I want to replace the stock ear pads on the Arya Stealth to see if I can get a bit more warmth without losing the sound stage. I use them for gaming and music.
I’m leaning ZMF Hifiman + Subs but wondering if I should pick Dekoni Elite Hybrid or Fenestrated instead.
Anyone do some pad rolling on these? Thoughts?
I recently had the earpads and headband start to peel on my Arya Stealths. I replaced the pads with Dakoni pads because I did not see an upgraded version available from Hifiman and didn't want the new ones to peel in a few years, too. I also replaced the headband with an aftermarket leather headband; however, one of the screws that holds the yokes on got stripped. The head of the screw literally broke up when I tried to unscrew it because apparently Hifiman uses too much Loctite in these things.
I emailed support to order a replacement headband entirely, but instead of answering me if they had one available, they wanted me to RMA the entire headphone for a replacement unit. I told them I'd just like to replace the headband since I've had them for, I think, more than 2 years.
The headphones are working, and I got them reassembled. Does anyone know where I can get a stock headband for the Arya Stealth model in the US?
Photos of the issue. I couldn't even get the screw out with an extractor kit...
Where I had to drill out the screw head because it was broken.
I’ve been auditioning the Arya Organics at my local store today with my tube amp and select vinyl from my collection. While there is a lot to admire, some songs just sounded too bright and harsh. Usually it’s certain horns (trumpet, sax) that stand out as bright, or sometimes the general presentation can have too much of a shiny, shimmery sheen to it. I listen to a lot of small group jazz with some soul and acoustic also thrown in, but jazz really is the focus.
The comfort of the Arya Organic is supreme: the egg-shaped cups are the big draw for me. They disappear on my head compared to everything else. Rounded cups cause discomfort for my ears after 30-45 minutes.
My next step is to rule out (or in) the Arya HE1000 Stealth (using the same egg-shaped cups), but the problem is my local store do not have it available for audition.
AliExpress have a great deal on at the moment with free 90 day returns.
I’d plan to audition them for a few days, and either keep them if they hit the mark, or buy the Arya Organics from my local store if they don’t. While they are not perfect, they are still quite amazing and had me smiling in the store on more than one occasion. When I have extra budget, I might invest in an EQ box.
My question for this crew is: has anyone had any change of mind experiences with AliExpress on headphone and how did it go? Should I steer clear, or is this viable?
I’ll be using the official HifiMan store (via the link on their webpage) as I understand there’s a bit of counterfeiting going on.
Thanks in advance!
As some of you might know the Hifiman HE-R9s sound... bad. You either like them for the stupid amounts of bass or hate them. I paid 60€ for them, which is 10% of the initial price, I guess it was a good purchase? I liked the bass but they sounded like tin cans everywhere else. So I started experimenting;
I first got rid of the hideous red cup thingies and 3D printed plates with gyroid infill and no top or bottom layers. It basically makes them "open back" and the gyroid infill acts like an insulator without closing the back. They sounded better but it didn't open up as much since the plate the driver is attached to is almost completely sealed against the ear cups.
For the second version I made the "grills" deeper to have more infill and a bit more space without the infill. I also made holes through the plate that holds the driver so it is more open.
The result is... better. I would say it sounds like a Beyer DT990. The bass is pretty mild compared to what it was previously and it feels brighter like a happy feeling sound. The highs sound detailed, they are forward like you hear them seperately. Female vocals sound especially good, but the sound stage is not great, it wasn't great before. If I paid like around 200€ for this, I would be happy with my purchase. I don't understand how hifiman can fumble it this much and ask for 600€ originally.
the last pic is there for jumpscare purposes
EDIT: If anyone wants to try the 3d printed grills, I can share the cad or print some for free.
In this 40°C heatwave, it feels great to just chill in an air-conditioned room, listening to some music and playing with my new toys...
Wishing you all a similarly pleasant time!
I've owned my HiFiman Sundara for years, and have *thoroughly* enjoyed them. If I had to pick a single set of headphones to own forever based on sonic characteristics alone, these would be it.
Unfortunately, the build quality has caught up to me over these years. The suspension strap and headband are actually very comfortable and I have had no issues with them, though I know some have had to fix suspension strap issues as the headphones age. No, my issue was probably the only greater complaint about the build - the earpads.
For the longest time, they were very comfortable, but I eventually noticed that they got a bit limp and misshapen. I'm sure it changed the sound imperceptibly as the pads slowly deteriorated, but what was apparent was how my ears would touch the inside of the earcups and how much worse the headphones looked with the asymmetrically misshaped earpads. Most recently, I noticed some shedding of the outer layer of pleather, and finally decided to take matters into my own hands.
