[MrHaelscheir]

I know we all perceive sound differently but I’m quite surprised to hear those impressions after an A/B comparison. There could possibly be some unit variation going on or maybe just differences between our source/signal chains.

I currently own the Arya SE and previously owned the HE1000se for a few years. I didn’t own them both at the same time but there is absolutely a difference between the two in my opinion.

To me, resolution, separation, and positioning are all cranked up to 11 on the HE1000se. Impact is really good as well. The Arya SE sounds like a “baby” HEKse to my ear which might be what HiFiMan was going for. The Arya SE is very detailed in its own right but not nearly as resolving as the HE1000se IMO. This may be preferred by some because the detail retrieval on the HE1000se can actually be too much at times haha.

I’m actually going to upgrade from the Arya SE to the HEKse in the near future. I miss all that detail!

I'd say side-by-side and most importantly volume-matched A/Bing is very important, whereby long-term auditory memory can be quite unreliable. I also didn't notice any consistent differences with quite "demanding" tracks like the works of Susumu Hirasawa or those produced under P-Model. But I am accepting of people having the pleasure of partaking of experience-enhancing suggestions that I am rarely able to enjoy. I have so far only really been astounded by EQ profile iterations and amazing recordings. And I would be doubtful that "upgrading" from the FiiO K9 Pro ESS and its balanced output would change these impressions.

 

[Svperstar]

I’m actually going to upgrade from the Arya SE to the HEKse in the near future. I miss all that detail!

One of the reasons I got an Arya Organic with a massive discount vs an HEKse is as far as I know the Organic is based off the latest greatest 2023 tech, vs the HEKse which was originally released in 2017? Unless I am wrong about that.

 

[Voohoo]

One of the reasons I got an Arya Organic with a massive discount vs an HEKse is as far as I know the Organic is based off the latest greatest 2023 tech, vs the HEKse which was originally released in 2017? Unless I am wrong about that.

This is my understanding as well but it's totally speculation from my end sort of basing it off the current pricing across the Arya and HEK lines.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

One of the reasons I got an Arya Organic with a massive discount vs an HEKse is as far as I know the Organic is based off the latest greatest 2023 tech, vs the HEKse which was originally released in 2017? Unless I am wrong about that.

I can say from my observations that for headphones, paying more within the same product line does typically get you objectively lower distortion, or that one probably is indeed paying for a bit higher-quality of a driver, though yes, I measured the HEKse by means having less sub-bass extension than the HE1000se, whereby newer models may technically have superior stock tonalities. From what I've seen the Arya Organic's driver design doesn't seem very different from the Arya Stealth's, and they didn't advertise any new technologies, just an improved build and tuning. I would imagine that the latest HE1000se's would have also been produced with the latest supplies and factory tooling.

 

[Svperstar]

From what I've seen the Arya Organic's driver design doesn't seem very different from the Arya Stealth's, and they didn't advertise any new technologies, just an improved build and tuning. I would imagine that the latest HE1000se's would have also been produced with the latest supplies and factory tooling.

The Organic is said to restore the soundstage that the Arya Stealth lacked compared to the V2. I never actually heard the Arya Stealth, just the V2 and Organic. Can confirm the soundstage on the Organic is at least as big as the Arya V2.

 

[MidFiMoney]

I was running a Chord Hugo2 and Massdrop THX 789 when I had the HE1000se. The HEKse was and still is the most resolving headphone I’ve ever heard. My only frame of reference is the D8000 Pro since I owned it then and now. To my ears, the HE1000se was clearly more resolving than the D8000 Pro when A/B’ing and the D8000 Pro is clearly more resolving than the Arya SE when A/B’ing

It will be interesting to see how the HE1000se pairs with the DX320 Max ti. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to A/B because I have to return the SE for the upgrade.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

The Organic is said to restore the soundstage that the Arya Stealth lacked compared to the V2. I never actually heard the Arya Stealth, just the V2 and Organic. Can confirm the soundstage on the Organic is at least as big as the Arya V2.

