Hifiman Arya Organic Impressions

Intro

As much as a part of me does indeed want to just hate on the Arya Organic (henceforth abbreviated to AO), if I'm being really fair about it, the AO is not particularly bad. That being said, I also do feel the AO have some great shortfalls and still have some of the characteristics that really annoyed me about the original HE1000. But overall, as a package, I can't say the Arya Organic is a modern Hifiman that sucks; in some ways, it's the modern, super-thin diaphragm Hifiman sound implemented fairly well.



Sonics

If you've heard the modern Hifimans, you know what the AO roughly sounds like; transients are fast but "soft", and overall has an airy/ethereal sound not unlike some electrostats. There is a little bit of the bouncy bass here, but not too bad and can be somewhat controlled better by certain amps. The treble in some ways actually surprised me the most; while there is still a little hash and splash and rasp, it's not TOO offensive to the point where I ripped the headphones off.

For those who aren't as familiar, the transients are a mixed bag of being relatively quick, but the impact itself doesn't feel well-defined nor does it hit very hard. Think along the lines of a cotton ball being thrown at you at 100 MPH. In contrast, something like the LFF Code-6 that I had a while back is slower, but hits very hard; more like a rock being thrown at you at 60 MPH. Personally, I prefer the presentation of the second one, but this is really a matter of listener preference. In any case though, the AO is not what I'd call overly soft or all that electrostat-like; a bit more substantial than those hyperfast estats with slightly better definition. Delineation is not bad on the AO either if I put my planar hat on (there is something about the way planars do delineation that I think is kind of weird).

The bass being bouncy on some amps is a bit of a weird quality. Maybe this comes from super-thin, tensioned diaphragms? Either way, with the AO there is a sense that the diaphragm rebounds in the bass like a trampoline. Now, this is not as bad as the OG HE1000 that I heard a while back, where this effect was so pronounced that I felt it was unnatural and unnerving. But saying it isn't there on the AO is a lie.

The most make-or-break thing on modern Hifimans, I feel, is the treble. This is where the AO is weird; I have no idea if there is ringing or if it's just particularly bright and rough in the mid-to-upper treble, but the AO has the worst rendition of the triangle that I have ever heard. It is simultaneously mosquito-like while having very little definition in the hit and basically no decay. I did hear a similar effect in some other planars though, and I do wonder if this is me hearing the "ortho wall" that appears in some CSDs. For what it is worth, I heard some similar effects when I tried out a Susvara. If you do not hear this effect, you'll probably hear the AO as somewhat bright in the upper treble, which is to say "very airy." Also, for what it's worth, the treble palatability varied a lot based on amp synergy; amps that worked well exhibited these negative traits less (sometimes a LOT less).

Overall, this sound is not for me, but I'd be lying if I said it outright sucked.

Amp Pairings

To absolutely no one's surprise, the AO benefits hugely from having power. Piety was just okay, but the OG Liquid Carbon I have was actually quite nice. Ferrum Oor wasn't really that bad either (although I dislike the Oor immensely, more on that later). Basically, if the amps you have at your house are tube amps that don't output much power for your dynamic driver headphones, you'd probably need to buy something to power the AO; it definitely won't be piggybacking off of your Starlett.

Miscellaneous

Comfort is actually not bad. In the beginning, I thought the suspension strap was a bit stiff, but with a little bit of warm up to the head it relaxes and the whole headphone I felt was quite comfortable. The build quality also doesn't feel super cheap; definitely feels like a finished product.

Conclusion

The AO is okay, and if you like modern Hifiman and can find it on a deal, I think it's an alright choice but not a home run. Simply put, I think $1300 is too expensive even if you are a planar head. Those who know me will know what my own personal opinion is and if I'd ever try to acquire one.