Dixecutioner

Move aside Beats, new king of bottom is here.

haha thanks!

Yea unless you can get them both to demo, I would go for the used Arya's as a blind buy. Much safer bet as you said.

So far, if I had to choose all over again, I would probably go with the 109's and save myself $400. I can do a lot more with the extra $400. If it's down to a used pair of Arya's at roughly $850 vs these? That's a damn hard choice, probably the Arya's.

it's comparable to the Arya, but rounded off a bit at the very tippy tops. So slightly less sibilance with the very sharp material. I don't feel like it's too bright but I'm coming from planars.

it'll probably narrow the soundstage a bit too since it's a less transparent material.

AM only had the SD version of it but I a/b'd them anyway.

The acoustic guitar you mentioned sounds more natural on the Arya's , the 109's adds a bit more twang as each pluck falls away. That could be the tuning. They both have the same tickle, so they both have what you described. However, because the 109 brings everything in closer to you, it's a lot more enjoyable. I don't want to say musical but that's what it sounds like. lol

His vocals are fairly similar after 1:00, 109's brings out his raspiness slightly more; especially after 1:20 where he strains a bit and does his vibrato thing. Again, that's likely because the soundstage isn't as wide so everything is more intimate. But because the 109's are just warmer, it makes this track more enjoyable. For me personally, it would get a bit fatiguing listening to this on the Arya but that's totally subjective.

All in all, if you're strictly going after the airy top ends with huge soundstage, go with Arya. But if you're willing to sacrifice any of that even a little bit, the 109 should probably be strongly considered (at least from my limited time with it); the cost difference vs performance is kind of too good to ignore. Are you willing to give up a bit of the Arya's soundstage to save $400? I'm kind of leaning towards yes.

You're right, I took a look at your photo and mine doesn't have that. How strange.

sorry to hear that, everyone is different. remember that pads will change the sound a bit depending on the material.

Yea, the way they tune them brings out certain instruments more.

I'll give it a go when I find some time.

Thanks! I'm a planar fan, specifically HIFIMAN but man....these are fun as hell. I don't know if it's the excitement of something new or what but I feel like I'm enjoying every song I put on. The tuning brings out parts of songs that are normally not that forward, so it makes it all feel so new lol.

Still only a few songs in before I got interrupted but Arya has much tighter bass that gives me the illusion of impact. The 109s definitely has loads more bass but doesn't sound as tight. Not that it's messy but I think because it blends in with the higher lows, it doesn't feel as sharp when it hits. I need to listen more before I can give you a solid answer.

What few songs I tested I mainly focused on space, separation and top end.

anything negative about them? what were you running before and what sticks out the most comparatively?

no highs, no mids, no bass. there's actually no sound.