Dan Clark Audio Stealth Review, Interview, Measurements

[TheMiddleSky]

Hey Guys, I have a couple questions regarding the Stealth.


2) Do these leak out a lot of noise? I read/saw somewhere saying that these don't isolate sound much, so they wouldn't be great to use in an office-like environment.

Leak, but not much, definitely way lower than typical Hifiman. Also less leak compared to Meze Elite, Diana TC, LCD-5 and ZMF Verite.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

For all the stealths lovers, check this piece:


Dynamics, decay trails are just extraordinary. Tremendous recording

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Any experience comparing the Mojo2 vs. the Hugo2 and the Stealth?

Yes.

Mojo 2 about 90% of Hugo 2. I honestly can’t tell a big difference. But the Mojo 2 powers the Stealth better. There’s more headroom. I think it’s due to the current doubling for low impedance headphones in the mojo 2.

 

[adrianm]

@mrspeakers Is there a way to replace the cable for the Stealth ? Some of the dealers in the Eu only seem to offer a 6.3mm option.

 

[ThanatosVI]

@mrspeakers Is there a way to replace the cable for the Stealth ? Some of the dealers in the Eu only seem to offer a 6.3mm option.

DCA Vivo cable
That should be the 4Pin XLR Vivo cable from a european dealer

 

[Terriero]

For all the stealths lovers, check this piece:


Dynamics, decay trails are just extraordinary. Tremendous recording

Sounds spectacular, thanks for sharing

 

[duas2noites]

I'll buy my next audio setup, I'm thinking about this combo, what do you think about it? I already bought stealth, need only dac/amp combo to pair with Stealth.

Gustard R26 > Ferrum Oor/Hypsos > DCA Stealth.

 

[DarginMahkum]

I'll buy my next audio setup, I'm thinking about this combo, what do you think about it? I already bought stealth, need only dac/amp combo to pair with Stealth.

Gustard R26 > Ferrum Oor/Hypsos > DCA Stealth.

RME ADI-2 DAC / amp is a great match. The EQ will give you the possibility of tuning in any sound you like.

 

[plumpudding2]

I'll buy my next audio setup, I'm thinking about this combo, what do you think about it? I already bought stealth, need only dac/amp combo to pair with Stealth.

Gustard R26 > Ferrum Oor/Hypsos > DCA Stealth.

Haven't heard the R26, but I have the Oor/Hypsos combo and I think it's a terrific pairing. The Oor is extremely punchy which helps with the Stealths dynamic "politeness".

The RME Adi-2 is loved by some, others report that the Stealth needs an amp with high current reserves, which is not the RME's strong suit.
For me the RME sounds great and very "correct" but not very exciting, and the Oor might be less perfectly transparent but adds a bit of kick and soul back into the music.

 

[mrspeakers]

@mrspeakers Is there a way to replace the cable for the Stealth ? Some of the dealers in the Eu only seem to offer a 6.3mm option.

Depending on your country try contacting the distributor, you can find them in our store locator on our website.

Worst case you can get cables from us or 3rd parties. I think among headphone manufacturers we're rather uncommon in offering a complete set of termination options, the problem for international distributors is the cost to stock all options, especially because the distributors have us pre-pack the cables with the headphones.

 

[Nomax]

After a year with the Stealth...my résumé...even today I still like to put it on and listen to it without my ears telling me it disturbs
me something in the performance
( Too bad that wasn't the case with the Expanse)

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[ThanatosVI]

After a year with the Stealth...my résumé...even today I still like to put it on and listen to it without my ears telling me it disturbs
me something in the performance
( Too bad that wasn't the case with the Expanse)

NOMAX

PS.lol

And that from someone who actually can choose to listen to the Sennheiser HE1 instead!

 

[Nomax]

Or even i choose the flagship model from France
In the end, one should also remain fair when comparing the tonal and technical performance for the proclaimed price
(Therefore,my HE1 will never be used by me for comparison )

NOMAX

PS.And this is where the Expanse ultimately failed in comparison with the Nutopia
The Utopia has become a classic with the time...and the Stealth will become so too

 

[plumpudding2]

Since 1 week I have been the happy new owner of a Holo Audio May level 2, and I thought it would be interesting to share how this dac has influenced my relationship with my Stealth.

