Dan Clark Audio Stealth Review, Interview, Measurements

[Vyyy]

Is there any rumors on the new Stealth successor?

 

[Somatic]

So I have been using the Stealths vs the Susvara when I need isolation but I ended up getting lazy and left them on as my main driver for 2+ months.

Now I am debating keeping the Susvara's as they sound a little thin and less impactful in comparison. Female vocals do sound better on the Susvara. Any thoughts?

 

[lentoviolento]

I am selling the stealth because i buy them in order to try them and then sell them. Now i am using lcd5 that is impossible to describe it in English for me.
But... The best closed hp I tried in my life is the stealth. Hands down. I tried e3 and noir x too.
They sound like open back and isolate like no other. so they have already won for me.
Then... Details, reality of the instruments (piano is dream), male vocals..
Acoustic guitar?? Yes maybe a little bit of bass more and they would have been perfect. But perfection doesn't exists in things made by men by definition.
My personal opinion is that if you have to keep one, keep the stealth. I like female vocals too.. Try too listen to i"m on fire, the song in the movie 'pig'. Or the trip, i don't remember the band. It is insane... When i first listen to them i thought that we really entered a new era.

 

[silversurfer616]

Had both Stealth and Susvara and eventually sold both.
Stealth didn’t have enough note weight/density and Susvara was not engaging enough.
Prefer E3 to Stealth and HEKse to Susvara.

 

[Icenine2]

LOVE the stealth. Listened to everything at Axpona and I’m still all in for Stealth

 

[rlawry]

One thing IMO that helps the Stealth is a tube amp, which adds weight to the bass and midrange. When I ran the Stealth on a solid-state Benchmark HPA4, its speed, detail, and transparency was off the charts but I felt the need for some warmth, midrange body, and midbass that tubes do so well.

 

[geoffalter11]

So I have been using the Stealths vs the Susvara when I need isolation but I ended up getting lazy and left them on as my main driver for 2+ months.

Now I am debating keeping the Susvara's as they sound a little thin and less impactful in comparison. Female vocals do sound better on the Susvara. Any thoughts?

I actually think my Oppo PM-3 sounds better than the Stealth.

Prefer E3 to Stealth and HEKse to Susvara.

Sorry @silversurfer616 not sure what happened but I accidentally deleted part of your message. I agree with you, I didn't like either the Stealth or the Susvara. I found the Stealth to lack tonal density and actually prefer my PM-3. Saved me a lot of money. The Susvara is very detailed but found it too finicky. I also had the Expanse and it was also to flat and lacked the tonal density that I like. Not enough saturation for me. I haven't heard the E3 as I have owned almost all of DCA's headphones and the only one that I truly loved was the Alpha Prime. The rest are just not my favorite tuning, but I can see why others love them. There are so few Planar closed backs in that price range there aren't a lot of options above $3000. Stealth, the new Kennerton, R10P, ZMF CC. I can't think of anything else above that price point for a closed back planar. Maybe I need to try the E3. I have a HEKv2 Non-Stealth that I prefer to the Susvara, as well as the D8K Pro, but I don't listen to EDM or at 85db or higher where that headphone has issues and so it sounds perfect to me at all times. But for others it is hard if they listen to heavy bass music above a certain volume. My baby, though is my original Code X. That is a headphone that is near perfect to my ears. I think there are probably less than 10 left in the world, but I don't think anyone really knows how many are left out there and certainly no one who has one is going to sell it.

 

[lentoviolento]

Hps are not made imho to sound above 85db.
And i can't imagine comparing stealth to oppo... But i won't judge.
There's one thing I want to say though.
In music objectivity exists. I don't understand about the tonal density.
I mean.. I don't like default colora of iPhones pictures. They hit you only because they are oversaturated. But those colors doesn't exists in reality.
I can't tell about tubes because i had a feliks euforia but it is an otl... Powerful ibrid... Maybe.
Stealth is very heavy to drive. Mjolnir3 was the minimum.
I plugged them in an chinese crappy a70pro and suddenly added weight in the bass.
I understand who prefers e3. They are more user friendly.
But hifi means high fidelity. Stealth sounds REAL. Instruments sounded like when i am in front of them. In that period i catched up with the worst human being on heart but she played piano. And i went alone(I don't want distractions), to some classical concerts. I like classical only live. And i went to motley crue concert and after a few days to interpol. The guitar of interpol maybe because the sound check i don't know sounded like it was in your brain. Then massive attack. While stealth could reproduce classical and that super guitar, it couldn't reproduce massive attack impact. But they had two batteries on the stage... We are talking about something that maybe only a super hi end speakers could reproduce. But apart of that music sounded real. Obviously meze elite sounds likethe best an all arounder.. But i won't even try to compare to stealth reality.
Complementarity is the key. But if you want at the moment listen to the best similar to real instruments i cannot think about everything else. I don't have abyss or electrostatics or that super expensive serb technology....

