HIFIMAN Arya Organic Full-Size Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphone with Stealth Magnets for Audiophiles, Home & Studio Listening

I purchased the Hifiman Arya Organic, my fourth Hifiman headphone. This is a review to help those who are considering buying this headphone.SoundMy desktop audio equipment consisted of a Cambridge AXC35 cd transport, a Schiit Bifrost2/64 dac, and a Topping A90 headphone amp. I use high quality cables throughout, favoring balanced cables whenever possible. I subscribe to four streaming services, but use Qobuz ninety percent of the time, because it broadcasts in CD quality format, and sometimes in high resolution. Thus I am confident there are no chokepoints, or any component in the sound stream that held back the others.The first thing I noticed is that the Arya Organic has a very wide sound stage, and because it was also deep, there was a good layering of separated sounds in a three dimensional spacious stage. A good recording to appreciate the size of the soundstage is the Virtual Barber Shop which can be downloaded from YouTube. Here you will that the sound stage is huge and holographic. When the phone rang, I perceived that it was twenty feet away coming from inside my bedroom clothes closet. The opposite of a large sound stage is the sound you hear from inside your head from the headphone provided to you by an airline. A large sound stage is very satisfying (and necessary) when you are playing orchestral pieces. Impressively, if you play Linda Ronstadt’s “I Never Will Marry,” you will hear a very intimate presentation, almost as if she is standing next to you and singing to you. Thus large sound stage and intimacy are not mutually exclusive, in the case of the Arya Organic.What about the sound at each level of the frequency spectrum? The lower frequencies were well extended downward. Hifiman claims that it can go down to eight hertz. Disregard this number as most humans cannot hear below twenty. However, the low frequencies were impressive. If you play Janice Hagan’s “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” you will really enjoy the deep plucking of the double bass. There is also considerable punch and slam, attesting to a wide dynamic range (difference between the loudest and softest sound). Listen to Lambada (Version 1989) by Kaoma to appreciate the vacillating rhythm of the drums. The wide dynamic range is especially impressive for a planar magnetic headphone (here dynamic headphone are king).The mid-range is equally impressive, and the associated vocals are full and melodious. For female vocals, listen to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by the late great Eva Cassidy, posthumously declared as having one of the finest female voices ever. The voice is strong, yet delicate. Male vocals are equally impressive. In Zhao Peng’s rendition of one of the most beloved Chinese love songs “The Moon Represents My Heart,” you will hear the deep resonance of his raspy voice. Some critics claim that the Arya Organic is tuned to favor female vocalist. I disagree. Listen to Michael Buble and Loren Allred belt out “Help Me Make it through the Night” and listen to how both male and female voices are able to blend so harmoniously.The upper frequencies of the Arya Organic are where the headphone distinguishes itself. The treble is crystal clear, almost crystalline, and very airy. I loved it. Some people can be forgiven if they think the treble is too forward (pronounced) and find it fatiguing, even sibilant (hissing sound). If so, there are three remedies. First, do EQ to tame down the highest frequencies. Unfortunately, I, like most people, do not know how to do EQ. Second, pair the Arya Organic with a warm (favoring low frequencies) dac and headphone amp. Again, unfortunately, most people like me, own only one dac and amp, so do not have the luxury of mixing and matching. Third, do not use a silver headphone cable as they are bright and will accentuate the problem. Instead, use an oxygen-free pure copper cable which has no coloration.What about the timbre of the Arya Organic? Timbre is a confusing term and I figured that it has two meanings. First, do the instrument or voice sound as it should sound? One of the hardest sounds to reproduce is that of the piano. I played Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and the Organic passed the test. I also put through another stringent test – reproduce the sound of a male voice in speech. I went to YouTube and down loaded Churchill’s voice in his “We Shall Never Surrender” speech. Although it is an old recording, the Arya Organic managed to reproduce his husky voice faithfully. Now go back and listen to Zhao Peng’s “The Moon Represents my Heart.” Here you will hear three distinct musical instruments – the guitar, oboe, and flute. See if they sound right.The second meaning of timbre is the tonal quality or sound characteristic. If I give you two guitars, a Martin and an ordinary no name guitar, you will in less than a minute be able to identify the guitar with the more pleasing “sound.” You may not be able to explain why and I won’t ask you to do so. Suffice