Good yes thanks I’ll check out the seal
Good suggestions thank you. Both would bring me in well under budget, so a welcome bonus
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Hello, looking for some advice on tips for the Moondrop Aria, i’ve been using the ones that came in the box (the medium size i think), but they kind irritate my ears after a couple of minutes, they also give me another problem, they start pulling themself out of my ear and i have to keep pulling them in like, every minute or something, i’m looking for something comfortable and something that don’t come out of my ear whenever it want.
I know there’s foam and silicon tips, but don’t know how they would affect the sound or if they would hurt my ears like the ones i’m using now, read about the xelastec tips, or something, and they suppose to improve the sound, but someone have good confortable experience with them?
Also if i can get some recommendations on balance cable for the meze 99 classic would be awesome.
Tips are something so personal that what I love another will hate etc. I would say that there are just as personal, if not more, as underwear. They are permanently inside your ears and everyone’s ears are a different shape.
So, I’m afraid it’s not quite as simple as saying “these”.
I can recommend some, such as the Xelastec that you mention, which are actually my favourite tips for longer sessions, although they are a pain to care for and are certainly not a good idea if you remove them from your ears regularly.
There are also other tips by the same company, such as the Crystal, which a lot of people rate and are not as difficult to deal with as the Xelastec. I haven’t tried these but do have some arriving.
There are a million types of silicone tips, made of thin silicone, soft silicone, hard sillicone, smooth, ribbed etc.
Then you also get bore size, and length, and many other factors.
The problem is that not only does all of the above affect comfort, it also affects sound, something that you may or may not like/prefer.
So, after all of that info that has helped you exactly zero, here are a few suggestions (I was going to say “tips”)…
First, size. Different sizes will not only affect the comfort due to their size, they will also change the insertion depth of the IEM, depending on the size of your ear canal. Some IEMs work with deep insertion, others with shallow insertion, some people prefer getting them a bit further inside (to secure them better), others don’t. Again, how deep they go also depends on the IEM shape.
What I am saying here is don’t be scared to try smaller sizes than you think you need, you may find it seals in a position that you prefer.
Also, try out different things in the low price bracket to get a general idea. For example, there are foam tips by NewBee that are available very cheaply on Amazon and even cheaper on places like AE. This will let you know if you like foam or not. If you do, then maybe look into better quality ones (not that NewBee are terrible, but foam tips do wear out fairly quickly).
If buying something like Xelastec, they have multiple sizes in one pack. This is a good idea the first time around with them as they are a little different and the size you prefer may differ from say a sillicone. The first ones I purchased where the SM M ML set and while the M is usually what works for me (and what I have purchased since), I do use the other two sizes on specific IEMs.
I’m going to stop here because this is getting way too long but as a TLDR: The only way to find the tips for you is by you trying tips until you find them.
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Is is the tips causing issue, or could it be that the cable is pulling the earphones out of your ears? I had this issue with the Dunu SA6, as the memory wire around the earhooks was too aggressive and pulled the right earphone out of my ear; a different cable fully resolved the issue.
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Sorry to disagree, but all you wrote was helpful.
For all the types of tips you mention, they don’t cause irritation? because i don’t mind the type of the tip as long as it don’t irritate my ears and don’t affect the sound to much, since i’m trying things…
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Haven’t think on that possibility, but it’s just the left one that come out, now i would put attention on that next time, fortunately for me i was already planning on getting a new cable for the Arias, so if that’s the problem i already have the solution.
Hi everyone, looking for some advice on Arya vs LCD X. I have a pair of LCD X 2021 that I enjoy quite a bit but I have been itching to try the Arya. Is there a place for both in one’s collection? I don’t think I want to get rid of my LCD X unless I upgrade to something like LCD-5 which is not happening anytime soon. I also have VC and Auteur for my dynamic driver listening. I was hoping to have a couple options for planars as well but only if they complement each other.
For reference, I will be driving them from BF2+Jot2 (also not looking to upgrade in any near term). I typically listen to metal, classic rock and jazz (sometimes classical).
To first answer the core question, they’re very different and you absolutely aren’t getting the same thing, so you wouldn’t necessarily go wrong.
Having heard both the 2021 and V3 to some extent, my personal opinion is that the Aryas are very good but not worth the asking price for the build quality. The open box price from Hifiman at $1299 is a much better proposition. The LCD-X is a far better built headphone, albeit much heavier. I tried out and didn’t keep both for different reasons, but if you made me choose one today, I’d probably lean towards the LCD-X, as despite the weight the build quality and customer support are going to be better.
The primary question is probably whether you’re explicitly looking for soundstage, at which point I would say the Arya has it, but in the short time I spent with it I could see how one might describe it as artificial sounding. That isn’t to say they’re bad, but they’re certainly airy – pun somewhat intended, as they’re airy in the very literal sense with how open the back is. Jazz and classical music are probably your best kinds of choices for it, though. You shouldn’t have any problem driving them, although I haven’t had a Jotunheim.
