[Luke Pighetti]

Looks like your ears were made for the Aria shell. 

 

[Ishcabible]

I'm getting a pair on loan tomorrow! Really excited to hear them!

 

[meringo]

 
 
 
Some quick pics of the unboxing, the first look and then the first fit in the ears.  Will have to give them a couple days before I write any kind of review but first impressions were impressive.  Been listening to Whitebear (favorite= Permatations), Spundose (favorite= Cymatic Revelation), Zebbler Encanti (favorite= Data Mind) and Harasuka (favorite= Nyx).  As you can see I am all Psytrance and WitchHouse and EDM to the core.
 
Super duper comfortable, fits perfect and doesn't need any adjusting once in ear.
 
So far the tuning matches perfect with my style of music.  More to come with pictures NOT taken on my phone.
 
PS They look FxCKING amazing!!!! Did I mention that they look pretty damn awesome?

 
Those look awesome. Luke, take note. I want that next time haha

 

[Ishcabible]

 
Got them today! Initial impressions are that these definitely don't sound like what I was expecting them to sound like. I don't think the dip is 1.5-3kHz like @ustinj
mentioned. I think it's somewhere around 300-600Hz. The dip immediately reminded me of the Audio Technica MSR-7's which has a similar dip. Other than the dip, the midrange is on the warm side. Treble is rather warm but there are noticeable peaks that cause me fatigue after about an hour. Bass is alright; it hits hard, but something about it sounds kind of fuzzy. Actually, it just sounds kind of fuzzy and sort of compressed overall. I'm giving it a full week of  testing so my impressions may change as I start to understand them more, but I'm not in love with them.

 

[k4rstar]

 
 
Got them today! Initial impressions are that these definitely don't sound like what I was expecting them to sound like. I don't think the dip is 1.5-3kHz like @ustinj
mentioned. I think it's somewhere around 300-600Hz. The dip immediately reminded me of the Audio Technica MSR-7's which has a similar dip. Other than the dip, the midrange is on the warm side. Treble is rather warm but there are noticeable peaks that cause me fatigue after about an hour. Bass is alright; it hits hard, but something about it sounds kind of fuzzy. Actually, it just sounds kind of fuzzy and sort of compressed overall. I'm giving it a full week of  testing so my impressions may change as I start to understand them more, but I'm not in love with them.

 
Damn I was really interested in getting these but after hearing your impressions may have to hold off. Thanks for sharing.

 

[pkcpga]

Got them today! Initial impressions are that these definitely don't sound like what I was expecting them to sound like. I don't think the dip is 1.5-3kHz like @ustinj

mentioned. I think it's somewhere around 300-600Hz. The dip immediately reminded me of the Audio Technica MSR-7's which has a similar dip. Other than the dip, the midrange is on the warm side. Treble is rather warm but there are noticeable peaks that cause me fatigue after about an hour. Bass is alright; it hits hard, but something about it sounds kind of fuzzy. Actually, it just sounds kind of fuzzy and sort of compressed overall. I'm giving it a full week of  testing so my impressions may change as I start to understand them more, but I'm not in love with them.

It looks like you have a bunch of headphones, if you have any other that are two pin connection, swap the cables. I found the stock cables to give a weird sound to the highs and lows. But their is definitely a very slight dip I feel at the lower side of your range but it definitely gives the mid bass a little boost over that vocal mid range. But I liked Aria a lot more after changing the cable and using the mojo as its amp even over my homes amps.

 

[EagleWings]

 
 
Got them today! Initial impressions are that these definitely don't sound like what I was expecting them to sound like. I don't think the dip is 1.5-3kHz like @ustinj
mentioned. I think it's somewhere around 300-600Hz. The dip immediately reminded me of the Audio Technica MSR-7's which has a similar dip. Other than the dip, the midrange is on the warm side. Treble is rather warm but there are noticeable peaks that cause me fatigue after about an hour. Bass is alright; it hits hard, but something about it sounds kind of fuzzy. Actually, it just sounds kind of fuzzy and sort of compressed overall. I'm giving it a full week of  testing so my impressions may change as I start to understand them more, but I'm not in love with them.

 
The dip I felt was in the lower mids. I am not proficient enough to tell it in terms of the frequency bands. If 300-600 is what the lower mids are, then yes.
 