 

[silversurfer616]

Hps are not made imho to sound above 85db.
And i can't imagine comparing stealth to oppo... But i won't judge.
There's one thing I want to say though.
In music objectivity exists. I don't understand about the tonal density.
I mean.. I don't like default colora of iPhones pictures. They hit you only because they are oversaturated. But those colors doesn't exists in reality.
I can't tell about tubes because i had a feliks euforia but it is an otl... Powerful ibrid... Maybe.
Stealth is very heavy to drive. Mjolnir3 was the minimum.
I plugged them in an chinese crappy a70pro and suddenly added weight in the bass.
I understand who prefers e3. They are more user friendly.
But hifi means high fidelity. Stealth sounds REAL. Instruments sounded like when i am in front of them. In that period i catched up with the worst human being on heart but she played piano. And i went alone(I don't want distractions), to some classical concerts. I like classical only live. And i went to motley crue concert and after a few days to interpol. The guitar of interpol maybe because the sound check i don't know sounded like it was in your brain. Then massive attack. While stealth could reproduce classical and that super guitar, it couldn't reproduce massive attack impact. But they had two batteries on the stage... We are talking about something that maybe only a super hi end speakers could reproduce. But apart of that music sounded real. Obviously meze elite sounds likethe best an all arounder.. But i won't even try to compare to stealth reality.
Complementarity is the key. But if you want at the moment listen to the best similar to real instruments i cannot think about everything else. I don't have abyss or electrostatics or that super expensive serb technology....

As I mostly listen to singer/songwriter, rock and jazz, one of my favourite singers is Leonard Cohen and if a headphone can give me that grovel in his voice with a healthy tonal density, then the headphone is right for me.
Also Joni Mitchell at her most shrieking…if a headphone can cope with that, I know it’s for me.
Electric guitars often need crunch etc. Stealth has all of that but it feels like standing on thin ground, still. Even HD800S has a more dense holographic sound bubble.
Headphones are totally subjective, whatever one‘s preference is and as such, there’s no right or wrong.

 

[geoffalter11]

As I mostly listen to singer/songwriter, rock and jazz, one of my favourite singers is Leonard Cohen and if a headphone can give me that grovel in his voice with a healthy tonal density, then the headphone is right for me.
Also Joni Mitchell at her most shrieking…if a headphone can cope with that, I know it’s for me.
Electric guitars often need crunch etc. Stealth has all of that but it feels like standing on thin ground, still. Even HD800S has a more dense holographic sound bubble.
Headphones are totally subjective, whatever one‘s preference is and as such, there’s no right or wrong.

Agreed. It is not objective at all. The only thing the industry cannot measure are transients and that is where music becomes music. The space between the notes, and the ability to hear exactly what you are saying. The stealth for me was boring. Plain and simple... The idea that only one way is right to hear something sound proper is not how I view this hobby, and it seems neither do you. Which I appreciate. And yes, the PM-3 is so good when properly amplified. Is it objectively as good as the Stealth, no? I don't particularly care, though. And after 1000 concerts, I am quite sure I know what I am looking for in my system and sound. Nor do I believe that classical is the only way to hear music and that makes someone an audiophile. I just can't get my head around that way of thinking. This is the ultimate subjective hobby. From Nelson Pass... a great reviewer on here has this quote in his about page and I am borrowing it because it is so right on so many levels. And I love Leonard Cohen... How can you not enjoy that voice? It is like not enjoying the sound of Billy Strings play guitar, or George Porter Jr. play bass...

"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment.
Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not."
Nelson Pass (designer of audio amplifiers)

Edit: since it won't let me reply as it would be a double reply, this is for you @lentoviolento it is exactly that arrogance of knowing what is right and that has caused me to respond as I tend to stay out of the weeds, but when someone makes proclamations of what is best and is so sure that their way is the only way then I have to respond. There is NO right way, only what works for each person, and the Oppo was to make a point. I have plenty of TOTL headphones that are far superior to the Oppo and the Stealth. I don't particularly care whether or not you agree or not. And I don't care whether or not we find middle ground. We are not going for the same thing and I don't appreciate the condescending tone. It is entirely possible for us to both hear music the way it is intended in different ways. The Stealth is a BORING headphone, as is the Expanse and the entire Ether line. The Noire X is the only one I'd consider. I don't like DCA's headphones and so that is my right, but that doesn't mean that I don't listen or think about what my system should sound like or what I use or what I write about and review, or how I view the hobby. And I respect that others disagree and love DCA headphones for what they are. And the E3, which I haven't heard, and is the only one I have yet to hear is supposed to be wonderful. Objectively, the only measurement that matters they cannot measure, so why even look at something where everything is built well outside of human hearing, and so it just becomes a competition for the best measurements but that doesn't mean a thing about how something sounds. The term catch and release is my least favorite term in the hobby. How can someone know in 5 minutes what they like? If reviewing has taught me anything it is that my first impression almost never holds up. I am not sure why I even bother, this will just lead to more condescending comments. And yes, the Oppo is not even close to the headphone of the Stealth, I am not stupid, but it is far more enjoyable as it actually is fun to listen to. This hobby is about enjoying music, whatever each person likes and that is what matters more than anything. As long as people are listening and making choices that meet their own unique preferences, they are on the right track, no matter their budget. People shouldn't take on all of this debt for audio. They should buy the best they can afford and make sure that it is in synergy. I love tubes, because 2nd order is where music takes on a life that SS cannot provide unless it is built with a stable enough drift where they can put the right amount of 2nd order and the 2nd order be it SS or Tube must be far enough away from the other harmonics to sound clear, transparent and honest. Nelson Pass is a designer who is speaking the truth about something that I happen to believe in and agree with. Listening is the truest measure of how something sounds and the best way for each person to pick what they like. And everyone has the right to like what makes them happy and find a system that brings out the best of what they have. I am very lucky to have the system I do, a system you would probably hate. But I love it, and it has taken me 10 yrs to build, piece by piece with so many mistakes and lessons along the way to come to a system that is highly moving, resolving, detailed and full of vigor, saturation, tonal density, timbre and reality for what I listen to. I truly hope the same for you. But I won't be condescended because we disagree as if being a classical audiophile makes you better in some way. I listen to a lot of Roots, Americana, Tradiotional bluegrass. All acoustic instruments with incredible timbre and lifelike sound. I also like to rock out and listen to a lot of electric music and I always make sure that it is in balance so I can discern all instruments and what they are doing. I have been luck in life to have gone 1000 concerts and so I have built my system around that experience and trying to recreate what makes me happy about music and why it is ultimately my church where I lose and find myself. The Stealth doesn't make me feel that way. But I am happy that it does for you.

 

[lentoviolento]

Preferences are at the base of this hobby but it doesn't mean that what you hear is what you "should" hear.
If someone takes pleasure in beating someone and he feels right, it doesn't mean that is a matter of taste come on...
Stealth is the only that get close to harman curve.
If you feel more density with hd800(!!!!),it doesn't mean s+++t.
Even the ancient grreks said that everything is mesarable. Beauty for example. If you like fat girl i am happy for you. But bella hadid and Jennifer Lawrence will always be a benchmark.
If you prefer oppo listen to oppo. You are not listening to what music should sound.
If you like that... Ok. But still...
When i Want to listen to what i feel livs, i use the stealth. When i want to blast wirh Metallica i use meze. When i want a mix i listen to lcd5 that is one of the most beautiful sound i listened to in 12 years of this crazy hobby. Maybe lcd4 for with an handmade otl is the best i had. It was engaging. But someone prefered focal...... 2 year of bla bla bla.
Finally dca makes something that is the closest to what music should sound... And there is always someone that has to say it doesn't.
Maybe, i say maybe, depending of your age, of how your ears can hear (i get until 19000khz),you hear something different.
When i bought my first pair of hd800s from an old man he said that with classical was ths best, but he admitted that was not poliedric and that years before he get fatigued...
Stealth sound tight with all music. If you want different taste ok, but dca made something unique. Maybe the first 'tool' to listen to what producers make. And this is objective. I could do a million examples regarding other things. Movies, art, photography...
I almost forgot.. If you listen to two singers or a little more.... You don't like music. You like those singers.

Nelson pass is an audio designer....

I know the creator of spirit sound hps for years. He has his own idea of what an hp should sound. I like his 20k setup... But it is tuned with his taste. We are not talking about food. There is way in which a piano should sound. A violin should sound. Timbric is top notch. Maybe you like some genres... But a piano will alway havs to sound "right"... Not in the way you like.. Try to eat sushi in miami. Eat sushi in tokio harbour. I assure you it is not the same. Because Japanese can cook "right" that kind of food. The others make their own fusion way..... Yeah it is a matter of taste. But you will always know that you are not eat what sushi should taste.

 

[geoffalter11]

Agreed. It is not objective at all. The only thing the industry cannot measure are transients and that is where music becomes music. The space between the notes, and the ability to hear exactly what you are saying. The stealth for me was boring. Plain and simple... The idea that only one way is right to hear something sound proper is not how I view this hobby, and it seems neither do you. Which I appreciate. And yes, the PM-3 is so good when properly amplified. Is it objectively as good as the Stealth, no? I don't particularly care, though. And after 1000 concerts, I am quite sure I know what I am looking for in my system and sound. Nor do I believe that classical is the only way to hear music and that makes someone an audiophile. I just can't get my head around that way of thinking. This is the ultimate subjective hobby. From Nelson Pass... a great reviewer on here has this quote in his about page and I am borrowing it because it is so right on so many levels. And I love Leonard Cohen... How can you not enjoy that voice? It is like not enjoying the sound of Billy Strings play guitar, or George Porter Jr. play bass...

"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment.
Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not."
Nelson Pass (designer of audio amplifiers)

For you @soulsurfer616

https://i.imgur.com/nfymYak.png

 

[801evan]

So I have been using the Stealths vs the Susvara when I need isolation but I ended up getting lazy and left them on as my main driver for 2+ months.

Now I am debating keeping the Susvara's as they sound a little thin and less impactful in comparison. Female vocals do sound better on the Susvara. Any thoughts?

Susvara makes female vocals sing from the throat. Stealth makes them sing from the diaphragm.

 

[plumpudding2]

I hear what you guys are saying, my first two headphones in the summit category were Susvara and Stealth and likewise I found them lacking the impact and tonal density you want when listening to pop/rock.
However I'm that guy with gear Stockholm syndrome that will start tweaking the rest of the chain instead of buying different headphones and now I'm at a point where I can honestly say the speed/impact kings Utopia and SR1-a don't significantly provide more of that than Sus/Stealth on my setup.

It's a combination of HQPlayer tweaking (ultrashort filter poly-sinc-MQA + transient optimized ahm7ec-fast at high rate DSD) and my Zahl HM1 which has an incredible grip on whichever drivers you plug into it.
I won't claim that power cables/power conditioning/headphone cables had a significant impact but i tried them anyway.

Long story short the Stealth is my main driver and will stay so until DCA comes out with something better

 

[geoffalter11]

I hear what you guys are saying, my first two headphones in the summit category were Susvara and Stealth and likewise I found them lacking the impact and tonal density you want when listening to pop/rock.
However I'm that guy with gear Stockholm syndrome that will start tweaking the rest of the chain instead of buying different headphones and now I'm at a point where I can honestly say the speed/impact kings Utopia and SR1-a don't significantly provide more of that than Sus/Stealth on my setup.

It's a combination of HQPlayer tweaking (ultrashort filter poly-sinc-MQA + transient optimized ahm7ec-fast at high rate DSD) and my Zahl HM1 which has an incredible grip on whichever drivers you plug into it.
I won't claim that power cables/power conditioning/headphone cables had a significant impact but i tried them anyway.

