Well…now you are!! Was a pleasure to read your impressions. Thanks.
2 Likes
You nailed the arya description. I had the arya for a bit, but not the 800s. It’s a phenomenal headphone.
2 Likes
Interested in hearing your decision at the end of a few more weeks of comparison! I’m very happy with my HE1000se, which matches up with your description of the Arya very well, but the HD800s still piques my interest.
3 Likes
Just received a beautiful Arya in the mail. Burn-in with this thing has been REAL. It came out of the box sounding like a sibilant mess, but has really shown its true colors over about a day of listening. The longer I listen the warmer its presentation becomes. I’m a big fan of what’s going on here. Will follow up with more thoughts in a while 
8 Likes
A few more observations after another week with the Arya:
1 - with a slight bass shelf (+2 or +3db at 80hz), Arya makes for a helluva pair with even the hardest bassiest electronica. The tight well-controlled bass makes for an excellent foundation while Arya’s famous soundstage & imaging let the synths and high-hats sing. I find it fascinating that one headphone can be so good at both live acoustic jazz AND hard techno at the same time. Arya is one impressive beast.
2 - Arya is painfully unforgiving of poorly mastered music. If you put bright music into the Arya your ears will immediately start bleeding. 
I made the unfortunate mistake of playing Genesis “Invisible Touch” through Arya a few days ago and physically cringed. I don’t think this is really Arya’s fault, the mastering of the track is incredibly sharp and bright, but Arya is not going to lie to you, it’s going to give you whatever you put in. It is far less forgiving than the HD800S in that way. You’ve been warned. 
Fortunately, Arya works reasonably well with my Schiit Valhalla 2 tube amp as long as the music I’m listening to isn’t terribly heavy on the low end (anything with a lot of sub bass will distort…I think Valhalla just isn’t quite powerful enough to drive Arya at full blast), but most anything I would generally listen to on tubes (i.e. jazz, acoustic, etc) works quite well. Anything too bright for even the tubes to soften I just wouldn’t use Arya to listen to (i’m looking at you, Genesis! 
)
3 - Arya’s main party trick, I think, is its hyper-realistic live sound. It takes “high fidelity” to a level I’ve never heard before. Live recordings (Jazz At the Pawnshop, for example) sound like the instruments are in the room with you. It’s really quite hypnotic & addicting.
4 - I don’t much care for vocals on Arya. I know most people rave about the mids, but they sound thin and flat to me. I much prefer the HD800S for vocals.
8 Likes
+1 to this!!
I also add a 2db shelf at 95hz for a bit more impact. Its truly amazing how far 2db can go when it comes to the ultra transparent sound of the Aryas. I find myself hearing changes in eq much more pronounced than on other headphones.
1 Like
Yes! Arya takes very well to eq. I think that’s typical of planars? Arya is my first planar, so 
. You know what I’d love to see? I’d love to see the EQ master Resolve EQ Arya and see how close he could get it to Susvara’s sound. I’m really curious how far apart they are and if much of it is just FR.
1 Like
That’s an interesting thought. I would imagine they are not too far off tonally, and I’m sure with both on hand one could match them fairly easily!
1 Like
There is an EQ profile in this review by Chrono you might check out.
5 Likes
Have the 6xxs and just got the Arya. Love everything about the Arya except for the midrange. Seems very lacking to me. Need to swap them for headphones with more richness, warmth, darkness. Willing to give up the clarity and soundstage for better midrange. Basically I want the 6xxs with better bass and treble/clarity. Any suggestions? Thanks!
4 Likes
Either try some EQ or I’d go for focal clear or zmf auteur…
1 Like
Welcome. It may also be affected by your DAC and amplification. Good luck.
A common recommendation for a super 6xx is to look to the ZMF Models.
What might help us help you is knowing what you listen to, on what equipment.
1 Like
Funny. Just ordered the Bifrost and Lyr3 to see if that helps.
1 Like
Will try both. Thanks for the suggestions.
1 Like
The Clear is often presented as an upgrade to the HD-600 – but it’s neutral to bright rather than warm or dark. However, it’s a really good and popular product. I went from the HD-600 to the Focal Elex (too bright and harsh) to the Clear.
2 Likes
I don’t have direct experience with this specific chain, but I tend to think it may be a good pairing.
6XX and Arya are generally opposite in sound signature (and thus may be good complementary headphones to have in the same collection), with the Clear and Auteur somewhere in the middle.
I’d spend some time with the gear you just ordered, and then re-evaluate. You may have what you’re looking for, or have a better sense of what’s next. Good luck.
2 Likes
Listen to 60% jazz/classical and the Arya is great.
40% rock/folk/oldcountry/alternative/ and Ayra is empty and lacking (but very very clear)
Bifrost/Lyr3/Audiolab Cdt6000 transport/Marantz tt-15s1 turntable with micro line upgraded Clearaudio Wood virtuoso MM cart. No laptop in my home system so no eq possible (unless I’m missing something??)
Looks like ZMF is direct from manufacture so no test period.
Maybe I just need a semi upgrade to the 6xxs and keep the Aryas. What would a <$500 upgrade to the 6xxs be?
Thanks all!
2 Likes
IMO, nothing is really an upgrade under $500. The 6XX are a fantastic value, and a standard for basic audiophile quality. Some people attach them to extremely expensive amplifiers to maximize performance.
You can move sideways to HiFiMan under $500 for similar performance, but take the comments about poor QC/reliability issues seriously.
The Elex are $700 and better in some ways, but not an unreserved upgrade because of their glare and piercing treble. The Clear stomps on Sennheiser’s 600 family (600, 650, 6XX) per all technical criteria, but even used it’ll run probably $800+.
As this forum is hosted by Headphones.com here, check out their 365 day return policy. I’ve bought two things from them, and the owners were great.
6 Likes