The treble you are describing seems quite the opposite to what I experienced. I did have 2-3Hrs of continuous listening with literally no fatigue. And I am someone who is sensitive to harsh treble. Also I did not notice any warmth in the treble. But treble part is very tricky as it can be dependent on the person's canal size, shape and length. 
 
Overall I felt the sound was smooth. Try tip rolling and see it helps in anyway.
 
Btw, I used JVC Spiral Dots..

 

[Furiousipaduser]

I supplied him with new comply 600 core size, and used stock cable. Don't feel it's needed to buy a $600 iem and be forced to use an aftermarket cable. I used Linum personally for comfort.

 

[sq3rjick]

I believe I am the source of the dip numbers, but they came from listening to a sweep on YouTube so they can and SHOULD be taken with grain of salt.  There is definitely a noticeable dip in the lower mids, though.  The numbers I got didn't come from a signal generator, which is what I'd need to do to get concrete numbers.  They just came from a sine wave sweep on youtube and my own ears. The dip definitely isn't there on the measurements, but I can hear it by ear.
 
I will say that I finally received my beautiful customs yesterday after they spent an extended vacation with the USPS.  They were definitely well worth the wait. I can also now say publicly that my custom IEMs have an experimental beta tuning of a potential new product that Luke worked with me on attempting to fix the perceived dip I heard in the universal version of the ARIA.  After spending the day (and night, and most of today) listening to them, I can firmly say that Luke did an absolutely fantastic job addressing the issues I had.  The experimental tuning ever so slightly turns down the bass and takes just a tad off the treble extension and energy.  But for those sacrifices, the midrange is brought forward to be an equal level with the bass and treble, and the perceived dip has been vanquished completely to my ears.  Having a little bit less treble and a little bit less bass is well worth the sacrifice in order to bring the midrange out and back to the front and center.  
 
With this experimental tuning, I can say that this new tuning is basically my ideal-neutral.  I'd actually compare it best to a "fixed" version of the venerable Shure SE535.  It has the same great midrange that sounds sublime on vocals, but it has a bit more bass presence and a bit more treble energy up top.  Everything is exactly where I'd want it to be, level wise.  The bass is still there in quality, especially the sub-bass. You do lose a tiny bit of the quantity from the original tuning, but the original tuning didn't quite hit hard enough for me as a basshead that I would very much miss the tiny amount that's different -- it definitely doesn't have the same slam that my SE846 or even my K10 have, but that's not really the point.  This experimental tuning also does remove just a tad of the treble energy and extension at the top end, but that is also within my liking.  It is still of very great quality, and it is still extended, and there is still energy, it's just that it's been turned down from 11 to 10.  But, again, that should help them to be a little bit less fatiguing for extended listening.  I can see that already -- I couldn't wear the universals for more than 2-3 hours at a time without taking a break, but I've had these customs in my ears (just stopping to sleep) since they came in without the desire to remove them.
 
In the end, I think that both tunings have their place.  If you're looking for a mid-V-shaped IEM with recessed lower-mids, and you want a lot of quality in the bass and extension and energy in the treble, the original ARIA tuning is awesome.  Hell, if you only listen to EDM, the original tuning would be just about ideal for that use case.  For me, though, I wasn't originally expecting a "V" shape, so I wasn't fully happy with the original tuning.  This new, experimental tuning addresses all of my concerns, and creates a fantastic ideal-neutral headphone that isn't ever boring and is always engaging and exciting.  It's a strange thing for me to write that it's an "exciting neutral", but that's really the best way I can explain it.  Is it going to replace my K10 for me?  Absolutely not.  But is it worth the asking price, and does it hit up there with big boys at a more reasonable price point?  That's a definite "yes" with this experimental tuning.  In general, I don't think I'd be able to recommend the original tuning without the caveat of "as long as you're looking for a V shape with recessed lower midrange".  But this new tuning I'm able to recommend wholeheartedly, without any such caveat.
 
This is an experimental / beta tuning, so I am not quite sure when / if it will be available for purchase.  But I definitely really love it, and hope that Luke eventually puts it into production!
 
Edit: Updated review to reflect that this is an experimental tuning and not the production ARIA.

 

[Furiousipaduser]

So you can order this experimental tuning now but what about current owners?

