[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trbl One unit has been put up for sale already (later withdrawn), and people are commenting about how bright the LEDs are, and all I can look at is the month-old hole in my bank account.

I'm the one who started the LEDs are too bright campaign. And I am also the one who thought that I might sell my unit. Please don't put much stake in my actions [I am new to head-fi and I am spoiled by a very good sounding component stereo system -- and I only have ER-4 IEMs for phones...]

As far as the LEDs, if you are in a brightly lit room the stock LEDs are probably great. I like to listen in a dark room prior to going to bed, so this is my only real nit with the amp. And if you find them too bright, Jan has posted a way to make them more dim elsewhere on this forum.

Lastly: Based on what I've read from others on this forum, I find it hard to imagine that you will do better than the Aria for the $. Plus the Aria has Crossfeed, which I am finding to be a benefit [my decision came down to the Gilmore Light and Aria -- the GL did not have xfeed].

Contact Meier and track that puppy!

 

[fureshi]

i received my aria today and i'm still impressed with how beautiful this amp looks! the LEDs are a tad bit bright but i won't be leaving it on all night so no biggie. i'm not too sure how long it'll take to burn in but i'll be using it in the office so it'll be on for all of next week. as of now, it has maybe 2 hours on it and i'm very impressed with how good it sounds with my SA5k. the SA5k's bass has become tighter and deeper with better dynamics.

 

[jvbb2005]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi i received my aria today and i'm still impressed with how beautiful this amp looks! the LEDs are a tad bit bright but i won't be leaving it on all night so no biggie. i'm not too sure how long it'll take to burn in but i'll be using it in the office so it'll be on for all of next week. as of now, it has maybe 2 hours on it and i'm very impressed with how good it sounds with my SA5k. the SA5k's bass has become tighter and deeper with better dynamics.

agree. Teams up really well with SA5k. Great with grados too and also I am able to see synergies with Senn HD600 but I found it lacking a bit of power to drive 400ohm K340s and 600ohm 240DFs.
Bear in mind I only had 10 hrs on the ARIA to comment

 

[trbl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore I'm the one who started the LEDs are too bright campaign. And I am also the one who thought that I might sell my unit. Please don't put much stake in my actions

I guess I wasn't clear. I wasn't suggesting that the Aria wasn't a good amp. I meant it was ironic that discussions like this were already going on when some people still hadn't received amps ordered 4 weeks ago.

Quote:

Contact Meier and track that puppy!

I don't think they can be tracked. I did contact Jan, explained my concerns, asked if tracking was available, and what the process was if they still didn't show up. The brief reply just said to keep waiting and didn't specifically answer any of my questions.

I know how bad mail within the US can be around Christmas, so I try never to order anything during the holidays. The shipping of the Aria was delayed by about 10 days from the original estimate, and I came this close to cancelling the order, or at least having it postponed so there was less likelihood of the package being lost in the crush of holiday packages or abandoned in customs somewhere. Unfortunately I didn't do this, and the reports of the first batches of Arias getting to the US in about a week despite the holiday seemed a hopeful sign.

I just don't have good luck. I've been trying to get a good amp for my 701's for two months now, not one. The Lehmann I originally ordered arrived DOA. That was the harbinger of things to come. I'm not giving up because I'm impatient. It's because after 3 tries, 2 months, and numerous delays at many steps along the way I still don't have an amp for the 701's.

 

[trivik12]

I am also waiting for my aria to arrive. Its more than 2 weeks now. Since it was shipped during christmas week, I shall wait few more days b4 sounding alarm. I wish Jan had mailed everything with tracking.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trivik12 I wish Jan had mailed everything with tracking.

Yeah but if he did this he'd have to charge you for shipping

 

[androidus]

My Aria arrived today. It was shipped on Dec 29. I live in Ontario, Canada. For those who are concerned about their order I ship things worldwide and if it isn't shipped by courier then there is no rhyme or reason as to how long it will take but it will get there 99% of the time eventually.

 

[Atropos]

how do the K701 work together with the aria? do the K701 or the HD650 sound better with the Aria (detail and soundstage)?

 

[Cousin Patty]

Today is exactly 2 weeks for me. I just got back from the mailbox and still nothing but bills and junkmail. Bummer

 

[mikeg]

I got the Aria a couple of days ago, and just connected it. It operates perfectly, and sounds great with the R10 and SR225.

 

[Todd S]

I received mine today. Briefly tested both the USB & analog inputs to make sure they both work. No problemo so far.

Just a brief initial impression. Using the same 2 songs (Porcupine Tree - Deadwing, Shallow) I tested the analog side with my iPod, & the USB input (Foobar direct, will experiment with Kernal Streaming later). Not exactly a fair comparison I know, but I'm just testing to make sure the amp works for the moment. The USB sounded much cleaner. Something I noticed right off plugging the HD595s directly into the iPod the drums were very distant sounding, especially the cymbals. The Aria brought the cymbals out quite a bit. Briefly plugging in the DT880s as expected the highs are cleaner yet.

Oh & has been mentioned the amp is quite nice looking in person. I also like the blue leds.

 

[trbl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cousin Patty Today is exactly 2 weeks for me. I just got back from the mailbox and still nothing but bills and junkmail. Bummer

Likewise.

I'm not going to post about this anymore; I've said more than enough already. It would have been nice to have the Arias shipped and then received in the quoted time frame, or to have gotten a more helpful response from Jan Meier. That didn't happen - my ill fortune.

I'm happy for all those people who have gotten their Arias, and I hope everyone else's shows up soon and is all they hoped it would be.

I think it's probably time to leave Head-Fi, at least for a while. I've tried to not get embroiled in any of the classic arguments (veil/what veil etc.) and mostly tried to stick to factual issues where I had some experience, like my 20 years experience as a Stax Lambda Pro monogamist. With no Aria in sight, and nothing to plug my 701's into, there's no more for me to say. the ampless routine has been done before and I don't want to repeat it.

 

[iSleipnir]

Is it just me or do a lot of headfiers know some German? I wonder if there is a link?

 

[Pace]

Has anyone considered that the times quoted by Jan could be in business days?

Atleast for me it took exactly 5 business days (the exact length Jan quoted) for the parcel to arrive, but that meant 9 days in total.

 

[Azimuth]

I don't know exactly how reliable the u.s. mail service is - but i sometimes waited up to seven business days for a parcel from germany... and i live in austria... so the european mail service may be the problem here. so, maybe a little patience is needed here...

which was not the case with the aria... jan mailed it on wednesday last week and i got it on thursday morning. wow!

i now use the amp with my ultrasone HF-650 and think about buying me the Sennheiser 650.