HiFiMAN Arya measurements and impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by Vtory, Feb 20, 2019.

  1. dan3952

    dan3952 New

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    I hope they don't give you my pair of Aryas as a replacement; I had returned them over the (real or perceived) artificial timbre, as well. I had bought an open box set as well (the $1199 one), so I hadn't gone for the 100 hour burn-in, thinking it wasn't necessary. The hours I had put on them might have been half of that, and nothing had improved. I too, had wondered if I'd got a lemon, and that's why it had been returned before. I may just accept what I can get at that price point, and order a second pair from somewhere else.

    But I don't understand what could have gone so wrong, after the HEXv2? I could just find and buy those.

    My guess is, if you have Stellias, you may find them hard to compliment with anything in the HiFiMan lineup except their top models.

    I had wanted to always have a pair of planars, and a pair of dynamics on hand; due to physics: for example, with the Clears, phase, impedance and distortion start to shift at 120 Hz and reach a point of inflection at the driver's resonant frequency, while impedance, phase, and frequency response are all flat with most planar headphones in the same region. Both headphones, had lower distortion than with my speakers (audible to me).

     
  2. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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  3. dan3952

    dan3952 New

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    Monolith Monoprice THX 887 and a Musical Fidelity MX-DAC.


     
  4. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    iFi Pro iDSD (built-in 4.4mm balanced head amp) / Hugo 2 (now sold).

    I actually bought the Black Widow 2 thinking it would flech out the mids sufficiently. It didn't.

    I since shipped my pair back and told customer support to test if they sound normal or not. If it does, Arya isn't for me and I'll get a refund. If it doesn't, I'm willing to give this another shot with an exchange.
     
  5. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Clem. The Arya is the continuation of the HeK and the Ananda is the continuation of the HeX. The differences you are describing are how I describe the differences between the two (HeX / HeK)
     
  6. Magnetostatic_Tubephile

    Magnetostatic_Tubephile Friend

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    Based on what I've seen and heard, HEX V1 (or even V2) is indeed not quite the same thing as Arya. Some of the differences are clearly measurable, just check for them online.

    I liked HEX V1 the most, it was tonally quite spot-on. Timbre-wise though, the modern Hifimans all suck IMHO.

    Just dont believe the hype.
     
  7. Phantaminum

    Phantaminum Friend

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    Agreed.

    @Clemmaster The Hifiman HEX V2 or Ananda have a slight mid bump. Those might be more up your alley. You will be sacrificing in instrument separation, and holography, but it fleshes out the instruments a tiny bit more.
     
  8. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Got my replacement pair in.

    It's definitely more fleshed out than the first pair! Not what I would call a thick sound by any sense of the imagination, but the mids are not so distant/disconnected now.

    Pair 1 was a lemon after all! Now, I don't know if I'm gonna keep these, but it's definitely not a "heck no!", like before...
     
  9. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Upgraded the tubes in my Pro iDSD to WE 396. Now we're talking!

    These things like juice. The Torpedo III is maxed out on volume, hi output and it's just about to my comfortable volume. Might be too quiet for albums with lots of DR, like Neil Young's Harvest :oops:.

    Set the Pro iDSD to high gain and switched to Tube mode (my least favorite before the tube upgrade...) and the sound is pretty darn good.

    Edit: it sounds darn good off the Torpedo III! Being a planar, it doesn't care about the high output impedance, but definitely benefits from the fleshed out sound in "hi" mode.
    Treble on this pair is a lot better controlled. It is present (bright), but definitely not aggressive like the HE-4 could be (or any bad - glarey/glassy - setup), or the old pair was.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2020
  10. dan3952

    dan3952 New

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    I might order another pair of Aryas then, and this time I am looking to pay $1299 brand new. It could be that "Open Box" with HiFiMan, really means, "dud". There are also used HE-1000 v2's available at $1700.

