Hifiman Arya Stealth: measurement, review, pad-rolling

We have here this time the much loved Hifiman Arya, now the latest gen with stealth magnets. I used to think stealth magnets are just some marketing gimmickry, but the Arya Stealth Edition (Arya SE hereafter) really surprised here how much they altered the sound. Maybe it’s the stealth magnets at work, or maybe it’s just that hifiman did some re-tuning. Either way, although I’ve been a fan of the Hifiman egg-shapped planars for their expansive, airy sound and fun tuning, their sometimes metallic timbre (especially on the original Arya and HE1000) have bugged me from time to time. On the Edition XS that I reviewed earlier, this metallic hue was basically gone. The Arya SE, it turns out, is also blessed by the same change.

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Frequency response measurement of the Arya stealth magnets edition.

frequency response comparison to the Ananda, the Edition XS and the HE1000 V2

Tonality: Neutral bright tuning with plenty of air and sparkle at the top. It has the typical planar bass and lower mids from 1000hz downwards, very flat extending all the way to 20hz. A bit of extra energy around 50-150hz adds a hint of ‘bloom’ to the bass that I find quite addictive. Mids ono the whole is very neutral, only a little recessed between 1-3khz region, where most hifiman planars are known to behave this way. Generally this is perceived midrange instruments and vocals being ‘polite’ or less forward/aggressive. There’s a notable bump around the 4-5khz upper-mids lower-treble area, which adds ‘clarity’ to the sound. With poorly recorded music this may sound a bit ‘edgy’ or ‘coarse’ due to the emphasis of this region, though in most cases I don’t find this to stand out. Another boosted region is between 7-8khz, which is quite typical not only of hifiman headphones but bright headphones in general, like the HD800 or Beyer T1. From 11khz onwards there’s plenty of ‘shimmer’ and ‘air’ that makes for the Arya’s extremely open and transparent sound.

One thing to note: despite having more treble energy than the HE1000 V2, personally I feel the Arya SE is smoother in the treble. I am not sure how this can be explained aside from the HEKV2 having more energy at around 6khz (about 3-5db). Recall my complaint about the HEKV2 having ‘metallic hue’ in the treble. If this were attributed by the elevations around 8khz and 11-12khz, the Arya SE should only be more metallic sounding. Yet in fact it doesn’t sound that way at all, at least not to my ears. A number of other reviewers including DMS have said similar things about treble being smoother. Maybe there’s something to do with CSD/THD above 10khz which is not shown in general measurements due to the constraint of the common types of measurement rig. This to me is a kind of epiphany that measurements sometimes do not tell the full story. We still need to listen to the headphones with our own ears.

Technicality: Impressively capable. Using the same drivers as the HE1000 series the Arya has sometimes been known as the ‘planar HD800’ for its resolving capabilities. Now with the symmetrical stealth magnets, the diaphragm seems to be bettered controlled, along with improved impact of punch and slam. Some have complained about shrinkage in soundstage. Honestly I don’t really feel this way although at first listen it did appear that the stage was somewhat closer in. Personally I think this is caused by extra body and warmth brought by the change in tuning though (see Crinacle’s or Resolve’s comparison of the Arya OG and the SE). Imaging might be one of the weaker points. Like most planars, their drivers are not angled, so that stereo imaging is not as solid as some dynamic cans like the Beyer T1. Even though the pads are shaped to be angled to help with that, but I feel it still does not image as sharply. Other than that, very solid performance across the board just shy of the TOTLs.

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Next, let’s get into pad rolling options for the Arya SE.

First up is the Dekoni Elite Velour pads. With these the treble is much smoother, almost relaxing to listen to.The midrange dip between 1-3khz is kind of flattened out, so overall they sound more ‘neutral’ and ‘effortless’. Recommended for vocals and pop/rock genres. Less treble may cause instruments to lose some shimmer and clarity though, if that’s what you prioritise, the Elite Hybrid may be what you want as something in between stock and the Elite Velour, see below:

As you can see, the Dekoni Hybrid pads bring down treble like the Velours do but to a less extent. The original sound profile is retained more faithfully, while overall balance is improved. To most people this may be the easiest choice as an overall upgrade. Basically, it’s a less bright Arya with more fuller mids. Comfort-wise both the Dekonis are significantly better than the stock. Much less clamp. Softer and plusher memory foam.

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The two Taobao pads below are measured with the legacy measurement rig (IEC711+0065 clone)

Next is the full leather option. The most notable difference is a small bump around 1khz, which adds a bit of ‘honk’ to vocals and midrange instruments. Crinacle surely won’t like these. They are much more comfortable than the protein ones though, and lower treble between 4khz-8khz is also smoother.

Then we have the hybrid pad option, which is similar in construction to the stock pads but with real leather. These measure almost identically to the protein ones. Overall I find the Dekoni elite hybrid pads to be more neutral sounding with its flatter midrange. These have slightly less treble energy though..

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Aliexpress Pads

Link (not affiliated of any kind. these are also available from other stores)

– the ear pads come with mounting rings and are super easy to install
– size is about exactly the same as the stock pads, only slightly thinner (not as clampy)
– make and material are not bad for the price, not as premium as dekoni ones but certainly passable (even a bit better than stock pads, dare I say)
– aside from the fabric/velour-ish material touching the face the two sets I ordered are basically identical
– sound-wise the two are very close as well
– as far as I can tell the inner foam filling seems to be some kind of memory foam, and is quite dense (which may have caused the reduced treble response as per measurement)
– both have slight elevation around 1khz which gives you a bit of mid forwardness but not enough to be annoying
– bass and treble both drop by quite a few decibels across the board, so the Arya SE becomes almost mid-centric
– there’s less ‘air’ overall in the upper treble
– bass quantity is reduced albeit slightly tighter
– in terms of comfort I prefer the Velour-1 with its softer touch