Dan Clark Stealth Review (State of the Art Headphone)

[Jave]

Okay, I’m not trying to be funny here. But people do have the alternatives of:

- Contact lenses
- Laser eye surgery
- Glasses without arms, which just pinch the nose
- Not wearing glasses when listening on headphones

I am at a loss as to why people find the fact that they usually wear glasses to be an insurmountable barrier to headphone listening.

For clarity, I wear contacts or glasses for longer distances (watching TV). If I’m wearing my contacts, I wear reading glasses for close work or, if I’ve not got my contacts in, just removing my glasses let’s me read close up.

Can't use contact lenses and can't listen without glasses 'cause this way I can't read what's ever on the monitor, which I need to operate while listening\using the PC. Am looking for better glasses with very thin arms which will sit right against the skin. (also can't go the laser route as of now...)

@Resolve - what is the "small leak" and "large leak"?

 

[RHO]

Broken seal measurements and multi-position measurements should probably be a part of every review, for completeness's sake

You can add your comment here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dphone-measurements.18451/page-22#post-817373

 

[usern]

There is definitely value in subjective opinions, especially once you become familiar with a particular reviewer's tastes. Also, there are certain aspects of the sound that can currently only be described subjectively, like slam, punch, detail, air, soundstage width - none of which can currently be measured specifically - but may turn out to be based very closely on frequency response and distortion measurements.

I have a hard time seeing value in subjective opinions which are not reproducible and clearly explained. How do you know if difference in x between y and z headphone are due to x if it is undefined? You don't know what to look for. Maybe you detect difference, but it might be something different that the reviewer perceives as x.

To understand what reviewer is talking about some audiophile term x I would want to know:
1) what song to listen to
2) what sound to look for
3) what qualities of the sound determine less of x and / or what qualities determine more of x

Without this explanation you can't map subjective opinions between different reviewers (and yourself) because how would you know they perceive the qualities of audiophile terms the same?

 

[spartaman64]

You know that things like “detail” and “resolution” are mostly defined by frequency response (hence tonality) in conjunction with distortion, right?
People often overstated the complexity of how acoustics work in headphones, thanks to the subjective nonsense we’re talking about (and try to fight against).

frequency response definitely affects detail because of masking but i dont think its the only or primary driver. nobody claims that the k371 or ksc75 are the most detailed headphones despite having really good tonality

Once you correct the treble of an HD800, all the great "detail" and "resolution" are gone. Weird how that goes... Looking for the most detailed headphone pretty much means looking for bad frequency response.

thats the opposite of what ive heard from various hd800s owners. they say either the resolution gets better or it stays the same.

 

[Tadgh]

Okay, I’m not trying to be funny here. But people do have the alternatives of:

- Contact lenses
- Laser eye surgery
- Glasses without arms, which just pinch the nose
- Not wearing glasses when listening on headphones

I am at a loss as to why people find the fact that they usually wear glasses to be an insurmountable barrier to headphone listening.

For clarity, I wear contacts or glasses for longer distances (watching TV). If I’m wearing my contacts, I wear reading glasses for close work or, if I’ve not got my contacts in, just removing my glasses let’s me read close up.

Great idea, let me add on the price of new glasses / contacts / surgery so I can wear my $4,000 pair of headphones at my desk.

A lot of users wear their both their headphones and glasses constantly, it's naïve to suggest that the performance of a headphone with imperfect seal is a "just get contacts lol" issue. Beyond glasses there are people oddly shaped faces, huge ears / jaws, deformities, and a range of other fit / seal issues. As humans vary pretty wildly in spec, it's important to know how consistent a headphone's performance is with different seals and fits

 

[Zensō]

Great idea, let me add on the price of new glasses / contacts / surgery so I can wear my $4,000 pair of headphones at my desk.

A lot of users wear their both their headphones and glasses constantly, it's naïve to suggest that the performance of a headphone with imperfect seal is a "just get contacts lol" issue. Beyond glasses there are people oddly shaped faces, huge ears / jaws, deformities, and a range of other fit / seal issues. As humans vary pretty wildly in spec, it's important to know how consistent a headphone's performance is with different seals and fits

In my experience, closed back headphones tend to be much more sensitive to seal and fit issues than open back. This makes sense if you consider the differences in design (open back already have a “broken seal” in effect). I wouldn’t expect the Stealth to be immune to these general characteristics.

 

[Dro]

Do you wear glasses while listening (said that seal was non-issue)?

No glasses.

 

[Resolve]

@Resolve - what is the "small leak" and "large leak"?

Small leak was like, just barely breaking the seal, where as with a large leak is was roughly the size of my finger for the gap, on the back side. For anyone curious, I also did the on-head measurement (and I do wear glasses with thin arms), and found the bass response matched that of the GRAS measurement. What I like about doing these additional measurements is that it A) reveals something about the driver and B) gives a potential explanation for differing impressions among people. But, on my head at least, the seal was fine.

 

[Dro]

frequency response definitely affects detail because of masking but i dont think its the only or primary driver. nobody claims that the k371 or ksc75 are the most detailed headphones despite having really good tonality


thats the opposite of what ive heard from various hd800s owners. they say either the resolution gets better or it stays the same.

