Introduction

When I think of planar magnetic headphones, the first brand that now comes to my mind happens to be HIFIMAN, which is incredible when you realize there have been others in this field far, far longer than HIFIMAN has even been in existence. Yet it just so happens that nearly every price point for open-back headphones has a HIFIMAN product in the discussion and often in the strong recommendations too. We've covered plenty of HIFIMAN products in the past and one thing I've noticed is how often the Chinese audio brand tends to revise its existing products, often discounting the previous version but sometimes completely overhauling its own product line to where a $3500 set now comes in at $2000, for example. The first HIFIMAN planar set I reviewed happened to be the Arya Stealth from 2021 which itself was the third HIFIMAN Arya version made by the brand. That particular set debuted at $1300 and now sells for under $1000 because, as expected, there is a newer Arya which is the topic of today's review.


The HIFIMAN Arya Organic launched last year alongside the Ananda Nano and immediately many comments were had about the naming scheme. What exactly was "organic" about this Arya? HIFIMAN tried to market this as having a more organic sound and addressing some of the customer feedback received wherein most of its open-back planar magnetic lineup was tuned very similar to each other. We saw a decent departure from this norm with the HE1000 Stealth that has become one of my favorite headphones to date, and the Arya Organic aims to do something different with its sound signature too. The previous Arya versions were all black in color and the newer Arya Organic goes for an orange trim on the side to make it one of the best looking sets in my opinion. Let's see if the name and revision makes sense in our review, which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Thanks to HIFIMAN for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

HIFIMAN operates a web shop, and this sample shipped directly from the company, so we begin with the shipping packaging, since this is how paying customers would receive the Arya Organic. The shipping box is appropriately sized, although with HIFIMAN stickers on multiple sides and one mentioning the contents inside. I will once again mention my preference for a stealthier approach, especially knowing these are expensive headphones. Inside is the product box, which comes in a shaped-to-fit bubble wrap and foam sheets on all sides, for further protection from shipping hazards.


To no surprise, gone is the more personalized product box from the Arya Stealth, with HIFIMAN adopting the same minimalist product box design for the Arya Organic as we've seen with most of its recent releases. This is a plain cardboard box with sticker labels that have the company logo and product name on the front in addition to salient features and a small render of the headphones. Product specifications are on the side with the back taken up by another view of the headphones and more of the features on offer. Seals on the sides keep the contents inside in place, and opening the box reveals an accessory box at the top and the headphones packed underneath surrounded by thick foam.


The accessory box has QR codes for warranty, registration, and a notice informing you will get additional warranty if you follow HIFIMAN on social media and register the product. General product support information is also seen here with the product serial numbers listed on the side. HIFIMAN is the only company I know of to have separate serial numbers for the two headphone drivers used here. There is no printed manual anymore, you will have to be content with the online version found here which goes over the design philosophy, user maintenance and upkeep, and provides more information about the various technologies that have gone into the making of this product.


Some of HIFIMAN's recently released headphones ship with a handy carry case but this does not seem to be the case with the Arya Organic for whatever reason. The headphones are placed in a machined foam insert which can be somewhat useful because HIFIMAN has made one of the foam pieces removable and it just so happens to be shaped like a headphone stand. It's not the most elegant solution but one that works enough to where you can now go from having the headphones inside the box to outside on your desk quite easily. The bottom of this foam piece has anti-slip rubber too.