I like this design more than circles, but I haven't tried the he6. They should make a special edition all white version and embrace the EGG !! The build of the Arya is superficially similar to that of the Ananda – large oval cups, a suspension headband strap, and thin metal yokes on the side. With the exception of the rim of the cups, the Arya has a fully metal build. Interestingly, each cup can rotate 360 degrees infinitely. Coupled the wide vertical adjustments available, the Arya very comfortably fits on my head. The clamp force is firm but not overly tight. The suspension strap of a headband feels very soft and has a thin foam padding in it. It easily distributes the weight of the Arya. I don’t get any headband sores or pressure spots with the Arya. All in all, no complaints over comfort whatsoever. Before we get into the product itself, I should note that I do not own the original Arya headphones, so this review is that of a “fresh listener” to the Arya line. With that in mind, I have listened to many other HIFIMAN headphones, including the Ananda , Sundara , HE-R10D , and both versions of the Deva . I’ve also spent a good amount of time with other excellent planar magnetic headphones, such as the Dan Clark Audio AEON Open-X from Drop and the Audeze LCD-GX . Simon and Garfunkel's "Fakin' It" was a mixed bag. Paul Simon's voice sounded lovely as always, and the various instruments complemented each other nicely without any one drowning out the other. The middle of the song, which features a simulation of a man entering a shop with a bell on the door, didn't have the level of detail and realism where I feel like his footsteps are happening outside of my head, but this isn't a hyper-analytical headphone, either. Yeah, that's exactly what I say in my coming HE1000 Stealth first impressions: the Arya Stealth is warmer, more "musical" and intimate. An image that is very clear in my mind from when I was A/Bing them was with Elgar's Op 85 cello concert: I listened first with the HE1000 and every instrument was very precisely placed, all was incredible clear and crisp: there was zero perception of missing clarity or imaging.

First an introduction: first time poster here from the Netherlands. I started this hobby in the beginning of 2020 with the Sennheiser HD58x, and have been lurking this subreddit since. The genres I listen to mostly are Indie, Neo-Psychedelia and some (Post) Punk. Examples: The War on Drugs, Beach House, Future Islands, Idles. Delicate, yet never too relaxed, the highs add a sens of dynamic lightness too, that benefit woodwind instrument holographic layering. In fact, this is near analytical treble, but that doesn't feel forced or in your face.It's a very exotic sounding mid range, gently bright and very highly resolved. Each instrument singularity is sharply define. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by female vocal, but it isn't the case and avoid sounding thin due to this lower mid range presence that add harmonic fullness to those vocal, which are more upfront and widely open in presence than male vocal which are a bit warmer and leaner. HiFiMAN Arya Stealth — HEDDphone ONE — ZMF Auteur OG Zebrawood LTD — AKG K340 — Stanton Dynaphase Sixty (modded) A former newspaper journalist and lifelong devourer of music, Sara is passionate about using her skills and experience to help people find their own personal audio nirvana. The powerful Fiio M17 (full review soon) is one of the best DAPs on the market right now. Not only is it powerful, but it is also technically strong, just like a high-end AK DAP. The synergy with the Arya Stealth is balanced mode is good and you here get the typical powerful bass and full mids, delivered in a smooth and musical way. The depth and layering here is very good, and there’s a nice sub bass rumble, but the bass isn’t as controlled as with the higher end desktop amps. If you have no desktop amp available, the M17 is the next best thing. Good with the Arya Stealth, but just not like a desktop amp.

The new Arya SE is more forward and extreme sounding than the Hifiman’s flagship, being a great choice for people that are looking for this kind of sound signature. But if you are not a basshead, or would like to explore or listen to your music from a different perspective, you might want to try the Arya. It’s revealing, and you may hear tones, nuances, and minute details that you haven’t noticed before with other headphones. The HE-1000SE for me still is the better headphone, sounding more natural and refined. The HE-1000SE has the width, depth and 3-dimensionality where the Arya focuses most on width. The top end of the HE-1000SE for me is also more precise and extended. Basically that goes from the lows all the way up to the highs. The Arya Stealth is fuller and softer sounding with bigger bass but the HE-1000SE is more vibrant and all around you. It’s more speaker like where the Arya Stealth, to me, is more headphone like. I prefer the vocal presentation of the HE-1000SE as well. All-in-all the HE-1000 is the better one of both to my ears. That doesn’t mean you will like it more than the Arya Stealth, but it to me is the better one, getting more things right.The included cable is a 1.5m long, single crystalline copper cable with cotton reinforcement, ending in a 6.35mm plug. So the very first thing that come to my mind when I listen to the Arya was: wow, its a better Ananda with more bass, crisper resolution and even bigger soundstage! I can see this as high fidelity presentation that permit a greater appreciation of instrument resolution, texture details and accurate spatial positioning. The bass is surprisingly well layered even if not perfectly define in presence, it have weight and density to it but doesn't distract you since it's not dominant. This is a big upgrade over the bass less Ananda.

Headphones – Hifiman Susvara, Final D8000 Pro, Audeze LCD-X 2021, Hifiman Deva, Hifiman Ananda, Hifiman HE1000se, Meze Elite The Arya has a slightly more extended bass, whereas the HD800S has a slightly wider soundstage, but without A/B'ing them I don't think most people would even notice. I also think the Arya might have a slightly flatter mid range, but the difference is so minimal that it might just be in my head.While the huge soundstage shrank slightly in size, especially in width, the precision of the imaging or the sharpness of how objects were rendered increased tenfold. The stealth magnets removed the diffuseness of the stage and the placement of objects, giving the whole structure of the composition more realism, breath and overall clarity. Actually, exactly what was promised in the marketing papers. These two also share some similarities, but there are more differences than in the previous comparison. Seriously if they were the same price, I would have gotten the Sony MDR-1AM2 which sells for ~180€ in my country. The Susvara sells for 6999€ Thus said, it scales incredibly well so don't expect to hear what is capable of with entry level gear.

When it comes to its bass performance, the Arya Stealth delivers quite well with a good amount of extension all the way down to the sub-bass region. However, the bass on the Arya is not for the bassheads. I think it sounds clean and precise but without the (over) emphasis that we usually hear on some warm-sounding headphones or bassy headphones. The good thing is, you can give the bass region a little bit of a bump using an EQ to suit your taste. Mids and Highs Are Its Forte Let see in this review if the Arya worth their asking price and deliver a sound performance that can be truely consider high end. Treble​The Arya in its first edition had a few minor quirks here, notably in the 6khz and 8khz region, making it prone to sibilance with certain songs and sometimes being a bit too aggressive with genres like metal. The V2 fixed both quirks but kept the clarity and airiness. The Arya Stealth is undeniably one of the best sounding flagship headphones on the market and it is a real shame for HiFiMan that they haven't bundled it with a cable and some accessories worthy of its status. Apart from adding the Stealth Magnets, the drivers also seem to be different than in the previous versions of Arya. They now have that green tilt that is present in the HE1000se, it looks…identical. I don’t think that these are the same drivers, but I don’t have proof that they’re not.Speaking of the HD800S, how does the Arya compare to this venerable classic? From a tonal perspective, the Arya has a slightly V-shaped profile with a sharp vividness while the HD800S is smoother with a more neutral tuning. That 1 kHz scoop is quite noticeable when doing an AB comparison. Though the HD800S does still have a bit of an edge to its sound, it’s much better controlled than what the Arya presents. Then, the HD820 sound more neutral bright, so perhaps better balanced for proper high fidelity monitor like listening from what I remember.