Out of curiosity, have you tried a compensated comparison for gaming? For example using Sonarworks Tru-fi, Equaliser APO etc.
... Compared to the Arya (also compensated) I still found the HD800s to have the more holographic soundstage and precise imaging (not that the Arya was bad, it was still excellent in its own right).
I've used Sonarworks briefly, and Equaliser APO extensively. Part of my mission was find a pair of headphones that I didn't need to EQ, yet retained all of the qualities - for both competitive gaming and music - that I was after. I would agree there's something that feels more 'holographic' about the HD 800 S; there still seems to be a greater sense of spacial depth using them. Ultimately, it still has a larger stage, even than the Arya which is better than most other headphones in this department. However, the HD 800 S has a bit of a slump in the vicinity of ~2-3kHz, which is often a part of the range where effects such as footsteps reside, perhaps creating a sense of extended distance. Contrasted with other parts of the frequency response, I think this slump may play a role in why the HD 800 S stage presents the way it does. I actually bump my HD 800 S a dB or two in that range. Coincidentally, metal571 had done the same with his HD 800.
Can you please provide more depth comparison between Arya vs Ananda? Which one you prefer and more suitable for music of many genres, through I'm especially interested in music with busy mixes such as rock/metal? I heard Ananda has more bass and upfront sound signature, but Arya has more resolution being laid-back sounding. What about compression/dynamics? Also strange fact, people comparing these headphones often have opposite opinions about treble, some of them saying Ananda is too bright and they couldn't stand that treble, while others saying Arya has grain in its treble and tends to sibilant while Ananda is perfect smooth. Thanks in advance.
My preference for metal are headphones that don't have a neutral low end. Instead, I find a bass boost in the range of ~50Hz-150Hz does wonders for thickening up geners like metal, which can otherwise sound a touch too thin for my liking on brighter cans (depending on the band and how it's mastered). Thus, I'd say that both the Arya and Ananda are not ideal for metal, at least according to my preference, unless you're willing to EQ them. I feel the same about my HD 800 S (but to an even greater degree). Generally, I think the Arya is a better choice than Ananda for a broader range of musical genres because of how it presents high frequencies - I'll elaborate on this below.
It must be said I listen to very little metal, though. I enjoy quite a bit of acoustic and brass, including jazz, as well as a lot of alt rock, electronic, and EDM. The Arya, while it doesn't have the pronounced sub-bass of my TH-900, completely satisfies me across all of these genres. I enjoyed rock and EDM less on the Ananda. The speed, decay, separation etc. that high-end planars sport are sonic characteristics that "wow" me far more than having my head rattle with Fostex drivers.
I don't find either the Ananda or Arya to be sibilant. Neither are simply too bright either, in my opinion. However, using "Unsainted" from Slipknot's latest album as an example, this track sounds a touch harsh with both the Ananda and Arya. That track is similarly harsh wearing the HD 800 S, and is
horribly harsh with the TH-900 (I'd say it's un-listenable, without EQ).
Higher frequencies sound obviously more forward on the Ananda at a similar overall listening volume, seemingly permanently so, but I didn't find any harshness to speak of with most music despite that. This apparent forwardness may be because of the more intimate stage, or perhaps the stage feels more intimate because of this property? Detail lovers will likely love this facet of the Ananda, despite it not actually being more detailed in an honest sense of the definition. Relating to this point, I wouldn't call the Arya 'laid-back', I'd simply say I feel the Arya is better balanced than Ananda, with the presentation of higher frequencies making more 'natural' sense in the context of everything else you're hearing. If I was to try to describe this very crudely, I'd say that "the Ananda's treble is louder", despite that not being reflected in FR.
Finally, you'd have to try pretty hard to discern meaningful bass quantity differences between the Arya and Ananda. They're very similar in this regard. Because the Arya's higher frequencies aren't so forward, I'd actually say the Arya might deliver the superficial perception of having meatier bass, but it's really only because overall it sounds a bit warmer.
The difference between them is nuanced, yet obvious. I don't think it's a case of one being objectively and outright better than the other (it rarely is with comparisons in the US$1000+ category), but because of the Arya's combination of traits - being similar to the Ananda, but with a bigger stage among other differences or improvements - it's better for me, as it single-handedly covers all of my favourite genres and use cases, such as gaming.
Edit: might also be worth mentioning that the Arya does seem to require a fair amount more power. On my JDS Labs Elements I can run the Ananda on low gain at all times - this is to be expected, as the Ananda has a thinner diaphragm and is more efficient, better suited to be powered from mobile devices. Running the Arya on low gain means I'm often running out of volume, so I run it on high gain permanently. The Arya's drivers are also larger: 65 X 100 mm versus the Ananda's 50 X 80 mm.