Well I'm an HD800 owner as well, and once the treble is properly EQed, not just one peak pulled down to where the rest of treble sits, there is nothing special about it.

 

[RHO]

Small leak was like, just barely breaking the seal, where as with a large leak is was roughly the size of my finger for the gap, on the back side. For anyone curious, I also did the on-head measurement (and I do wear glasses with thin arms), and found the bass response matched that of the GRAS measurement. What I like about doing these additional measurements is that it A) reveals something about the driver and B) gives a potential explanation for differing impressions among people. But, on my head at least, the seal was fine.

I noticed with my Aeon RT closed that initially I heard very little bass, but that improved drastically over time (few weeks).
What I suspect is that the pads have settled and I now get a consistent good seal, where initially I had a leak.
This could be an issue when reviewers get a fresh sample and try them out for a short amount of time and then conclude there's something lacking in the bass region, although it may not show up in the measurements.

 

[spartaman64]

Well I'm an HD800 owner as well, and once the treble is properly EQed, not just one peak pulled down to where the rest of treble sits, there is nothing special about it.

oh you are talking about those automatic EQs? as amir said before the measuring rigs are just not accurate enough to do that many adjustments and yeah at least in my experience they "ruin" every headphone

 

[Resolve]

I noticed with my Aeon RT closed that initially I heard very little bass, but that improved drastically over time (few weeks).
What I suspect is that the pads have settled and I now get a consistent good seal, where initially I had a leak.
This could be an issue when reviewers get a fresh sample and try them out for a short amount of time and then conclude there's something lacking in the bass region, although it may not show up in the measurements.

Yeah, this could absolutely be responsible in some cases, although the on-head results show that I didn't have any issues with that. Bass level was good here. Also, I should mention, as much as the Stealth is heavier than the Aeons, I weirdly find it more comfortable. The pads on the Stealth are next level comfortable for me.

 

[muslhead]

Does anyone know what connectors are used on the headphone to attach the cable? Mini XLR?

 

[Dan Clark]

Yeah, this could absolutely be responsible in some cases, although the on-head results show that I didn't have any issues with that. Bass level was good here. Also, I should mention, as much as the Stealth is heavier than the Aeons, I weirdly find it more comfortable. The pads on the Stealth are next level comfortable for me.

The greater surface area of the pads and the strap reduce feeling of clamp and weight by distributing pressure and weight over a larger area.

 

[Tadgh]

In my experience, closed back headphones tend to be much more sensitive to seal and fit issues than open back. This makes sense if you consider the differences in design (open back already have a “broken seal” in effect). I wouldn’t expect the Stealth to be immune to these general characteristics.

I would highlight that open-back headphones don't necessarily suffer from seal issues as you describe them, you can have a closed front baffle and an open rear. But you are right, closed back headphones get bass reinforcement from the rear enclosure which accentuates the effects

I suppose what troubles me is that it's perfectly possible to tune a planar driver such that its resonant frequency is very low. Whatever undesirable attributes were introduced by a low-tension diaphragm could, I imagine, be equalized out with the resonating baffle design.

Handsome performer otherwise

 

[RHO]

Yeah, this could absolutely be responsible in some cases, although the on-head results show that I didn't have any issues with that. Bass level was good here. Also, I should mention, as much as the Stealth is heavier than the Aeons, I weirdly find it more comfortable. The pads on the Stealth are next level comfortable for me.

I understand that in this case you had no issues.
In general, not many reviewers do on-head-measurements and certainly not all check for differences in the response between a good seal vs having a leak. Maybe this is not such an issue with the Stealth. Could be it's just insensitive to creating leaks (meaning the pads create a good seal in as good as any normal situation).

 

[Resolve]

Does anyone know what connectors are used on the headphone to attach the cable? Mini XLR?

I believe they're called Hirose connectors. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that.

 

[Resolve]

I understand that in this case you had no issues.
In general, not many reviewers do on-head-measurements and certainly not all check for differences in the response between a good seal vs having a leak. Maybe this is not such an issue with the Stealth. Could be it's just insensitive to creating leaks (meaning the pads create a good seal in as good as any normal situation).

Yeah I get what you're saying. I think to a certain degree yes. Like if you wear the DCA headphones for a long time they tend to... 'conform' to the side of the head over that period of time. I wore it for about 4 hours straight yesterday and found the only time I had seal/leak issues was when I deliberately adjusted the position on my head.

Also, I have some glasses with thicker arms I could try (for fashion!), so I'll wear those and do the on-head measurement to see if there's any difference.

 

[RHO]

Also, I have some glasses with thicker arms I could try (for fashion!), so I'll wear those and do the on-head measurement to see if there's any difference.

Yes, I do wear those too, for fashion.
I haven't noticed to much difference between glasses with thicker arms or thinner arms. But I noticed that a wider frame changes the angle of the arms towards the head, sometimes creating a small space between the arm and the head right in from of the ear. If you have some glasses with a wider frame, maybe that's something you could test also.

 

[muslhead]

I believe they're called Hirose connectors. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Thanks, it seems, if they are the same as other DCA headphones, they are a proprietary termination connector.