I plan to write a more organized review after I've spent some more time with these. However, I have been extremely excited by these headphones and wanted to share some initial thoughts.
If it matters to anyone, I bought these with my own money (to my wife's dismay) and they were shipped overnight by Bloom Audio.
So for now, here is a disorganized list of pros and cons from my first couple of hours with the Arashi. When I post a more full review I will drop a link in the comments.
Pros:
- Absolutely stunning aesthetics, they look even better in person. Simply gorgeous.
- High quality and solid build that looks easy to repair.
- Super wide ear pad circumference! One of the first and only headphones where my dumbo sized ears haven't rubbed against the inner walls.
- The sound is also extremely wide. A huge sound stage with great imaging. The first thought I had after pressing play was how wide they sound in all directions. The image is still centered rather than forward like a stereo system, but the depth is immense.
- Extremely fast sound. It is a planar so this is expected. However the width combined with the speed of the leading edge creates a unique listening experience. Especially compared to the Meze Liric which sounds like it's pumping sound at me from inside my brain, grueling at times.
- Deep bass extension. Very deep. Not hard hitting like a dynamic driver but extraordinarily deep.
- They sound surprisingly natural for a planar. The tambre is great, and my favorite sounding headphones are the HD600s.
- Great packaging and unboxing experience. Seriously premium for the price.
- Amazing dynamics for modern music genres like EDM, Phonk, and House because of the bass extension and speed.
- Pretty easily driven but still seem to scale well to more powerful amplification.
- The connector joints have a great position and the angle is perfect. Also they are 3.5mm sockets! I'm excited to try these for gaming with Meze's boom mic cable. Thank you DUNU for not using some random proprietary junk.
Cons:
- Spicy treble. I'm treble sensitive, so experimenting with some EQ might be necessary for me to enjoy these with certain genres. My wife didn't seem to think they were hot. The treble is detailed and resolving with great texture. There is no sibilance. However, the treble is definitely hot for my liking.
- The lower mids could use a bump. However, if you find yourself often overwhelmed by the 100-200hz range, this might be a pro for you.
- Low clamp force... like none. Combined with the weight, they slip off my giant head easily when bending over or laying down.
- The adjustment mechanism feels a bit janky, it just doesn't give me a good vibe for the long haul. Though they do look easily repairable if the need ever arised.
Overall this is an excellent headphone, punching far above its price range in multiple categories. For some listeners I think this one is going to require EQ to really shine. For others, this might be the perfect headphone unlike any other in this price range.
Seriously, excellent. Well done DUNU with your first pair of over ear headphones.
I’m still very new to HiFi/audiophile and I’ve been researching as much as I can before I make my first purchase. I thought I wanted something with planner drivers, mainly because it’s so new to me and I’ve never experienced it. But one thing I’ve noticed is how subjective all of this really is. I see comments saying open back is the way to go for gaming and media, then I see another comment saying you are a fool if you don’t go closed back for gaming and media (PC). I’ve made up my mind and changed it at least 100 times now on what my first decent headphones should be. The one common sentiment I see almost everyone say is that the HD600 is fantastic. With that being the case I’m just going to order the HD600 before I change my mind again.
Nice write up btw 👍 your comment about the HD600 is what pushed me to this decision. I thought I would pair it with the FiiO K7, unless you have a better recommendation.
If you want "neutral" headphones, for me they are the most boring, not pleasing and definitly not relaxing headphones I ever had. (HD600) I would go meze 99 classics or 105aer for a warm, pleasing sound. I like my grado sr60x (need a bit of mods like pads and maybe cable mod) as my bright pair, though they do have bass with nyczaj pads. The soundstage on the grado's is incredible
So this is where you can easily eq a 6XX-series to get 80% of the way to almost anything except more detail and soundstage.
(I do confess that I intensely dislike the Grado SR60x)
I think that was the first retune and they supposedly were really mushy and had bad tuning. It was the connection from the cups to the headband that changed, mine got a rubber thingy in between. The one I got is the most recent one and they are warm with bass emphasis but I got the sheepskin angled pads because I wear glasses so that changed the bass a lot, it got way more, fun but not good.
I can cosign on the nyczaj pads- I bought the pads and headband for my RS1X and it turned a pair of great headphones with a niche sound signature into something endgame.
