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

**6-Month Update: I have gradually moved to the Organics as my main daily-driver headphones, and am still absolutely in love with them. They are holding up well to constant use, but I do think I'll need some pad replacements after about a year. Mine haven't developed any creaks or issues...they still feel like brand new! A note about powering them: While they can be run by low-powered sources, I will say that they do benefit from more power. My office rig is a Topping A90D, and it's been a solid pairing. On the Class-A amplification of a Schitt Mjolnir 3, however, they sound even better. More fatness and grip on the low end, and even more of that speed and immediacy is on tap. Original Review: I have been in the head-fi space for many years now, and currently have several mid-to-high-end headphones in rotation. The Arya Organics are something special, and this type of performance doesn't come along at this price very often. Comfort: #1 for me is comfort. If a headphone isn't comfortable, it doesn't get picked often, and just doesn't get listened to as frequently. If I have to constantly fiddle with it to get it sitting right, it ruins immersion and is simply too distracting. These are some of the most comfortable headphones I have ever used. Less clamp than the Sennheiser 6 range (and those I find to be quite comfy), lighter than the Focal range, and with fewer hotspots. For long listening sessions and marathon gaming, I can confidently reach for the Organics knowing I'm going to be comfortable. Tuning: #2 for me is the tuning, and whether it agrees with how I hear. I was initially worried about these, as I'm very treble-sensitive. Harsh upper-midrange also bothers me, and the charts all show a rise between 6-7K and 8-9K. I am happy to report that (after a bit of burn-in) they don't irritate me at all. Something about how that 1-2K dip sets up the treble presentation somehow cools it down. The midrange and treble presents as detailed, open, airy, yet just under the 'too sharp' threshold for me. Lovely. Bass: #3. If the bass isn't good, I don't care about the rest. Maybe I'm a heathen, but if the bass doesn't move me, I just don't reach for the headphone as often. Luckily, Hifiman's decision to bring up the bass here is a welcome change, and scratches that particular itch in a delightful, impactful, detailed way. It's not just about the quantity, it's also about the texture and speed. The bass on the Organics is interesting in that it has impact, control and separation that I wasn't expecting. My experience with planar bass is that it's usually technically very good, but not quite as 'fun' as a dynamic driver. The Organics have some of the best planar bass I've ever heard, from long, sustained real instrumentation to demanding electronic music, this is simply excellent. Midrange: #4. Vocals, guitars, synth lines, everything that falls into the midrange category here is presented in a way that's a bit perplexing. The Organics can be SUPER close and intimate, yet also HUGELY wide and expansive here. Vocals especially seem to float and shimmer and occupy a space all their own. Again, the level of detail and texture here is mind-blowing. I have much more listening to do before I can write more here, but suffice it to say that the midrange here is interesting in all the right ways. Soundstage: #5 for me. If I don't care about soundstage, I'll just listen to IEM's. Over-ear headphones remain interesting for me because of the sense of space they can provide. The soundstage on the Organics is excellent. Width is as wide or wider than most, but what surprised me was the sense of front-to-back depth on offer here. The precise way the Organics image most likely at play here, and while my Senn HD800s can go wider, they do so at the expense of realism and note weight. The stage on the Arya's is amazing. How about for gaming? These are wallhack-level. 'Nuff said. Overall , this is the most compelling package at the price point, and perhaps quite a bit beyond that I've ever seen, and have quickly become my daily drivers. All-day comfort, exciting, just dynamic enough, detailed without shoving sound in your face, analytical while still being relaxed enough to get out of their own way. Hall of fame level headphones.

I purchased the Hifiman Arya Organic, my fourth Hifiman headphone. This is a review to help those who are considering buying this headphone. Sound My 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 Magnet This 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.

These are fantastic headphones. I went on kind of a crazy buying spree, purchasing and returning full-sized headphones. Comparing these to the Arya Stealth, these have a more spacious, open soundstage and fantastic, localized imaging of voices and instruments. Tonality is really beautiful. I actually hesitated to try these out because my previous experiences with Hifiman products have been, to put it mildly, mixed, in terms of quality control. I had several pairs of their earlier earbuds, the RE-600's, which had notorious quality control problems, with cables that would inevitably short out. I also bought a pair of their Sundara headphones, and found them uncomfortable and bright, with a cheap headband adjustment mechanism that inevitably scratched the metal band! But the quality on these is much better. And although they look rather goofy on your head when you are wearing them, they are light as a feather and super comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Don't forget that these are open back headphones, meaning that by design they will not provide isolation from the outside world, and also that people around you will be able to hear what you are listening to. So these are best suited to home or quiet office listening at work. And the sound? As I said, it is glorious and addictive. These are also fairly sensitive and efficient, so although you don't need a super powerful desktop amplifier to get the most out of these, they will "scale" nicely with better equipment. As you can see from the picture, I am running them with an iBasso DX320 DAP (short for" Digital Audio Player") and they sound really great. You will also see that I am using a balanced, 4.4 mm cable in place of the one that comes with the headphones. This cable is made by Tripowin, and it is available right here on Amazon for less than $40, which is quite the bargain. I will only add that I can confirm the manufacturer recommendation that you give these headphones a good number of hours to break in. (they actually recommend 150 hours.) When I first got them, I found them somewhat "hot" in the treble region, but that has smoothed out with break-in. Highly, highly recommended! Not at all cheap, but if you can afford them, well worth the price.

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 Clear True 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 Bathys OK 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.

For 99% of the population, this should be their endgame headphone. Improvements over what the Arya Organic offer are small, and the costs are huge. Let me explain... I come at sound from the perspective of a lifetime spent as a symphonic musician. I have performed in many of the world's great concert halls, so I'm intimately familiar with what proper sound reproduction should be. The Arya Organic manages to achieve a realistic timbre, convincing soundstage and instrument placement (as good as any headphone can), and excellent details. Bass is ever so slightly extended, mids are perfectly placed, and the treble has a touch of extension to match the bass. They're not studio-level flat. For that you'd want the Arya Stealth. These are more like what you'd hear from out on the audience, rather than in the recording booth. As a listener, that's the better choice. So, these sound slightly warm, but with every nuance of detail and timbre perfectly delivered to your ears. They're physically comfortable to wear for hours at a time, and not at all fatiguing to listen to for those hours. I've tested these with classical recordings (of course), jazz, electronica, rock, and metal. In every genre, they deliver absolute fidelity to the source recordings and a beautiful listening experience. Bassheads and trebleheads should look elsewhere. If you need that window-rattling bass or exaggerated vocals, these aren't for you. But. if you want to be enveloped in smooth and beautiful sound, these should be on your very-short-list. Remember, this used to be a $1,600 set of headphones. They sound like it. Trust me.

"You would notice things you never knew were there before" is all I can say about these headphones. Just wow. I have pretty decent stereo speaker and tube amp setup ($10k worth) and the sound I am getting from these headphones and SMSL AO300 really impressed me, on par with my main home setup for 1/10th of price. These give you full range of sound with no compromise. A full, punchy and deep bass (specially for open back planars) but nothing overwhelming, silky smooth warm mids, bright highs with that "sparkle" you get from a high end gear and most importantly for overall bright sound signature - no listening fatigue. Soundstage, clarity and instrument separation is outstanding (which what gives that "oh I didn't know this was here" experience). I went through a few less expensive high end headphones (HD600, Aune AR5000, few HIFIMANs and ) in below $500 category and honestly wasn't impressed with the sound enough to keep them. These are the ones I am going to keep for sure, albeit it's a different price category.

These headphones blew me away when I first heard them. I attended an Audio Expo and listened to the entire HifiMan lineup, including the Susvara. Out of all of them, the Organics moved me like none of the others did. Mainly, because I listen to mostly, but not exclusively, metal. The Organics are very detailed, with amazing separation, and represent the entire frequency spectrum well. Open-backs aren't good with bass you say, the Organics are masterful with bass, tactile, textured, with good slam and rumble, never obscuring the mids, male and female vocals are clear and present, the details in the treble are mind-boggling, fingers sliding across the frets are clearly heard, high-hats and cymbals are clear and precise without being overbearing or fatiguing. I wasn't a huge fan of the OEM cable and swapped it out for a good aftermarket cable, but other than that, for me these are flawless. Especially for musical tastes.

I heard HiFiman had bad QC but what are the odds the first pair I get are defective. Left speaker would cut in and out. Bad right out of the box. Also not very impressed with the build quality. Feel super cheap. They sound great otherwise but a bit too bright for what I mostly listen to. Snare drums are unbearable at least in metal music.