$1,600 is a lot of money for a pair of headphones. That might seem like a bizarre comment considering how many pairs of $3,000+ headphones we’ve covered this year, but for 99% of the planet — $1,600 is a lot of shekels. I’m a huge fan of the affordable HiFiMAN Sundara and wireless DEVA headphones because they sound wonderful to my ears and I would rather spend the money on a better DAC or headphone amplifier and get the most out of these headphones that way.
The HiFiMAN ARYA run $1,600 and are one of their best-selling models. The brand new ARYA with stealth magnet technology are going to do really well.
Why do I say that?
$3,000+ headphones from brands like Audeze, Dan Clark Audio, and Meze Audio appeal to a very specific type of customer; people whom have already tumbled down the Head-Fi rabbit hole and already have the requisite headphone amplifiers to drive them.
Products like the HiFiMAN Arya and other headphones in the same price category from Focal, Sennheiser, and Audeze appeal to a larger pool of potential customers who want to own state-of-the-art headphones but can’t justify spending $3,000 or more.
Like its predecessor, the new Arya (MSRP: $1,599) is an open-back planar magnetic headphone, but the new version features HiFiMAN’s recently developed Stealth Magnets, which feature a special shape that enables waves to pass through the magnets without generating interference.
I’m not entirely sure what “Stealth Magnets” actually means so we’re going to take a deeper dive with them over the weekend at CanJam SoCal. The new Audeze LCD-5 utilize some groundbreaking planar technology and Dan Clark has not been sitting on the sidelines in 2021; the brand new Dan Clark Audio Stealth headphones utilize a new planar design that warrants serious attention.
Sonics are detailed and transparent, exposing every detail of the recording without extraneous noise.
“Stealth Magnet technology improves upon earlier magnet designs by reducing interference beyond a point that wasn’t thought possible only a few years ago,” said Dr. Fang Bian, President, and CEO, HiFiMAN Electronics.
“As much of an achievement the original Arya may have been, the Arya Stealth Magnet version takes its performance to a higher level: easier to drive, better imaging, solid build quality, and a more accurate soundstage.“
HIFIMAN’s Stealth Magnet technology is acoustically transparent, dramatically reducing wave diffraction turbulence that degrades the integrity of the sound waves, maximizing the accuracy of the sonic output.
With an ergonomic design to comfortably fit most listeners, the Arya incorporates a super-thin diaphragm that guarantees fast response and the bare minimum of distortion.
The new Arya with Stealth Magnet technology features an impedance of 32 ohms, sensitivity measured at 94dB, and a frequency response of 8Hz – 65kHz. Its weight is 14.3 oz.
For additional information, visit https://hifiman.com.
