Dan Clark Audio Stealth Review, Interview, Measurements

[TheMiddleSky]

After spending a few nights with the amp and the Stealths I’ve decided that Stealths are interesting and worth exploring to me but the limiting factor seems to be the A90D. This is running from an RME ADI-2 PRO set to +24dbu output (approx 12V). The sound is pretty good with this combo, and I think a lot of people will be happy with it. Ultimately though, I don’t think the A90D has enough juice for the Stealths. Even with a hot input on High gain I have to use at least on the volume to get satisfactory levels. I like to listen relatively loud, but I’m by no means blowing my ears out. Going for more realistic near concert levels it is not super hard to come close to maxing out the volume on classical or soundtrack type stuff. On more modern pop tracks listening around 85 for short periods is nice but I had the amp clip more than a few times on me.

12V to A90D? Are you sure Topping can work well with that high voltage? Too hot signal may cause clip.

 

[ok computer]

12V to A90D? Are you sure Topping can work well with that high voltage? Too hot signal may cause clip.

Used it at 4V as well. Sounded the same outside of the level.

 

[ok computer]

Yeah, something isn't right. I use 4V input and a volume of 70 on low gain which gives me like 77-85 dBA on the Stealth. Maybe he broke it with the very high input voltage?

Pretty sure I just like to listen louder than most. If I’m doing an hour of dedicated listening in the evening depending on my mood and music preference for the night I might want something close to concert levels. Maybe 100dba average-ish. OSHA says it’s safe so it can’t be wrong lol. And I don’t have any ear ringing or fatigue after the fact.

Forgot to mention some of that listening was with HQPlayer so factor in -3db for preventing overs. So that’s like 18db more level than you would need at 85db which is a little under 10x the power i think.

Again that’s just my experience and my preferences.

 

[dougq]

In the end, they do not require that much power. It is very likely your ears or preferences may not align with the stealths. A few pages back we went over the math as to how much it actually needs and up until past 115db it is pretty reasonable. Both in Mw and Ma. Though hopefully maybe a different amp will provide the slight tweaks to make it sound better to your ears. I do not think there is one answer though that is conclusive for everybody.

I did try the A90D with my RME balanced and did not hear a difference so for now I'm sticking with the RME and they sound great SE out of that.

 

[elira]

Pretty sure I just like to listen louder than most. If I’m doing an hour of dedicated listening in the evening depending on my mood and music preference for the night I might want something close to concert levels. Maybe 100dba average-ish. OSHA says it’s safe so it can’t be wrong lol. And I don’t have any ear ringing or fatigue after the fact.

Forgot to mention some of that listening was with HQPlayer so factor in -3db for preventing overs. So that’s like 18db more level than you would need at 85db which is a little under 10x the power i think.

Again that’s just my experience and my preferences.

100dB seems unsafe to me, but you do you. I suggest aiming for 80dB.

 

[Dynamo5561]

Hi Stealth owner,

due to a trade I got the opportunity to listen to a DCA stealth. I have it now for several days and wanted to share my impressions and maybe get some help.

Please be aware that I am very nitpicky and all critics are on a very high level. I think the DCA Stealth is a great headphone and probably the best closed back I have heard.

My general impressions are, that it is a very reference style headphone. It is dead neutral and measurements show that it has very low distortion. So if you want to know how things sound, I think the Stealth is the way to go. It could be really marketed as a reference headphone.

The bass is great, extends deep down, quite a bit more than all of my open backs. It is definitely enough quantity and a lots of quality.
The mids are very even, I personally like how vocals are represented. I'd say vocals are one of the very big strength of the Stealth.
The highs are sparkly and borderline harman tuned I find them similar to the Susvara here, where some tracks can sound at the edge of harsh/sibilant. But never too much. But it is probably really an issue of the recording and not the headphone.

The detail retrieval is very good, I'd say quite on Susvara level but behind 1266 and Solitaire P.
The soundstage is very wide for a closed back.
Dynamics are fine, not on Focal level but nothing to complain.

Now to my points of criticism:
I don't find it to sound very coherent. I know that doesn't make sense as it is a single driver, but the subbass feels a bit slow at times (or makes the impression), paired with the well extended treble which sounds quite fast sometimes doesn't sound as one unit for me.
Additionally I feel like I can hear the metamaterial that is between the driver and my ear. The sound is a bit compressed. That really bothers me. I listen at very low volume most of the time, then it is very noticable. If I crank up the volume, the less noticable it gets (my loud listening levels are probably also very low for most of you). Or maybe it is just the nature of the closed back / reverb. I don't know exactly. But whatever it is it bothered me from the first time listened to it.

I tried using different positions but it did not change that issue. And I also do not get used to it. Is there a possibility to remove the meta material just to see if that's a thing?

Edit: If you encounter the same, check your setup. I had a phase issue.

 

[elira]

Is there a possibility to remove the meta material just to see if that's a thing?

I suspect that would ruin the headphones.

 

[Currawong]

I've removed it. It wont ruin the headphones, but the double-sided tape holding it in can lose stickiness, so it may not stay in well after you put it back.

But it is?
It's a measure of the difference between the input and output of the amplifier.
Amplifiers should just amplify the input, not change it.
Why pay more for an amplifier that distorts the sound (assuming it's the "right" kind of distortion, in many high end amplifiers it is not) when you can just add a dedicated filter if you think the recording artist didn't add enough to the mix?

Should? Maybe, but no amplifier will perfectly pass through a signal without altering it. The choice comes down to the kind of alteration you get. I'd much rather one that is designed not to alter the music, even if it has a bit of harmonic distortion, than one that is designed not to alter test tones when driving an analyser.

The truth is: Music itself is created from induced distortion of air. I want my distortion undistorted! Best listen to MIDI music then.

