[adrianm]

But if you're looking for upper midrange and treble detail, while it is decent, it doesn't jump out at you.

This i agree with, it doesn't compete with open backs. But the bass is to die for. It's highly setup dependent though. On the TA-ZH1ES it was boomy, unfocussed and just...bad overall.

they really didn't compete with other flagships

This i don't i've compared them to the HE1000se, Utopias and lcd-4z and found them on equal footing or better, with the one exception being the speed of the HE1000se. Compared to Stellia and LCD-XC i find them better and more comfortable. While on a Hugo 2 differences i'd call them in the same ballpark, on Dave , and adding the M-scaler later i feel like they scale up better. In my current setup the soundstage is so vast that on some tracks you can hear the music coming from slightly behind you.
Ofc YMMV and everything matters, from mains filter to keeping the M-scaler on battery ,a decent streamer, etc. Also the stock Z1R cable is pretty bad, I'd recommend a silver one. And i'm a huge cable hater.

Is it really in the same league as the cans that cost 2x more?

I'm itching to replace them and haven't found anything i like more yet. Had them since they came out. Admittedly i'm looking only at closed backs and haven't tried the Verite Closed , no place to do it.
But even in the open back realm i feel like the difference is so small i'd rather have the closed back isolation from my mechanical keyboard than the "extra" stuff on the open backs. I'm hoping the Stealth can complement them , if not i might bite the bullet and just get the Audeze CRBN + an amp for that ultimate detail and speed and be done with it. I'm not counting on any of them to provide the bass i want since i already have that in spades on the Z1R. Drum kicks are just unreal. Impact is amazing and sub bass is as deep as it gets. As detailed and fast as planars are, i haven't found one yet that comes close to that physicality. Haven't tried the Abyss yet though.
I know the Z1R are polarizing but they are very dependent on the electronics used and since you're already using a Dave, and what you're searching for is exactly what i love about them i can confidently recommend that you give them a try. With a decent silver cable preferably.

 

[Chartreuse]

i might bite the bullet and just get the Audeze CRBN + an amp for that ultimate detail and speed and be done with it.

I thought about that too. If it didn't mean I'd have to figure out the amp part I'd probably just do that. Not sure how much I need to spend on an amp to ensure it's not the bottleneck between the DAVE and the CRBN.

 

[adrianm]

Yeah, I think I need to hear from somebody that's put the HEKse next to the Stealth... I love the mid- and treble-range detail on the HEKse, but for heavier rock music they're just so much less engaging than the 4Z. At the same time, even in heavier rock music, there are things I love hearing on the HEKse that don't come through in the 4Zs. They just present really clinically.

For more acoustic, instrumental, indie stuff the HEKse really shines. If the Stealth can find a middle ground between the two it might be an ideal headphone. Just wish I could audition the Stealth before I decide to send the HEKse back (I wonder if Audio46 in Manhattan has one to audition live...)

This is exactly what i'm here for as well. If the Stealth stacks up well to the HEKse with a better tonality (which it seems to have) i'm sold.

 

[qboogie]

Yeah, I think I need to hear from somebody that's put the HEKse next to the Stealth... I love the mid- and treble-range detail on the HEKse, but for heavier rock music they're just so much less engaging than the 4Z. At the same time, even in heavier rock music, there are things I love hearing on the HEKse that don't come through in the 4Zs. They just present really clinically.

For more acoustic, instrumental, indie stuff the HEKse really shines. If the Stealth can find a middle ground between the two it might be an ideal headphone. Just wish I could audition the Stealth before I decide to send the HEKse back (I wonder if Audio46 in Manhattan has one to audition live...)

I was at Audio46 last Friday and they didn't have the Stealth yet.

 

[paradoxper]

I was at Audio46 last Friday and they didn't have the Stealth yet.

They do now. Or did. A singular one was in stock.

 

[adrianm]

Not sure how much I need to spend on an amp to ensure it's not the bottleneck between the DAVE and the CRBN.

I'm not sure either, but due to the fact that the Stealth is not available here, i'm pretty sure i could get a CRBN cheaper than the Stealth and still have some money left over for the amp.

 

[FYFL]

I was at Audio46 last Friday and they didn't have the Stealth yet.

They do have them in stock now.

 

[duranxv]

They do have them in stock now.

Do they have a demo unit available?

 

[FYFL]

Do they have a demo unit available?

Good Q. Probably depends on how many they got and the demand.

 

[ericx85]

Managed to pick up the Stealth yesterday after thinking over if I wanted to go with it or the Meze Elite. Deciding factors (coming from the OG Empyrean) were that I wanted a closed back to block out AC/PC noise and I wanted to move towards something thats supposed to be more "on target" rather than the musicality of the Empyrean. I also appreciate the smaller profile they have over the Meze.