For background, previously I used an RME ADI-2 Pro, in DSD mode using HQplayer with the Ferrum Oor or directly in balanced mode. I wasn't quite happy with the sound, lots of recordings sounded quite harsh and especially during busy passages I had the urge to turn the volume up to still make sense of what was going on, which was not good for my ears. Many people reported that the Stealth will do this and make you re-evaluate your music library. No big deal, I just switched to my other headphones for less than stellar recordings.

Within seconds of hearing the May I could hear the hype was justified and I was quite relieved that I hadn't just dropped 5 grand on an expensive room heater.
The separation and staging are sublime and a big step up from the RME. I can hear this clearly on the HEDDphone and the HD800 and even on the Sundara, but the differences are the biggest on the Stealth.
Curiously the soundstage differences between the Stealth and the HD800 (two opposites on the spectrum) have lessened considerably, I no longer feel the Stealth soundstage is lacking anything.

But on to the main point: the number of recordings that sound bad on the Stealth have decreased by 99%. I don't know if the May is doing the world's subtlest DSP or what, but everything sounds good. On the RME I found myself gravitating towards well recorded acoustic guitar and small jazz ensembles, now even brickwalled pop songs sound enjoyable (with impactful bass nonetheless!).
I think this is a case of the Stealth suffering from its own success. It is so ruthlessly revealing that it will scale into the stratosphere with the rest of your gear. I was not a dac believer but I am now, and my brain is itching for a scientific explanation. My wallet is very much hoping that cables and power conditioning firmly remain snake oil.

Disclaimer: I am still very heavily suffering from new toy syndrome and honeymoon phase If my views change in the future or become more nuanced be assured I will post an update.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Since 1 week I have been the happy new owner of a Holo Audio May level 2, and I thought it would be interesting to share how this dac has influenced my relationship with my Stealth.

For background, previously I used an RME ADI-2 Pro, in DSD mode using HQplayer with the Ferrum Oor or directly in balanced mode. I wasn't quite happy with the sound, lots of recordings sounded quite harsh and especially during busy passages I had the urge to turn the volume up to still make sense of what was going on, which was not good for my ears. Many people reported that the Stealth will do this and make you re-evaluate your music library. No big deal, I just switched to my other headphones for less than stellar recordings.

Within seconds of hearing the May I could hear the hype was justified and I was quite relieved that I hadn't just dropped 5 grand on an expensive room heater.
The separation and staging are sublime and a big step up from the RME. I can hear this clearly on the HEDDphone and the HD800 and even on the Sundara, but the differences are the biggest on the Stealth.
Curiously the soundstage differences between the Stealth and the HD800 (two opposites on the spectrum) have lessened considerably, I no longer feel the Stealth soundstage is lacking anything.

But on to the main point: the number of recordings that sound bad on the Stealth have decreased by 99%. I don't know if the May is doing the world's subtlest DSP or what, but everything sounds good. On the RME I found myself gravitating towards well recorded acoustic guitar and small jazz ensembles, now even brickwalled pop songs sound enjoyable (with impactful bass nonetheless!).
I think this is a case of the Stealth suffering from its own success. It is so ruthlessly revealing that it will scale into the stratosphere with the rest of your gear. I was not a dac believer but I am now, and my brain is itching for a scientific explanation. My wallet is very much hoping that cables and power conditioning firmly remain snake oil.

Disclaimer: I am still very heavily suffering from new toy syndrome and honeymoon phase If my views change in the future or become more nuanced be assured I will post an update.

Enjoy your new toy! DAC function alone is a solved problem even with much cheaper devices and the idea is basically create a signal as close as possible to the original signal and even the simplest ESS DACs out there does it very well - beyond the limits of human hearing well. But of course the full pakage itself might be doing some additional DSP and tuning that makes it more preferable. It might be playing with timings / phase, frequency response, distortion, other effects etc. It is not an issue to tweak the size /depth of the sound to make it more voluminous.

RME might be too transparent, too unaltered that might take away the fun for some. I personally prefer the ADI-2 over anything else especially for that but I guess that is for someone that listens to not-too-processed instruments. I also wouldn't recommend it if you are not into tweaking the sound. You might find cheaper options for the DAC function alone if you want a super clean and transparent sound.

I am a huge fan of ADI-2 that I even got the newest ADI-2 Pro 2/4. Of course it is still the same unaltered sound with slightly more power, DSP power and other ADC improvements. Frankly I got it only to have the latest and greatest one in the family, otherwise there is not much added value for HP listening only.