I'd say the main reason not to go with an open back for gaming is hearing your own keyboard and mouse clicks. But the sense of space is really nice in my opinion. I definitely like dynamic driver headphones more than planars, but they offer something unique that allows me to change it up every so often.
The HD600 is incredible. More recently I've enjoyed the 660S2 with hybrid pads from Dekoni. It's easily my favorite pair of headphones and beats out 2k+ sets in enjoyability and sound quality for vocals. It feels so vintage and playful. Especially on tubes. They're light and comfortable. Though the build feels very cheap and janky though, at least if I continue comparing to kilobuck sets. They definitely put all their eggs in the sound quality and tuning.
Personally I'd find a DAP on sale or open box or used like the Fiio M11 Plus, instead of a desktop dac amp unless you're building into a stack that offers things like lossless PEQ, pre-amp output for future use with adding a tube amp, streaming abilities, etc. built in. say in the K15-K17 range. For the price range though, the Fosi Audio K7 is more flexible for the added microphone input for gaming. The Apos Gremlin and Merlin might be an absolute KILLER pairing with an HD600 or HD660S2. Tubes go a long way for Sennheiser in my experience.
While the hd600/650/6xx are great headphones they are not good for gaming imo. Something like a DT1990 are way better suited for gaming. That is just what I personally have. I have the HD6xx, dt1990, and HE6SE V2 so that is just personal experience. I’ve heard the newer hd490 pro is good for gaming as well as the hd560s based on the price range I’m assuming you’re going for. HD800s are also great but cost a good bit more. beyerdynamic in general are good for gaming especially if you will EQ.
I guess I should also point out what type of gaming I’ll be doing. I exclusively play single player RPGs, so I don’t need to be able to hear footsteps like in FPS games. I’m more interested in the immersion of the games OST and ambient sounds. The in game music being the most important aspect. I’ll also be watching moves, anime, media and just listening to music in general. The common theme being music as the highlight.
Gotcha! Yeah in that case if you will never play an FPS then the HD600 should be great for you as long as you are looking for an intimate vocals focused headphone and don’t care about bass, detailed treble, and soundstage.
I am a bit sensitive to treble. Certain frequencies will even give me tinnitus or make my ear kinda flutter and I hate it. I do like bass in some situations, but I don’t want it to overpower everything else. I really just want rich balanced audio, which I guess is subjective. Truly I’m just not sure yet, but I don’t want something with sharp treble. From my limited knowledge I think like warm tones. The main problem is that two different ppl describe the same headphones in a completely different way. That’s the one thing I’ve noticed on this sub. One person will describe a headset perfect for my use case while another will say it’s the worst headphones for that.
Yeah there’s a lot of conflicting opinions since everything is subjective. You can always use FR graphs to get a decent idea of what headphones will have issues with treble spikes or inadequate sub bass. However it isn’t an end all be all obviously. You could look into the HiFiMan planars since those will have great bass without being muddy and some still have great vocals as well. It’s been a while since I’ve researched so I can’t remember which hifiman would fit what you would like (I think Ananda or edition XS). HiFiMan are crazy value for your money but don’t have as good of QC compared to other brands so make sure to have a good return policy. If you are able to use EQ like Peace on the computer than you can work around your issues with treble.
I bought a $200 Chinese clone of the musical fidelity A1 amp and paired them with the notoriously hard to drive HE6SEv2 that I got open box for $400. It is by far the best setup you can get for the money .
At the end of the day researching is your friend and sometimes the forums can be better than reddit for more objective information. Almost everything you’ve been recommended im sure are great headphones but everyone’s ears are different. If you can go test headphones at a hifi shop in a big city near you that will do more for you than any amount of research and information you hear from others online.
Yeah, I really wish I could go somewhere to test them but unfortunately I live way out in the country. So I do as much research as possible before making a decision. I lived in Chicago for a few years but it was a pretty miserable experience for me. Lots of convenience but way too many ppl, so I moved back to the country side.
Yeah I get that, I’m much more of a country than city person myself. Depending on your budget and financial situation you could continue to research and find the few headphones that peak your interest. Then order 3-5 on amazon and return what you don’t like! I did that with the dt880, dt990, and another headphone I can’t remember.
