[Widell]

Well Stealth is not thin to me, actually if had only two words to describe it : spot on... it just sounds right and doesn't get in the way of music

Well a TT2 gives a more full bodied experience such as a Roija while the CH2 gives it a leaner and more of a Beaujolais kind of presentation, both good but different, that using wine metaphors.....

 

[DarginMahkum]

passion for sound’s review:

Sounds like distortion is addictive. But I can understand him, after getting used to distortion and group delay issues and accepting them as "the normal", it is not easy to hear squeeky clean sound. That is why he thinks the bass is sometimes OK, sometimes not, as the other HPs probably due to the inherent technical issues make the bass sound all the same.

 

[BassicScience]

Sounds like distortion is addictive. But I can understand him, after getting used to distortion and group delay issues and accepting them as "the normal", it is not easy to hear squeeky clean sound. That is why he thinks the bass is sometimes OK, sometimes not, as the other HPs probably due to the inherent technical issues make the bass sound all the same.

Sorry, but this is nonsense. Bass doesn't need to be distorted to be full-bodied, impactful, and involving. FWIW, I recently had another listen to the Stealth without my glasses on. It didn't make a noticeable difference vs. wearing them. The Stealth had a bit more bass quantity than I remembered, but I still found it rather lifeless and undynamic.

I'm not stating my impressions just to cast shade on the Stealth or DCA. I own the Aeon 2 Noire and think they have a great tuning and represent the best value in a closed back headphone of any I've heard, which is most. I don't know if the metamaterial in the Stealth inherently overdamps the bass, but if DCA can offer a version of Stealth with livelier bass, it might well be my endgame closed back.

Meanwhile, for all the folks who love the current Stealth tuning, don't take my or anyone else's opinions personally. If you love the sound of the headphone, that's really all that matters.

 

[davidmolliere]

Not only do I love the sound but I enjoy the bass as well, and I do like my bass... of course YMMV

 

[Andrewteee]

Revealing is a good word to describe the Stealth. I'm really enjoying mine. They are both revealing and very musical. I've been listening to them a lot more often than I have other headphones.

In terms of being polarizing, in my research there are not many headphones that are not polarizing to some degree. Lots of people have lots of options about most of them.

 

[dreadedphoto]

Someone said the Stealth’s bass is heard, rather than felt and I think that’s a good way of putting it. I definitely *felt* the bass in the D9200, whereas the I more hear the bass notes in the Stealth.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Sorry, but this is nonsense. Bass doesn't need to be distorted to be full-bodied, impactful, and involving. FWIW, I recently had another listen to the Stealth without my glasses on. It didn't make a noticeable difference vs. wearing them. The Stealth had a bit more bass quantity than I remembered, but I still found it rather lifeless and undynamic.

I'm not stating my impressions just to cast shade on the Stealth or DCA. I own the Aeon 2 Noire and think they have a great tuning and represent the best value in a closed back headphone of any I've heard, which is most. I don't know if the metamaterial in the Stealth inherently overdamps the bass, but if DCA can offer a version of Stealth with livelier bass, it might well be my endgame closed back.

Meanwhile, for all the folks who love the current Stealth tuning, don't take my or anyone else's opinions personally. If you love the sound of the headphone, that's really all that matters.

I wonder if any of those that didn't like the bass of Stealth invested the time to find out what is missing? I am not saying you should be using EQ daily for listening to music, but rather invest the time to figure out if you are able to fine tune it to the tonality you have in mind. At least this reviewer didn't.

The "reviewer", if I am not remembering wrong, said "he cannot put his finger on what is missing", or something similar. That is an odd expression, as I would expect a reviewer, especially when it is that negative, to have enough experience to be able to technically understand and put his finger on what is wrong. Otherwise for me it is not a trustworthy "review".

 

[dreadedphoto]

I wish the Passion for sound review talked more about the amp pairings other than the TT2. I’m curious about how it sounds with the Soloist GT. I just bought an Oor/Hypsos combo, but the GT was the other amp in the running.

 

[gdwwilliam]

I receive my stealth months ago and I never find any fatigue during the listening. I believe that stealth is the right tunning for my preference and I may retire from the hobby with my stealth.

