[Somatic]

I've noticed some people don't like driver crinkling but it is actually a great measure of the seal you're getting.
If you hear crinkling the moment you touch the earcups you've got the best seal, if you don't hear any crinkling until .5-1 cm pad compression you've got a slightly compromised seal. If you don't hear it until the inserts are pressed against your ears or you don't hear it at all when you press you've got a seriously compromised seal and you're not listening to what the headphone is capable of.
Do note that warming up the pads means the seal will improve after 10-20 minutes of wearing the headphones.

Hhhmm. Yeah I get no crinkling even after manually putting pressure on the ear cups.

What position do you have them on your head? The cups are large. I would assume people would lose some seal around the lower part of the cup. Around ones jaw.

 

[plumpudding2]

Hhhmm. Yeah I get no crinkling even after manually putting pressure on the ear cups.

What position do you have them on your head? The cups are large. I would assume people would lose some seal around the lower part of the cup. Around ones jaw.

It depends a lot on your head shape. For me the part of the cup that has the least seal is top-front, because my cheekbones stick out a bit it's not a flat surface.

I try to move them down and to the front for best seal and stage. I'd recommend that, after you've warmed up the pads a bit, just try moving it around, pressing lightly on the cups until you've find the right position where your ears are still happy but you've got good seal.

If you've got a beard, consider trimming it and if you wear glasses try to have the legs resting on top of the pads so they don't compromise the seal (the sacrifices we make for audio lol).

Also as mentioned before, you can contact DCA to have them send you a small screw + washer kit that you can use to increase the clamp force a bit. I use 3 washers myself but it depends on how much pressure your jaw can handle and your head shape.

 

[rlawry]

What I try to do is to place the headband right over the crown of my head and push the phones down so that my ears touch the inside left of the earcups. It seems to give the best bass and soundstage although I would not recommend these phones if you are a bass-head.

 

[plumpudding2]

What I try to do is to place the headband right over the crown of my head and push the phones down so that my ears touch the inside left of the earcups. It seems to give the best bass and soundstage although I would not recommend these phones if you are a bass-head.

Do you get driver crinkle if you press on the cups? I confidently posted my crinkle-seal guide but I realised I've never actually validated whether other Stealth owners get crinkles too.

 

[rlawry]

Do you get driver crinkle if you press on the cups? I confidently posted my crinkle-seal guide but I realised I've never actually validated whether other Stealth owners get crinkles too.

I don't recall ever hearing a crinkle or distorted sound but will try this in my next listening session. I remember this being discussed in the Kennerton Rognir Planar thread also.

 

[JLoud]

I believe Dan has recommended down and forward for the cups on your ears for best bass response. Of course seal is important as well.

 

[Somatic]

@Currawong I'm glad that finally somebody found this thing with the pads.
Fresh pads are sounding very different to a used ones.
I found that with fresh pads to my ears actually placing headphones more up and forward sounded smoother on top and with better bass extension.

It's beyond belief how Stealth are dependent on factors like positioning, seal and pads compression (so basically distance from the AMTS to your ear)

Also sound with fresh pads is not so clear.
When pads are just a bit worn out (or rather used) sound is smoother clearer. The distance between ear and driver/amts is shorter hence it's working better providing less reflected sound.

Ps. I had opportunity to listen very worn pads, brand new ones and a bit used ones.
Provided demo unit pads were worn strongly, then my brand new unit came so I was able to hear how the sound evolved.

Do you prefer lightly used pads?

 

[alxw0w]

Do you prefer lightly used pads?

Yes. It's hard to explain but new pads are a bit stiffer. And with my smallish head I had some issues with seal.

Stealths are extremely sensitive to position and seal. That's their biggest issue in my opinion. Their acoustic impedance seems to be high hence you see vastly different opinions about how they sound.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Do you get driver crinkle if you press on the cups? I confidently posted my crinkle-seal guide but I realised I've never actually validated whether other Stealth owners get crinkles too.

Mine crinkle if they are on my head and I squeeze them tighter on my head. It has to be a purposeful maneuver. I can’t imagine it’s good for the drivers.

 

[plumpudding2]

Mine crinkle if they are on my head and I squeeze them tighter on my head. It has to be a purposeful maneuver. I can’t imagine it’s good for the drivers.

Oh don't worry the drivers are fine, a lot of headphones have that when the volume between the driver and ear is supposed to be perfectly sealed, the HEDDphone 1 being quite a notorious example.

 

[rlawry]

I gave this a try today where I lightly pushed the earcups inward, not violently, but gently and I did hear a slight crackling sound from the left earcup but nothing at all in the right one. I would imagine this due to the reduced volume causing increased pressure inside the earcups then causing a deflection of the diaphragm. Perhaps it might also be due to interaction of the magnetic fields in the diaphragm and the stators causing a current flow that causes the crackling sound. I for one am not anxious to find out whether a more violent compression of the earcup pads leads to a louder sound and thereby damaging the diaphragms.

 

[MusicalDoc8]

I gave this a try today where I lightly pushed the earcups inward, not violently, but gently and I did hear a slight crackling sound from the left earcup but nothing at all in the right one. I would imagine this due to the reduced volume causing increased pressure inside the earcups then causing a deflection of the diaphragm. Perhaps it might also be due to interaction of the magnetic fields in the diaphragm and the stators causing a current flow that causes the crackling sound. I for one am not anxious to find out whether a more violent compression of the earcup pads leads to a louder sound and thereby damaging the diaphragms.

It happened to my kennerton heartland because it was a REALLY warm month during this summer, but it fixed itself as soon as temperatures came back to saner levels. in that case it was because the cup is made of wood.
Maybe the stealth had a difect in the plastic of the cup

 

[JLoud]

I believe it is the pressure increase causing the diaphragm(driver) to move. Nothing out of the ordinary. If you don’t have a really good seal the pressure increase may not be enough to move the diaphragm. Of course violently pressing the cups could cause too much pressure change that could potentially damage the driver. All of this is normal for planar as well as electrostatic drivers.

 

[Somatic]

Been running Stealth off the Envy. Seems like SS might be a better pairing but still liking it.

I noticed folks mentioned that the bass is better on the Stealth vs the Susvara. I didn't notice this to be the case with my setup. My Susvara has more slam and increased amount than the Stealth. I think it is very hard to find an amp that conveys what the Susvara is capable of.

Been listening to the Stealths for the last few days non stop. In the first miniutes they didn't impress me a lot but now I am noticing how engaged I become with the music. Although, Susvara's sound better to me than the Stealths, I think I am more engaged with the music on the Stealths. Having more fun.

They are great for me for my use cases. When wife comes into the office, when kids are outside my office making loud noises, etc.

If I can change things, I would decrease the midrange energy. Sometimes they can come off slightly shouty at higher volumes. Also, I would like the mid bass hump to be a bit bigger to get some additional slam.

I have some broken in pads and have ordered the clamp kit. Plan to increase clamp maybe 2x. Should I get new pads? Thanks all.

 

[Somatic]