After spending a few nights with the amp and the Stealths I’ve decided that Stealths are interesting and worth exploring to me but the limiting factor seems to be the A90D. This is running from an RME ADI-2 PRO set to +24dbu output (approx 12V). The sound is pretty good with this combo, and I think a lot of people will be happy with it. Ultimately though, I don’t think the A90D has enough juice for the Stealths. Even with a hot input on High gain I have to use at least on the volume to get satisfactory levels. I like to listen relatively loud, but I’m by no means blowing my ears out. Going for more realistic near concert levels it is not super hard to come close to maxing out the volume on classical or soundtrack type stuff. On more modern pop tracks listening around 85 for short periods is nice but I had the amp clip more than a few times on me.

I also got an adapter to run the stealths with the balanced headphone out on the RME. This did not yield good results. The staging is more vague, the bass is less precise, and the sound completely falls apart at high levels. It sounds ok up to a point and then everything gets flat and the highs get harsh and everything just sounds strained. I can’t recommend this combo at all, and the fact that Amir said every hifi company needs to hear this to know what a world class sound system is, well… I don’t really know what to say. And he was using the RME single ended too. Big yikes. Not saying that this combo can’t be enjoyed, it certainly can. But this is far far away from world class.

The A90D keeps it’s composure right up until clipping which is good. The sound doesn’t fall apart it just cleanly gets louder. The dynamics are also pretty good on this amp and much better than from the RME outputs.

My only real issue outside of wanting more power, is the timbre just seems too grayed out. Instruments sound kind of samey in comparison to my SR-1A setup. It’s hard to tell how much of this is the headphones and how much is the amp without a better amp to compare it to but my bet is that it’s the amp. Timbre is not something that planars are great at in my experience but I’ve definitely heard much better from them before and I think the Stealths are capable of better. These high feedback high measuring amps often get called either “clean” or “sterile.” I’m going to have to put myself in the sterile camp. There is a lack of connectedness to the sound that does not sound realistic. It’s hard to explain but comparing side by side to the raals it is evident.

That all being said I don’t think it’s a bad amp by anys means, nor is it a bad value. I’m sure there are headphones that will synergize very well with it. I am returning the A90D to try to find something that can really being the stealths to life. Wish me luck, and enjoy some music!

I have an A90 Discrete in for review. I agree with this summary. All that nested feedback, while good for performance with an analyser, tends to make the music sound somewhat flat.

I have been saying these things about RME/Topping/THX and similar amps for ages but no one ever believes me.

Not just you.

 

[Nomax]

@Dynamo5561

Low frequency components move slower.....this is the acoustics..there is no fast sub bass in the acoustics

NOMAX

 

[PointyFox]

@Dynamo5561

Low frequency components move slower.....this is the acoustics..there is no fast sub bass in the acoustics

NOMAX

Despite the winky face some people may believe this. The speed of sound has nothing to do with its frequency.

 

[VandyMan]

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[DarginMahkum]

This will look like an advertisement but wife just released a single today...

 

[PointyFox]

The combination of the super low distortion and excellent driver matching makes imaging extremely precise. This causes things recorded in the center to be extremely in the center, which, depending on the recording, may cause people to get the impression that the soundstage is "compressed and narrow". However, if things are recorded far away, they'll be really far away. So you end up with a soundstage with individual sounds coming from very distinct distances. Some people don't like that and like their sound to be smooth and spread out. Those people gravitate away from clean amps like Topping to amps with a lot of distortion to try to enhance that effect. I think this is one of the reasons why some people dislike them or initially don't like them then end up liking them.

 

[801evan]

The combination of the super low distortion and excellent driver matching makes imaging extremely precise. This causes things recorded in the center to be extremely in the center, which, depending on the recording, may cause people to get the impression that the soundstage is "compressed and narrow". However, if things are recorded far away, they'll be really far away. So you end up with a soundstage with individual sounds coming from very distinct distances. Some people don't like that and like their sound to be smooth and spread out. Those people gravitate away from clean amps like Topping to amps with a lot of distortion to try to enhance that effect. I think this is one of the reasons why some people dislike them or initially don't like them then end up liking them.

I agree on the part of the presentation of vocals...which will not be to the favor of 'audiophile ears' who wants to ear everything. (Hyper hearing). The further and smaller presentation of vocals that's not emphasized and not forward is path to end game.

 

[Currawong]

The combination of the super low distortion and excellent driver matching makes imaging extremely precise. This causes things recorded in the center to be extremely in the center, which, depending on the recording, may cause people to get the impression that the soundstage is "compressed and narrow". However, if things are recorded far away, they'll be really far away. So you end up with a soundstage with individual sounds coming from very distinct distances. Some people don't like that and like their sound to be smooth and spread out. Those people gravitate away from clean amps like Topping to amps with a lot of distortion to try to enhance that effect. I think this is one of the reasons why some people dislike them or initially don't like them then end up liking them.

Recorded with a singer or instrument in the centre between two mics, or mixed by the mastering engineer to put them in the centre? However, even many two-mic recordings will have a dedicated mic for the singer, such as the Chesky binaural and other recordings. If the singer is "extremely in the centre" and you don't pick up the spread of the sound of their voice in the venue (assuming the singer and other players were all in the same room), then, if the room isn't over-damped, you should hear some reflection of their voice. You wont be able to hear this clearly with ~$500 amps and DACs though.

As for amps, the Stealth has been good at revealing the limitations of the A90 Discrete I have in for review. The amp cannot present the front-to-back depth of the soundstage, and it's obvious, using high-quality recordings I’ve listened to many times, that a lot of micro detail is missing, such as the decay and reverberation of notes from stringed instruments. I would highly not recommend spending $4k on a Stealth, only to use it with average gear. That is a waste of money IMO.