Dan Clark Stealth Review (State of the Art Headphone)

[Phoney]

Any purported lower inter-person variation is irrelevant if temporal and unit variation are fast and high.

Is there any measurement site that can give you a picture of which headphones or manufacturers that has smaller or higher unit to unit variations? I assume this is not really all that easy, because it requires you to be able to measure a high amount of headphones. I guess you could look at various measurements from different websites and compare them..

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

dt880 is widely recognized and appreciated like hd650/600, but to be real for a second? they are both overrated by now, due to the exponential amount of discussions and mentions on the internet forum throughout the years. that might make those headphones look better than what they actually are.

 

[MayaTlab]

Is there any measurement site that can give you a picture of which headphones or manufacturers that has smaller or higher unit to unit variations? I assume this is not really all that easy, because it requires you to be able to measure a high amount of headphones. I guess you could look at various measurements from different websites and compare them..

Not on a systematical basis.

Crinacle has occasionally measured several samples of the same model, ex here :

Truthear x crinacle Zero – In-Ear Fidelity

Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 Sample 9 Sample 10 Sample 1 (Pre-production)

crinacle.com

@solderdude has occasionally measured several samples, ex here : https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/hifiman/he-560/
I'm wondering if a flat plate might be more appropriate or not for sample variation measurements than a rig with a pinna given that it might be less sensitive to positional variation.

Sonarworks routinely test several samples but don't show any measurements, ex here : https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/beyerdynamic-dt-900-pro-x-studio-headphone-review#balance

Oratory is probably the best placed to answer these questions for over-ears, and has occasionally presented the data in this format :

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1578484808120176640

It's understandable that for more expensive models testing for sample variation is difficult, but I'd like to see it become routine for cheaper models, from operations with enough resources such as Rtings.

 

[staticV3]

dt880 is widely recognized and appreciated like hd650/600, but to be real for a second? they are both overrated by now, due to the exponential amount of discussions and mentions on the internet forum throughout the years. that might make those headphones look better than what they actually are.

to be fair, there aren't many alternatives to the HD600 if you're looking for well-tuned, passive open-backed.

HD 560S ($150): good bass extension, but annoying 4-6kHz peak
HD 600 ($270): good pinna gain, but lacking bass and sound stage
Sundara ($300): rolls off slightly on both ends
ATH-R70x ($350): warm tilted
(did I miss any?)

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

to be fair, there aren't many alternatives to the HD600 if you're looking for well-tuned, passive open-backed.

HD 560S ($150): good bass extension, but annoying 4-6kHz peak
HD 600 ($270): good pinna gain, but lacking bass and sound stage
Sundara ($300): rolls off slightly on both ends
ATH-R70x ($350): warm tilted
(did I miss any?)

that is true. imo HD600 is the kind of "does little wrong, hard to hate" headphones, and I'm not even comparing it in a certain price range.

 

[markanini]

to be fair, there aren't many alternatives to the HD600 if you're looking for well-tuned, passive open-backed.

Almost twice the price of DT880. Unclear if HD600 offers better distorsion performance. Stock tuning is at least acceptable, many like it even if not as much as HD600. Graphs posted in the previous page shows pinna rise is well maintained under all circumstances, it should take EQ well for this reason.

 

[Yannick Willox]

I don't think you can really take people seriously when they say stuff like that, they're totally different headphones and the vast majority of people are going to be finding the Stealth sounding better than the Beyer 880:

Beyer 880:
View attachment 265840
Stealth:
View attachment 265839
Whilst the Stealth would have vastly lower distortion too.

I think many underestimate the importance of distortion and resonances.
As I wrote before, our 4 completely different HD650 (even volume is quite far off with one of them) sound broken when switching from our Aeon Noire2 headphones.
I cannot even imagine the Stealth being even cleaner than this. If there is a significant difference at normal levels, the Stealth is worth every penny.

One reason is that you are not going to find a loudspeaker system that outperforms it in this regard. Not at 4K anyway ...
A problem for DCA is that many people are so used to distortion (or actively seek distortion as in music production) that hearing a complete lack of it can be a big disappointment.

 

[Robbo99999]

I think many underestimate the importance of distortion and resonances.
As I wrote before, our 4 completely different HD650 (even volume is quite far off with one of them) sound broken when switching from our Aeon Noire2 headphones.
I cannot even imagine the Stealth being even cleaner than this. If there is a significant difference at normal levels, the Stealth is worth every penny.

One reason is that you are not going to find a loudspeaker system that outperforms it in this regard. Not at 4K anyway ...
A problem for DCA is that many people are so used to distortion (or actively seek distortion as in music production) that hearing a complete lack of it can be a big disappointment.

I personally don't think distortion is the main reason for differences between headphones, as there are quite a few headphones with low distortion at most people's listening levels. I do think distortion matters in the bass when you're EQ'ing it up to Harman levels, so I will say that distortion matters in the bass, and I think I've noticed the difference in that when comparing how loose the bass is in my HD600 when EQ'd up to Harman vs the clean & well defined bass of my HD560s when EQ'd up to Harman. But I don't think distortion matters much above that because generally a lot of good quality headphones will have low distortion above the bass, so I don't think the super low distortion of The Stealth is the explanation for it's greatness. I think greatness in headphones comes down to it's frequency response at stock and also how easy that response is to EQ to your Target Curve of choice, and I also think it comes down to headcup design when it comes to the more intangible element of headphone soundstage (and also so it seals well to your head & has less variation from person to person when worn) - so I don't think distortion is the overall element that would make The Stealth the headphone that it is (or any other headphone for that matter).

 

[markanini]

I think many underestimate the importance of distortion and resonances.

You'd be surprised how many self proclaimed objectivists look past deviations between 1-5kHz.

 

[Yannick Willox]

You'd be surprised how many self proclaimed objectivists look past deviations between 1-5kHz.

Funnily I have been working on 2 different masters the last 2 days, with issues exactly in that region. You'd be surprised at the deviations between recording engineers in that region ...

 

[williamr]

I think many underestimate the importance of distortion and resonances.
As I wrote before, our 4 completely different HD650 (even volume is quite far off with one of them) sound broken when switching from our Aeon Noire2 headphones.

I'm assuming this is when you are not applying any EQ? I wonder if the difference is large enough to "sound broken" if you EQ the HD650 and/or the DCA headphones.

 

[Benesyed]

I got to try the Stealth at CanJam and I was surprised but I did not end up enjoying them at all. I am not sure what the culprit was for this. The amp was a feliks audio and it certainly had sufficient power for them.

They just seemed very restrained across the board and particularly anemic for bassy tracks. Perhaps I enjoy a more colored representation? Or maybe I needed time to adjust to their sound signature.

I much preferred the ZMF Atrium closed. Even the Focal Stellia which are cheaper.

 

[NoteMakoti]

When I tried them at Canjam I liked them so much that I was actually mad, lol. I was hoping they were overrated (or at least mild and boring) because they cost so much, but I ended up really enjoying them, and now they're one of my goal headphones. The Expanse didn't impress me as much, but to be fair, that was likely to do with me demoing them in a noisy convention hall.

 

[Robbo99999]

I got to try the Stealth at CanJam and I was surprised but I did not end up enjoying them at all. I am not sure what the culprit was for this. The amp was a feliks audio and it certainly had sufficient power for them.

They just seemed very restrained across the board and particularly anemic for bassy tracks. Perhaps I enjoy a more colored representation? Or maybe I needed time to adjust to their sound signature.

I much preferred the ZMF Atrium closed. Even the Focal Stellia which are cheaper.

Or maybe the headphone didn't seal properly to your head? Some information out there showing there can be a fair bit of variance between people re The Stealth and ability to provide a consistent frequency response.

 

[MayaTlab]

Some information out there showing there can be a fair bit of variance between people re The Stealth and ability to provide a consistent frequency response.

Sean Olive has published on twitter the list of headphones involved in this study.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1630386678002225152

So yep, that's the Stealth :

 

[IAtaman]

Sean Olive has published on twitter the list of headphones involved in this study.

Tusind tak! Couldn't find any videos of the said speach. Would you happen to have any links?

 

[Keith_W]

So yep, that's the Stealth :

View attachment 268949

To be clear, does this measurement show variability between the same test fixture, or different test fixtures?

BTW I have seen Sean Olive say before that variability (between test fixtures, and between testing methods) is most pronounced < 300Hz and > 3kHz so any variability outside these regions should be interpreted with caution. This is why I have said multiple times on ASR that because of variations between test fixtures, let alone the difference in HRTF between the fixtures and your head, means that the published frequency response may not be the same as what you hear with your own ears.

Now, I am not advocating throwing out the baby with the bath water, but ANYBODY who has an opinion on any headphone from the measurements alone without listening to it is kidding themselves.

 

[solderdude]

ANYBODY who has an opinion on any headphone from the measurements alone without listening to it is kidding themselves.

meaning: headphone measurements say very little ?

There are quite a few headphones (all open) that are not very seal dependent. The supplied data (up to several kHz) is quite reliable for those headphones.
Also quite a few planars do not change the lows much with some small seal issues.

So one can form an opinion on quite a lot of (not closed) headphones based on headphone measurements.
With IEM's there are also seal and insertion depth/comfort issues.

That said... I do agree that one should audition headphones or be able to return them if they don't suit you (sound or comfort wise)

 

[staticV3]

To be clear, does this measurement show variability between the same test fixture, or different test fixtures?

It shows the same Stealth unit measured on different people, using tiny microphones that you put in your ear.
Iirc, the one outlier measurement is of another headphone that was placed on the graph by accident.

 

[Mulder]

Now, I am not advocating throwing out the baby with the bath water, but ANYBODY who has an opinion on any headphone from the measurements alone without listening to it is kidding themselves.

As with any measurement you have to understand what it says. Headphones differ from DAC:s and such in that you must know by experience how a how a certain frequency sounds in reality, if it is amplified or suppressed. Then you also need to know what you like or not. Do you like an elevated bass or an elevated middle then you can see in a measurement if the headphone are your cup of tea. I would say measurements, if well done, almost say everything. Maybe not the full picture, but not very far from it.