I purchased a set of Dekoni "fenestrated" (perforated) sheepskin pads, and installed them recently.
You can see the images for yourself, but wow, what a nice looking set of pads.
They definitely give the headphones a refined, robust look. They are slightly thicker than the old pads (at least, in their worn state), and noticably more firm, still with plenty of give to comfortably wear. They tolerate glasses just fine.
I like the relatively "full" but detailed sound of my Sundaras, and while I unfortunately cannot practically A/B the pads on my single set of headphones, I had some impressions:
Broadly, they sound the same. No huge changes, which is good for me because I like the sound signature of my Sundaras. Indeed, my greatest concern was that it would change the sound profile in a way that went against my taste.
Well, not only did it not worsen the sound, but I prefer the new sound signature.
I feel like my Sundaras have the slightest bit more punch now in the upper/mid bass. Not a significant departure from the factory sound, and not something that I think would bother you even if you wanted nothing to change.
Bass aside, they retain the soundstage and detail I love.
My next mod will probably be a bit more ambitious (yoke + headband custom build), but this was a good easy first step, one that I appreciate immediately.
If you don't have Sundaras, keep in mind that the relative change in final qualities you hear with these pads will be different, even if similar, and that I wasn't equipped to do a proper A/B test, so YMMV.
That said, I can confidently recommend Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads as a good option for the Sundaras in particular, and well built pads for anything else.
Returned my Organics and ordered these immediately. What amp/dac would you pair with these?
If I end up buying these Organics I want to know if they are functional because I feel like I never see that on the bottom.
I think I am going to buy them first and test it out with the Qudelix. It comes with a 3.5mm so I won’t be able to use it balanced unless I get another cable. I may end up upgrading to k11 r2r or k13 r2r though. Should I just get the headphones first and test them with Qudelix or should I buy an r2r DAC as well + a balanced cable?
Friday night Steely Dan session.
Arya Organic + FiiO K17.
I get now why Steely Dan gets used for “listen to the instruments” sessions. Everything feels so cleanly placed. Bass lines are easy to follow, the keys sit nicely in the mix, guitars come in without fighting the vocals, and the drums have that snap and space around them.
“Do It Again” has that smooth groove, percussion, keys, and bass locked in together. “Black Cow” sounds clean and polished, with the horns and backing vocals sitting right where they should be.
But “Aja” is the one. That drum section is just crazy on the Arya. Big stage, great separation, and enough room to hear the band without it turning messy.
I'm buying the kithara and am wondering if anyone knows if the gaming cable runs four wires to the audio side TRS and if its possible to cut it off and solder a balanced 4.4mm to the 'gaming' cable for balanced input.
I suspect the inline controls would bridge the ground anyways, am willing to cut that out too.
Mostly I'm just wanting the balanced in AND the boom mic and am a little chuffed that they make you choose.
So basically a couple of weeks ago I got a new pair of hifiman arya stealth's for a very good price of 480€ which is probably about 500usd. I got them because I've heard they are a very good pair for the money. The thing is, I've been using IEMs for the last 6 months probably and before that I had a pair bayerdynamic dt 700 pro x which are closed back headphones so basically the arya stealth are my first experience with real open back headphones.
My question is, how do you guys actually use them because for work, I prefer to use the IEMs since they are more confortable and isolate sound while in a call, for gaming the pc fans are getting through too much plus the sounds are weird, its almost like the explosions and gun shots are overpowered so here I also prefer my IEMs.
To power all my headphones I am using the topping dx5 II.
Am I missing something or doing something wrong because at this point I am really thinking about returning them.
Does anyone have the same ampdac + headphone combo and could share their settings?
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Tim
My first real audiophile headphones were the HiFiman HE400i back in 2017. I loved them but soon the stock cable became loose resulting in intermittent signal loss. New aftermarket cable solved it. Pads and headband completely disintegrated within two years, everything else worked so I even modded my pair with more open grills and some more foam to increase the bass.
All in all it wasn't a bad experience. Next headphones were the XS, absolutely fell in love with those headphones. After exchanging them for some Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 3 and Meze 99 classics on a even trade I wanted to go back to the HiFiman world. So I bought some open box HE-R9 which had a 9 dB channel imbalance. They only cost 100 bucks with the extremely overpriced shipping so decided to keep them for modding purposes. I couldn't fathom that these once cost 599 USD, the materials and the whole build is very cheap and the drivers probably cost maybe 2 bucks. They sounded decent enough however to keep me from not parting with them and I intend to either send them to an expert like John Massaria to mod them or do it myself.
