Dan Clark Audio Stealth Review, Interview, Measurements

[theveterans]

There are some who report Stealth bass increases quite a bit with a burn in of 100 hours or so...

I suspect that's 90% pad sealing better due to skin contour "memory" and 10% driver burn-in

 

[theveterans]

A little off topic - is there anyone in the general Berkeley / San Francisco area who could provide me with an opportunity to check out the Stealth? Thanks in advance.

You can fly to SoCal CanJam and they'll have the Stealth there. I'm also interested in how the Red October tube amp there will drive the Stealth since the Forge amp is more than enough to make the Aeon Open X light up in dynamics, slam while completely eliminating 6 KHz sizzle that is more apparent on an SS amp.

 

[DarginMahkum]

On a tipping point of buying the Noire vs the Stealth. Kinda newbie in the audio world, but what i hear a lot is tuning the LCD-XC so it compensates for the lack of bass. Why not do that for the Stealths as well? I listen mostly to Hip Hop and House music. Felt that (a not burned-in) Stealth lacked bass compared to the Noire, but had a wider stage and more clarity. Why i would spend more then double compared to the XC is ‘cause its portable/looks better/is waaaay more comfortable to me. Just wondering why nobody talks about eq-ing while with the Audeze everyone is talking about eq-ing it.

One member literally sold his Stealth due to having too much bass which I bought and have two Stealths at home. I am driving them with the flattest amps and at no point have I felt any lack of bass. One has hundreds of hours on it and the other probably less than 50.

If what you are looking for is emphasized mid-bass which is probably what you want with the type of music you listen to, Stealth is not what you are looking for.

 

[801evan]

If what you are looking for is emphasized mid-bass which is probably what you want with the type of music you listen to, Stealth is not what you are looking fo

The world is their oyster as there's a lot of options for bass peaky headphones out there but Stealth ain't one of it.

 

[DarginMahkum]

I suspect that's 90% pad sealing better due to skin contour "memory" and 10% driver burn-in

My original Stealth has hunderds of hours on it and the other has maybe less than 50. I can feel the pads are harder, but I don't think it has any less bass. Could even be a tick more. The main audible difference was (and I had it confirmed by a second listener without telling what I heard) the mids of the newer Stealth were slightly thicker and closer. I think low-mids down the newer Stealth has 1-2 dB more. How much of it is due to driver variance, how much is pads and any break-in effect, I don't know. I probably wouldn't notice it without side by side comparison but it is there. I will report back in a few weeks.

 

[ZzBOG]

Hey guys I am looking further into Stealth and it seems tuning if one of their key strengths.

I am ok EQing as I only use large heapdphones with a computer. Actually I never not-EQ headphones (well, AirPods maybe)

With that in mind could any of DCA Stealth owners weigh in if they know an alternative that costs less but can be elevated to Stealth levels with EQ?

I was suggested to look into LCD XC but I don’t understand enough about sound engineering to know that indeed a headphone can go from 4 to 9 on a 10/10 scale with just software EQ

 

[Jonathan Crouch]

Hey guys I am looking further into Stealth and it seems tuning if one of their key strengths.

I am ok EQing as I only use large heapdphones with a computer. Actually I never not-EQ headphones (well, AirPods maybe)

With that in mind could any of DCA Stealth owners weigh in if they know an alternative that costs less but can be elevated to Stealth levels with EQ?

I was suggested to look into LCD XC but I don’t understand enough about sound engineering to know that indeed a headphone can go from 4 to 9 on a 10/10 scale with just software EQ

I can't because the closest thing to the Stealth that I've ever listened to and I've listened to many. is Susvara and even the Susvara is different in a few areas and cost more. It's less detailed (only ever so slightly) (sound stage doesn't feel as separated as stealth.)

The bottom line is this the Susvara is more relaxed and is like a peaceful open book. The Stealth is very controlled but open at the same time (it's hard to explain because it doesn't fit characteristics of a closed back headphone at all.) It reveals SO MANY little details and they're separated really well. Neither headphone "adds" anything to music or sounds they're both very, very neutral headphones and the two most neutral I've ever heard.

