HEDD oh my, Natalie has never sounded better. Intense upper midrange. S:Must try. The higher the high-frequency response, the clearer and crispier the treble. Focal Clear ($1,490.00 new / $850.00 used) HIFIMAN Arya ($1,599.00 new / $1,200.00 open box) HEDD HEDDphones ($1,899.00 new / 1000.00 NIB) Specs: Audeze LCD-3 Impedance: 110ohms Sensitivity: 101dB/1mW 1mW required for 100dB Weight: 635g/22.4oz Focal Clear Impedance: 55ohms Sensitivity: 104dB/1mW 1mW required for 100dB Weight: 450g/15.9oz Big spike in the treble. I have the Clear and the just picked up the Stellia yesterday. The Arya still wins on soundstage, image distinction and depth, and I find the LCD-X has a more intimate center image thats pulled towards me, while the Aryas is more evenly spread out in front. More body and weight, instruments sound clearer. The vocals: when it comes to the vocal is crisp and clear. Arya means "noble" or "honorable" in Sanskrit. Foldable devices are easier to transport and take up less storage space. Water-resistant devices can resist the penetration of water, such as powerful water jets, but not being submerged into water. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 14dB/mW higher sound pressure level? In this video 3 great headphones are compared head to head. Picky guitar but weighty vocals. I hated, I mean HATED to spend $3000 on some silly headphones, but that's exactly what the Stellia did for me. Great (golfing panther) Votes: 84 30.9% Total voters 272 1 2 3 Listen to felt prepared piano sleep music, or Bruno mars, or Iron Maiden. Brightness makes this passage less haunting but still beautiful. Slight sibilance. Arya has more extension in the highs/lows but slightly scooped midrange compared to Clears. An alright starter headphone, if generally overrated. Battery power, or battery capacity, represents the amount of electrical energy that a battery can store. They also have more bass and clear high notes. Some spiciness in the treble that is HD800-esque, but with a better midrange presentation. LCD a little more laid back. The LCD-X has a more muted and muffled upper midrange, and so you lose a bit of the information throughout that range, whereas that region is a bit elevated on the Arya. Sensual, intimate right ear whisper. Imaging as expected of an earspeaker configuration; surprisingly good tonality and expected bad extension. 3Hz lower low-frequency? A parody of the V-shaped response. This could instead be represented with a traditional diffuse field target, but I dont think anyone actually wants their headphones to sound like that, so Im omitting that one for now. Good dynamic performance especially in the bass. I do a lot of gaming and I've been recently listening to a lot more music. Nice decay. Devices with a higher sound pressure level are generally louder when supplied with any given audio source. However, the Sundara 2018 have a more stable fit and come with a 1/4" TRS adapter. Basically a brighter and slightly shoutier version of the OG; may be a little too intense for some. Nothing much different from your average Grado; paid extra for the novelty, not the sonic improvements. Lastly, I should point out that already after less than one year since its introduction, the Arya Stealth is already down to $1200, and that is truly a great price given the headphone's performance. Soundstage is back. Sounds like a "Z1R-lite", with arguably better bass response but peakier treble. Slight wonkiness around the lower midrange, but otherwise a capable planar headphone. Generally pleasing tuning with a little honkiness in the centre-midrange. These are the headphones for bassheads. Note: This may vary by region. Beautiful guitar midrange. Note: This may vary by region. Good tonality but still suffers from narrow imaging. So overall it has excellent detail retrieval, however this quality may be enhanced on the Arya due to other factors like its expansive soundstage and layering capabilities as well. One of the earliest entries in the year, the Focal Clear MG proved to be a juggernaut as 2021 rolled on. Mids here are present in the right amount. One note seems more noticeable but not as much as on Arya. Shop theHiFiMAN Arya here at the best price. The Stellia also has a midbass bump, which some people may like. The HiFiMAN Arya is an excellent sounding headphone that prioritizes clarity, soundstage, layering and depth. Sounds like an odd mashup of the HD600 and the Clear, in a good way. Not the most resolving. This