HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled

Introduction to the HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled Review

There are products in this hobby that can be easily described as legendary. The Arya line by HiFiMAN definitely deserves to be considered one.

For years, it’s been a statement for HiFiMAN. The headphone that might just give you the best bang for your buck in the higher-end headphones world.  The Arya itself had many versions in the past, with the latest being Arya Stealth and Arya Organic, both of which we have reviewed in the past.

Actually, this might just be the hardest model for HiFiMAN to improve next to the Susvara. This has been their top-selling model within higher-end models for so many years, and there’s not much you can improve in it…right?

Here comes the whole Unveiled concept, which has taken the HiFiMAN lineup by storm, starting with the Susvara Unveiled.

So, today we’re going to see if the new Arya Unveiled is a worthy successor to past Aryas. Or maybe the good people at HiFiMAN have outdone themselves once again?

Packaging

With every single HiFiMAN product that I’m reviewing, this is always my least favorite paragraph. HiFiMAN has been offering the same packaging philosophy for many years now, so there’s really nothing new for me to say here.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing. This company has always been about offering the absolute best sound quality for the money, and cutting corners on flashy packagings is one of the best ways to actually get the price as low as possible. 

So yeah, this is a HiFiMAN headphone, and it comes packed as one. Cardboard box, secure and minimalistic, with no fancy accessories. Moving on.

Design, Build Quality, and Comfort of HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled

The Arya has always been the headphone to split the HiFiMAN lineup into two pieces. It is the least expensive, classic model to offer you a “big-boy” headband design, offering a 360-degree swivel and all the good stuff that comes with it. 

Sporting an all-black (well, except the drivers) color scheme, the Arya Unveiled is one sexy headphone, giving you that stealthy (pun intended) yet elegant look. The more expensive models look more refined and elegant, but the Arya is sporty, clean, and tech-oriented when it comes to its design.

It’s not all bells and whistles, though. The actual cups that you put on when you’re not using these are…well, meh. These are made of plastic, wrapped in a pleather-looking wrap. I said pleather-looking intentionally, because it doesn’t fake looking like real leather too well. 

Of course, these are just covers you’d put while the headphones rest on your headphone stand, but still, it looks a bit cheap. And it’s a shame, because the rest of the headphone is really solid.

Apart from that, this is a standard *big* HiFiMAN model – incredibly comfortable, lightweight, and well put-together. No fancy materials or luxurious feeling, as always with HiFiMAN. 

This is obviously an Unveiled model, so your driver will be totally exposed after removing the magnetic cups. However, compared to the Susvara Unveiled, it has way smaller gaps between the magnets, which will keep your drivers safer. A small refinement, but a BIG relief when actually handling the headphones on a regular, daily basis. Smart.

Tech

The Arya Unveiled is rather a classic HiFiMAN Planar-Magnetic headphone, with the addition of the Unveiled design.

Because of that, you’re getting all of the good stuff – a Nanometer Thickness Diaphragm, Stealth Magnets, and the Window Shade Design.

When it comes to the whole Unveiled concept, it’s basically an idea to remove the grill whatsoever and leave the driver completely open. This gives you absolutely zero distortion when it comes to the driver acoustics. I already covered the entire concept in my Susvara Unveiled review, so I’ll copy it here:

HiFiMAN has basically got rid of the grill outside of the driver, leaving the driver fully exposed. This is said to improve the transparency, speed, and accuracy of the sound, as the drivers have an unlimited amount of air to “work with”. 

Every grill in the world is a barrier of a kind, and they influence the sound. While some do it more than others, there’s just no way around it. HiFiMAN decided that instead of creating a new, acoustically invisible grill, they would just remove the grill entirely. While this idea might have seemed crazy at first, there’s a lot of sense in this decision.

By removing the grills entirely, HiFiMAN got the sound that is basically as open as it gets, while also being unaltered acoustically by the grill on the outside of the drivers. 

The concept is incredibly smart, and it works, as the Susvara Unveiled and the HE1000 Unveiled already proved.

Sound of the reviewed HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled

Will the Unveiled aspect be enough to crown the Arya Unveiled as the best Arya ever? This is a big challenge, as the Arya has been improved over and over again, basically to perfection in this price range.

I have an ambivalent relationship with the Arya. On one side, I respect it a lot, and I keep recommending them left and right on a daily basis. It’s just an insanely good headphone, especially now since the Arya SE is offered at a vastly reduced price.

