Hifiman Arya Organic

The Arya Organic are open-back, circumaural headphones from Hifiman, a headphone manufacturer that was founded in New York in 2007 and is now based in China. Its portfolio now includes over two dozen reference-class models. The Arya is one of the latest additions.

In addition to the Arya Organic that we tested, Arya and Arya Stealth Magnetics versions are also available. They differ from the headphones we tested in terms of material and appearance. Furthermore, although they offer the same frequency range, they have different impedance values and also differ in terms of volume. And because Hifiman headphones have impressed us more and more in our tests over the years, having the opportunity to test the Arya Organic was an interesting and exciting prospect.

Hifiman Arya Organic – package

The Hifiman Arya Organic’s packaging is clearly laid out. In addition to the headphones themselves, there is only a cable included. This fabric-covered cable has gold-plated plugs and connects to the ear cups on both sides of the headphones. But wait! This is not all. On closer inspection, part of the protective packaging turns out to be a makeshift headphone stand. Although it doesn’t give the impression of being ultra-stable and doesn’t look particularly high-quality, it fulfils its purpose perfectly. Nevertheless, for headphones in the lower four-digit price range, I would like to have seen a case for transport and storage, or at least a protective bag.

No matter where the manufacturer sees the application area of these headphones, many of today’s users also expect flexibility in terms of connection options. However, the Arya Organic’s cable is designed exclusively for use with 6.35mm jack sockets. There is no adapter for a small jack plug included. Compared to the package that comes with many budget headphones, the Arya Organic are, therefore, surprisingly economical in terms of the accessories included.

Hifiman Arya Organic – material and technology

Hifiman largely relies on planar-magnetic drivers for their reference class headphones, and this also applies to the Arya Organic. This technology is considered to be an especially precise way of reproducing audio. What’s more, the Hifiman Arya Organic’s diaphragms are made of particularly thin material, whose thickness is measured in nanometres. This should help the headphones achieve an especially detailed sound reproduction. The shape and arrangement of the magnets used for the drivers have been chosen to largely eliminate interference. Because the magnets are, therefore, virtually invisible in terms of sound, the manufacturer refers to them as “stealth magnets”. The hand-polished metal grilles on the outside of the earcups have very large openings. This is intended to ensure a remarkably open sound.

Hifiman Arya Organic – technical values

The technical values of the Hifiman Arya Organic are impressive. The frequency range of these headphones extends from a low 8 Hz to an impressive 65 kHz. And even if the volume of 91.64 dB SPL is not too high, the impedance of 16.05 ohms means that these headphones can also be used with headphone outputs that do not generate a high voltage. This is all the more surprising given that such headphone preamps are often installed in consumer equipment such as smartphones, tablets or laptops. These are usually equipped with a mini jack socket for connecting the headphones, but this is a connection type that is not included with these headphones.

Hifiman Arya Organic – handling

At first glance, the shape of the ear cups appears symmetrical, but this is not the case. Rather, it has been adapted to the typical human ear shape. For this reason, the contact surface of the ear pads initially feels unfamiliar but becomes more comfortable after putting them on. The shape of the ear cups is already familiar from models such as the Edition XS, Edition X or the HE1000 Stealth.

The headband of the Arya Organic is adjusted using a ratchet system. However, it is not easy to manoeuvre the size adjustment on both sides evenly with such firmly gripping ratchets. If you place a value on visual symmetry when wearing headphones, you will have to take them off and readjust the size with both hands.

It may be due to the low weight of just 440 grams without the cable that the Hifiman Arya Organic exerts a comparatively low contact pressure. However, this was so low that rapid head movements caused the headphones to slip. The breathable inner surfaces of the ear pads prevent the user from sweating. All materials had a high-quality feel and were immaculately finished. If you are looking for a shortcoming here, then it’s the cable length. At just 140cm, it is a little short. Ultimately, the wearing comfort of the headphones was pleasant and certainly more than just “OK”.

Hifiman Arya Organic – sound

As soon as you put them on, you realise how open the open design of these headphones really is because the ear cups have almost nothing to stop the sound coming in from outside. This was also noticeable in the audio playback. No compression or annoying resonance was perceptible. In addition, the sound of the headphones was wonderfully finely resolved.

Treble frequencies were reproduced with the finest detail. In the super high-frequency range, you can tell that the Arya Organic are capable of playing almost limitlessly. In the upper mids, the signal was reproduced in a differentiated manner. This benefited guitar and synthesiser sounds. The reproduction was so fine that the user could discover new sound details or instruments hidden in the mix here and there, even in songs that they think they know well. Depending on the production, the presence of vocals through the Arya Organic can have a certain sharpness. However, at no time was it so strong that listening to music with these headphones would not be fun. This also applied to the sound of guitars in rock, alternative and metal music.

The bass was unobtrusive and blended seamlessly into the frequency spectrum. The headphones could also confidently reproduce sub-basses from R’n’B etc. The Arya Organic reproduced transients with sufficient definition. The stereo image and depth were particularly impressive. Listening to orchestral music with these headphones gave the impression of sitting in the middle of a concert hall. However, a suitable volume level must be used for very dynamic passages. otherwise, the headphones tended to distort when it came to especially dynamic tuttis from a full orchestra line-up.

Conclusion

The Hifiman Arya Organic are a pair of circumaural headphones with an open design that provides a special sound experience. Even more than with some other open headphones, the user can concentrate fully on the sound. This is because resonances or compression do not play the slightest role. The detailed sound image constantly reveals new details in the highs and mids and acts confidently in the bass range. This ensures listening pleasure. These lightweight headphones can also be worn for hours without tiring. However, due to the low contact pressure, the fit was not very secure. If you can overlook the size adjustment, which was not quite comfortable, and the small package of accessories, the Hifiman Arya Organic are first-class sounding headphones with a suitable price-performance ratio, which should convince many audiophiles.