The only thing I don't understand is my ears feel "tired" after listening to the Stealth for about 2 hours of time and I don't yet understand that because they don't feel "too much" in any frequency range, then again I haven't used closed backs in (10+ years) maybe the sound pressure caused by closed backs? I dunno. I gather most don't experience that but I do. Then again I use a D90SE/A90(D) which are very detailed and neutral (because I have both A90's.)

 

[Daniel Johnston]

I just received my Stealths yesterday. Only about 15-20 hours on them so far.

So far I'm truly impressed. I've been heavily listening to the Liric and ML5909 headphones recently. I pulled out the Stellias for a bit just for fun. Overall large soundstage for a closed back or for a headphone period. Tonality is perfect for my tastes. Better treble compared to the Liric and better sub bass as well. Overall bass detail is significantly better than Liric.

As for my amps:
Hugo 2/2go- no issues. The bass is deep, the upper range is not fatiguing. Not as much "fun" compared to the Liric.

Woo WA8- hard no. Sub-bass causes audible distortion in the mid and treble regions. With 2 tube mode, everything sounds okay, but not enough gain for most classical music. That'll be saved for the Liric and Stellia.

Erzetich Medousa (tube hybrid)- I'm waiting for the balanced cable for the Stealth, but on single ended, the amp does "make them sing". The Erzetich wakes up the Stealths. Dynamics, Bass, and soundstage all just get better compared to the H2.

I've run them off the iBasso 320 with the Nutube based Amp13. Not bad from first impressions. I need more time with the combo.

Overall I'm incredibly impressed with the Stealths. I finally found a good match for the Hugo 2/2go.

 

[801evan]

It took some patience but I knew Lachlan will come around with that head scratcher of a review....



To my surprise, the closest thing to my Stealth is my Buds2pro. These TWS have come a long way.

When m17 + DC power is on high gain and silver power cable, stealth and atrium sounds very similar but then, that's on the performance of the m17 and it being the weaker link. Atrium starts to sound really good on low gain + dc power. I didnt bother experimenting on the stealth in that regard. But Stealth has always exceeded Susvara in all chains. But on other chains, like the Go Blu, the sound is much better than the souped up m17, everything sounds better, and also shows the flaws as it cuts through the weakness of the m17 and the Stealth shows how far ahead is and how lacking the Atrium is.

 

[DarginMahkum]

It took some patience but I knew Lachlan will come around with that head scratcher of a review....

Let's see which direction he will go, first.

Thanks for the buds recommendation, by the way. I am thinking of getting them.

 

[801evan]

Let's see which direction he will go, first.

Thanks for the buds recommendation, by the way. I am thinking of getting them.

Thing with the buds2pro is you need a Samsung phone to unleash it. I use a A42 and a friend who loved the combo got a cheaper A model and it oddly doesn't have the 360ra toggle on the Samsung wear app itself. Also, I have to kill practically all the BG services, go on airplane mode, power saver mode etc to get an end game experience. So the phone has to be a dedicated DAP phone but it's very worth it for me. So much so it beats the susvara and atrium...but not the Stealth.

 

[801evan]

Let's see which direction he will go, first.

Im not surprised since the owner was blowing his cans with 100watts through a ahb2 until protection kicks in and telling people to do so as proof that the amp has enough drive and won't clip the Stealth. I never had a single issue with my 200mw-400mw amps. Poor Dan has to replace it due to user error and receiving a poor review from Lachlan.

 

[DarginMahkum]

It is nice to listen to a baritone guitar with HPs that can do the bass right. I couldn't find an album version of this but you can check other pieces / albums of Cenk Erdogan if you like this one...

 

[801evan]

It is nice to listen to a baritone guitar with HPs that can do the bass right. I couldn't find an album version of this but you can check other pieces / albums of Cenk Erdogan if you like this one...

Right on! Gosh I was using the new Kings of Convenience album today doing all these rounds of tests. Only the buds2pro and stealth does it well with the right amount of weight, density and openness. It quickly showed the weakness of the Atrium, for example. And don't bother with the Susvara as it was purposefully designed not to bring this out faithfully.

 

[VandyMan]

(Deleted by request)