On the other hand, the Arya SE is too sharp and bright for me personally, so I don’t really like listening to them, unless I’ll prepare a very specific setup to pair them with. 

So, when I received the Arya Unveiled, I was very curious if this is THE Arya that could turn the table around for me. Long story short – yes, it is.

The bass is physical, tactile, and well articulated, with no sign of slowing down. It creates a great foundation to the rest of the frequency response, but it never takes the lead, nor does it stay behind. *put Thanos perfectly balanced meme here*.

Jokes aside, this is a class bass response to say the least. Always keeping up the pace, offering punch, energy, and vigor when it’s needed, but never overdoing it. This is basically what Arya got us used to, but even faster and more agile. It works with every music genre, even those that rely heavily on low frequencies. 

Don’t expect the deepest, most powerful, or thick bass, though, as it’s just not that. But it complements the rest of the frequency response just perfectly – never taking the front row, nor ever sounding distant or underwhelming.

The Unveiled side of things also gives us that sense of incredible texture and speed of the bass. Well, not just bass, it does that with the whole sound, but it is indeed present in low frequencies. If you like a neutral bass presentation, you’ll feel amazed here.

The midrange is very open, mainly because of the whole Unveiled situation. The Arya Unveiled has that ability to sound ridiculously fast, ethereal, and full of air.

At the same time, it sounds natural, full-bodied, and just fun. The vocals can sound forward whenever they should, creating that sensation of intimacy, while also being spacious. All because of the incredible layering of the sound in general, which is quite possibly the absolute best in this price bracket. 

Where the previous Arya fell short for me personally was the upper midrange-lower treble region, due to it being a bit too hot. The Arya Unveiled sounds significantly more mature in this FR portion, resulting in a sound that is way easier to listen to, even for long periods of time.

The treble continues this trend, as it’s more delicate than the Arya SE. However, more delicate doesn’t mean less detailed…quite the opposite, actually. I don’t know what kind of sorcery this is, but the Unveiled sounds ever so slightly more detailed than the SE, which itself was a magnificently detailed headphone to begin with.

While the Unveiled technology might not be the best when it comes to everyday use and potential longevity of your headphones, it’s hard to argue when it comes to its benefits when it comes to the sound quality. This is indeed the best Arya ever, and I will stand by my words here.

The soundstage is once again a fantastic trait of the Arya Unveiled. It’s vast, open, and spacious. The amount of air between the instruments is class-leading, but it was to be expected due to the Unveiled technology.

What’s important, though, the soundstage isn’t just big, it’s also very accurate. I’ve played a fair share of competitive FPS games wearing these, and trust me…it’s a bit like cheating. The directional accuracy is spot-on, and due to the fantastic dynamics, the sounds that are supposed to be dull and barely audible aren’t. Spectacular.

While listening to the song called Familiar by Agnes Obel (shoutout if you watched the best TV series ever produced called DARK) the vocal is forward and basically in-your-face, while the rest happens around you, with incredible separation and stereo imaging. The fact that these can sound so close and so distant at the same time says just how good these are.

Pairings

Pairing the Arya Unveiled is A LOT easier than the Arya SE. The previous model pretty much required you to put a lot of attention into your chain, otherwise you could end up with headphones that you’ll be unable to listen to for longer than 30 min.

The Arya Unveiled sounds great with just about everything. Right now I have them plugged into the HiFiMAN Serenade, and I’m having an absolute blast. 

Tube amp? Feliks Audio? Go ahead, that’s a fantastic pairing. 

Wanna go portable? I’ve tried the Cayin N6iii and couldn’t be happier – I got a snappy, full-bodied, and hyper-fast sound. 

The Arya Unveiled is so good and so well-tuned that it’ll sound great with everything. Of course, you want to give them a system that is going to highlight their strengths and not limit them, but outside of that, it’s an easy job. 

HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled Review – Summary

The HiFiMAN Arya Unveiled is one of the most impressive releases lately. Taking an already spectacular Arya family and improving on just about everything is something only HiFiMAN could have pulled off.

This is now my number 1 recommendation for a “does it all” type of headphone in this price category. The Unveiled aspect might be a bit stressful when you use it, but trust me, it’s well worth it. Absolutely spectacular, HiFiMAN!

Wildly recommended!