that yo prefer one “sound” over another. When I first hear the Arya Organic, I immediately fell in love with the “sound” of this magnificent headphone.One last characteristic that needs to be discussed is whether or not the Arya Organic is resolving meaning or not it can retrieve information that the recording engineer had intended for you to hear. To test the Arya Organic, I played Tchaikovsky’s 181Overture conducted by Eric Kunzel. Toward the end of the overture, it gets very busy, with string instruments reaching a crescendo, drums beating, cymbals crashing, and real cannons going off. In the midst of this medley, there is a faint hint of church bells in the distance. Many headphone fail to register this, but the Arya Organic managed to retrieve this peic of information making the headphone “revealing.” I also noticed that when playing “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, I could hear her taking shallow breathes.Hifiman Arya Organic Vs Hifiman HE1000 Stealth MagnetThis review would be remiss if I did not compare the Hifiman Arya Organic with the Hifiman HE1000 Stealth Magnet. The ARya Organic sells for $1300, down from $1600, a discount of $300. The HE1000 Stealth Magnet sells for $1400, down from $3000, a discount of $1600. When comparing the SRya Organic with the HE1000 Stealth Magnet, most of the reviewers pointed out that the latter is technically superior to the former, in areas such as resolution and sound stage. Why not spring for an extra $100 and get the HE1000 Stealth Magnet instead? The problem is paradoxically, most of the reviewers who did the A/B comparison preferred the Arya Organic over the HE 1000 Stealth Magnet, for its “sound.” Aha, the Arya Organic has the better timbre. Furthermore, Joshua Valour, a prolific reviewer of headphones, declared that the Arya Organic should be in contention for Headphone of the Year. A reviewer from India (Amplify Audio Reviews) came out and categorically declared that the Arya Organic is the Headphone of the Year.I was conflicted as to which headphone to buy. I needed a tie breaker and I found one. In a moment of epiphany, I noticed that both the Arya Organic and the Ananda Nano had similar specs regarding resistance and sensitivity. I was able to use my transistor radio and portable CD player to drive the Ananda Nano, so I suspected that the same would be true for the Arya Organic. Did this manifest? Yes it did. I therefore made the right decision in buying the Arya Organic, because I got two for the price of one – a desktop headphone and a portable headphone.Is this the endgame for me? It has to be as my wife has filed a formal complaint that the wall has too many headphones. But I am deliriously happy with my Arya Organic. Thank you Hifiman – you nailed it.

I paired these with a Fiio K9 AKM and I have to say if I had to pick one headphone setup and get rid of the rest, this would be it. Other headphones may slightly edge it out in certain categories but it excels in every use case: gaming, music, and movies.They have a slightly warm sound signature that I quite like that is further enhanced by the Fiio K9 AKM. The vocals on tracks are also quite clear and forward. Sound stage and imaging is awesome as well. Sometimes there can be slight sibilance depending on the genre or game being played, but that is easily balanced with EQ.I also love the look and over-all build quality. They wood trim and aluminum grills look great, the headband and earpads are very comfortable for long listening sessions.Here are a few comparisons to other headphones I own:HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La:The Mini Shangri-La are by far more transparent with a quick and responsive feel, so I do prefer those when listening to vinyl or lossless music. However the bass and overall warm sound signature of the Arya Organic is more enjoyable to listen to in many cases depending on the track/genre. Also the build quality and comfort is way in favor of the Arya on this one. Additionally being an electrostatic headphone the Mini Shangri-La lack any kind of portability and are almost twice the price if you need the energizer.Focal ClearTrue to their name these have a very clear sound signature compared to the Arya Organic. Almost like a little brother of the Mini Shangri-La all the same comparisons apply. The bass and warmth make the Arya Organic more enjoyable in most cases. However the build quality of the Focal Clear is a bit better, with a sturdier metal construction and better feeling earpads.Focal BathysOK so these might ACTUALLY be my go to choice if I had to get rid of everything else, but that's only because they are very good headphones (especially in DAC mode) that are also portable with decent noise cancelling. However as far as overall sound signature and imaging it's not even close.So the winner is the Arya Organic with the Mini Shangri-La coming very close but losing because of how inconvenient they are to deal with. I think they are absolutely worth it if they're in your budget. So far the best headphone experience I've had all around until I try out Susvara, Utopia or some other crazy high-end set.