Anyway, then I wanted to try Svanar Wireless, settled for an open box Jr. It sucked from day one. Very bad connection with lots of drop outs and completely unusable LDAC functionality. Sound quality, when they worked with like lowest SBC is alright however.
Then came the biggest disappointment. Edition XV. Sound quality I loved but they weren't as good as the XS. However, due to bad construction, I always heard a hum coming from a ground loop created by the fact that they are so open so basically no electrical insulation causing any charge due to static electricity or any really small charge to sound like a hum. This only occured when my ear rubbed against that mesh, but it almost always did, leaving marks on my skin.
Sent them in to the distributor, who couldn't find a fault nor could the shop I bought them from. This problem has however been described in detail by many users, on many forums. The XVs were the only headphones that exhibited this problem out of my big collection of headphones including sensitive IEMs. Shop was however very gracious to let me exchange them at no cost for a pair of Audeze MM-100. A headphone which is miles ahead of HiFiman at the same cost of a pair of XV. They also sound more reference neutral which is perfect for my taste.
All in all, I will never buy a single pair of HiFiman again, unless they improve upon build quality.
How many degrees is dangerous for planars? Can they be in a drawer in an attic in the darkness? 35 degrees now. Thanks
Hey everyone,
I have been closely analyzing the Arya Organic and the new Arya Unveiled, and the contrast between them is fascinating.
I hear nothing but praise for the Organic. People call it absolute magic, mostly because of that classic, trebly, hyper-detailed Hifiman performance.
But the new Arya Unveiled completely throws me off. Everything the Organic is famous for seems totally changed. Instead of that bright and sparkly detail, Hifiman is shifting straight into a warmer sound signature.
And it is not just the Arya. Hifiman seems to be pushing their whole lineup toward this warmer, darker, and more "neutral" tuning. You can clearly see the exact same thing when comparing the new Edition XV to the older Edition XS.
So I have to ask, why the sudden philosophy change? Are they just trying to avoid treble fatigue, or is this a new market trend? For those who have tried both, I am really curious if the Unveiled loses that classic Arya magic by playing it safe with this new tuning.
I really do not know what to make of this major shift. I would love to hear your thoughts and theories!
Finally pulled the trigger.
Hiby E4 + Hifiman Edition XS + Apple Music + Android Music Screensaver : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yansha.ink
I now have dedicated music time on my daily calendar.
Guys I need help. This might be the dumbest audiophile dilemma you’ve seen here but I’m losing my mind.
I’ve already owned Maxwell 2, Kithara and I’m running everything on a FOSI K7. I am completely burned out from chasing the “perfect” headphones for both gaming and music.
Right now I have two deals:
SteelSeries Nova Elite for 420 dollars from outlet
Used Arya Stealth for the same 420 dollars
Arya is currently my number one target, but my brain keeps going “what if Elite is actually good?” even though I feel like it’s just another overpriced gaming headset.
And to make things worse, I also found Edition XS for 160 dollars.
So now I have three options and zero sanity left:
Nova Elite 420
Arya Stealth 420
Edition XS 160
How big is the gap between Edition XS and Arya Stealth really? Is Arya worth more than 2x the price?
And please be brutally honest about Nova Elite. People call it “super detailed” and “amazing” but their reference is usually other gaming headsets.
Roast it if you have to. I need someone to kill my FOMO before I make a stupid decision.
Aaaaah I think I’ll go with the Arya Organic it sounds top-tier and it’s easy to drive.
Trying to figure out if I should get these but I cannot tell the difference between the different versions. Obviously I want the Arya Stealth (V3) but wondering if anyone can tell them apart from the older models.
Hi.
I’m thinking about buying the HIFIMAN Ananda Stealth.
This would be my first open-back headphone and my first planar magnetic headphone.
I mainly use headphones for:
・Gaming
・Music
・Movies
If you own or have owned the Ananda Stealth:
・What do you like about it?
・What do you dislike about it?
・Any QC or durability issues?
・Would you buy it again?
I’d like to hear both positive and negative experiences before buying.
Thanks!
I have the he1k stealth and saw alot of people like the zmf lambskin earpads, but it looks like theres an inner mesh on the earpad and the stealths has a mesh built in. Am I suppose to lay them on top of each other or remove one of the meshes?