 

[sq3rjick]

So you can order this experimental tuning now but what about current owners?

I'd suggest you contact Luke directly.

 

[Furiousipaduser]

I'd suggest you contact Luke directly.

.

Will do thanks!

 

[onyxwulf]

  I believe I am the source of the dip numbers, but they came from listening to a sweep on YouTube so they can and SHOULD be taken with grain of salt.  There is definitely a noticeable dip in the lower mids, though.  The numbers I got didn't come from a signal generator, which is what I'd need to do to get concrete numbers.  They just came from a sine wave sweep on youtube and my own ears. The dip definitely isn't there on the measurements, but I can hear it by ear.
 
I will say that I finally received my beautiful customs yesterday after they spent an extended vacation with the USPS.  They were definitely well worth the wait. I can also now say publicly that my custom ARIAs have an experimental beta tuning that Luke worked with me on attempting to fix the perceived dip I heard in the universal version.  After spending the day (and night, and most of today) listening to them, I can firmly say that Luke did an absolutely fantastic job addressing the issues I had.  The experimental tuning ever so slightly turns down the bass and takes just a tad off the treble extension and energy.  But for those sacrifices, the midrange is brought forward to be an equal level with the bass and treble, and the perceived dip has been vanquished completely to my ears.  Having a little bit less treble and a little bit less bass is well worth the sacrifice in order to bring the midrange out and back to the front and center.  
 
With this experimental tuning, I can say that the ARIA is basically my ideal-neutral.  I'd actually compare it best to a "fixed" version of the venerable Shure SE535.  It has the same great midrange that sounds sublime on vocals, but it has a bit more bass presence and a bit more treble energy up top.  Everything is exactly where I'd want it to be, level wise.  The bass is still there in quality, especially the subbass. You do lose a tiny bit of the quantity from the original tuning, but the original tuning didn't quite hit hard enough for me as a basshead that I would very much miss the tiny amount that's different -- it definitely doesn't have the same slam that my SE846 or even my K10 have, but that's not really the point.  This experimental tuning also does remove just a tad of the treble energy and extension at the top end, but that is also within my liking.  It is still of very great quality, and it is still extended, and there is still energy, it's just that it's been turned down from 11 to 10.  But, again, that should help them to be a little bit less fatiguing for extended listening.  I can see that already -- I couldn't wear the universals for more than 2-3 horus at a time without taking a break, but I've had these customs in my ears (just stopping to sleep) since they came in without the desire to remove them.
 
In the end, I think that both tunings have their place.  If you're looking for a mid-V-shaped IEM with recessed lower-mids, and you want a lot of quality in the bass and extension and energy in the treble, the original tuning is awesome.  Hell, if you only listen to EDM, the original tuning would be just about ideal for that use case.  For me, though, I wasn't originally expecting a "V" shape, so I wasn't fully happy with the original tuning.  This new, experimental tuning addresses all of my concerns, and creates a fantastic ideal-neutral headphone that isn't ever boring and is always engaging and exciting.  It's a strange thing for me to write that it's an "exciting neutral", but that's really the best way I can explain it.  Is it going to replace my K10 for me?  Absolutely not.  But is it worth the asking price, and does it hit up there with big boys at a more reasonable price point?  That's a definite "yes" with this experimental tuning.  In general, I don't think I'd be able to recommend the original tuning without the caveat of "as long as you're looking for a V shape with recessed lower midrange".  But this new tuning I'm able to recommend wholeheartedly, without any such caveat.
 
If you'd like to order the ARIA with the experimental tuning, just make sure you ask Luke to build it with this experimental / alternative tuning and he told me he'd be happy to oblige.  Personally, I think the newer tuning is the only way you SHOULD listen to the ARIA.  But that's just my opinion.

For me, like you point out, EDM is all I listen to and I can say after 2-3 days of using them that these are just great.  I so far don't have a single complaint except I had to find different tips.

 

[pkcpga]

I supplied him with new comply 600 core size, and used stock cable. Don't feel it's needed to buy a $600 iem and be forced to use an aftermarket cable. I used Linum personally for comfort.

I love the Linum cable, I feel it has much smoother highs and more defined bass with a very light weight comfortable cable for not much money.

 

[EagleWings]

I will just leave this here: