Hifiman ARYA vs HE1000se | HIFI Headphone Comparison 

The all black Arya just looks so good.

Bought my Arya after your original video back in the day. Love it still!

Footage is beautiful - and great comparisons too Josh. Thanks for working hard to produce vids like these!

You are one of the best reviewers I have ever seen on youtube period regardless of subject. Keep it popping Joshua! Thanks for your excellent and hard work!

I love the aesthetic of your videos. Your and DMS's style are like the Daft Punk-esque yin to Zeos' Hoarders season 3 yang.

Josh, I gotta disagree with your treble assessment of the hd1000se. Mine is not like that. I think you gotta get your hands on another 1000se to compare it to. You may just have a bright 1000se. I got mine new in box and only have about 50 hrs on it since i got it this week. (trying to burn it in right no anyway to see if that does anything) (I have a gungnir multi and a mjolnir 2) In my opinion the 1000se is the most detailed headphone I have out of the HD800S, LCD-4 and meze empyrean (also tried the 1000v2, lcd-3, lcd-3 and 6xx but those are not in the same class as the ones i just mentioned). The detail of the hd800s and the 1000se might be tied because they deliver the detail in different ways. The 1000se is more resolving, the 800s is more sharp and faster and may even separate better and sound more 3d however the 1000se sounds more holographic like listening to the master tape in the studio. The 1000se has more detail in the bass and can keep up with the lcd-4 but in a much less obnoxious way and sounds more balanced overall, like you are listening to a speaker. the 800s is like you are listening to a driver and has the widest soundstage it has is more trickery from the german engineering from the housing that is surrounding the driver. The 1000se has more soundstage from top to bottom where the 800s has more circular slightly larger soundstage. I would say the 1000se is the least fatiguing out of all my headphones. it's so smooth with the best instrument separation with all the detail and highs being there. When switching from the lcd-4 to the empyrean to the hd800s over 100 times on 100 different songs I've concluded that the 1000se doesn't have less high end it is just presenting it in a smoother, fuller more beautiful and accurate way than the others. the other headphones sound brighter, but it is also trickery. They are peaking the frequencies either artificially or because they were just tuned that way while the 1000se is smooth all the way through naturally like a good set of studio monitors. The meze is a nice all rounder and prefer it to lcd-4 even though i think lcd-4 is a little more resolving but has the most bass. I would rank them as 1. he1000se (to mix with and most enjoyable by far) 2. meze empyrean (most comfortable and best build) 3 HD800s (to check your mix with, but least enjoyable but also still enjoyable in like you are playing with high powered microscope that can blind you at any moment kinda way) 4. LCD-4 (when you want an unbalanced bass explosion on your face, neck and chest)

Outstanding video. Loved the information, the presentation and the B-roll.

Loved to try these high end headphones.

Hi Joshua, another nice review from you!!! Inspired by you now i am also enjoying music with Arya, using the DROP THX AAA 789 as the amplifier. In your opinion is it better sound using middle gain but playing at 2 o'clock position or high gain at 11 o'clock? It's indeed one demanding headphone that require me to consider using high gain on the amp!!

Thank you for the brilliant video! I've been using HE-1000v2 for a while, and to my understanding the sound signature of SE is somewhat similar v2. Haven't yet had a chance to hear Arya, but you've been raving about it for a while, and after watching this video, I definitely am more interested in maybe adding Arya to my collection! + Arya looks sick. 1000SE does as well, but that all black look!

A lot of the recent reviews have dealt with gear that I find interesting and either own (e.g. IER-Z1R) or simply enjoy (e.g. HE1000se/Arya). Back when I listened to these 2 at my local dealer I remember thinking that they sounded similar with the HE1000SE being an upgraded Arya. I don't remember there being a significant difference in staging for example. Think I need to go back and pay closer attention.

I have the Area and the He6se v2...., and it seem to me like the v2 is more precise and has more Details, also the Stage seems to be a bit larger. But the Arya sound is more compact and pleasant, also the Bass is deeper. But since 1 Month iam using a prof. and very warm sounding analog EQ in my Chain, the Drawmer 1974. Iam using it mainly for the He6se v2..., and now the Bass is so big i cant believe it. I use the Freq. at 30-40 Hz and adjust it from 0-6db and i also sometimes cut the Highs at 12KHz 2-3db. And now for me the v2 is the better HP now, over the Arya. Thats crazy (: But in spite of this iam very curious for the Sound of the SE...Thanks for your great Reviews ***👍🙏🌈 ☀️

You might not delve in technically as deep as some of the other reviewers out there, but your visual presentation and verbal expression of what these listening instruments subjectively feel like to actually listen to is unmatched. Great comparison.

need i say it again? excellent video once more, Josh!

My ears are obviously different ... But I have an Arya , and I went to audition a he1000se the other day .... I disagree completely with this comparison , the Arya does not have the bass you keep harping on , it is definitely invisible , but it's not as impactful as your words are making it out to be. I found the he1000se bass to be much more detailed and impactful , even smoother than the Aryas. The He1000se to me actually had LESS hot of a S range and the treble region sounded muuuuch more detailed but at the same time EXTREMELY SMOOTH and relaxing . It's like I could listen to all that detail and it didn't hurt my ears at all ... I can't say the same for the Arya , I definitely get fatigued after a while with the Arya. The S region on it is very very very hot for me. Soundstage sounded slightly bigger on the he1000se and the sounds pushed out further to the sides and it was an audible different that it was doing this, certainly not placebo. For reference I tested with my own amp and dac , topping A90 and d90

I'm using cayin iha-6 amp for the Arya with ifi neo dac. Sounds great.

a very honest and detailled review. Plus arya is more accessable. the 1000 cost already like a second hand car

Do I really need more resolution than the Arya SE supplies..? probably not.. It takes a while to burn an Arya in, but once done, to me, it is just the right amount of everything.. the sound is detailed, organic and ethereal in a way..

@ Josh - When listening to jazz, I enjoy picking out the individual instruments and hearing how a given musician interacts with the other band members. This kind of listening highlights the genius of the greats. I can do this on the Arya, but would the HE1000SE make this easier? What other headphones would you recommend for this? Thx.

Thank you very much for this wonderful review. Can you please review ZMF Verite and compare to Arya and Diana v2? May Choroszcz shine upon you!

as always, phenomenal video.

it would be dope if you did reviews of overall companies. sennheiser vs beyerdynamic, hifiman vs audeze etc... i would like to hear your overall opinion given that you have heard so much more than i have.

I love the look of the HE1000. Also I think your reviews tend to be more analytical than consumer guide, just something I struggled with until I figured it out.

I had an Arya for a few years and at the time it was my TOTL can. I enjoyed it as it was a fun experience but I always felt like I was missing something and the there was a lack of clarity. I bought the HE1000v2 (OG) and, to me, the level of musical pleasure increased across the board. More musical, better and clearer bass, much more detail and super balanced. IMO, the HE1000v2 is the better headphone and the current cost is around $1,900 - $2,000. I bought mine 'open-box' for around $1,600. I sold the Arya and have never looked back. Note: the many reviews of the HE1000 SE are like Josh said: softer and very detailed and less "fun". The OG He1000v are FUN.

Excellent review!

I really enjoy listening to the Arya Stealths, but orchestral music, especially in the string section, does not sound natural and has almost a wavey shimmering effect like the driver is having trouble moving fast enough for the strings to sound smooth. Outside of that, I think the Aryas can hardly be beat for price and overall performance.

Listening to this video on my Hifiman 400i set through my Apollo Twin, and your audio/voice sounds so crisp. Even more so than what it sounds like through my Dynaudio Lyd48 3way studio monitors. But i think that crispness is partially due to a lack of mid range energy, some of which is probably saved for the Ananda and Arya. My reason for saying this is, on my Dyns, your voice is not as crisp up top, but it is more full. It has more presence, and is, thus, more realistic. That obviously makes the listening experience greater. Then again, I paid $150ish for my 400i cans. I paid over a grand a piece (and that was with a loyalty discount :) for my sweet Dyns (which i highly recommend to any producer or musician who needs a clean flat presentation of their music for mixing and mastering purposes). Anyhow, youre talking, I'm rambling :) Great vids. 3rd day watching and they just get better and better. Good job brother. - Jonathan

sooooo close to getting the Aryas 🖤

Great review. I demo'd the 1000se and Arya recently among a few others. I found these two to be amazing and the sound signature ticked all the boxed for me. With the 1000se I was looking for more from the low end (a bit more bass). With the Arya I felt it was too narrow on the mid and highs and I wanted more width. I feel a headphone which has the high and mid of the 1000se and the low of the Arya would be the perfect match. I haven't yet found a model that matches this description. Any ideas? But the Aryas compete closely to the 1000se so in terms of value for money it makes sense to choose them but if you can find the 1000se used in good condition I would say go with the 1000se.

This is the first comparison, I really understand where the difference are and how the headphones sounds like. I will receive an Arya tomorrow. Hopefully I will understand what you are loving in this headphone ;-)

Josh, have You heard LCD2-C? How it cold be compared to Arya?

lol. I guess this is why you didn't respond to my comment on the last video: you already had this in the works! Thank you so much.

I'm up early for this one, or so I thought until I saw the early comments from patreon lol.

On sound signature, the Hifiman beat the shit out of the Sennheisers. Not even a competition.

Do you have any plans for reviewing the the quad era-1?

Great review thanks! Question: I'm looking for a pair of really good headphones that will give me a great experience listening to my music. I'm leaning towards open back headphones because I have a pair of Shure SE846 in ear headphones I use for travelling and commuting. The Arya, 1000 se or v2 seem like the best options but what would be the closed back equivalents of these if I wanted to replace my in ear headphones. Thanks.

Waiting for them to send you the Susvara to see if it tops the Arya for you

Arya is just a beast, seen many audiophiles prefer them to the likes of LCD4 or HeK. I'd love to see a comparison from you between them and the Susvara

Isn't the THX 887 too dry for Arya, I heard some tube amp goes perfect with it

Arya is awesome! I've heard them on multiple amps and a cheap Schitt Heresey makes them sing! Also, bass is great but a little EQ down low and they slam just as hard as my Fostex TH900. Truly endgame headphone!

What headphone stands do you use the the arya/h1000? Since the earcups are bigger with normal stands the connectors touches the base.

I have a question and I apologize in advance for how basic it must be for everyone in this world and channel: I just bought and am still to receive the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO headphones, as well as a THX AAA 789 amp, and thought that I was all set to enjoy music from my computer on a whole new level and get started in this audio world. Today I learned that I need a DAC! Can someone please advise what DAC model o models are suitable for that set up? Thanks!!

Maybe I didn't look hard enough but I'm trying to find out if you EQ when testing headphones/IEMs?

I see that Bluesound streamer in the background. Teaser ?

Have you reviewed the klipsch in the background?

Nice speakers, I have the set myself

What kind of cable would accentuate the bass on the Arya?

I own both the Arya and HE1000SE. The HEKSE is far better technically but less forgiving of bad recordings. However, I listen mainly on tube amps, and the HEKSE is a very engaging, musical headphone. My other top pick for a different sound altogether is the ZMF Verite Ltd on Glenn Studios OTL amp, but I enjoy the HEKSE a bit more for its airy sound with notes just popping out of nowhere

I splurged and got the HE1000se and the wood is not just for looks as it is viewable on the inside it seems. There is a specific warming of the sound for what otherwise would be an even more analytical set but the change is something like changing earpads so there but not huge huge. The detail retrieval over my Aryas is noticeable and I consider my Aryas not in the same league for detail yet my phone even drives the HE1000SE even louder. I may be mistaken but to me the soundstage feels similar but it feels like the Arya's drivers are slightly further away and I believe it is specifically because of the magnet thickness and number of magnets and sure I'll say it the Arya not having curved/stealth mags. The HE1000se sound is my endgame for sure and the Aryas are superior to my HD800 non s in soundstage and bass and less ear pearcing haha. Hope this helps someone.

Can you review the Ifi Hip dac?

What i understand from your review give or take HE1000 sounds like my DT 1990, Arya sounds like my Ananda. 1990 have a feeling of forced detail and make me feel like i'm listening the recording. Ananda is smooth and make me feel like i'm listening the music. Though i still like a bit more excitement. 1990 is too much but Ananda is too soft. Ananda also have that ''boxy'' vocals like Arya too. Vocals seems a bit dry. Arya seems like my dream headphone but they are too expensive for me. $699 Ananda great deal. I guess Arya is more exciting/dynamic and bigger soundstage version of Ananda which definitely what i want.

I think it's time we discuss the REAL question here.... Is Joshua Valour's prodution TOO good? I can't be alone here. He's making everyone else's videos feel lacklustre!

I wanted to ask between AUDEZE EL8 and HIFIMAN ARYA the better of the two. thank you

Hi is 1000se punchy and can be used to metal listening? Thank

Just waiting for the Arya to price drop at 1,200$ xD I think it is already around that price when you buy from China/HK. Hope you gain more subs! you really deserve it with such great videos :)

Yeah, the Arya would be the one for me.

If the amp/dac is a very meaty sound then you need a the 1000se rather than the Arya, if the dac amp is analytic then you want the arya

What are they like for gaming?

Hey Josh, noob question, but when talking about using the iDSD Pro with the HE1000se to add a little smoothness and warmth, couldn't one do the same with EQ? Also, not related to the video, but do you have any opinions on the HD800 vs. HD800S strictly for competitive gaming? One better than the other? Any DACs or amps to recommend? Relatively new to the audio world but been loving your videos!

hey josh....i think that the arya is revised with a darker mesh on the earcups...are you aware of that?

i usually like all black a lot but the wood and sandblasted metal is sooooo godly

Arya this and Arya that, dude. I dont like expensive headphones but i might break my own rules here. I almost want one.

Hmm I have the he1k v1, not sure if I should get the se.

People who buy the SE will have higher resolving amps and DAC's. I believe it to be a misrepresentation to test and compare the SE on a sub 1k amp - which will not be able to show the full potential of either of these headphones. The best way to test transducers is with a chain as high end and resolving as possible to check how well they scale and how far down the line they still sound good. And even then synergy and tonality/timbre are very important factors.

I think I will end up buying arya if I continue to watch your videos.

How does arya compare to abyss fullsized ?

pls do another review with Arya stealth version instead

Hey would the Shiit jotunhiem be good for the Arya? especially using balanced xlr?

Have you tried DCA Ether 2? Having a really hard time deciding between the Ether 2 or Arya.

interestingly this rewiew goes against pretty much all 200+ pages of the hifi threads on this headphone lol

my first headphone was a jecklin float, first I, then upgrade to II, late 70s....very spacy.... I wonder, how these newer generation would compare to this maybe first, hifi-headphone ?! but I guess, your generation would not know this mathusalem, once a legend.... sort of like the diana...

Which is best for classical music ?

Hifiman is my favorite headphones and my opinion is that the Ananda and the Arya are very similar the SE is my favorite.

I'd like Arya SE v H1000SE comparison. Worth the upgrade or just sell the children and go straight to Susvara?

Please review T2 plus

Video's title says Ayra - just a heads up. Cheers.

Can someone mix and master on the Arya?

welp, i think you just sold me on the Arya's...Cheers

You are right, the timbre of the Arya is much better, the SE is borked in the highs and upper highs, you have to EQ that to make it listenable for anything but Classic and Jazz. EQ the SE into Aryas/Anandas tonality and it will blow your mind - it becomes scaaary good. Source: Trust me bro.

What is the definition of technical bass? Wouldn't detail be considered technical?

Don't know if i should get the hd 800s. arya. audeze x i produced music and make it but i also game a decent bit

Did you try them balanced? Wondering if that makes a difference as I have a true balanced amp on order.

Interesting that you say this Josh, I have to say that I found the same experience going from the Edition X V2 to the Arya. The Arya sounds like I am listening to seperate instruments that are not blended as well. The Edition X v2.0 has better sub base and blending of the music, it sounds warmer but still has 80-85% of the details. I think once you pass edition x v2 levels you start to get into listening to individual tracks rather than a song - You are no longer really listening to music anymore and it loses its magic, the same way eating everything from an expensive meal individually rather than mixed together as it's meant to be. This makes everything too strong in flavour individually! The biggest thing people fuck up with this is watching reviews and buying online. Go and try headphones or audio gear before buying, ALWAYS. Number one rule by miles. Reviews just give you models to test based on theoretically what you prefer sound signature wise

Arya was the best in violin and string music, and Susvara was also good in classical music. But for jazz, lcd4 was much better. If you listen to normal pop music, hifiman is just a high-performance headphone. The balance is good, but the sound is too light and bright.

6:57 what is an evil amount of detail? hhiihihihihiihihi

Do Denafrips Ares 2

My Arya left driver died. I am on the fence getting a HE1000 Stealth or H1000se, can't make up my mind.

He1000se is just a hifiman version of the Sony mdr sa5000

Nice review. Arya vs HE1000se? ¿Por qué no los dos?

I think what happens is you get a level of detail where you can hear a person's saliva and reality is, in real life at a live venue, you wouldn't hear that much. So these high res headphones on the top tiers are a bit hyperreal than it is representative of what you'd hear if in the studio.

So you're saying they're even better than something like Beats? 😁😁

Speakers or headphones. Budget is 2k. Which do you think you get the most out of?

Which BGM is this?

If you love the sound of Arya, you'll love the HEDDphone, they're basically/literally Arya on steroids. However, 700g is heavy for long sessions.

Why 1000se needs amp more than Arya do? There impedance and sensitivity are very close.

I'm still dreaming about the Empyreans.

I know this is old ish in RU-vid world now 😅 But is there a headphone out there (by Hifiman?) that sounds like Arya but not built like the Arya?

I have an Arya and 1more quad iem. Should I get Sony Z1R?

Want the Arya..bank account says Ananda is good enough. Trying to justify buying endgame and stop watching videos. It never ends though. New DAC or Amp options. Need a open, closed, travel up with DAP. Slippery slope!!

A wrong review, same amps cant be used for these headphones. He1000se needs very warm high quality(costly) JFET/Bipolar Class A amps and mid and bass centric dac like x26 pro