Long story short the Stealth is my main driver and will stay so until DCA comes out with something better

More power to ya... You listen, think and make cogent choices based on your preferences. Just because I don't like them, doesn't make them bad headphones. That is what I love about the hobby. That everyone finds their own bliss. I only react to being told there is only one way, or that what someone has is better than everyone else's. That is why I made the Oppo comment. It isn't even close to the headphone of the Stealth, but I enjoy it more because of my distaste for DCA headphones. However, I know that it doesn't touch the Stealth in any conceivable way. I love that you know exactly what you like, and most importantly you listen and have chosen based on your own reasons.

I am the same and opposite to you. I also use my chain to tweak my system, but I do it without using any DSP. Mostly, because I don't understand how to use it properly. My brain doesn't work that way. I am a michelin trained chef and learned to use my senses to view the world and to find context to everything I do. Plus, I have a rare form of ALS and am terminally ill, and my children are both autistic and view the world through their senses, and so I have both learned that through my career, but also through how my children see the world and it informs how I view the world. Food, travel, art, music, my job, all of it I do letting my senses guide me. I also believe that the more we do something the more proficient we become and therefore find more enjoyment as we seek out its center and find our own way of becoming better at it. I am nowhere near the cook today I was 20 plus yrs ago, I can't even stand on my feet anymore for 10 hrs, let alone 2 hrs. However, my palate is better today than when I worked in restaurants like Nopa. Because I have 20 plus more yrs of tasting and so my palate continues to improve. Same with music. The more we listen, the better we hear. The more we do anything, the better we become at it and that is when things get really fun. And that is different for everyone. There is not one way to enjoy music, and we all have to find what works for each of us. I just like it when people know this because they listen and know what works best for them and how to get there... I try not to ever recommend anything when I write, just that people understand what I am hearing and if that helps them make a decision, great. If not, that is ok too. I can only inform based on my experiences and what I've come to understand about sound and how it all meshes. You have found the perfect synergy for you, nothing but respect.

I have chosen my amps, DACs, streamer, server, and headphones based on my preferences and then I pair each set of amps with the right DAC to achieve what I am looking for and then the headphone based on the amps and DAC and music I am in the mood for. Because I don't use DSP outside of my Cen.Grand Deluxe DAC that automatically upsamples everything to DSD, I don't tweak anything. I just don't have that type of brain, so I try to choose each piece in my chain based on whether or not I feel the designer meets the standards of my preferences. If not, I move on. After 10 yrs of trial and error, lots of mistakes, lessons, and really learning through reviewing and listening, I know what works for me. And now I make very few if any changes, as I know what I like and enjoy just basking in the sound I've created for myself. But I've never once believed that what I do or what I like is better than anyone else. It is just my way, just as you have found yours, and that gives you immeasurable joy in what you listen to and why. I have nothing but respect for that. I only joined the conversation because I don't like it when someone proclaims something is the only way to hear what REAL sounds like. I was a professional concert goer living in San Francisco during my formative years cooking and training and became obsessed with the sound of the hallowed San Francisco venues and the sheer amount of music under the sun that came through the city and surrounding bay area wanting to play the great venues of that area, of which there were many. I lived 6 blocks from the Fillmore and John Lee Hooker's Blues and Jazz bar, and I had the opportunity to see it all. For me, tone is king. Tone/Timbre rule my system. Then image specificity and I let my system provide for me all of the detail and resolution I can muster without losing my sense of tone. I was called a semi-resolution whore as I love resolution, but never at the expense of tone for me. I have found that I like a certain type of Solid State (I have two bipolar amps that are each the only one ever built), and then two DHT tube amps doing it in very different ways, (one of which is also the only one ever built), so they get different DACs to fill out the sound but also give me a different flavor so I can hear more than just one way, but both meet my preferences, just differently. I think that is how we are both the same and opposite, but ultimately we are seeking the exact same thing. Musical bliss through our own way of doing it. Music is the only church I've ever known and I grew up first generation, the son of a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the US in 1950. My family is from Poland and Ukraine, going back 15 generations Ashkenazi, which has become increasingly rare and also has led to this disease that will kill me. I don't dwell on that, though as everyone has stuff and mine is no harder or different than anyone else's.

The Zahl with the Stealth is one impressive piece of kit, use it in good health. And thank you for your informative response.