Dan Clark Stealth Review (State of the Art Headphone)

[srkbear]

Then that would be fine, and I'd try to find out why - through measuring & comparing. I would like to try them, and if I thought they were better than everything I'd ever listened to then I would for sure say so. I don't think I could justify buying them though, even if they blew the socks off....I don't think they would, but they probably would for pretty much any stock headphone without EQ as long as they could get past some of the closed back headphone negatives. Ha, if I ended up really liking them I might try speaking to the company directly to see if I could somehow wangle somekind of deal, whatever form that would be!

I’m in the midst of trying them out on Amazon for a bit, as with Prime membership their return policy is extremely permissive.

So far it is nice to not have to perform quite so much requisite bass tuning that I’ve done for all my previous headphone purchases—I specifically chose my iFi Pro iCAN Signature amp because it offers an analog bass boost that provides the punch and warmth I like without sounding overly intrusive. But for me I’m still preferring to keep it active despite this headphone’s unusually favorable bass tuning.

I also agree with Amir that the imaging and expansiveness on this Stealth are pretty remarkable for a closed-back—possibly for any headphone.

But I already own a closed-back, in the Sony Z1Rs. Not the fastest or most detailed headphone in its price range, but it’s a fun, energetic headphone for the rock/new wave/alternative genres I enjoy. And for an open-back, I already have a set of Utopias, that price-wise certainly had an ouch factor similar to these, but with EQ sound incredible for any genre I throw at them and they’re far easier to drive.

What I am (theoretically) missing in my collection is a set of planars. I’ve gone back and forth between these and the Meze Elites for months, but I chose these first because the Elites aren’t available on Amazon and because of Amir’s review. I have this nagging sense of incompleteness having only dynamic drivers to play with, but given how lightning fast the Utopias are I’m not really sure if I’m missing anything.

The real dilemma for me is deciding whether there is anything to be gained from these that I don’t already have in the Focals with PEQ—and I think that is a question for anyone who already has a “TOTL” headphone but is experiencing FOMO based on Amir’s excellent review. I suspect that cans measuring this close to the Harman target will likely be EQ’d anyway by many listeners based on the preferences they’re used to. So although I certainly admire Dan Clark’s technical achievement here and think his science-based tuning methods are revolutionary for the industry, I’m not yet convinced that there is anything wrong with headphones that need EQ out of the box.

 

[Robbo99999]

I’m in the midst of trying them out on Amazon for a bit, as with Prime membership their return policy is extremely permissive.

So far it is nice to not have to perform quite so much requisite bass tuning that I’ve done for all my previous headphone purchases—I specifically chose my iFi Pro iCAN Signature amp because it offers an analog bass boost that provides the punch and warmth I like without sounding overly intrusive. But for me I’m still preferring to keep it active despite this headphone’s unusually favorable bass tuning.

I also agree with Amir that the imaging and expansiveness on this Stealth are pretty remarkable for a closed-back—possibly for any headphone.

But I already own a closed-back, in the Sony Z1Rs. Not the fastest or most detailed headphone in its price range, but it’s a fun, energetic headphone for the rock/new wave/alternative genres I enjoy. And for an open-back, I already have a set of Utopias, that price-wise certainly had an ouch factor similar to these, but with EQ sound incredible for any genre I throw at them and they’re far easier to drive.

What I am (theoretically) missing in my collection is a set of planars. I’ve gone back and forth between these and the Meze Elites for months, but I chose these first because the Elites aren’t available on Amazon and because of Amir’s review. I have this nagging sense of incompleteness having only dynamic drivers to play with, but given how lightning fast the Utopias are I’m not really sure if I’m missing anything.

The real dilemma for me is deciding whether there is anything to be gained from these that I don’t already have in the Focals with PEQ—and I think that is a question for anyone who already has a “TOTL” headphone but is experiencing FOMO based on Amir’s excellent review. I suspect that cans measuring this close to the Harman target will likely be EQ’d anyway by many listeners based on the preferences they’re used to. So although I certainly admire Dan Clark’s technical achievement here and think his science-based tuning methods are revolutionary for the industry, I’m not yet convinced that there is anything wrong with headphones that need EQ out of the box.

