Cable upgrade

Look into Meze Audio’s PCUHD upgrade cables made with braided Japanese Furukawa copper. They typically run $270 or so, but they come up on the used market here and there. They will be a nice balance to the Arya Stealth, which can sound tipped up with silver cables. The cable is quite premium and is effortlessly resolving despite it being pure copper. 

I am a Meze Audio dealer that has had three pairs of Arya and Arya Stealths in on consignment sales or trade in over the last year, and a year ago I personally owned a pair of Hifiman HE1000SE. 

Thanks @blisshifi  Sounds interesting, and I’ll keep my eyes out for a used pair.  My silver LavriCables don’t sound bright, but I wouldn’t mind just a little more heft or tonal fullness in the mids so think I’m gonna try a more neutral copper cable this time.  Just don’t wanna sacrifice the treble detail and open soundstage I’m getting now as that would not be a worthy trade off as the mids are already very good as is.  BTW, how do the Arya Stealths compare to the HE1000SE?  Have you heard the Arya Organic?  That one seems to get close to the 1000SE from what I’ve read. 

@soix My pleasure. The Arya Stealth is a bit more balanced sounding tonally, where the HE1KSE is a bit more lean. Of course, the HE1KSE is more transparent, dynamic, and faster by a fairly large margin. Definitely more presence overall with the HE1KSE, but it's easy to hear that the Arya Stealth is in the same family. Comfort with the HE1KSE is also preferred.

Unfortunately I haven't tried the Arya Organic. It came out after I bought my HE1KSE, and before I decided to become a Meze Audio dealer. I came from more of the Audeze camp earlier on, so I found Meze to be a nice middle ground between the sonic signature of Audeze and Hifiman, but with a bit of coloration which makes for really engaging listening sessions.

@blisshifi  Thanks again for thoughts — very interesting and helpful.  I auditioned the Audeze maybe LCD-2? about five years ago and found them a little too laid back in the treble for my tastes (and they were heavy), which eventually led me to Hifiman.  Never got to hear Meze ‘phones but definitely will at some point.  

@soix Yeah the weight is what more than anything took me away from Audeze. They open up with much better aftermarket cables, but the LCD-2 is dark, no question about it, whereas the LCD-3 and LCD-4 were respectively much better.

Meze is super comfortable, moreso than Hifiman in my opinion. Going up the line, I'm most impressed by the 109 Pro, the Empyrean II, and the Elite. Despite the price differences between the Elite and Empyrean, I like them almost equally for different reasons. The Empyrean is a bit more linear with great presence. The Elite are a bit more refined. Coming from Hifiman, the Empyrean II would be my suggestion for you to try at some point.

Let me know what cable you end up with for your Arya Stealth.

@blisshifi  Will do.  Reason I’m looking is I have an LTA MZ2 (with upgraded LPS) I’ve been using as a preamp but want to use for my Stealths but can’t find the damn stock cable.  Thinking it’ll be a step up from the Singxer SA-1 I’m using now and may add some heft/weight to the mids/bass as well.  We’ll see.  And yes, the Empyrean II looks like it’d be in my sonic wheelhouse and look forward to trying them sometime soon.  

Maybe look at Headphonia cable reviews here

I know you said to limit cost at $200.  As @blisshifi stated the Arya Stealth can sound tipped up and requires a cable with a very balanced  frequency response.  I recommend listening to WyWires Red, one of the most balanced, detailed, dynamic cables I have owned.  Images are dense and staging wide.  True to timbre.  Read pro reviews as well.  Construction is robust and kink resistant.  I owned HP cables twice the price that were feeble by comparison falling apart in just over a year and needing repair.   I have a Red three years almost daily use and it looks new.  Go to www.wires.com.  Alex, the designer and president is sincere and down to earth. Only issue, it’s $349.  If you can increase the spend, well worth it. 

I have HiFiman Sundara Closed. I got a Blue Jeans cable. It sounds great and is well built. A little more microphonic than the stock cable that was too short. They even put on a 90 degree angled plug that works great on my set up. About $120 delivered.

I use Moon Audio Black Dragon cables for all my headphones and am quite pleased with them; I don't know if they're under $200 or not, but they shouldn't be much more if they are.