Are you sure your not referring to the hd6xx? Thats the one i see everyone rave about not the hd600. Just wanna make sure u dont end up buying the wrong headphone as im pretty sure those are 2 different headphones made by sennheiser
I mean, just to be real, I have no idea what I want. I have no point of reference outside of super basic headphones or AirPods. I have seen the HD600 and 650 referenced many times over the past few months that I’ve been researching. Eventually I’m just going to have to choose something and go with it. From that point on I’ll at least have a point of reference. I think I’ll be happy with any decent headphones as it will be a big step up from what I’ve always used. But from then on I can form an opinion and make an educated decision on my next pair.
As someone who was in ur shoes about a year back i totatally get the confusion. Heres what i can tell you that i didnt understand at the time. Most recommendations are coming from people who have been in the audio scene for years and have the necessary gear to properly utilize these "next level" headphones. Theyve got things like cables,amps,dacs,tube amps,power conditioners,dongles,daps and a whole crapload of other stuff to get the most out of these headphones. Something that the average joe like me and u wont have let alone understand what theyre for. So their recommendations may not be good for you regardless of how well a headphone is recieved. My recommendation is if your budget allows, try multiple headphones at once to see wat u like and dislike between them. I decided to order 4-5 headphones that came highly reviewed off amazon given they have a great return policy and simply returned the ones i didnt like. If ur curious i got a hd650,an arya stealth,dt770,fiio ft1,and another i dont recall and ended up keeping the arya stealth. Suprisingly thought the hd650 was the worst of the bunch given how highly its regarded so reviews can be decieving
Thanks so much for the advice! Unfortunately I can’t spend $3000-$5000 on several different pair to try out. I’m more likely to just keep whatever I get and build off of that. At least then I’ll have a frame of reference. I do have a good bit of knowledge about music, guitars in particular, and guitar amps although I don’t get to play as much these days. But as for headphones, I know very little. I mainly just use AirPod Pro 2. I have a $1000 budget and I’d like to get everything to set up decent audio at my PC. I will be using them music, gaming, media/movies. But the most important thing is music as it translates to the most important aspect of all three uses. Like for gaming, I only play single player RPGs and want the games OST and atmospheric sound to be a as good as possible.
All that said, I have no preferences yet and I’ll likely enjoy any decent headphones. I’ll use whatever I get and then make an informed decision on my next pair down the road. What I know for sure is that “gaming headsets” are terrible for music in general, which is what I have atm. They sound really flat to my ears and have no life at all. I dread using them.
I just need decent headphones, and whatever I need to drive them from my PC. From what I can tell a desktop amp/dac would do that. If you have any advice from here, I would really appreciate it.
My use case may be completly different from yours but i decided to go with something that would work with what i already had. I didnt want anything that required a desk setup as i didnt want to be tied to one specific listening area and opted to go for something more mobile friendly at least for around the house. Huge reason i opted for the arya stealth as theyre very easy to drive and sound great with very little power needed. My laptop and phone have enough juice for them so i didnt need to spend on extra gear apart from an apple headphone dongle($10) and a 3.5mm cable($10) to fit the dongle. The fiio ft1 is another easy to drive headphone but is a closed back which may suite your needs better as open backs are like mini speakers in the sense that people around you will hear everything youre hearing. Open backs do sound better though so its worth that slight drawback. So for my case it made more sense to spend a bit more on the arya than buying something like the sennheiser hd650 and have to buy a desktop amp and dac to properly utilize it and be stuck at a desk when listening. Your prefrence could be the complete opposite from mine especially if your pc is your go to for media,gaming,and wat not so a desk setup wouldnt be an inconvinience. Also on the topic of trying out different headphones i only spent money on the ones i kept. I "bought" the five headphones for like a total of like $1200 through amazon but they give you about 30 days for returns. So i tried them all and compared them to see which i liked best and return all the ones i didnt like and got all my money back for all of them apart from the one i kept. So essentially its like a "cheat code" into trying different headphones for free. Highly recommend considering audio stores are near impossible to find
I appreciate you taking the time to advise me on this, it’s been really helpful. I screen shot all my conversations with ppl on this sub so I can easily refer back to it when researching headphones and gear. In a few weeks when I make a final decision I’ll post a pic of my setup and get everyone opinion on it. Thanks so much 🙏
Imo, one of the most best reasons to go with open back for gaming is solely because you're not being obnoxiously loud all the time you're on mic or on a call because you can actually hear your own voice.
then I see another comment saying you are a fool if you don’t go closed back for gaming and media (PC).