How exactly are you hearing "soundstage"? Particularly, for far-panned sounds, unless special mixing methods are used, they just sound like they are coming right from the drivers, sometimes from behind the ear toward the back of my head. Else, they are typically situated around or behind my forehead or eyes. I did notice that for my default pad position on the HE1000se, the forward image for some tracks is positioned merely higher, wearing the pads lower remedying this at the cost of comfort. Anyways, note that volume levels can also have a big effect on perceived "bigness" of the sound.

For for perception of "better positioning" or better separation, maybe for some people's ears, the 5 kHz to 8 kHz region is more attenuated compared to with my ears, whereby I've found that EQing that forward region down increases the sense of space, separation, and blackness of background for me. So maybe with some people's ears, the upgrade to a headphone with said imaging improvement might be related to a decrease in the 5 kHz to 8 kHz region, else perceptual bias or faulty auditory memory can be a real thing. Worst case, my high-pitched mostly symmetric tinnitus is to blame, though my audiology test from a few months ago showed "perfect" hearing with a threshold on the order of 5 dB SPL.

 

[MidFiMoney]

One of the reasons I got an Arya Organic with a massive discount vs an HEKse is as far as I know the Organic is based off the latest greatest 2023 tech, vs the HEKse which was originally released in 2017? Unless I am wrong about that.

Yeah, I thought about the Organic as well. Everything, I’ve read and seen suggests that it is closer to the SE than the HEKse. Both have stealth magnets and nanometer thickness diaphragms. Not sure about the what’s going on inside the HEKse but it’s considered by many to be one of the most detailed headphones you can get. Having already owned it, I know it complements the D8000 Pro nicely.

 

[Svperstar]

How exactly are you hearing "soundstage"?

Basically how wide and far away sounds are. I have the Sennheiser HD800 which is seen as the "king" of soundstage on hand to compare. I used to own the AKG K7XX, that AKG line was the soundstage king before the HD800..........the K7XX wasn't a very good headphone IMO, one of the drivers died like 4-5 years after I bought them, and I just tossed it rather then get it fixed.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Basically how wide and far away sounds are. I have the Sennheiser HD800 which is seen as the "king" of soundstage on hand to compare. I used to own the AKG K7XX, that AKG line was the soundstage king before the HD800..........the K7XX wasn't a very good headphone IMO, one of the drivers died like 4-5 years after I bought them, and I just tossed it rather then get it fixed.

For example, how would you describe the sound sources in the following?



Likewise, how would you describe the movement of the pencil in

 

[hanumanbob]

For example, how would you describe the sound sources in the following?



Likewise, how would you describe the movement of the pencil in on

I hear them a little behind my ears l and r and then on the top of my head sometimes centered and sometimes not,

 

[morpheus69]

For example, how would you describe the sound sources in the following?



Likewise, how would you describe the movement of the pencil in

The Rodrigo is a nice clear recording, not too exciting, and very stereo separated until much later into the recording. The Yoshi H. is the usual binaural recording, lot of times feels overdone.

Try something like this:



^ Live and mic'd track, great sound.



^ Simple instrumentation, but vocal airy sing/speak good positioning.

 

[rebbi]

I have been comparing the stealth to the organic. I have both of them at home right now and will return one of them. I find the stealth very pleasant and inoffensive, and I mean that in a good way. The organic is spectacularly detailed with great imaging and an immense sound stage, which I love, but I am finding it slightly uncomfortably bright and sibilant. I have never tried to EQ a headphone before, but I’m wondering how you would EQ the organic to tame some of that harsh edge. Also, since I am running a DX 320 digital audio player, is there an equalizer program for android that would catch output from streaming service is like Spotify and Tidal?
Thank you!

 

[VishnuKare]

I have been comparing the stealth to the organic. I have both of them at home right now and will return one of them. I find the stealth very pleasant and inoffensive, and I mean that in a good way. The organic is spectacularly detailed with great imaging and an immense sound stage, which I love, but I am finding it slightly uncomfortably bright and sibilant. I have never tried to EQ a headphone before, but I’m wondering how you would EQ the organic to tame some of that harsh edge. Also, since I am running a DX 320 digital audio player, is there an equalizer program for android that would catch output from streaming service is like Spotify and Tidal?
Thank you!

Try wavelet. Not sure if it works with Tidal.

 

[rael67]

For less sibilance try a highshelf filter above 6 kHz.