    I have picked up Audeze LCD-3 for $1150, and not surprisingly I now understand what people are saying about the Arya and the HEK line sounding "soft": the most dynamic songs in my collection seem to have more slam with the heavy Audezes (kick drums have a satisfying thump). Usually I will try classic rock songs like Pink Floyd's In the Flesh or the like to test that. I don't feel those have as much midrange detail as the HiFiMans, and don't even think they're worth $1950 new, but I do appreciate what they do well, and I am hoping to come up with an effective one-two punch here, of two different headphones, seeing as I don't want to pay the $2600 that a ZMF Verite costs.

    I might be getting a Cavelli Liquid Platinum; my amps are nowhere near as elaborate as yours

     
  11. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    I’ve also experienced the softness subsiding from this line of headphones when they’re paired with more powerful amps. They’ll never slam like an HE6, though.
     
  12. mattvox

    mattvox New

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    I've also found this to be the case with more powerful amps. I've really enjoyed the Arya with the Mjolnir 2 (Telefunkens) lately. Tubes seem to tame the treble ever so slightly.
     
  13. svperstar

    svperstar Acquaintance

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    I've had my Arya for 24 hours now. Not enough time for a full review but enough for some impressions.

    I wish I still had my old Sony SA5000s from back in the day. They were (at the time) considered one of the top 5 detailed cans of all time. The Arya has them beat(from memory I sold them years ago) without sounding tinny

    The Koss electrostats I have here are also very detailed but just aren't nearly as fun or involving at the Arya at first impression

    I prefer darker headphones but that has got me in trouble in the past where I was using a dark source and a dark amp with a dark headphone which was limiting the performance. The Arya is "bright" but doesn't sound shrill or harsh like some bright cans.

    So far they sound great but vaguely unnatural if that makes sense. As great as Arya sounds I'm not sure this is how the musicians intended their music to sound with the layers.

    I can't get over the suspicion that my Gilmore Lite mk2 is holding them back(also the LCD-2). I have been curious about THX amp hype for a couple years now so I have the SMSL SP200 coming in the mail tomorrow. if there isn't a solid different I am just going to return it.
     
  14. svperstar

    svperstar Acquaintance

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    Anyone have any song recommendations that show the layering on Arya?
     
  15. svperstar

    svperstar Acquaintance

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    So the SMSL P200 got in today.

    Wow. It gets a LOT loader the the Gilmore Lite mk2 even on low gain. With high gain and the knob maxed you would blow out your eardrums in no time.

    My first time hearing THX technology and I like it. Both Headamp and THX are "wire with gain" philosophies and you can hear it as both are very clean.

    Anyway the Audeze LCD-2 bass slams like a mother now. If the only thing you care about is bass then the LCD-2 is your can. For everything else including bass detail the Arya sounds better by a large margin.
     
  16. dufourism

    dufourism New

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    Chocolate Chip Trip by TOOL (Mentioned by Andrew Park aka Resolve)
    Bubbles by Yosi Horikawa (Mentioned by Joshua Valour)
     
  17. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    'Silver for Monsters' by Marcin Przybylowicz.
     
  18. Ryanr1987

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    The LCD-2 has a very addictive bass for sure but the more I listen to a Hifiman phone, Arya, Ananda etc their bass presentation are unique like their sound in general when a bass note hits the best way I can describe it is the LCD-2 has a more immediate bass, direct, think of a rubber band in a straight line, now stretch that rubber band, you lose density but it seems to cover more area instead of being immediate, that's how I perceive them.

    Going back to an Audeze after a while things sound hard, solid but the Hifimans it's like the music doesn't have the same weight but it's so damn airy, vivid, haunting, like the music isn't physically there it's in the air if that makes sense, shit ways of describing.

    I like the Witcher soundtrack recommendation, all the songs are well mastered and sound great. Wolven Storm is my fav because you can sense the reverb of the wall in the tavern, it's not perfectly recording like the album but you can still pick up those subtle shaping of the room even with the compression which is minor.

