Fit and Comfort

What you see above is the HIFIMAN Arya (2021) on a headphone stand that is actually a set of two artificial ears complete with soft-molded human ears and a couple of different adapters acting as the top of the head. This has been mounted on a tripod, which also showcases how headphones would look on a human head, with the artificial ears spaced ~20 cm apart. As with all headphones, getting a good fit and seal is crucial, and make sure to properly use the suspension band and ear cups on the HIFIMAN Arya (2021) thus. This section is mostly a summary of the points expanded upon in more detail on the previous page, including the headband and ear-cup design for a good seal with various head sizes and shapes alike. The support band was also tensioned just right once I had the sliders in their correct place, and then it was just a matter of getting used to the teardrop-shaped pads.

The HIFIMAN Arya in its current stealth magnet iteration weighs 460 g, but certainly does not feel heavy on the head. In fact, it felt more comfortable than the lighter Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX and Meze 99 Neo, but a lot of this has to do with the lower clamping force and ear cups coming straight down courtesy the headband shape rather than the typically curved headbands with their natural inward pressure that can sometimes be too much. It is also simpler to bend the steel headband outward at two sides if this still clamps in more than you would like; however, be careful when doing so lest you loosen it up too much permanently. Sound isolation isn't much of a thing on larger planar magnetic headphones, and the Arya (2021) is no exception. Like-wise, those around you are likely to get a second-hand listening experience of whatever you are listening to.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

Right, let's get to discussing what makes the latest Arya revision tick. I won't go into detail on the workings of planar magnetic drivers, having covered it before already. To summarize, it involves the use of ultra-thin diaphragms with conductive traces as the effective voice coil. This allows for theoretically lower inertia paired with high magnetic flux fields generated from magnets to move the diaphragm back and forth very quickly for fast transients and increased resolution while lowering distortion. HIFIMAN is using what it calls the nanometer thickness diaphragm, which some have taken to assume it is actually a single nanometer thick. I suppose in that regard the marketing has worked, but it's more that the thickness of the diaphragm is under a micron, and thus in the nanometer regime. The engineering it takes to churn these out consistently is one I would love to see in person!

We then get to the aspect that made the latest Arya a major enough update to merit the discontinuation of the previous versions, which is the incorporation of HIFIMAN's stealth magnet system. The Chinese company has enjoyed its pick of locally sourced, strong neodymium magnets, among other things, especially compared to some of its competitors elsewhere in the world. It before employed asymmetric magnets in an attempt to lower any resonance impact on the sound waves generated from the diaphragm. This is the single biggest challenge planar magnetic headphone companies are facing now in terms of innovation and R&D, with the likes of Audeze hedging bets on its Fazor waveguide system and HIFIMAN's solution these so-called stealth magnets debuted with the flagship HIFIMAN planar magnetic headphones—the Susvara in 2017. The second implementation came in the form of the second flagship HE1000se in 2018, and there have since been different implementations of the same trickling down the product line to where even a $150 set now has stealth magnets. This is not to say that the magnets used in the $6000 Susvara are the same as in the $150 HE400se, but that's a story for another time. The takeaway here is that we are back to symmetrical magnets on either side of the diaphragm, but these are smaller and curved to where standing waves do not incur diffraction, thus keeping distortion low. These magnets are thus claimed to be acoustically transparent, or at least as best as currently possible from HIFIMAN.

If the stealth magnets minimize sound wave diffraction, the "window shade" system on the outside helps retain the open-back nature of the Arya (2021) while minimizing sound wave reflection and refraction. HIFIMAN says this cover system was precisely structured to allow for "greater openness," which is just code for a wider, more open soundstage without compromising imaging. All this comes together to make for a newly revised Arya that is easier to drive than before, with the stealth magnets being more efficient and solely contributing to the increased sensitivity from 90 dB/mW to 94 dB/mW, which is massive on the logarithmic SPL scale. The impedance also went down from 35 Ω to 32 Ω, and this makes the new Arya less demanding on the source. Even amplifiers capable of providing ~0.25–0.5 W can easily run these, and you will get sound out of portable DAC/amps, too. However, I do recommend getting something more capable that suits your tastes for the Arya (2021), especially depending on whether you prefer transparent sources or something warmer.