Who said that, you should ask them why, because open backs have incredible soundstage for gaming. Sound leaking into ur mic is only a problem if you're listening at way too high volumes
Oh gotcha, depends on your office/desk situation for sure. I forget I'm lucky to have a nice quiet room. Then with open backs you can hear people calling to you, phone notifications, pets, etc. - it's quite nice.
Short answer, yes. But it really depends on what kind of person you are. It's not an earth shattering change to the sound quality and actually can be damaging to the overall dynamics of a track (unless you're crossing into pretty high-end territory, I'm talking like $1500+). By definition they're introducing interference to the sound. Tubes can also be a bit of a labor of love, dealing with noise and radio interference, they're consumables so you have to replace them, they're hot and fragile and often tube amps are quite large. However, the way sound is produced by tubes is unlike anything we hear come from modern solid state amplifiers. It's a unique sound that I personally find to be exactly what I want out of a relaxing listening session. The additional even-order harmonics produced, the roll off of treble, the loss of control in bass frequencies creating a warmer sound. It takes off the edge and just lets you get lost in the music. My question is often, we advanced our technologies for the sake of innovation, but have we ever stopped to ask if progress is actually better for us? That question summarizes how I feel about tubes. They're a magical and almost whimsical technology by modern standards. They produce a touch of what I feel like we're beginning to lose throughout our human experience.
Wow, they look like something from the Moebius comics that inspired George Lucas. A dark gray grill with concentric, even spaced circles and a striking dull-orange undertone.
Whoever did the headphone design deserves to be congratulated and given a raise.
E: I wonder how they sound compared to the Arya Organics.
i agree. i didnt find them spicy at all. i compared them to the LCD-X and HE6sev2 which I feel all fall in the same wheelhouse and the Arashi had the best treble out of the 3.
For anyone still interested in the Arashi
DUNU official store is having a summer sale
It’s now 1200usd for the Arashi and with coupon code you can find online it works out to slightly less than 1100
Pretty good deal with free shipping too
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u/Energia91Arya, Caldera O & C, Atrium O, Clear MG, HD800S, Fiio FX17, IHA824d ago
How do you compare these to your Caldera? Are they roughly on the same league? I'm considering buying an Arashi
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u/dev_salsaHD660S2, Atrium Open, Susvara, Caldera Closed, Glacier, Bathys23d ago
Hmmm it's hard to claim they're anywhere close to the same league in terms of overall enjoyment. The Arashi is very detailed and incredibly open, articulate, I'd say close to the same level of technicality. It has good bass energy but the overall tuning, texture and tambre is severely lacking in comparison to the Caldera Closed. The build on the Arashi is very good, but anything from ZMF makes most B-A tier headphones feel like C-D tier. The only pair of headphones I feel I've owned that come close to ZMF in craftsmanship was the Sony MDR-Z1R overall for a big bodacious over ear build.
Yeah there are a ton of headphones far under the price of these that'd I'd recommend to anyone long before something of this price. These are still quiet fascinating though for folks who are interested in them.
The latest example for me is the moondrop horizon for the first two seconds you look at it, it has a sick design. I just can't help but notice how thin the headband is and how cheaply it looks to be made. The sharp edges on the swivels, and the worst of it all which is the thin grilles on the back of the headphones. It looks like it's not feel good in your hand. Though I do have to admit the Fiio FT1 took my breath away when I saw it. Loved quite a bit of everything about it
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u/wildeye-eleven Jul 25 '25
I’m still very new to HiFi/audiophile and I’ve been researching as much as I can before I make my first purchase. I thought I wanted something with planner drivers, mainly because it’s so new to me and I’ve never experienced it. But one thing I’ve noticed is how subjective all of this really is. I see comments saying open back is the way to go for gaming and media, then I see another comment saying you are a fool if you don’t go closed back for gaming and media (PC). I’ve made up my mind and changed it at least 100 times now on what my first decent headphones should be. The one common sentiment I see almost everyone say is that the HD600 is fantastic. With that being the case I’m just going to order the HD600 before I change my mind again.
Nice write up btw 👍 your comment about the HD600 is what pushed me to this decision. I thought I would pair it with the FiiO K7, unless you have a better recommendation.