Thank you for responding!
And looking forward to your video.
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Soooā¦YouTube is taking forever and a half to process this 4K HDR footage. More than 12 hours of processing and it still is only at 720p. Might be tomorrow when I publish it, and even then it may only be 1080p and not 4K. Dang.
Itās worth the wait though 
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Screw it weāre doing it live!
Canāt wait any longer for the quality to process to 4K HDR. So, enjoy the full review and sound demos!
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You got a new subscriber as soon as you started going off on tangents about the box. I did skip through the sound demos since I was just more interested in hearing the opinions and passion you have in your reviews. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though I still think the case is a bit too small for the IEMs and the cable to be comfortable for me to use and foams are tools of the devilā¦
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Hah! I guess everyone enjoys different aspects to the review. Happy you enjoyed the box bit
I also do like your grading system it is a very practical and also personal system. Which makes a lot of sense since people enjoy music differently not to mention differences in how people even hear things.
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I loved the listening comparisons! Enjoyed the sample choices too. Going against the main vibe of this thread, I think the comparisons just reinforced my memory of why I donāt like the Starfields much (owned several times) and therefore wouldnāt like the Aria. For whatever theyāre getting right at the price, certain aspects of the sound are just muted or sort of flattened out, not sure if Iām describing it well.
That being said,
A) tuning is a preference matter, Iām not for a moment suggesting theyāre ābadlyā tuned
B) theyāre terrific all rounders. Admittedly sets I like that are similarly priced (but tbh not that lowly priced) would bring out more of that āsomethingā I feel the Starfields (therefore Aria) are missingā¦ BUT at the cost of compromises, like certain styles or sounds not coming out smoothly.
I think itās their āsafeā tuning that puts me off them, while clearly being a plus for most, and a good part of their popularity. Especially to get something at the price that presents such a broad variety of music in a high quality way.
On the other hand Iāve never been more intrigued by the Mest than now. I know Iāve heard a lot about it, but this approximated āhearingā preview of what it emphasized in the Hurt coverā¦ to my tastes it really nailed it! And thatās hearing it through a different IEM.
Really well put together, thanks for sharing. I donāt think the Aria are me, but theyāre impressive and absolutely a rec for most folks. Very well priced package.
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Finallyā¦ And thanks for doing a side by side comparison with MEST ($1000) and Xenns UP ($700) which I donāt have the budget to experience! It really shows what different price brackets do to the IEMs. The MEST and Xenns UP definitely performed better in separation and resolution whereas the Aria has a bit of the āsournessā (veil?) albeit the relaxed signature. In terms of the Starfields, I canāt hear much difference tbh. However, after hearing the Aria, I really recommend comparing it with the Tin HIFI T4 and see how the resolution and tuning are different. No doubt the Aria is tuned beautifully, but with Tin T4 going for $70 on Drop sometimes, I wonder if the T4 will beat the Aria by a slight margin.
Thanks for this comparison!! This review is a full-blown experience, and perhaps itās just because I personally prefer a better resolution, I figured that I might be content with the IEMs I have atm. I tested your tracks with BLON BL-05s (foam tips), Tin T2 (silicon tips), Tin T4 (foam tips), and Koss KPH30i Clear (Yaxi pads). The results across these headphones are consistent across what Iāve said in the previous paragraph. What an experience!
*Sidenote: I think the BLON BL-05s are overly underestimated 'cos people tend to think that it should be similar to the original BL-05. NO, BIG NO. BL-05s are better tuned in every way, massive upgrade from the originals.
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Agree with the others! Very informative and your passion shows through.
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Speaking of cables, I might want to get the Nicehck black cable for the Aria since atm, it matches it fairly well. Not to mention the look the 16 core cable can make it look much better than it already is. Wish the stock cable of mine didnāt get too freaking tangled now it looks funny.
Have any of you paired your Arias with FiiO UTWS3? My left one falls out very easily!
(I posed this question along with a bit of a rant in its own thread but think I might get more traction here)
I canāt speak to those genres. I am mostly a progressive rock guy,
with some classic rock and a tiny bit of heavy metal thrown in.
That said, I do find it does a nice job with everything I throw at it. I was accidentally listening to some classical guitar two days ago, and I could tell the positional arrangement of the people on stage, which isnāt something you would have expected on $80 earbuds a few years ago.
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What DAC/AMP combos do you guys recommend for Aria? Iām tempting to buy Qudelix 5K for my newfound favorite IEM!
Qudelix 5K is what I have. Iāve owned a few others and I found it to be the best sounding for me.
Though in the last few months Iāve ditched portable DAC/amps in favor of a small dongle. Easier to pack it all up in a pocketable* travel case and itās one less thing to set up to get started with my music.
Oddly enough, I tried plugging in my IEMs into my desktop rig (THX amp, Bifrost DAC), comparing it to the dongle, and I could hardly bother to notice a difference unless I was really looking for something.
The Qudelix, however, seemed to sound more noticeably different. Maybe brighter a bit. And the BTR5 warmed everything up.
So, for me, the portables change the signature - for better or worse depending on taste. Meanwhile, the cheap $9 apple dongle, or the more expensive ddhifi adapters, had a similar signature as my $1000+ desktop rig!
It could be with more critical listening I would come to hear and appreciate more readily the desktopās improvements. Butā¦it says a lot to me that the main idea of what Iām hearing is so close on an enjoyment level. It seriously made me look at my desktop stuff and think āwhat am I doing with this stuff?ā
Well the answer to that was āohā¦yeaā¦.some headphones just need more power to be loud enough.ā Lol
Anywayā¦yeaā¦Iāve been fine with dongles. But you may like the changes made by the portable DAC/amps. I wouldnāt say itās better, but different and that difference may be better to your taste.
I might get roasted for this but that was my honest experience!
EDIT:
My current adapter for 2.5mm IEMāsā¦
My current lightning to 3.5mmā¦
Letās shop together on AliExpress with new user coupons
Your US $1.00 in coupons are here!
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Thanks for your honest thoughts. I was initially going for btr5, but after reading some loves and hates from many users I decided to not waste my time on faulty product and bugging app from Fiio.
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I was on vacation, so I missed this discussion. I have never had issues with the app from Fiio, and from what I can tell this seems to be a platform issue. If you are on Apple phones, the Fiio app seems to be horrible, but if you are on a somewhat recent Android device, it runs great. You only run the app to change the settings for the device. It stores them, and from there you never run it, it just connects like any other Bluetooth device. I think I ran the Fiio app twice in the first month I owned it.
I have run my Aria IEMs over a couple cheap USB-C to 3.5mm dac, both under $10, they were both fine, and I canāt really tell any difference.
The BTR5 is the only amplifier I own, and I use it all the time, but more for the wireless features than anything else. There are lots of good options, I have been happy with it.
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The BTR5 still kicks ass to this day, maybe some day that will be next target to get but for now I have to get stuff that needs attending other than this hobby of mine. Bad habits once you get into something that you like so much.
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What to get after Ariaās? They my only pair of IEM
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Hello and welcome to hfgf
To better help you, can you give us more information? Like whats your prefered sound signature, library, what source you using, etc?
Thanks for the warm welcome friend!
I really enjoy clear details in the mids not too harsh on the highs but still fun and some bass . I enjoy listening to rock, alt rock, hip/hop and rap all from amazon music and spotify.
I find that the Arias have this weird unpleasing thin or tinny sound in some songs with the high treble or something i donāt know if Iām even saying this right.