Assuming that you were willing to spend MSRP on the Arya and you’re not dead set on soundstage but rather something different from the LCD-X, you might want to try out some of the alternatives in the same bracket. A used VO is also not out of the question since a lot have come onto the secondary market as of late. Like most things in the hobby it just comes down to what you’re looking for.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I was actually looking to get a lightly used Arya V2/V3 for around $1100-$1200.
I don’t mind the weight of LCD-X, they’re actually quite comfortable to me. I am not really explicitly looking for soundstage but wanted to see if I could get a good sounding planar under $2000 that would be different or complement LCD-X.
I agree with Cuttooth as he pretty much covered most of what you asked. Audeze has the better build quality and customer service. Hifiman planars have great soundstage with highly addictive openness on their planars. I absolutely love Hifiman planar sound and could not see myself ever without it.
I don’t have Aryas but I do have many Hifiman headphones and all of them pair exceedingly well with Schiit Jotunheim 2. Fortunately, my Jotunheim 2 is one of my most reliably consistent well-pairing amplifiers. While it may be outperformed by one or two amplifiers of my collection when pairing with some headphones, It will most likely always be placed among the top five with almost all of my headphone pairings. I would say that with the two planars that you are considering, I anticipate that you will find that they perform quite well and would bring two different flavors that compliment each other with variety in your collection. I would do it.
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If soundstage is what you’re after, I recommend auditioning the Sennheiser HD 800S; it’s the king of soundstage IMO.
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Thanks @hottyson and @Nuance for the advice and thoughts!
I think I’ve decided to stay with my LCD X for now although I have been on the lookout for a pair of good used HD800s for some time now.
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Very cool. I’m loving my LCD-X 2021, especially with Resolve’s EQ to bring up the upper mids and lower treble (the one with the fewer eq presets is what I use). Enjoy!
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There must be a reason that Sennheiser HD800S have remained relevant in headphone circles. With such a great deal of attention that the HD800S and the resurrected attention/hype on the HEDD HEDDphone, there is a great dilemma as to which would be better to acquire. I am a lover of soundstage and these both have been suggested to excel at reproducing enjoyable soundstage. Perhaps you might also consider and look into the HEDDphone since it has been suggested by some as an AMT Driver alternative to the dynamic driver Sennheiser HD800S. Or, get both?
Resolve has reviewed the HEDDphone:
DMS STOLE Resolve’s pair! and reviewed the HEDDphone here:
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HD800 was my original Everest when I got into this hobby as a grad student. My first “audiophile grade” headphones were HD600 which my wife had taken over at some point. I recently got her a new HD560S and got back my HD600s 
which I still use quite often for casual listening.
None of my current headphones are really big on soundstage and I often listen to jazz so I would like to get one with a good soundstage. Thank you for sharing the links for HEDDphone reviews. I had never really looked into them but will check them out.
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Hi newbie and first post here. I recently just ordered the Clear from Headphones.com bc it’s an amazing deal! I’m looking forward to receiving it. This is my first “high end” headphone, coming from Master Dynamic MW60 and RHA T20 IEM.
I would like your advice on dac/amp option to pair with the Clear as I want to get the most out if it. Budget of $200.
My first question is do I even need dac/amp at all? If no dac/amp, I’ll primarily use my iPad Air 4th generation with usb c dongle to drive it. I stream music with Amazon HD. I heard that the Clear is not hard to drive so maybe this is sufficient?
Regarding the dac/amp, at first I was set on the ifi zen dac v2. But after looking around I realize that the hip dac v2 might be a viable option if the two have the same internal electronics, but I wonder whether they sound the same? The hip dac also appears to be a bit more powerful and it’s more portable. So if all things being equal sound-wise, I think I’d pick the hip dac. Of course the zen would be nice if I ever decide to use it as an external dac.
The third option is the ifi go blu. It’s nice to be able to use the Bluetooth or to tether using usb c. I understand that it’s a little bit less power than the zen and hip but if it sounds as good as the zen and hip, it might be the best option for me.
Thank you for your input.
Newbie
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The Clear is easy to drive and should run sufficiently off most things, but most people would advocate for putting at least a little extra cash in on a DAC and amp given the investment into the Clears. At the very least a cheap combo amp and DAC stack doesn’t hurt, and you can get to a point of diminishing returns very quickly given the Clears not being hard to drive.
If you want to stay at or just over $200 the most popular US-based options will be the Schiit Magni/Modi ($200) or JDS Atom ($219) stacks. I haven’t listened to either but I’m going to reasonably guess that there won’t be much if any of a noticeable difference between either, so go with your budget and whatever fits your aesthetic preferences. I know iFi is popular as well, so really any of those options are probably fine. Again, in that price range, unless something has overwhelmingly bad reviews, just go with what looks best to you.
All that said, don’t feel obligated to buy anything until you’ve had the time to test things out and see where you stand. You can probably also find some decent deals in the used market, and Schiit gear moves pretty frequently as people upgrade.
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Here’s one that’s great, but for some reason is overlooked in the recommendations.
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