They've not blown you away just yet then. Do you EQ your other headphones to the Harman Curve or what target? I don't think that many people will be EQ'ing these headphones as they're probably already buying them knowing that they're tuned very impressively to the Harman Curve.

 

[srkbear]

They've not blown you away just yet then. Do you EQ your other headphones to the Harman Curve or what target? I don't think that many people will be EQ'ing these headphones as they're probably already buying them knowing that they're tuned very impressively to the Harman Curve.

Oh they’ve definitely impressed me, just not in a mind-blowing way that would give them a clear edge over PEQ’d Utopias. And I have PEQ’d them. Do you own a pair? If so what are your thoughts compared to other TOTL fare?

 

[tifune]

Oh they’ve definitely impressed me, just not in a mind-blowing way that would give them a clear edge over PEQ’d Utopias. And I have PEQ’d them. Do you own a pair? If so what are your thoughts compared to other TOTL fare?

I have both; I understand what you're saying but I still see Stealth as the clear winner. The sub/bass is better in every possible way - you can sort of hear the Utopia 'groaning' by comparison on bass-heavy tracks. Also, for the first ~2 weeks I had the Utopia I resisted the urge to look at measurements. I always felt there was some kind of 'smearing' in the mids that the Stealth doesn't have, and sure enough:

I have no doubt "the internet" will correct me if I'm mistaken re: the audibility of that, and if I'm wrong I'd love to hear other hypotheses because there's definitely something amidst in that region, comparatively. I don't have much experience with TOTL open backs because anytime I'm in a place where open-backs are acceptable I'd rather just listen to speakers, but I suspect you'll agree: in terms of closed backs the Stealth handily dominates. If I needed a cost-no-object backup for my Stealth, it'd still be the Denon 9200 even after 30 day demos of LIRIC, Stellia, LCD-XC, and MDR-Z1R. The only open back I'm still interested in is Susvara, largely because I really liked Arya v1 (not v2, for some reason) and was so impressed by Sundara given it's price I actually got angry about it for a few minutes. Eagerly awaiting a comprehensive set of 5909 measurements, as well.

The only thing I would change about Stealth, aside from price (obviously, but it's TOTL), is a way to tighten the headband. In that regard I feel DCA fixed what wasn't broken. At the same time I understand a $4k headphone may not be considered 'portable' by the vast majority simply due to risk of damage or theft so comfort was prioritized. I'm probably one of few who would wear them biking, doing yard work, etc. but they simply aren't stable enough.

 

[srkbear]

I have both; I understand what you're saying but I still see Stealth as the clear winner. The sub/bass is better in every possible way - you can sort of hear the Utopia 'groaning' by comparison on bass-heavy tracks. Also, for the first ~2 weeks I had the Utopia I resisted the urge to look at measurements. I always felt there was some kind of 'smearing' in the mids that the Stealth doesn't have, and sure enough:

I have no doubt "the internet" will correct me if I'm mistaken re: the audibility of that, and if I'm wrong I'd love to hear other hypotheses because there's definitely something amidst in that region, comparatively. I don't have much experience with TOTL open backs because anytime I'm in a place where open-backs are acceptable I'd rather just listen to speakers, but I suspect you'll agree: in terms of closed backs the Stealth handily dominates. If I needed a cost-no-object backup for my Stealth, it'd still be the Denon 9200 even after 30 day demos of LIRIC, Stellia, LCD-XC, and MDR-Z1R. The only open back I'm still interested in is Susvara, largely because I really liked Arya v1 (not v2, for some reason) and was so impressed by Sundara given it's price I actually got angry about it for a few minutes. Eagerly awaiting a comprehensive set of 5909 measurements, as well.

The only thing I would change about Stealth, aside from price (obviously, but it's TOTL), is a way to tighten the headband. In that regard I feel DCA fixed what wasn't broken. At the same time I understand a $4k headphone may not be considered 'portable' by the vast majority simply due to risk of damage or theft so comfort was prioritized. I'm probably one of few who would wear them biking, doing yard work, etc. but they simply aren't stable enough.

I’m with ya. What about the Meze Elite?

 

[Robbo99999]

Oh they’ve definitely impressed me, just not in a mind-blowing way that would give them a clear edge over PEQ’d Utopias. And I have PEQ’d them. Do you own a pair? If so what are your thoughts compared to other TOTL fare?

I don't believe in the expression "TOTL" - I believe through experience EQ'ing & measuring my own headphones as well as a unit or two of mine measured by Oratory.....I believe more that being sure of the exact frequency response of your headphone & then EQ'ing that to your chosen target is more important than notions of "TOTL headphones". The reason being - unit to unit variation is a thing so EQ's found on the internet won't be totally reliable in accuracy for your unit.....however that's the good thing about The DCA Stealth - I'm assuming their unit to unit variation is very low and they've nailed the Harman Curve anyway, so it's unlikely to need EQ for most people. But I do think you have to combine your "for sure" frequency response with somewhat capable headphones - distortion not too high, and a relatively smooth frequency response so it can be EQ'd fairly easily & accurately to the Target Curve. I also think angled drivers or angled pads and earcups that are large enough that they don't really touch your ears are important - re soundstage effects. I think half the battle is choosing a headphone that has low unit to unit variation, the lower the better....so people can still control that aspect if they can find information re unit to unit variation for certain companies & models of headphone (easier said than done, but there is some info out there.).

Nope, I don't own a pair of Stealth's, I've been saying recently in this thread that I'd be curious to try them vs my various EQ'd headphones which have had "special attention".

It's interesting to hear your impression of the Stealth though vs your other headphones.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

kind of 'smearing' in the mids that the Stealth doesn't have

Exactly clarity of stealth is out of this world.

 

[srkbear]

I don't believe in the expression "TOTL" - I believe through experience EQ'ing & measuring my own headphones as well as a unit or two of mine measured by Oratory.....I believe more that being sure of the exact frequency response of your headphone & then EQ'ing that to your chosen target is more important than notions of "TOTL headphones". The reason being - unit to unit variation is a thing so EQ's found on the internet won't be totally reliable in accuracy for your unit.....however that's the good thing about The DCA Stealth - I'm assuming their unit to unit variation is very low and they've nailed the Harman Curve anyway, so it's unlikely to need EQ for most people. But I do think you have to combine your "for sure" frequency response with somewhat capable headphones - distortion not too high, and a relatively smooth frequency response so it can be EQ'd fairly easily & accurately to the Target Curve. I also think angled drivers or angled pads and earcups that are large enough that they don't really touch your ears are important - re soundstage effects. I think half the battle is choosing a headphone that has low unit to unit variation, the lower the better....so people can still control that aspect if they can find information re unit to unit variation for certain companies & models of headphone (easier said than done, but there is some info out there.).

Nope, I don't own a pair of Stealth's, I've been saying recently in this thread that I'd be curious to try them vs my various EQ'd headphones which have had "special attention".

It's interesting to hear your impression of the Stealth though vs your other headphones.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to apply anything classist by “TOTL”. The whole point I tried to convey in my post was that I’m not sure that hitting Harman is a reason to call any headphone superior to others, and I felt the review here primarily focused on that as a benchmark for its overall quality. I get the concept in a purist sense, but I think headphones are meant to be tuned to taste and it shouldn’t matter how much PEQ it takes to get there, really.

What really defines quality to me is detail, accuracy, speed, build, soundstage, comfort, etc, and I don’t think those criteria necessarily correlate with cost. I merely referred to TOTL with these to hear your thoughts vs their usual comparators such as Utopias, Susvaras, Phis, Elites, etc—and you sound like someone who has auditioned a lot of quality gear. But admittedly assuming those cans belonged in their own league was a bit classist because they have really all earned their positions there based on price! I’ll rethink this approach for the future, thanks—I’m always learnin’…

 

[Robbo99999]

Sorry, I didn’t mean to apply anything classist by “TOTL”. The whole point I tried to convey in my post was that I’m not sure that hitting Harman is a reason to call any headphone superior to others, and I felt the review here primarily focused on that as a benchmark for its overall quality. I get the concept in a purist sense, but I think headphones are meant to be tuned to taste and it shouldn’t matter how much PEQ it takes to get there, really.