Frequency Response Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Here is my new headphones test setup, which has a set of two custom in-ear microphones for the two channels. These microphones closely adhere to the IEC711 class, but have been tweaked to be more reliable in the >10 kHz frequency range that was the issue with my previous setup, which is still very good and will continue to be used for IEMs and earphones. Two soft silicone pinnae are installed on the sides, separated by a distance matching my head, and multiple "height" adapters have been 3D-printed for further customization based on fit and head size/shape. Each set of microphones has an XLR output I separately adapted to 3.5 mm, so note that the cable setup in the first photo above only shows one channel connected to the microphone input of the sound card. I did power the headphones off a dedicated source, the JDS Labs Element II in this case. A 3.5 mm audio jack associated with the right channel also enables recording, as well as real-time monitoring, and potentially audio demos if I am satisfied with the output, but we are not there yet.

This artificial head simulator feeds into the aforementioned reference USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running and the headphones connected to the laptop through the sound card and/or a separate DAC/amp if needed. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, which nets a good balance of detail and noise not being identified as useful data. Also, the default tuning was used for testing, and no app-based settings were chosen unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is tested thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the three individual measurements for statistical accuracy. The raw data is then exported from REW and plotted in OriginPro for easier comparison.


[Update] I have replaced some of this section, which was using a less-than-satisfactory measurement protocol, with a new graph from an updated setup. You can find the raw data to compare against on this page.

Let me say right away that the measurements were done on an acoustically transparent source, but I did pair it with a few different sources ranging from clean to warm, including some tube amplifiers at a local audio retailer who was kind enough to let me check them out with the HIFIMAN Arya (2021). I also have not listened to the previous Arya revisions, so there will be no comparisons between the three; thus, the new Arya will stand on its own in this review. I will have some comparisons later with a couple of Audeze headphones, but the timing is such that I have the HIFIMAN HE1000se as well as the Audeze LCD-X (2021) that will be apt comparisons down the line, just not right now.

HIFIMAN places the Arya (2021) in its reference line of headphones, which does not necessarily mean it is good for monitoring, but, rather, intended to be a reference point for audio output. It won't be neutral thus, and anyone intending to use these for music production and mixing should thus be aware of its tuning. As long as this is accounted for, the Arya (2021) could indeed be used as a reference point for comparisons to other headphones, earphones, or even speakers.

I won't waste any more time—I really like these! The tuning is what I have come to associate as HIFIMAN's house sound based on my experiences with three HIFIMAN headphones to date, and it would be best described as a neutral-bright signature. As with pretty much all open-back planar headphones, we see good bass extension all the way down. The bass is actually somewhat deceptive, especially if you are looking to compare against dynamic driver headphones with a pronounced bass elevation. With planar diaphragms, the larger area has more air volume moving back and forth, which results in a higher net effect relative to what the frequency response would indicate. I still would not recommend the Arya (2021) for bassheads, at least not without any EQ applied. Sub-bass takes a slight tilt down from ~50 Hz, and there is a comparatively elevated mid-bass presence which lends itself favorably to being more energetic should you want to push it up. On the PC, I recommend using Equalizer APO with the Peace GUI interface and then adding a bass shelf from ~200 Hz down depending on your preferences. The low distortion also makes for excellent scaling with EQ, so you don't have to worry much about going down in dB to prevent SNR from going down, too. This in turn would add to the macro-dynamics, making you better appreciate bass guitars in funk music, as opposed to head-thumping beats in EDM, which other headphones do better.

