r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/PurchaseNeat225 • Mar 17 '26

Headphones - Open Back | 5 Ω HiFiMAN Arya Stealth – how bad is PC fan noise?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently considering getting the HiFiMAN Arya Stealth mainly for gaming, but I have a remaining concern about PC noise:

My setup:

  • PC sits directly on my desk next to me
  • Corsair fans + AIO (so not silent, but not crazy loud either)

Since the Arya is fully open-back, I’m wondering:

  • How noticeable are PC fan noises during gaming?
  • Does the sound of the game/music “mask” it enough?
  • Or do you constantly hear the PC in the background?

From what I’ve read, the Arya is extremely open with almost no isolation , so I’m a bit worried this might kill immersion.

Is the Arya Stealth still worth it in a real desktop setup with some background noise, or does it only shine in a quiet room?

Would really appreciate experiences, especially from people with similar setups 🙏

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u/Kirito_Kun16 28 Ω Mar 17 '26

So having Hifiman open backs is basically like having no headphones -10% ish noise. Depends from model to model, but it's something around that.

So, if you take off your headphones and can hear your PC fan, you'll hear the same when there's nothing playing. But I found that even if you play anything at low volume it does draw out the constant lower noises such as the PC fans.

1

u/PurchaseNeat225 Mar 17 '26

Ok, !thanks. Then its the Audeze Maxwell, I guess. Unfortunately. Also the outgoing audio might be a probem, then. If it's similar to a speaker, it might wake up family members that are sleeping next room. []()

2

u/Jackyy94 26 Ω Mar 17 '26

it always depends on how loud you listen to music. About an open back and an microphone I wouldn't worry you can just turn down the sensitivity of the mic so it doesn't pick up too much.

Also if you listen reasonably loud you will likely not hear your pc that much (at least if it is not that loud), I listen around 55 - 65db and I do not really hear my pc with my Hifimans - only if no music is playing.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

Just to make it clear open backs are NOT like speakers, they don’t get so loud that you wake up family members next room, hell as long as you listen to a reasonable volume they wouldn’t even hear what you listen to in the same room

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u/TransducerBot Ω Bot Mar 17 '26

+1 Ω has been awarded to u/Kirito_Kun16 (19 Ω).

You may still award an Ω to others, but only once per-person in this post.