Pros:

     Above Average bass

     Excellent Mids

     Excellent Soundstage and Imaging

Mediocre:

     Forward Leaning Highs Lead to Sibilance

     Ear Pads Sit Really low on Your Neck

BULL:

     Stock Cable

     No Carrying/Storage Case – The Nanda Nano Has One

BLUF:

The HiFiMan Arya V2 is one of the best value headphones on the market. Subdued bass and sharper highs let down what could otherwise be a much more expensive headphone, but then HiFiMan would be competing with themselves. Oh, and the cable is terrible.

Up for review today is the HiFiMan Arya V2. The Arya is an interesting headphone because it often ranks extremely closely to much more expensive headphones like the Focal Utopia, Meze Empyrean, and even the HiFiMan HE-1000 v2 (HEKv2.) While I’ve owned all of those at one point or the other, I don’t have any of them to compare the Arya V2 against, so it’ll have to go up against the Abyss Diana MR and STAX SR-007A instead. Now there have been multiple versions of the Arya, just like all HiFiMan headphones. The current version is the Arya Organic (v4) and the v3 version is the Stealth Magnets Edition. Each version has been well received, but the v2 is known for having a massive soundstage that the v3 shrunk to a more intimate presentation, so make sure you choose the version you want wisely.

Comfort/Build (Can you wear it for long periods, or will it fall apart after 1 use?): These are very comfortable headphones overall with a good weight (~400g) and clamp. Lately, I’ve found HiFiMan headphones to be kind of uncomfortable due to the large earcups putting some pressure on my jaw and neck. The headbands got bigger for some reason and I find the overall less comfortable than some of the older models. Still, these are not particularly uncomfortable and the large earcups don’t touch the ear. The build quality is typical HiFiMan, so pretty good, though the anodizing/paint will rub/chip if you’re not careful with the headphones. The headphones also look kinda ridiculous like most of the HiFiMan headphones with the large band at the top and the giant window-shade ear cups, so keep that in mind if it matters to you.

I hate HiFiMan stock cables a LOT. I mean it, they really suck. They sucked on my HEKv2, they suck on my HE6Se v2, they suck on the Ananda Nano, and they suck on the Arya v2. They’re typically either stiff or kink easily and look like something from a medical supply. A nice Corpse Cable can fix a lot of the issues with the stock cable and I cannot recommend them enough. My Arya V2 have a nice silver balanced cable from John Massaria Audio that works better than the stock cables. Still, the Arya earns a 4 (Above Average) for comfort and build quality – the cable isn’t bad enough to knock it down to a 3.

I am powering these headphones off of my home theater desktop setup which consists of an EverSolo DMP-A8 Streamer/DAC that feeds into an iFi iCAN Phantom AMP through 3-pin XLR connections. This combo eliminates the need to be hooked up to my computer as a source and the Phantom can power anything from sensitive IEMs to E-stats to power-thirsty planars – allowing me to use the same setup for every review going forward. The Arya is pretty typical as far as power requirements go to drive it – it’s certainly not Susvara or CA-1a difficult to power. I’m running it at 50/100 on the Phantom with Medium gain.

Below are the test tracks used to test each headphone we review. The songs are in order to test sub-bass (bass you can feel) first, followed by mid-bass (bass drums and bass guitars – bass you can hear), then a spectrum of mids evaluating different instruments and vocals (where most of the music is presented), then highs (higher pitched instruments and cymbals) and lastly sibilance (sharp S sounds).

Lows (Sub-bass/bass quality and quantity): “Walk On Water” has some decent bass presence with excellent quality mid-bass, but a little bit muted quantity. The Sub-bass is actually quite good though and you can really feel it at certain points of the song. “Seven Nation Army” shows off some very good bass presence, with excellent rumble and slam, but the bass drums do feel a bit flat at parts. The bass guitar itself sounds excellent though. The Arya V2 is not a basshead headphone, but it will likely satisfy anyone who doesn’t need head-shaking levels of bass – HiFiMan isn’t really known for being extremely bassy to begin with. These rank at a 4 (Above Average) for bass.

Mids (Vocals/Instrument clarity and presence): The mids detail is excellent on the Arya V2. You can hear every finger pick of the strings throughout “Liar.” The female vocals are well represented, though they’re a bit more recessed compared to the male vocals than some of the best headphones. Still, the mids are really where the Arya shine the brightest. That trend continues throughout the rest of the mids songs with the 3 Doors Down vocals beautifully represented. These are top-tier mids at a sub-2k price level. This right here is why the Arya gets called the baby Susvara, not the HE-1000. Pianos sound excellent and guitars sound gloriously metallic while the vocals dig deep with some excellent clarity and breadth. My only complaints are that songs can occasionally portray a little sharpness and when there are a lot of instruments playing at once, the Arya can get a little muddy. Still, these rank a score of 5 (Among the Best) for mids.

Highs (Cymbals/High pitched vocals or instrument quality and presence): I could easily hear the cymbals on some of the earlier songs, but they’re VERY clear during the Chili Peppers with excellent decay and presence. Again, they come across as a little sharp though due to the increased highs presence. If highs annoy you, avoid these headphones because they will drive you crazy. That increased highs presence also comes with an increase in sibilance, which I can hear on “Otherside” and “The Sound of Silence.” This is one of those headphones where you will have to decide which you prefer more: increased highs presence with sibilance, or a different headphone that loses that highs presence, but doesn’t have as much sibilance. Overall, the Arya V2 still earns a 4 (Above Average) here.

Soundstage/Imaging (How big and accurate the song sounds): The Arya V2 is famous for having a huge soundstage and it doesn’t disappoint on that front. The soundstage is also around 300 degrees or so and the imaging is excellent with instruments where they should be on “The Sound of Silence.” The Arya V2 earns a 5 (Among the Best) in this category.

Value (Cost vs Performance): I’m not sure you can do better than the Arya under $2k with a big-name brand. Can a company like JM Audio get you a better-sounding set of headphones for less? Yes. Have most people ever heard of him? Nope. So, in this price range and above you’re looking at a Modhouse Tungsten (hard to get and not a big-name brand either), other HiFiMan headphones, maybe something from Audeze, which likely won’t sound as good in this price range, and that’s about it. I can’t think of anything that sounds as good as this in this price range without going boutique, and the used prices for the Arya are insanely low. These used to go for around $1,600 new, but even the Organic doesn’t go for that anymore. The new price of $900 for the v3 (since you can’t buy the v2 new anymore) puts the Arya, really any version of it, at a score of 5 (Among the Best.)

Conclusion: The Arya V2 are not the best headphones I’ve heard, but they cost a lot less than those while performing at a level well above its price range. HiFiMan still makes some of the best headphones out there in every single price range, and the Arya v2 is no exception. It’ll edge out the Ananda Nano, and come close to headphones costing 2-4x as much. Find the version of the Arya that fits your preferences the best and grab one if you can afford it. If not, the Sundara, XS, DEVA, Ananda, etc. are all great options. HiFiMan still makes some of the best headphones and some of the worst cables – the Arya is no exception.

Bytes & Bull Overall Score: 4 (Above Average)