Dan Clark Audio Stealth Review, Interview, Measurements
Sep 17, 2021 at 12:43 PM Post #1,546 of 5,971
These are a wholly new, larger power hungry driver. I think you will be surprised at how much the Stealth shrink your headroom on amp.
94db/mw 13 ohms on aeon vs aprox 86db/mw and 23 ohm on stealth apparently.
yeah I'd say your probably about right!
I'll report back on the listening levels once my pair arrives and I've got some hours on them.
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 12:59 PM Post #1,547 of 5,971
I trashed my ears, playing with the EQ trying some metal albums (Nile!), tweaking amps and bla... That 7 dB default treble for the loudness function of ADI-2 was way overdriven. Damn!

Listening to something like Nile or Testament definitely needs calmer upper mids and treble. It is all very album dependent, though. I don't have any problems with Necrophagist / Epitaph but newer Nile and Testament album guitars are sometimes too much. Metal needs V.

V <==> :metal:
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 1:02 PM Post #1,548 of 5,971
I trashed my ears, playing with the EQ trying some metal albums (Nile!), tweaking amps and bla... That 7 dB default treble for the loudness function of ADI-2 was way overdriven. Damn!

Listening to something like Nile or Testament definitely needs calmer upper mids and treble. It is all very album dependent, though. I don't have any problems with Necrophagist / Epitaph but newer Nile and Testament album guitars are sometimes too much. Metal needs V.

V <==> :metal:
I miss my ADI-2, regret selling it! Well you can always create different EQ profiles in that depending on genre or the sound profile! That feature is amazing!
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 5:06 PM Post #1,549 of 5,971
Day 2 of listening on the Stealth and if you're a fan of vocals, picking out harmonies, basically extracting a lot of detail out of that frequency range, these are the cans for you. I'm hearing vocal layers that I had put in my own songs that I didn't remember.

As far as the macro-dynamics issue, I can kind of see the source of the complaints. This is a polite headphone, it's not going to punch you. Get a different headphone if you want that. These are smooth and natural sounding, tuned to give you a comfortable yet very refined listening experience.
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 5:11 PM Post #1,550 of 5,971
Day 2 of listening on the Stealth and if you're a fan of vocals, picking out harmonies, basically extracting a lot of detail out of that frequency range, these are the cans for you. I'm hearing vocal layers that I had put in my own songs that I didn't remember.

As far as the macro-dynamics issue, I can kind of see the source of the complaints. This is a polite headphone, it's not going to punch you. Get a different headphone if you want that. These are smooth and natural sounding, tuned to give you a comfortable yet very refined listening experience.
I forget, did you get a chance to hear the Meze Elite as well? I can't hear the Stealth, but the I definitely like it more than HE1000se and LCD-4z tuning wise, and it's kinda half way between them macro-dynamics wise. I'm curios if the Stealth are even more polite, aka leaning towards HE1000se
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 5:15 PM Post #1,551 of 5,971
I forget, did you get a chance to hear the Meze Elite as well? I can't hear the Stealth, but the I definitely like it more than HE1000se and LCD-4z tuning wise, and it's kinda half way between them macro-dynamics wise. I'm curios if the Stealth are even more polite, aka leaning towards HE1000se
I haven't heard them yet. I would like to, but I don't think those stand a chance of improving upon the Susvara or Abyss, so I'm sure I'd be let down. These serve a different function for me than open backs do.
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 5:16 PM Post #1,552 of 5,971
As far as the macro-dynamics issue, I can kind of see the source of the complaints. This is a polite headphone, it's not going to punch you. Get a different headphone if you want that. These are smooth and natural sounding, tuned to give you a comfortable yet very refined listening experience.
I almost lost all attention in Stealth now, shame.How Stealth punch is compare to stock Susvara?
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 5:19 PM Post #1,553 of 5,971
Can someone who actually own Stealth and had Aeon2 Closed, compare in few aspects how they differ? Thanks. That will help me to switch.
Especially thos who has Chord stacks.
Thanks.
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 7:46 PM Post #1,554 of 5,971
Mine arrived earlier this week. Not a game-changer per se, but not bad at all. It doesn't really challenge Susvara or TC, but I don't expect any closed-back would. It's easily up there w/ Stellia or VC though. Similar resolution tier, different flavor. It's not perfect, but it's also not redundant. It has advantages which may suit someone's taste in signature or genre. I can certainly see the Stealth as someone's favorite closed-back. VC has more robust tonality and timbre, but it's overtly thick/warm. Stellia has stronger dynamics and PRaT, but soundstage (or lack thereof) is super weak. I didn't love either of those personally. Stealth has a great sense of air and crispness for a closed-back. It does feel quite open for a closed-back. Uncolored/neutral headphones inherently come across as lean(er). But it's not lean in a clinical or anemic way. Pretty well-balanced and refined overall. Sharp separation and imaging. It's kind of what I expected the HD820 to sound like, but HD820 was a huge disappointment. So my impressions are generally positive so far. It seems to suit my listening preferences, but time will tell if they're keepers. It does lack snappy transient response and visceral bass which is imperative to some genres, but outside of that it performs quite elegantly. It's also much more portable and comfortable than Stellia or VC. Lastly, $4K is questionable but I'm not surprised they priced it 'optimistically'.

_DSC8831-2.jpg
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 9:51 PM Post #1,555 of 5,971
You now, I have found this thread very very interesting.

We head-fiers are crazy picky and I find our perspectives to be very unstable.

