don't have this problem, but they create a hot spot on top of my head after a while instead. The Aryas just disappear.
Overall: Arya Stealth <- Ananda Nano <- Edition XS <- Meze 109 Pro (I tested them recently too, borrowed from a friend of mine)
They're for 749$ new from the HFM store. Hard to beat.
Pad seal issues can indeed raise the bass a bit at the cost of sub-bass extension and distortion. I appreciate the use of Equalizer APO to help with volume matching. Did you have access to an SPL meter or in-ear microphones to help with more precise volume matching? Subjective volume matches can be iffy, though I admit that even measurement-based volume matches between headphones I precisely EQed to virtually the same FR can still incur the perception of one still being louder than the other else a level of doubt regarding identicality in either direction.
SmartCheetah
100+ Head-Fier
No, unfortunately not. But I'm not a reviewer, so I don't bother really. I'm just a guy who buys too much audio equipment for my own use
I just A/B them on louder tracks until they sound more or less the same to me. I know it's far from perfect, but this is the best I can do. In this case it wasn't that difficult, as they are closely tuned. Matching V tuned headphones with some flatter ones can be a challenge though, starting from choosing a reference frequency.
Anyway, I tested and compared 20 headphones so far this way and my impressions almost always line up with the reviewers I trust.
Xerosnake90
500+ Head-Fier
Seems like complete overkill and as if you can't tell differences in frequency response unless you perfectly volume matchNo, unfortunately not. But I'm not a reviewer, so I don't bother really. I'm just a guy who buys too much audio equipment for my own use
I just A/B them on louder tracks until they sound more or less the same to me. I know it's far from perfect, but this is the best I can do. In this case it wasn't that difficult, as they are closely tuned. Matching V tuned headphones with some flatter ones can be a challenge though, starting from choosing a reference frequency.
Anyway, I tested and compared 20 headphones so far this way and my impressions almost always line up with the reviewers I trust.
Audio Science called they want their hypothesis backSmartCheetah
100+ Head-Fier
@Xerosnake90 you sure you wanted to quote my message?
MrHaelscheir
100+ Head-Fier
Assuming my approach to volume matching for headphones with measurably very similar FRs (in this case also so with my in-ear mics) was what was addressed, then it did yield highly similar sounds between my Arya Stealth and HE1000se with small tonal subtleties and volatility in perceived loudness or bigness, hence those times particularly on the HE1000se thread or whatnot that I described the phenomenon of hearing an "increase" in bigness or clarity when switching, only to hear the same increase when switching back. But that is just to say that perhaps I am not as susceptible to perceiving accentuated differences in tonality or imaging between highly similar headphones. I can still love the HE1000se for its looks and lighter clamping force, though as I had described elsewhere, the units I encountered weren't exactly ideal for driver QC.Seems like complete overkill and as if you can't tell differences in frequency response unless you perfectly volume match
As an aside, https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...a-headphone-review.50705/page-57#post-1853760 (post #1,137) may be of interest in regard to precisely EQing two headphones to the same FR.
Xerosnake90
500+ Head-Fier
Yes I was being facetious in regards to the response you got lol@Xerosnake90 you sure you wanted to quote my message?
I don't bother with "Audio Science". It seems the entirety of "audio science" is to disprove and disparage an entire subset of audiophiles by countering their every observation with numbers and bias. You seem like a stand up guy so apologies if I'm being rude, I just find the concept asinine that unless you're following a specific set of rules you can't possibly make a proper assessment.
Voohoo
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
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Generally good advice. I'll just chime in by saying my HD 800 and Arya Organic have absolutely ruined my 6XX for me. I can't think of a reason to go back to them.Don't believe all higher end headphones are better than lower budget headphones.
My most listen to headphones for me are the hd600 , hd6xx & hd660s2 mainly because I like tube amp sounds. Also I really enjoy the dt1990 pro with valour dekoni pads they were a shock in how well they performed.
I own the arya stealth, he1000v2, lcd-x lcd-2 focal. They are also great but I actually listen to them less.
MrHaelscheir
100+ Head-Fier
No worries. I'd say "audio science" is more about establishing controls so as to be certain of the causality of perceived phenomena. In sighted listening conditions, indeed, "anything goes", and that's fine, but the problem comes once one uses subjective findings to make objective claims about electrical and acoustic properties and hence make recommendations based on that. I only get "prickly" when I read statements in the form of "X will Y" as though it were an innate property or guaranteed outcome; e.g. the HE1000se's supposed improvements over the Arya Stealth. I am just a hobbyist who started out skeptical and happened to confirm my skepticism after a lot of moolah, my happening to personally discover what does make a meaningful difference for me which happens to be EQ, HRTF measurements, and DSP, the rest being comfort preferences and what makes me feel nice. I at the minimum don't want to make a purchase decision as a result of having "fooled myself" thanks to the preferred item having simply been playing a smidgeon louder, or having perceived properties or differences possibly purely due to exposure to the existing "lore" surrounding different gear's properties, or as I had described, the possible perceptual amplification and confirmation feedback loop of semi-random differences (don't quote me on this). Now, I admit that I had "fooled myself" into hearing the Meze Elite as sounding "sweeter" when EQing auditioned headphones to the "same" headphones.com target, only to find that there were real FR discrepancies that were capable of being EQed away and added to a different headphone; at least that headphone was indeed the most comfortable and gorgeous to me and really did have measurably exceptional EQed distortion performance.
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