What really defines quality to me is detail, accuracy, speed, build, soundstage, comfort, etc, and I don’t think those criteria necessarily correlate with cost. I merely referred to TOTL with these to hear your thoughts vs their usual comparators such as Utopias, Susvaras, Phis, Elites, etc—and you sound like someone who has auditioned a lot of quality gear. But admittedly assuming those cans belonged in their own league was a bit classist because they have really all earned their positions there based on price! I’ll rethink this approach for the future, thanks—I’m always learnin’…

The problem with "tuning to taste", most people won't know exactly where they're starting from, because due to unit to unit variation you can't guarantee your actual frequency response - unless that unit's been measured, or if you decided to buy a headphone with proven low unit to unit variation. So when people are "tuning to taste" a part of that can be due to trying to tune out the unit variance......I think if we were to take the hypothetical situation whereby we say all headphones out there have zero unit to unit variation, and then if you used an Oratory EQ on those to the Harman Curve (or EQ'd them yourself to the Harman Curve from a reliable GRAS measurement), then there would be a lot less people "tuning to taste". I'm not saying people shouldn't do it, I think they should, just I think it's a wrong assumption that everyone is "for sure" listening to the Harman Curve when they use Harman Curve EQ's they find on the net. Tuning the bass level of the headphone using something like a 105Hz Q0.71 Low Shelf Filter is probably the easiest and "most valid according to the research" way to tune a headphone at first if you need to change it away from the Harman Curve, but there are times when it's worth changing other areas too....and often times that might be inadvertently combatting unit to unit variations (and perhaps worse bass seals too) rather than "tuning away from the Harman Curve" per se.....but people should tune their headphones after trying a Harman EQ if they need to, there's nothing wrong with that at all.

I agree with you that EQ doesn't harm a headphone, but it's often not the best situation to have to boost areas by more than 10dB or by using sharp (narrow Q) large boosts, so the initial frequency response of the headphone is still a factor.

No, you're fine, no need to apologise or anything. I've not tried really expensive headphones, I'm definitely in the camp of frequency response / physical design of the cups / low enough distortion.....and I can find those qualities in a few of the headphones I own (my headphones you can see in my sig and some of those specific units have been measured on GRAS & other ways & individually tuned to Harman Curve based on those measurements.....of the K702 & HD560s I have 3 units of each, lol)....so I'm not of the opinion I need to buy/try expensive top of the line headphones to get the best experience. But having said that I would like to try these Stealth headphones by virtue of their fantastic measurements in both frequency response & distortion, and the high price making it one of the perceived "highest class of headphone" which would add to the spice/interest for any listening comparisons I would make if I tried them.

 

[tifune]

I’m with ya. What about the Meze Elite?

I'd certainly give them a try, but at this point it would be difficult for me to find the motivation to either drive 1 hour, sit for 2-3 hours, then drive home an hour or find a retailer who doesn't mind me doing 30-60 day trial. Personally, I hold no illusions about getting paralysis from the Paradox of Choice. To ameliorate that within this context, I largely ignore anything that leaks too much sound because it's essentially not portable. Usually that's open backs, but there's certainly a few other offenders out there.

Re: Meze in general I submitted my LIRIC to Amir, so you know exactly which pair i was working with. I largely agreed with his subjective evaluation except the wonkiness starting at 2kHz sort of confused my brain. I basically couldn't focus on the music at all, almost like a garbage 2ch upmix. If you've never heard Neural:X (for example) applied to 2ch material, it sort of phases sounds in and out of existence in the surround speakers with no subtlety whatsoever. I saw a comment on here saying what makes neural:X great for upmixing TV/movies makes it awful for for music; it's like Meze wanted to do that with the LIRIC for some reason. Obviously that's not the truth, just the only association/comparison I can readily make.

Sorry, I realize that's the worst headphone 'evaluation' this side of a head-fi high school creative writing essay.

 

[reasons]

Trying to decide between stealth and liric… went down the TOTL rabbit hole with open backs, trying to find a headphone that is warm/neutral with fast/impactful bass.

 

[tifune]

Trying to decide between stealth and liric… went down the TOTL rabbit hole with open backs, trying to find a headphone that is warm/neutral with fast/impactful bass.

well, you have my feedback above. but you're not exactly comparing apples to apples with such a big difference in price.

