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Then-Effective5434 t1_j1yup2c wrote

Reply to comment by SaulR26 in Embrace Your Inner Weeb by hourglass7

Wow, you have a great setup, almost all my dream headphones, except maybe some HE1kV2 would better suit Arya place, but still excellent. What use cases you have for your LCD-XC? Do you need that passive noise isolation? Or you are using them in the same settings as your open-back headphones?

Also interested, what IEMs you heard before getting Monarch MkII?

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SaulR26 t1_j1zg3iq wrote

I love my Aryas to bits, Haven't heard the HE1000V2, but I'm pretty content with the Arya SE. As for the LCD-XC, I purchased it to complement my open back aryas, And yes, I use them for the passive noise isolation. I love their sound signature, but I recently sold them as they were just too heavy for me and I preferred my Aryas for listening to music.

Before the Monarch MKII, I have tried the Arias, 7hz Dioko, and Blessing 2 Dusk. Love the sound signature of the Monarch, but funnily enough, I also sold the Monarchs recently as well. I tried for a while to find the right tips to fit the monarchs in my ear, and using Sedna eartips got me really close, but still after an hour or two, my ears would not be very comfortable. So yeah, unfortunately found the nozzles were just too big to fit in my ears and decided to let them go.

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Then-Effective5434 t1_j1zodr1 wrote

Hah, well it is normal flow in this hobby, I haven't owned any audio gear more than 6 months, maybe my Variations will break this record.

So what IEM are you using now, after selling Monarch? Or maybe looking for something to buy?

Also thanks for your input about LCD-XC, I decided that this would be my 'end game' closed back if I wanted one, but 670g of weight is indeed disappointing. I didn't feel at all my 410g Ananda on my head, this ear-shaped HiFimans are very comfortable with my head, 450g Elex was already heavy on my head, and then I understood that comfort for headphones are important.

Had you EQ your LCD-XC to Harman? How it compares with/without EQ to the Arya based purely on technical department (details, soundstage, imaging, separation) and who has better vocals/bass? As I have read, Arya are more technical than LCD-X, so it's closed version should lose even a bit more due to artificial soundstage due to closed back design?

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SaulR26 t1_j208tp9 wrote

I recently ordered the Truthear Hexa, so I will just be using those for now. I realized I don't use IEMs nearly as much as my headphones and It doesn't really make sense for me to spend several hundreds of dollars on top tier IEMs, so at least for now I'll be going for some cheaper IEMs.

for the most part, I actually enjoyed the XC tuning out of the box and didn't bother with tuning all that much, but I did give it a bit more sub bass with my lokius. As for how it compares, for details, I would say that the Arya is the more capable headphone. The Arya is more detailed, has taller soundstage (width is more or less the same), more accurate imaging and separation. This is not to say the LCD-XC is bad, I preferred the XC when it came to vocal heavy tracks as they provided more intimacy and a clearer center image. I also preferred their performance with heavy bass tracks. It's a guilty pleasure of mine and I love a lot of rumbly and punchy bass sometimes, my Aryas are pretty good at providing good rumble and punch, but they don't exactly give the same sensation that the XC can as it is a closed back. Overall though, I prefer the Aryas and I do think they are the better headphone.

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Then-Effective5434 t1_j20dct1 wrote

Great, thank you for your response. I'm only 1 year in this hobby and from day 1 I was thinking about Arya, due to Joshua Valour influence, because he was the first reviewer, that I started to watch and in that time he was loving AryaV2 and I am still dreaming about the day, when I will grab a pair for myself and will sunk into audio nirvana

Enjoy your Arya! For most people they are end game material

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