Its taking a lot of getting used to coming from the Empyrean sound for so long but I'm appreciating that I'm not getting female vocals sizzling in my ear that the Empyrean sometimes did. The bass is still enjoyable for me as I've read the Emp is considered basshead many times. The Steath sounds a hint muffled/soft in comparison but again, I think im just used to the sizzling that the Empyrean did at certain frequencies. Also I'm pretty much convinced that my A90 will need to be replaced to get the most out of these which could completely fix the softness I mentioned. I'm open to amp suggestions if anyone wants to throw them my way. Would prefer solid state since Im really not looking into falling into the tube swapping rabbit hole lol.

The isolation is great, better than I expected or at least hoped for. Not as isolating as ANC obviously, but its enough to deal with background noise. For a while I was considering the Noire just to have a closed back when I needed the isolation but glad I held off on it to go for this. Just on day 2 so far so going to keep burning these in. Im not the greatest at reviewing headhphones, but there aren't many being posted about the stealth and figured id give my 2 cents at least.

 

[xirxes]

Managed to pick up the Stealth yesterday after thinking over if I wanted to go with it or the Meze Elite. Deciding factors (coming from the OG Empyrean) were that I wanted a closed back to block out AC/PC noise and I wanted to move towards something thats supposed to be more "on target" rather than the musicality of the Empyrean. I also appreciate the smaller profile they have over the Meze.

Its taking a lot of getting used to coming from the Empyrean sound for so long but I'm appreciating that I'm not getting female vocals sizzling in my ear that the Empyrean sometimes did. The bass is still enjoyable for me as I've read the Emp is considered basshead many times. The Steath sounds a hint muffled/soft in comparison but again, I think im just used to the sizzling that the Empyrean did at certain frequencies. Also I'm pretty much convinced that my A90 will need to be replaced to get the most out of these which could completely fix the softness I mentioned. I'm open to amp suggestions if anyone wants to throw them my way. Would prefer solid state since Im really not looking into falling into the tube swapping rabbit hole lol.

The isolation is great, better than I expected or at least hoped for. Not as isolating as ANC obviously, but its enough to deal with background noise. For a while I was considering the Noire just to have a closed back when I needed the isolation but glad I held off on it to go for this. Just on day 2 so far so going to keep burning these in. Im not the greatest at reviewing headhphones, but there aren't many being posted about the stealth and figured id give my 2 cents at least.

Really loving the depth and power headroom left over with XI audio Broadway balanced amp.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Really loving the depth and power headroom left over with XI audio Broadway balanced amp.

Nice! I actually have a similar setup, at the moment. I also have another DAC / amp but managed to steal the ADI-2 from my wife's home studio, as she is using the Babyface these days. The PEQ of the RME is killer.

I just got the notification that mine was sent. Maybe I will receive it already this week.

 

[adrianm]

Also I'm pretty much convinced that my A90 will need to be replaced to get the most out of these which could completely fix the softness I mentioned. I'm open to amp suggestions if anyone wants to throw them my way

That's probably true, but why are you focusing on the amp? They should be fairly easy to drive from what i've heard. What dac are you using?

 

[nigel801]

Has anyone compared Stealth with Ether CX I heard some feedback that details retrieval is tiny bit better on Stealth but CX are more punchy and soundstage is a lot better on Stealth.

I got the CX for a very good price and prefer these over 2021 LCD XC and at half the price they are phenomenal value. Just my 2 cents hope my comments won't offend anyone. Peace

 

[xirxes]

Has anyone compared Stealth with Ether CX I heard some feedback that details retrieval is tiny bit better on Stealth but CX are more punchy and soundstage is a lot better on Stealth.

I got the CX for a very good price and prefer these over 2021 LCD XC and at half the price they are phenomenal value. Just my 2 cents hope my comments won't offend anyone. Peace

I did A/B these HOWEVER I basically nullified my comparison as I only listened with CX original DUMMER cable, vs the stealth on the VIVO.

that said I know CX inside and out daily driver for 9 months, the Stealth is what I consider CX ELITE. Literally everything I loved about the cX was stepped up in the stealth, but the huge things are soundstage doubling, the experience of instruments seemingly directly behind others, nuance of decay and vocals are buttery not as shrill/digitized. CX wasn’t bad at any of this stuff, but the stealth just showed me what was possible.

comparatively the Stealth does away with all of the “brittleness” in how razor sharp the CX is, and adds presence “weight” across the board and does all the bass wonderfulness that I had to EQ in to the CX.

sold my CX a week after Stealths arrived.

i also agree that CX is pretty much better than new LCDXC across the board.