design provides very natural and accurate sound. No sibilance. In my mind, the Arya has a fairly normal timbre, and I think thats a good thing for a planar, even if its not as natural sounding as something from ZMF. The construction comments are accurate; built quality pales in comparison to, say, my Focal Clear MG Professional headphones. The cable is designed to minimize tangling. Clear nice balance between acoustic guitar, flute and Robert Plants vocals. HiFiMAN Arya vs Focal Clear vs Audeze LCD-X: Which high end headphones should you buy? AKG's struck a turkey. Drum distortion sounds like drum membrane flex. A slight tonal improvement over the LCD-4, but also comes with a slight hit in resolution. This may be due to the elongated cup shape that causes the pads to not fully seal around the head - since they protrude down towards the jaw - and in general I dont find any of HiFiMANs egg-shaped headphones to have much for punch and slam either. Headphones and Headphone Amplifier Reviews Headphone & IEM Reviews & Discussions Hifiman Arya Review (headphone) amirm Nov 4, 2021 Rate this headphone: 1. Well-tuned but with overpowering mid-bass and extremely dulled transients. Devices with neodymium magnets are lighter and more powerful than those which use ferrite magnets. The Clears seem to do most everything right with seemingly no weaknesses. Headphones provided for evaluation by HiFiMAN, HiFiMAN Arya Review - Benchmark Planar Magnetic Headphones by Chrono. If you want a little more balance than the Teaks. Indeed. Surprisingly wide and spacious soundstage for a closed-back. Muffled, narrow-sounding, and lacking surface-level detail. While not as sturdy feeling as the Audeze LCD-X, the HiFiMAN Arya feels reasonably well-built. One of the better midrange planars out there. Headphones are occasionally tested on the Motu M2 and Topping A90, but final ranks are determined according to performance on the micro Black Label unless performance is deemed superior on the A90, in which case it will also be indicated as such. While the Arya does do a better job of it than the Ananda, it still lacks the physical impact of both the Audeze LCD-X and the dynamic driver Focal Clear. Extremely uneven tuning, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. Prefer the original A900X. Heres the Arya compared to the Harman over-ear 2013 target. Clearly separated instruments. Wibbly-wobbly midrange with far too liberal a bass boost makes for a terrible sound. Bass is there but just below the quality of the LCD. Arya nice bass, high whisper a little sharp. The bass is clear and not overblown, providing a distinct pool of frequencies that really come alive. To charge the device, you simply put it down on a compatible charging pad. Instrument timbre is perfect - standup bass, mandolin, acoustic guitar all sound like real instruments. a first number of 6 denotes that it is completely dustproof, and a second number of 7 denotes that the device can withstand full immersion in water. Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. Gaming HD800, mixing Focal. Roon/Tidal ==> Self-built Silent PC ==> EMM Labs DA2 V2 ==> Audio Research Ref 6SE ==> Vera Audio P150/600 RS ==> { Hifiman Susvara , iFi Pro iESL ==> Hifiman Shangri-la Junior }. Focal Elex ($700) and Clear ($990) Under $1000 we start getting into Focal headphones, and these are without a doubt some of the slammiest open-back headphones out there - and I mean that in terms of their technical performance, not in terms of a boosted bass response. HIFIMAN recommends 150+, which I surpassed before completing this . High treble-to-midrange contrast makes things sound shrill and borderline-sibilant. Nice bass weight. Really nice weight. Theyve also found a way to make these headphones incredibly lightweight too, as wearing them for long hours feels like a breeze. The device is designed in a way that allows sound to go out through the back of the ear cups, which usually have vents or perforations. Thanks! This is still a premium audiophile headphone in my eyes, but its $1,299 price point is actually the most reasonable, giving you a fantastic value. Excellent piano, strings and sax. Average imaging and resolution. "Veiled" with a warm tilt (in comparison to HD600), and pretty terrible at imaging. Holds up better here than on Crime of the Century. At around the Aryas price, I dont know of another headphone that does a better job of instrument separation and distinction. Some tuning refinements