I would highly recommend anyone considering a purchase of this magnitude audition them first to make sure they’re a match for your taste. But, if you’re a fan of a balanced sound with outstanding extension, exquisite detail, and the comfort to last for hours and hours of listening, these are an excellent choice.

Priced well above USD$1000, the Arya are obviously and gloriously not for the mass market consumer; they are designed and built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts - especially those who view their expenses on this level of gear as investments. The few caveats are the extremely transparent open-back design, XL-sized fit, and extraordinarily high level of detail and resolution. Some listeners may find this too much, especially for relaxed listening.

The Arya Stealth provides an excellent introduction to HIFIMAN’s flagship house sound and one that is considerably beefier than what I am used to with the introduction of the new Stealth Magnet technology.

The Arya Stealth’s tuning is very good. It’s pleasing, yet technically strong as well as musical and exciting. The Arya Stealth always has good body, presence, impact and depth. It’s very easy to understand why this headphone is getting so many recommendations. It’s an absolute award winner and in this price category, the Arya Stealth is hard to beat.

Even subjectively, though, I prefer the Arya Stealth; it is the default recommendation that comes to mind at $1600 for this reviewer. This may come as surprising given that I haven’t been particularly enthusiastic about any headphone I’ve reviewed, but let it be known that HiFiMAN’s consistency is certainly impressive.

At $1,599 USD, the Aryas are not cheap and would be a major expenditure for a lot of people, myself included. But they are well-built and sturdy and they sound good with a surprisingly wide range of headphone amplifiers.

$1,599 is a lot of money for a pair of headphones and I feel that the two most relevant questions revolve around the performance of the Arya Stealth in comparison with the HiFiMAN Edition XS and Ananda, and the degree of improvement over the existing Arya.