Until this very headpone- the stealth, there have been so many complaints about how unbalanced the frequency response is of flagship headphones. Finally we have a headphone that got it so so so close to right, and we complain that it has no slam. Well of course it doesn't, it is not stressing one frequency over the other and evenness equals smoothness.

I remember when the Susvara first came out, for quite a while there were multiple criticisms of it's poor build quality, yet people complain how heavy and strange looking the TC is. So how do we want it? Do we want a light but perfectly durable frame like the Susvara, or do want want something for certain sturdier but crazy heavy and quite weird looking like the TC frame? There is no right answer- but we are all so sensitive about these issues.

We can all review this discussion 1000 times, and I bet we will but bottom line is-- do we want v shaped responses, or W shaped which offer excitement and fun due to discrepancies in frequency response, or do we want a frequency response which is as even and balanced as possible and is smooth but less punchy? We cannot have it all in one headphone.

I love the TC, and no question- it is highly COLORED;- but it is fun and sounds incredible. I love the Susvara, and it is less colored than the TC, less punchy, but smoother and perhaps more realistic. I think the Stealth is taking the Susvara FR one step further from what I am reading here in the evenness direction which means less coloration and more balance.

My tastes are evolving over the years. For quite a while I preferred the TC to the Susvara- and I do listen to modern genres which fit the exaggerated TC bass response better. However- I am in recent months leaning to the Susvara- even for rock. Less slam, less soundstage, but more correct, more balanced, more even keeled, smoother. I am really thinking about going one step further with the Stealth. My hunch is that the FUN headphones which shock us with their hard hitting nature are going to get a much better first response than the smoother counterparts but that after careful listening over time, the latter will become more favorable. Long term appreciation of the beauty of music vs slam me in the face immediate shock..... That is the question.

Day 2 of listening on the Stealth and if you're a fan of vocals, picking out harmonies, basically extracting a lot of detail out of that frequency range, these are the cans for you. I'm hearing vocal layers that I had put in my own songs that I didn't remember.

As far as the macro-dynamics issue, I can kind of see the source of the complaints. This is a polite headphone, it's not going to punch you. Get a different headphone if you want that. These are smooth and natural sounding, tuned to give you a comfortable yet very refined listening experience.

I almost lost all attention in Stealth now, shame.How Stealth punch is compare to stock Susvara?
Harman research found that there is a subgroup of 21% of listeners who preferred more bass than the Harman target. This cluster of people tend to be younger, male, less experienced, and, as Oliver says in the interview, more aggressive (“testosterone”). Basically, we have a minority of bassheads that, in my opinion, will appear more prevalent than they are thanks to the more assertive behavior that they display in audio forums. In short, they are a vocal minority that get somewhat aggressive about bass. But there’s nothing wrong with the Stealth not being tuned to the preference of that 21% of bassheads.
 

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Sep 17, 2021 at 10:04 PM Post #1,556 of 5,971
Just finished listening to Sgt Pepper (Australia Audio 5 vinyl rip 24/96). Spectacular. When the final cresendo of A Day in the Life hit with the piano chord I literally gasped. No kidding
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 10:12 PM Post #1,557 of 5,971
Speaking of The Beatles. If you want to test Bass check out the beginning of "Baby you're a rich man" and "The Word". When I first got these and listened not so much. Now with 40 hours the bass sounds fantastic.
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 11:26 PM Post #1,558 of 5,971
Just a reminder that Harman research found that there is a subgroup of 21% of listeners who preferred more bass than the Harman target provides. This cluster of people tend to be younger, male, less experienced, and, as Oliver says in the interview, more aggressive (“testosterone”). Basically, we have a minority of bassheads that, in my opinion, will appear more prevalent than they are thanks to the more assertive behavior that they display in audio forums. In short, they are a vocal minority that get somewhat aggressive about bass. But there’s nothing wrong with the Stealth not being tuned to the preference of that 21% of bassheads.
Don’t want to be associated with this subgroup…serious audiophile here.
 
Sep 17, 2021 at 11:48 PM Post #1,559 of 5,971
I’m mad and I want to beat you all up for talking schiit about my preference for bass and the TCs. Jesus Christ let me enjoy something!

:xf_mad:😠:xf_mad:

:deadhorse: :beyersmile:
 
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Sep 18, 2021 at 2:04 AM Post #1,560 of 5,971
I think it's safe to say you can throw as much money as you want at electronics (the right ones) without worrying about diminishing returns due to headphones. Case in point :
241904418_6094799360595216_3414717088751131559_n.jpg

My electronics are worth 10x more than the 2k headphones on the left, and while open back, i have no impulse to upgrade to the latest Meze flagships. I'll probably get the Stealth once i've had a chance to audition them. I still need to hear Susvara+AHB2 and the Audeze CRBN+ WES before dropping open back curiosity for good. While better in some respects, i genuinely hate how fatiguing open backs are with even the tiniest background noise. Of which i have plenty. Even in perfect silence i don't find them much better, let alone 2x the price.
No regrets on the electronics + mains filter though. Heard a solid upgrade that justified the cost every step of the way. And i've used those headphones with everything from a Chord Mojo up to the current setup.
You said "i have no impulse to upgrade to the latest Meze flagships", but isn't that a Meze Elite in front of your Dave? Surely you can hear the superiority of the Elite over the Z1R. I tried a Z1R for a few days, and couldn't take its peaky treble.
 

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