Hifiman Arya - Official Thread

Cool. I’m bullish on the Mogwai SE pairing with all but the least sensitive planars. It’s 3 to 8 watt power output makes it versatile and likely up to the task. Good to know about the tube magic even when driven to its full potential. I’ll keep you posted if I go down this route.

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Please do. I will be looking to upgrade my tube amp either later this year or next spring, so your experience would be most valuable.

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I am hoping to get some advice on a DAC to pair with my current setup (Gustard H16 & Arya V2). My current DAC is a Topping D50s and a iFi Zen DAC. I found that with the D50s, the technical capabilities of the Arya is mind-blowing. However I do prefer a slightly warm sound signature, I’ve tried using EQ in EAPO and added a harman bass shelf. The EQ helped somewhat but still did not quite hit the right spot.

I switched back to the Zen DAC and the sound signature difference was profound to me, it was a little warmer and the low end hit a little harder as is known for Burr-brown dac and iFi DACS. I did notice that the treble was just slightly rolled off and it overall just seemed less resolving than with the D50s.

What I’m looking for is essentially a mix between the D50s and the Zen DAC. I’ve been led to either AKM dacs by a friend and a local store or maybe a multibit dac like the mimby and bifrost 2.

I would greatly appreciate any other suggestions/insights. Other than that, I am really loving the Aryas though.

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Not sure how much I can help other than saying I’m using a Bifrost 2 for my Arya and it’s beautiful. No regrets at all…

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I’ve had many recommend the Bifrost 2 and was definitely very seriously considering it. After watching a couple reviews of the Bifrost 2 however, I was concerned that the Bifrost would colour the sound a little too much compared to similarly priced DS DACs. So what I’ve done is I ordered a Soncoz SGD 1 to pair with my H16. I’ve read/watched the reviews for it and the takeaway I got is that it is a neutral and highly resolving DAC but has some smoothness to it without being harsh. Also the Bifrost 2 is a little beyond the budget for a DAC at the moment.

If I still find myself craving for some warmth in the sound, I would probably experiment with one of those cheap Tube preamplifiers and put it between the SGD 1 and H16 and I get to experiment with some tubes.

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I have posted a comparison of the Hifiman Arya vs Ananda vs HE1000se in the HE1000se thread:

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Has anyone tried arya with rebelamp?
Gives it that extra punch it needs :ok_hand:t2: :grin:

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I was wondering about this very thing. I feel the same way with the Arya > V280.

Just to say that Hifiman are giving away a set of Arya on their Facebook page (sorry, no link, I don’t do Facebook).

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Thanks. I don’t do Facebook or HiFiMan! He he.

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@Resolve Can you share your EQ profile for the Arya please? I find my preference very similar to yours, and i just got the arya today. Thanks so much!!

Try Aune X8. I have both D50s and Aune, the latter is more musical, when paired with IFI zen can

hey guys, which amp do you prefer with your Arya’s and why? i’m also interested in your EQ preferences and maybe also explain.

i’ll start and say i use the cavalli liquid platinum with it with JJ gold tubes and i’am very satisfied with this combo. in regards to EQ, i have to admit, i love bass and bump it up like this: 90Hz with a Q of 0.5 and a gain of 9 dB. this means i have 9dB of gain at 20 Hz, its around 6 at 50 Hz and 4 at 100 Hz … its very gradual from like 300Hz onward. so i’am not overly crazy (at least i hope so) :sweat_smile:

the rest of the FR i don’t touch because i really love the arya’s as is. to be clear, i could live without EQ but for certain songs and genres it’s so satisfying to have that rumble. so why not. like flavouring a drink. all personal preference. no right - no wrong.

i’am very interested in what u guys can share.

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Lyr 3 has really changed my relationship with Arya. Previously, on A90, I liked Arya but often found it too bright, and always too dry. Lyr adds just the right amount of warmth to give Arya the body it lacked on A90, and it tames the treble that previously was often fatiguing. On A90, I struggled constantly with whether I liked Arya enough to keep it - sometimes it sounded amazing, other times it just grated on my nerves. With Lyr, Arya is always right where I want it to be, no EQ required.

