HiFiMAN Arya WiFi

Sonic Compass does not grade gear. We plot gear and listeners on the same seven axes, so a review tells you where a product sits and you can see how far that is from where you sit.

HiFiMAN's April sent the CanJam Singapore demo unit home with me, and HiFiMAN had no say in this review. My first weeks were frustrating because I couldn't get the Wi-Fi set up. A later HiFiMAN app and a firmware update fixed that, and this review is written on those.

I listened over Wi-Fi from Qobuz. For the comparison I used my HE1000 Unveiled through an Aune A17 headphone amp and a Gustard R30 DAC, on Tidal.

Where the Arya WiFi sits — A measured, full-bodied, smoother presentation than the V-shaped Arya Organic. Space and Comfort are its strongest axes. It gives ground on battery life and has no analogue input.

Against earlier Aryas — Way ahead of the Stealth-magnet V3 in tuning, which I first found too sibilant. HiFiMAN seem to have eased the aggressive 2 to 5kHz treble peak, and vocals sit a few inches back, which is more organic and a lot less fatiguing. I haven't heard the V1 or V2.

Bass — Extension is really good, down to 8Hz on the maker's figures. It won't rumble your chest, but it is tight, powerful, linear, fast and well controlled.

Stage and imaging — Imaging is laser accurate and the stage wonderfully wide and holographic, with the music floating around me rather than injected into my head.

Freedom — Desktop-tier R2R playback while I walk around the house. Wi-Fi covered the whole house and never dropped out for me.

Setup — Before the app, Wi-Fi setup felt like configuring a 2004 modem. I followed HiFiMAN's two reset videos and still failed repeatedly, and HiFiMAN were helpful every time. Some of that may have been me. The app is intuitive and transformed the headphone. Without it I would have said steer clear.

Volume — The original Wi-Fi firmware topped out lower than I needed. A recent firmware update raised the gain well past what I need, with no distortion.

Design and tech — All black, with a soft suspension headband that's comfortable and not heavy to me. Inside are the Neo Supernano diaphragm Gen 2, about 60% of the thickness of the first-generation driver, a Hymalaya mini R2R DAC and a custom class AB balanced amplifier. Connections are Bluetooth 5.1 (LDAC, aptX HD, AAC, SBC), USB wired, and Wi-Fi up to 24-bit/192kHz via AirPlay, Roon, DLNA, Spotify Connect and Qobuz. Tidal was still to come when I tested. Bluetooth sounded very good too, with Wi-Fi better and wired better again. In the box: a USB cable, a foam headphone stand and silica gel.

Arya WiFi vs HE1000 Unveiled (an uneven test) — The Unveiled ran through separate amp and DAC, on Tidal, which I slightly prefer to Qobuz. Even so, I find them neck and neck. If anything the Unveiled may have a bee's elbow more dynamics. The Arya WiFi has slightly fuller mids on Old Man. The Unveiled feels very slightly heavier on the head, and the Arya WiFi still has a lower top volume, much improved by the firmware update.

Cons — Setup before the app. HiFiMAN claim up to about 23 hours on Bluetooth, but on Wi-Fi it is about 6 hours for me, with about 3 hours to charge. There's no analogue input, only USB-C, so a flat battery means charging before you can listen.

Read this against your own profile — I enjoyed the slightly V-shaped Arya Organic, and this measured, fuller tuning suits my ears even better. If you want an all-in-one, cable-free system, or already love the Arya's resolution, staging and comfort, this fits. If you own a US$2,000 DAC and amp and chase top wired resolution, or need an analogue input or a long battery, it doesn't.

Honest limits — Supplied by the maker. An uneven comparison. By ear, no measurements, with notes taken some time before the video. I haven't heard the Arya V1 or V2.