[squidman]

Arya Stealth sound almost identical to akg k712 on Valhalla 2. So disappointing. So not a good match. But then at least not terrible. So far best match is Senny hd600.
Well not terrible by any means. But Arya Stealth do much better on Magni+. Just doing some A/B.
I would say my favorite cans/combos are;
1: Arya Stealth off of Modi/Magni stack (very detailed, very unforgiving of poor recordings! But good!)
2: Sennheiser hd600 off of Modi/Valhalla2 (great! very smooth!)
3: Akg k712 are not great in either position but best with Magni+. Not terrible but a bit harsh.

Having said all that, the Arya DO work off the Valhalla 2 which is a bit suprising. But have more joy with the Sennheiser hd600. Valhalla 2 and Senny hd600 is probably my favorite combination now. The most forgiving of older recordings, the smoothest, etc. Great combo!

 

[squidman]

The Valhalla2 will give them that, really brought something out in the hd600's, now become a MUCH better pair of headphones. But very subjective, could be all in my head.

 

[squidman]

Wow! you have a lot of posts! Been here long-time? And you have a life? Nice chatting anyway!

 

[squidman]

Well we both have Arya's as our most expensive headphones, and they're pretty good! But not maybe worth the hype and expensive. Had a look at all your exotic cans! Many I had never heard of before etc.

 

[Shane D]

Arya Stealth sound almost identical to akg k712 on Valhalla 2. So disappointing. So not a good match. But then at least not terrible. So far best match is Senny hd600.
Well not terrible by any means. But Arya Stealth do much better on Magni+. Just doing some A/B.
I would say my favorite cans/combos are;
1: Arya Stealth off of Modi/Magni stack (very detailed, very unforgiving of poor recordings! But good!)
2: Sennheiser hd600 off of Modi/Valhalla2 (great! very smooth!)
3: Akg k712 are not great in either position but best with Magni+. Not terrible but a bit harsh.

Having said all that, the Arya DO work off the Valhalla 2 which is a bit suprising. But have more joy with the Sennheiser hd600. Valhalla 2 and Senny hd600 is probably my favorite combination now. The most forgiving of older recordings, the smoothest, etc. Great combo!

I have gave an original Arya and it is unforgiving.
I just got my well used Arya's three weeks ago and am already in love with them.

 

[tricolor]

And of course having glowing tubes is always cool! So there is that...But mostly a psychological thing. Anyway not had any problems with heat so far, so if you want to go there, a lot cheaper than Hifiman Shangri-La at a million dollars now. For basically the same thing, headphones and four-tube preamp and amp. So guess with my Valhalla2 I'm just a step below the Shangri-La for a lot less monies. So there's that! Especially if you can get on sale, then go for it! Then you can a/b your solid state setup with valhalla. The only thing I can say about Valhalla 2 is that it's possibly more 'airy' but that's very subjective, and it made my Senny hd600's sound better. But not so much with Arya Stealth cans which cost 3 times as much.

I've never had a chance to listen to the Shangri-La but looking at its price, it simply scares the crap out of me, hehehe. It looks incredible, tho. So if I ever do win a lottery, there might be signs... The marble from Sennheiser's combo also might be a contestant... but returning back to Earth... I am really pleased with the Valhalla 2 and RFT ECC81. Mullard's CV4024's are my favorite, but its price is starting to get prohibitively expensive... Glad I got some pairs while it was way cheaper.