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Replace Lyr3 with V280 and A90 with THX887 and this sums up my experience with the Arya.
When I first got the Arya I was initially impressed with the detail and staging but also quickly found it lacking musicality and warmth. This was being fed from S.M.S.L. SU8 → THX887 which I replaced at the same time for the Bifrost2 and Violectric V280 respectively. Being that I replaced DAC and amp at the same time, I can’t really tell you which had a more significant impact on the sound but it’s quite an improvement. To quote Chris again “Arya is right where I want it to be”. I do use the Lokius to bring up the bass a bit for some music, though it doesn’t really need it.
I know that sound is highly subjective but given the difference I’ve heard in its presentation I can’t help thinking that people knocking the Arya for lacking musicality or the stage being distracting or disengaging could, at least in part, be an issue with synergy. In my initial chain I felt the wide stage was too sparse and it sounded too separated but now in a much warmer, less clinical chain, it’s much more cohesive and full bodied. It definitely seems to be more finicky than some (probably all except maybe 800s) of my other HPs.

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Funny you mention the V280 - I came very close to pulling the trigger on a V550 a few weeks ago when at the very last minute I pulled back, uncertain I wanted to spend that much money on a solid state amp right now. That’s when I landed on Lyr 3 instead as my new Arya solution.

^^^100% agree

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i should also mention how my “relationship” with the Arya’s changed:

i startet using a Magni 3. sound was very decent imo. this small amp always suprised me with the amount of power and tonality. but i couldn’t get over the thought that im driving a almost 2K$ headphone with a 100$ amp. so in my mind, this was very likely the bottleneck that holds my Arya’s potential back.
next was the THX SP200. this was very unappealing to me. clarity / detail overload and very bright tonality overall. didn’t like it at all. sold the amp after because never had a good experience with it, regardless with which can’s. next was the Aune X7s '21 Class A amp. great build quality and solid performer, but i still couldn’t believe this was “it” in terms of sound quality. in comparison i even liked the magni 3 a little bit more. but they sounded similar. moving on: reading a lot about synergy for the Arya, one recommendation popped up quite often that interested me: Cavalli Liquid Platinum. after my first listen i was initially thrown off - it sounded horrible to me :anguished: - it sounded very flat and even Magni 3 was more resolving. i couldn’t wrap my head around that. so i decided to change the tubes as a “last option”. reading a lot, i decided on the JJ Gold Pin’s. i burned them in for about 80 hours before i judged them and after that: wow! now i was very impressed. like a totally new amp. smooth, spacious, no treble harshness, great sense of air, longer decay’s, better overall clarity. despite being super happy with the result, i did’t stop here. because of an personal recommendation from a very known person in the industry (that i highly respect and trust) i then decided to buy a Singxer SA-1 and compare it to my LP. i liked the presentation very much but in comparison, it seemed less “airy” - little more “closed in” and a bit less clear. it had a little more low end and the treble wasn’t sharp or fatiguing. to my ears, it overall sounded inferior to the LP, though sounding very relaxed and non fatiguing. got rid of it and never looked back :slight_smile: since then, i’m not interested to upgrade for a while. of course, i do have future dreams: Cayin HA-6A Tube Amplifier. but i had just spend over 4K on all new gear, so i’m set for now :blush: - and very happy overall.

i also have to agree with your statement:

thats a great observation and u described it very well.

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Supposedly there is a new silent revision to Arya. It’s now a bit less more sensitive and includes “stealth magnets”?

Previous:

Impedance : 35Ω
Sensitivity : 90db

New:

Impedance: 32Ω
Sensitivity : 94db

Source: Reddit - Dive into anything

I’ll give many thumbs up to the first person to get one and compare against the last revision!

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Interesting… (Plus a few extra characters)

Those new figures would mean the revised model is more sensitive, by a fair margin.

Here are the power requirements for this updated model:

vs. what’s needed to drive the original:

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