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Can anyone compare this to Edition XS especially in terms of soundstage? Not fan of the Ananda and Sundara but i really like the XS. I wonder where Arya v2 and Stealth stands.
One guys opinion here… I have tried the XS, Sundara and Arya v3. The Aryas are a significant step up from the XS in pretty much every category, including soundstage. That doesn’t make the XS a bad headphone, the Aryas should be better given the price jump. You will typically see the Arya compared to headphones at a similar or higher price range. Most comparisons of the XS, I have seen, are to the <$1k range which aligns with my impressions as well.
Cannot comment on the Arya v2.
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The Arya Stealth does have a larger (and better) soundstage than the XS. The Arya V2 soundstage is even larger and can be too large for some people (I also find it a little exaggerated on occasions).
This is obviously my personal opinion, YMMV etc.
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What you guys think HE6 se V2 stands in this comparison ?
I also find that Ananda’s soundstage have forward projection and doesn’t have as good far left/far right imaging. XS on the other hand have more traditionally ‘‘wider’’ soundstage and i get a good feeling of far left and far right. This especially helps when gaming or watching movies. I find Ananda a bit confusing in terms of imaging in this regard. How Arya v2 and v3 does lateral imaging ? I also like distant vocals and laid back presentation so i guess v2 better for me ? I don’t mind treble but i’m sensitive to forward vocals.
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Man, this is such a great review 
!
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@Resolve I see from your tier list that you prefer the Arya Stealth with EQ. What kind of EQ would you suggest for it?
Just a downshelf in the treble and a small drop around 12khz.
TYPE A, have the widest and deepest cavity among the NMD Custom Pads.
What You May Like: Wider Soundstage, Better Separation and Detail. Deep Bass Extension.
Spacious. Pin-Point Imaging.
What You May Not Like: Laid Back Mids, Brighter Upper Mids and Forward Treble.
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Did anyone measure Arya’s with worn pads ? @Resolve Any chance ? Curious how they behave with a year old heavily used pads. Also there are very cheap earpads for arya on aliexpress. It would be so nice to see how they measure.
Hey, sorry I haven’t had the chance.
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Just got a new unit in. Here are the measurements:
B&K 5128 Default:
Compensated to flat DFHRTF and represented with a 10dB tilt since nobody likes flat DF
B&K 5128 Raw:
GRAS (vs Harman OE 2018):
GRAS Sound Signature (Smoothed to same degree as target):
In my view, both the Stealth and Organic are a tad bright, with the Organic having even slightly more treble, but the Organic also has a bit more bass and is bound to be easier to EQ. So it’s likely the better buy at the moment.
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Resolve for president!
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Oh gosh, no thank you hahaha
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Quite impressive up to 4khz.
What i hear on my unit is different. Mine dips around 3.5khz and then peaks at 4khz. Your unit doesn’t really dip and the peak is at 5khz. Did you try the headphone on your head with a tone generator ? I wonder how much of it is head/pinna interaction vs unit variation.
Could be both. HpTF effects are real - although I will say, these egg shaped HiFiMAN headphones perform fairly consistently across different heads, so I’d wager it’s down to other factors.
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It would be nice to have an EQ profile based on this measurement, if possible.
I upgraded to Hekse and i definitely hear more treble on this one however when i compare Arya Stealth and Hekse graphs on Crinacle’s site, they are like identical, Arya even have more treble. I’m confused. It’s not about aggressiveness either. Arya Stealth is more aggressive, forward, upfront headphone. Hekse is a bit softer and spacious.
Hekse mids seems recessed a bit more and the headphone have higher technicalities and separation. Maybe that’s the culprit ? Arya Stealth have a bit crowded sound and it has a focus on some elements of the music so there is a bit masking going on.
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Hi Resolve,
Thanks for some of the bests posts ever on this forum. Hope you can help me.
I recently received a new Arya Stealth Magnets version and like it so much that I want to buy the best aftermarket cable I can find in order to get the most from this headphone.
What would you (and anyone else who has an Arya) suggest?
Also, I’m considered trying one of the hybraids from Arctic Cables? Which of their hybraids do you think would be the best match for Arya Stealth?
Thanks…Lee
With cables, it’s all about ergonomics and aesthetics. So get whatever you think looks good. Don’t fall into the expensive cable traps, it’s not going to make a difference - especially for these headphones since their impedance is fairly linear anyway.
There are some cases with IEMs that have ultra low impedance where a cable could make a difference (like the CFA Andromeda, or more recently the Letshouer Cadenza 12 given its nonlinear impedance curve), but in the vast majority of cases there will be no audible difference.
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