    Other songs, Hotel California hell freezes is an obvious choice. First to Eleven covers are pretty sick good room feel to the recordings.
     
  19. svperstar

    svperstar Acquaintance

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    If you enjoy that then I recommend getting the Koss electrostats off of drop.com. It has light bass but makes for a very unique and ghostly listening experience.
     
  20. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    It's been three years! I've never imagined to come back to Arya again. Of course Arya I owned before was the first version and what I get this time is the second revision (i.e., v3) with stealth magnets. After revisiting them for a few days, I've been pleasantly surprised with evolution they've made. Damn, I do like them quite a lot.

    While the stealth edition (SE)'s appearance is hard to tell apart from OG, a few physical differences might be observable. It seems that HFM increased driver magnet size/weight with a little different magnet array arrangement. Based on slightly different optical responses, I'm betting the diaphragm substrate was also changed. Plus, as the new name "stealth" suggests, magnets are rounded. Some of them might be done in the first revision but I digress.

    Anyway, here is my preliminary impression. Note that every thought came from my listening with Soekris DAC 2541 and Motu M4 as a dac-amp.
    • Sonic delta from v1 is rather subtle. Nothing was as revolutionary as LCD-X's 2021 revision over OG X. Clear Non Mg to Mg was even bigger and dramatic change to me compared to Arya SE.
    • Nonetheless, HFM addressed almost all the complaints I had with OG Arya, if not fully gone. I immediately noticed less metallic top end and less plastic timbre. More aggregable degree of diffusion at a cost of slightly narrower staging. And to my surprise, they're pretty macrodynamic and thick sounding for single-sided magnet orthodynamic headphones.
    • Interestingly, many of such positive changes already found in HE1000 SE. Both indeed were voiced in a similar direction. Like I thought OG Arya was a poor man's HE1000 v1~2, the same (or even stronger) analogy can be drawn between Arya SE and HEK SE.
    • SE maintains all the good characters HEK-variants. I can easily hear as much details, articulation, and microdynamic gradation as I want. Spatial presentation is also top notch.
    • Not much improvement was found in terms of tonal balance. Typical HFM scoop exists around upper midrange followed by overly edgy lower treble and a little too hot upper treble. Not to mention Susvara, even the HFM's cheapest offering HE400SE behaves much better.
    • I like Arya (both OG and SE) in that they comply very well with equalizers. This makes all the linear distortion problems almost non-existent as most of them are easily adjustable with just a simple set of 2-3 small Q peak/dip filters.
    • Once properly equalized, the new Arya could favorably stack against L700 Mk2. Not as liquid sounding nor having as smooth midrange tho. Plus, I have other loaner headphones incoming soon, and Arya SE must be a fairer reference point.
    • SE might be perhaps a little heavier by 20-30 grams than OG (likely due to new magnets). But 60% of LCD-X weight is still acceptably lightweight. Suspension strap headband with swivels is also my favorite part making me feel hugged by headphones although HEK and Susvara equipped with more flexible and porous (i.e., better) straps.
    Pic or didn't happen.

    [​IMG]

    A few other extra thoughts
    • Thought having one higher end Stax was enough but I didn't want to leave super high-voltage estat energizer on for a long time. Main reason of shopping this time around.
    • Was originally interested in getting susvara or diana (diana is very uncertain option but I already knew how awesome susvara was to me) but reasonable deals disappeared faster than I responded. Both also seem to require hefty investment in amplification. I am still eager to pick them up some day tho.
    • My minimal requirement included large cup OE, suspension strap, lightweight, high sensitivity, and decent sound. The first three could filter out most of well-received products in affordable price ranges. Oh well.
    • I may write about comparative evaluation against lcd-x, hedd, clear mg, and/or l700.2 later as they are all in the compatible price-performance bracket and come with own sets of strengths and weaknesses.
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2022

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