[OCC7N]

I know its two different things I am comparing but I am still in questions regarding the low end on HifiMAN Arya v2.

The ATC SCM40A has an incredible low end, in some songs I search for that "feeling/sound" on the Aryas, but it sounds plain an boring.

The DACs used are:

RME DAC FS
iFi Diablo
Forza AudioWorks SE cable(still better than stock cable)

The ATC sounds soo good its like they have implemented an invisible DSP processor with the perfect blend of reverbs, compressor, EQ, Limiter etc. The ambience feeling is amazing. The responds on the bass, the length of the reverbs in the songs etc...I could keep talking.

After a couple of hours on the ATC, I decided to listen to the same songs on Arya....my ears could not adapt back. I was looking for that lowend feel/vibe. the same song sounded "different" more cheap.

I need the magic lowends....which DAC?

 

[msing539]

You can EQ the Arya a little, but it probably won't get you there. Different headphones would be my suggestion.

 

[OCC7N]

You can EQ the Arya a little, but it probably won't get you there. Different headphones would be my suggestion.

Yeah maybe I need to change the whole headphone setup

 

[msing539]

Yeah maybe I need to change the whole headphone setup

Yeah, there are lots of options depending on your budget, musical tastes, etc. The Arya v2 should fetch about $850-900 used in excellent condition with all OG packaging.

 

[OCC7N]

Yeah, there are lots of options depending on your budget, musical tastes, etc. The Arya v2 should fetch about $850-900 used in excellent condition with all OG packaging.

I was thinking of the DCA Stealth.....maybe the low end magic I am looking for is more emphasized on closed heaphones. Hmmm

 

[msing539]

I was thinking of the DCA Stealth.....maybe the low end magic I am looking for is more emphasized on closed heaphones. Hmmm

I think if you have the chance, demo some headphones locally (or at the next London CanJam). I thought I'd love the Stealth too, but ended up liking the Meze Elite a lot more. Everyone has different tastes and it's hard to blind buy at that price point.

There are also some companies that will ship you headphones to try and let you apply the deposit towards a purchase.

 

[OCC7N]

I think if you have the chance, demo some headphones locally (or at the next London CanJam). I thought I'd love the Stealth too, but ended up liking the Meze Elite a lot more. Everyone has different tastes and it's hard to blind buy at that price point.

There are also some companies that will ship you headphones to try and let you apply the deposit towards a purchase.

That Meze is around the same price? Looks like Meze is made in Romania?

Maybe I could get a set to listen from local store and will try it

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

Only a bigger ATC speaker will satisfy your desires, @OCC7N

Your ATC have that awesome soft dome midrange, a very good soft dome tweeter and a woofer, vs the small plastic membrane of your planar headphones. IMHO, what you want can't be experienced with headphones, no DAC or amp will made up for that difference in physicality tbh ("there's no replacement for displacement"). As an upgrade, you should look up to to the bigger ATC speakers, like the SCM50A, because yours have quite a small woofer and the bigger ones sound even better IMO.

 

[chesebert]

I know its two different things I am comparing but I am still in questions regarding the low end on HifiMAN Arya v2.

The ATC SCM40A has an incredible low end, in some songs I search for that "feeling/sound" on the Aryas, but it sounds plain an boring.

The DACs used are:

RME DAC FS
iFi Diablo
Forza AudioWorks SE cable(still better than stock cable)

The ATC sounds soo good its like they have implemented an invisible DSP processor with the perfect blend of reverbs, compressor, EQ, Limiter etc. The ambience feeling is amazing. The responds on the bass, the length of the reverbs in the songs etc...I could keep talking.

After a couple of hours on the ATC, I decided to listen to the same songs on Arya....my ears could not adapt back. I was looking for that lowend feel/vibe. the same song sounded "different" more cheap.

I need the magic lowends....which DAC?

HFM cans generally sound cheap next to British speakers - for example HEK sounds cheap next to Harbeth.

 

[chesebert]

I was thinking of the DCA Stealth.....maybe the low end magic I am looking for is more emphasized on closed heaphones. Hmmm

Stealth definitely sounds cheap next to ATC.

 

[Guipnox]

Try a modded (open grills & different pads & OCC copper cable) Hifiman HE6se/V2 through a speaker amp

 

[OCC7N]

Stealth definitely sounds cheap next to ATC.

Imagine ATC making headphones...Damn!

 

[OCC7N]

Only a bigger ATC speaker will satisfy your desires, @OCC7N

Your ATC have that awesome soft dome midrange, a very good soft dome tweeter and a woofer, vs the small plastic membrane of your planar headphones. IMHO, what you want can't be experienced with headphones, no DAC or amp will made up for that difference in physicality tbh ("there's no replacement for displacement"). As an upgrade, you should look up to to the bigger ATC speakers, like the SCM50A, because yours have quite a small woofer and the bigger ones sound even better IMO.

You are right but scm40a is actually pretty big for my room 10m2.

I am treating the room with envizol panels from ekustik.eu I bought a pack of 10 to start with

 

[gregorio]

I need the magic lowends....which DAC?

What you experienced was air pressure waves (sound) produced by your ATC speakers, interacting with your room’s acoustics and then hitting your body. As DACs do not output air pressure waves (sound), only an analogue electrical signal, then obviously a DAC cannot provide “the magic lowends” you experienced.

Even HPs/IEMs can’t, although they obviously do produce sound pressure waves, because they only present sound to your head/ears. They do not present sound pressure waves that interact with your room acoustics and then hit your whole body. A potential solution, that’s good enough for some people, is simply to EQ more bass before the digital audio is converted and sent to your HPs. A better solution is to use something like a Symth Realiser, which processes the digital audio to emulate the effects of listening to speakers in a room by applying a personalised HRTF (head related transfer function) and convolution reverb. That obviously doesn’t solve the problem of the sound waves hitting your whole body but otherwise gets quite close to recreating the experience.

There are vests/straps available which produce haptic feedback that is supposed to emulate the sensation of low freqs hitting your body. I tried one once and personally didn’t like it much but some people feel they’re good. So potentially a Smyth Realiser A16, plus one of those vests/straps could recreate that “magic” you experienced with the ATCs but with HPs. The technology isn’t quite there yet to guarantee such a setup would work for you but it might get you close enough for you not to notice.

G

 

[msing539]

There are vests/straps available which produce haptic feedback that is supposed to emulate the sensation of low freqs hitting your body.

I hope my wife doesn't find the credit card charge for my new vibrating strap.