over the Stellia, though technically limited. This audio plug allows you to connect to a range of devices which use a standard 3.5mm jack. Lacking serious extension for a planar. My opinion is that the Utopia and Stellia are on a completely different level than any of the other Focal cans. Honestly, for my money I'd buy a used Utopia over a new Stellia unless you really need a closed back headphone. We consider a lower weight better because lighter devices are more comfortable to carry. Drums lacking and still distorted. It excels in providing an outward headspace that likens itself more to open-back headphones than its closed-back principle. timestamp timestamp He loves horror movies and emo music. If the community deems this amplifier as necessary for said headphone, the price of the amplifier will also be added to the MSRP value and valued accordingly. Calling them 'wood' is probably a bit of a stretch ;-). Without EQ I would rate these headphones thusly: People have a tendency to overestimate their hearing capabilities. How do I possibly pick between the two? Too much bloat going on in the bass, which is a shame given that the rest of the mids are alright. Sharp, shrill, piercing, sibilant, and all other synonyms. The one area where the Arya falters a bit is in the sense of punch and slam, or what some have traditionally called macrodynamics. Of course, you definitely get that feeling listening to the Stealth as well. The Stellia also has a midbass bump, which some people may like. For anyone looking for a flagship headphone under $2000, the Arya should probably be near the top of that list. Bass guitar slightly more emphasized than standard guitar. This audio plug allows you to connect to a range of devices which use a standard 3.5mm jack. This closed-back headphone delivers great depth that reveals a ton of realism and accuracy, while not withholding a sense of scale. That also includes the E & F ranks. Water-resistant devices can resist the penetration of water, such as powerful water jets, but not being submerged into water. I would say if you are looking at the Stellia, a better comparison would be with the HE 1000 SE, which can be easily driven from any DAP, not with the Arya. A headset is one headphone or pair with a built-in microphone. HEDD nice balance between guitar, flute and vocals. Not the worst Grado, but you could still do better than Grado. The time it takes to fully charge the battery. Bright finger snaps. Vocal, guitar, bass and drum better balanced. I also find the Arya to have a more immediate and snappy kind of sound - giving an extra sense of speed and control. HiFiMAN Arya Vs HifiMAN Susvara Vs HifiMAN Edition XS Vs Vs Focal Utopia 2022 Vs Audeze LCD-X Open-Back. Strong bass and excellent midrange. Arya beginning more intimate. Foldable devices are easier to transport and take up less storage space. Choppy midrange response is its biggest turnoff, but otherwise a decent V-shaped headphone. As an upgrade from the original Clear, the MG provides great depth and transparency that only Focal can deliver. With a longer battery life you have to charge the device less often. And heres the Arya relative to a custom target that Im calling enthusiast neutral. Just a bad headphone all around. Why is Focal Clear MG better than HiFiMan Arya? With a detachable cable you can use alternative cables, and if the cable is pulled it will pop out instead of breaking. Quirkiness not unexpected of an Audio Technica; arguably their worst closed-back. Piano is excellent, strings and cymbals very nice. Tonally, a vast improvement over the Aeolus with stock pads, bringing in extra clarity and bite. Extremely nasally vocals and lacks weight in the mids. One of the best tuned headphones available, only limited by its raw resolving ability. The Utopia has an extra helping of clarity and soundstage realism to my ear. Slightly honky midrange, weird uneven treble, and hard to get a proper seal. An intense sound given its significant treble boost, but countered by a smooth lower-midrange bump. Severe lack of upper midrange and treble results in a muffled, dulled tone. Im not going to listen to you! Thin and uneven mids with narrow, congested staging. Listening to this wonderful open-back headphone gave me one of my favorite listening experiences this year, with its phenomenal soundstage and almost overwhelming detail. Tonality is somewhat off with peaks and dips here and there, but overall not a bad sounding headphone.