 

[BassicScience]

I wonder if any of those that didn't like the bass of Stealth invested the time to find out what is missing? I am not saying you should be using EQ daily for listening to music, but rather invest the time to figure out if you are able to fine tune it to the tonality you have in mind. At least this reviewer didn't.

The "reviewer", if I am not remembering wrong, said "he cannot put his finger on what is missing", or something similar. That is an odd expression, as I would expect a reviewer, especially when it is that negative, to have enough experience to be able to technically understand and put his finger on what is wrong. Otherwise for me it is not a trustworthy "review".

I prefer not to use EQ for a variety of reasons I won't go into here. Given that the Stealth is a highly tuned (not to mention, expensive) headphone, I wouldn't expect to have to use EQ with it. Furthermore, the percentage of listening time where I require a closed back headphone is small enough that I'm not going to jump through hoops to tailor the Stealth's sound, when the headphones I already own bring me a ton of musical pleasure out of the box. The Stealth has a very resolving midrange (and treble), but I don't believe it exceeds either of my Hifiman cans in those areas, particularly the estat.

I see a lot of responses to negative assessments in this thread that attempt to impugn the critic's credibility. The fact remains that several experienced listeners have noted a lack of engagement with the Stealth, notably due to its bass response. I'm not here to argue about whose perceptions are more "valid", as much as to provide feedback to DCA for possible tuning adjustments in a future revision.

 

[OneEyedHito]

I wish the Passion for sound review talked more about the amp pairings other than the TT2. I’m curious about how it sounds with the Soloist GT. I just bought an Oor/Hypsos combo, but the GT was the other amp in the running.

I had the GT for a bit, the Ferrum Stack bests it a bit (small bit but a bit nonetheless) to my ears. Also if you sit next to your audio stack you can hear the fan through open back cans in quiet passages BUT the SUBWOOFER out and control as well as L/R volume adjustment is next level and needs to be on more midrange amps!

 

[dreadedphoto]

I had the GT for a bit, the Ferrum Stack bests it a bit (small bit but a bit nonetheless) to my ears. Also if you sit next to your audio stack you can hear the fan through open back cans in quiet passages BUT the SUBWOOFER out and control as well as L/R volume adjustment is next level and needs to be on more midrange amps!

There’s a bit of distance between the amp and my listening position, so I’m not worried about the fan noise, but the subwoofer out with a pair of open backs sounds like fun. Guess I need both!

 

[Jimthecoffeeguy]

passion for sound’s review:

Oh, hey! He finally put it out.
I actually forgot about this. He's been sitting on the review for 2 months now.

I don't entirely agree with some of his thoughts, but our preferences are very different. I like natural/neutral and he likes warmer sound as he mentions.

Very good review tho. Some beautiful B-roll/vanity shots too.

 

[801evan]

Someone said the Stealth’s bass is heard, rather than felt and I think that’s a good way of putting it

Precisely this with how bass should sound with headphones. The bass SPL shouldn't have more emphasis than the other frequencies. With proper extension it'll pull off the bass in a perceptual manner than more SPL to the ear, giving ear trauma.

 

[801evan]

Sounds like distortion is addictive. But I can understand him, after getting used to distortion and group delay issues and accepting them as "the normal",

I would have said the same thing. What made the Stealth a quick buy for me is that it pulled off what I felt the other headphones were trying to pull off especially with the bass and mid bass relationship. With the Stealth, I had to re-understand most of the tracks I listen too and Stealth always did it for the better.

I wonder if Lachlan used a the stock smps on the tt2. I believe he uses a line conditioner. I tried a tt2 with stock smps and line conditioner on an LCD 4 and it made the mid bass too thick for me. So I can understand he'll be hearing more of that signature on the Stealth and would sound unbalanced.

The Stealth can come off finicky in some days, in one part, precision on fitting is a must. I have sessions where I get it right as soon as I plop it on, some days it'll take 3 tracks before finally getting it right. The latter is due to my chain trying to settle down. Sometimes I have to restart the amp or flip around the settings for the relays to kick in and freshen up the caps. Sometimes I have to toggle the ocxo bypass button for the same reason, then everything clicks and I can enjoy the music. I still do this other headphones like the lcd4 and susvara but the rewards are just much much greater on the Stealth.