 

[RHO]

well, you have my feedback above. but you're not exactly comparing apples to apples with such a big difference in price.

It has been shown repeatedly that price has very little correlation with sound quality when it comes to audio gear.
And if anything, the Meze headphones are known for their luxurious build. So also in that regard I think Liric vs Stealth is very reasonable.
Looking at the measurements I would go for the Stealth, if I would ever consider spending that much on a pair of headphones that is.

 

[Robbo99999]

It has been shown repeatedly that price has very little correlation with sound quality when it comes to audio gear.
And if anything, the Meze headphones are known for their luxurious build. So also in that regard I think Liric vs Stealth is very reasonable.
Looking at the measurements I would go for the Stealth, if I would ever consider spending that much on a pair of headphones that is.

Yeah, the Liric is not particularly pretty in it's frequency response & distortion:

 

[KaNuckles1]

Another perspective i guess.

He might be an audiofool based on his shirt

 

[reasons]

Another perspective i guess.

He might be an audiofool based on his shirt

He’s another person that says all the typical “audiophile” stuff.

 

[Phoney]

If following the Harman curve closely is a requirement to be called state of the art or best in the world.. An open back will never be the best in the world? No open backs I have seen so far has anywhere close to the harman bass levels. My assumption is that this is almost impossible to achieve then? So open backs, which are the most popular ones in the audiophile communities, are automatically disqualified from being able to compete for the "best in the world" spot because they can't produce enough bass out of the box?

 

[someguyontheinternet]

If following the Harman curve closely is a requirement to be called state of the art or best in the world.. An open back will never be the best in the world? No open backs I have seen so far has anywhere close to the harman bass levels. My assumption is that this is almost impossible to achieve then? So open backs, which are the most popular ones in the audiophile communities, are automatically disqualified from being able to compete for the "best in the world" spot because they can't produce enough bass out of the box?

There is at least one open headphone I know of that produces sufficient bass which is the DCA Aeon 2 Open:

In-Ear Fidelity – Headphone Graph Comparison Tool

Easily compare industry-standard frequency response measurements of hundreds and hundreds of headphones.

crinacle.com

I think the Sennheiser HE-1 is also an open headphone and achieves a good bass response. However the cost is around 60.000$ which probably only a handful of people would ever consider buying.

In-Ear Fidelity – Headphone Graph Comparison Tool

Easily compare industry-standard frequency response measurements of hundreds and hundreds of headphones.

crinacle.com

 

[Jimbob54]

If following the Harman curve closely is a requirement to be called state of the art or best in the world.. An open back will never be the best in the world? No open backs I have seen so far has anywhere close to the harman bass levels. My assumption is that this is almost impossible to achieve then? So open backs, which are the most popular ones in the audiophile communities, are automatically disqualified from being able to compete for the "best in the world" spot because they can't produce enough bass out of the box?

Does it really matter? I suspect the "state of the art" headline in this review is due to the use of materials in the construction more than the FR achieved. And "best in the world" really is entirely subjective. I suspect @amirm would happily state they are the best headphone he has measured and heard, with or without EQ due to adherence to his preferred target, v low distortion and comfort/ fit/ build. They might not be mine, yours or anyone elses as I for one find the Harman target too bass heavy, but the other factors would still make this one to consider for anyone desperate to spend this sort of money on head -fi. I couldnt possibly say whether I would prefer this to the Utopia, Empyrian or other open back offers but I would give them all a go if I could.

 

[Phoney]

There is at least one open headphone I know of that produces sufficient bass which is the DCA Aeon 2 Open:

In-Ear Fidelity – Headphone Graph Comparison Tool

Easily compare industry-standard frequency response measurements of hundreds and hundreds of headphones.

crinacle.com

I think the Sennheiser HE-1 is also an open headphone and achieves a good bass response. However the cost is around 60.000$ which probably only a handful of people would ever consider buying.

In-Ear Fidelity – Headphone Graph Comparison Tool

Easily compare industry-standard frequency response measurements of hundreds and hundreds of headphones.

crinacle.com

I was not aware of this thanks! The Sennheiser HE-1 FR is pretty impressive for an open back. Ofcourse, you would expect something extraordinary from that price though..