Knowing the HIFIMAN Arya is more about detail and classical/orchestral music based on the tuning, I unsurprisingly have come to adore the mids on these. I found myself appreciating nuances that previously went unnoticed, so much so that I realized I may have to buy some CDs or FLACs to make sure the local files I have are not with recording errors. Perhaps this is where the reference aspect comes back, with so much range to vocals and instruments that I found myself listening to music I generally don't even frequent. But it was time to go wild with even some Tejano music in the mix to represent my old home of Houston, Texas. Male vocals were so detailed and had just enough energy to where I almost ignored that vocals are not my preference in music. This range lends itself well to the soundstage too, which more or less follows the shape of the ear cups in being taller than wider. It is extremely spacious, almost coming off as small speakers further away from your ears, with the sound field mapped out mostly in front of you regardless. I would have liked to see more holography, especially after reading so many positive comments about the soundstage here, but it is still one of the most open sets in that regard, just not necessarily for gaming, if you are weird like me and try it out with these. Imaging is more front-focused to where sounds coming from the side are centered around maybe a 120–150° field in front of you, though quite precise inside that field.

Before we talk about the treble response proper, I must point out the tuning from 1 to 3 kHz. This is where you would generally expect a rise to compensate for in-ear resonance, which is generally less controlled with over-ear headphone responses. There's a train of thought about having a dip at 1 kHz for vocal bleed, and then a rise from 2 kHz to account for where throaty sounds are produced. I can't say if HIFIMAN subscribes to this, but it sure looks like it here with a scoop taken out that by itself doesn't hurt as much as making the upper mids artificially brighter than it actually is. This is where I can see some people disliking the tuning, with the potential for some female vocals to come off shouty, and the treble response overly bright. Having gone back and forth multiple times, I don't think it's overly bright myself. It gets close but tames itself just before the point of no return, and there's certainly no sibilance, either. The treble response is certainly energetic, which to me was exciting as I don't usually experience this with other headphones or earphones. As mentioned before, it lends itself favorably to orchestral and classical music in particular. Mozart's piano sonatas sounded really good to my ears, although I did tone down the 1.5 kHz peak since I felt it was a bit too hot personally, and listening to some of the New York Philharmonic archives was an outright pleasure after that. I do recommend using EQ here if you feel there's too much energy or even find it fatiguing. Notes are otherwise fast enough to where the Arya could be described to have speed here, which is more to do with the lower inertia of the planar diaphragm moving back and forth.


This explains it better, and note again that REW does not make it very easy to export this data, so I can only point out that the Y-axis is time in milliseconds, with the heatmap effectively the frequency response viewed from the top. So either side would be the decay of the sound signature itself. With the source kept constant, there is extremely fast decay throughout the frequency response. This bodes well with complex pieces that have multiple sound sources playing simultaneously, or even generally fast pieces, such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons (end of Summer) and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee. It's not the fastest set of headphones I have listened to, but is up there.


I mentioned before how the upcoming HIFIMAN HE1000se and Audeze LCD-X would be better comparisons, but you will have to wait for those in their eventual reviews. As it is, I chose to compare the tuning of the new HIFIMAN Arya stealth magnets version to the new Audeze LCD-XC that also underwent a driver update, as well as the other larger open-back planar magnetic set I have reviewed to date, the Audeze LCD-2 Classic (LCD-2C). The LCD-2C is warmer than the other two in the mids, and this is where those wanting a more exciting set would perhaps consider it. It also costs less than the other two, and the Arya (2021) happens to be the most expensive of the trio. The LCD-XC is a weird one because it is a closed-back set, but the updated drivers and tuning have it come off more adherent to Audeze's target curve than even the open-back LCD-X. Even before any EQ is applied, it's evident that the Audeze headphones have a different strength than the HIFIMAN Arya. I would recommend the Audeze headphones to those prioritizing bass response, including with house music and EDM, whereas the HIFIMAN Arya (2021) doesn't thump as much as it renders detail throughout, which it does gloriously. It can feel weak to those looking for a V-shaped tuning thus, but then the treble response comes in where it is a whole other beast. For those curious, I would generally rate the LCD-XC as the more balanced option of the three.