Dan Clark Audio STEALTH Flagship Closed-Back Headphones

[VSG]

The Dan Clark Audio STEALTH is a top-of-the-line closed-back set of headphones priced at $4000. It boasts exceptional comfort, impressive build quality, innovative engineering, and features in-house developed planar magnetic drivers. The result is a package that's capable of putting out a natural and resolving sound which is still fun to listen to.

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[theouto]

Great review!

Man, these look quite literally perfect, besides the part were one has to part with their salary, of course

 

[VSG]

Great review!

Man, these look quite literally perfect, besides the part were one has to part with their salary, of course

Haha yeah but given how much I've used it and am missing it after the SO confiscated it, I think it's something that does make sense for shared workspaces over the long run. Whether or not you value everything you get here for that much cash is a personal decision though.

 

[tungt88]

Nice review! Amir over at ASR really liked them too (so much so, that they became his daily driver): Here

That $4k USD price tag is perfectly understandable for bleeding-edge tech, but guess I'll have to save up for them in the future ... or wait for some slightly "dumbed-down, but cheaper" variant.

 

[ZoneDymo]

yeah I want them but man.....that price, its cool but it is a big case of diminishing returns really, comparing this honestly to the Aeon Noire.

 

[Chrispy_]

It's always hillarious to see the paltry warranties on audiophile stuff.
The profit margins on these are off the charts, but you get the legal minimum of two years and then they wash their hands of you.

 

[ecomorph]

I wonder I would feel the difference between this and my Sennheiser HD599 (or you need an audiophile ear to notice the nuance)

 

[VSG]

It's always hillarious to see the paltry warranties on audiophile stuff.
The profit margins on these are off the charts, but you get the legal minimum of two years and then they wash their hands of you.

In a lot of such cases, the smaller brands support purchases through the lifetime of the product. For example, I saw Dan Clark make a post about how the STEALTH is rated to be around for at least 10 years, if not more, and they will have drivers and spare parts for it. You can buy replacement cables and ear pads right now, for example. I do agree that it would be nice to see a formal increase in warranty period though.

I wonder I would feel the difference between this and my Sennheiser HD599 (or you need an audiophile ear to notice the nuance)

That's an open-back set so it will be a completely different scenario. Your HD599 is quite similar to my HD598 and it's a nice set for sure. The biggest changes you will notice going to something like this is there will be actual bass, a more balanced tuning allowing vocals and instruments to play back correctly, and of course increased isolation from the external environment.

 

[evernessince]

It's always hillarious to see the paltry warranties on audiophile stuff.
The profit margins on these are off the charts, but you get the legal minimum of two years and then they wash their hands of you.

To be fair I've only ever had one headphone fail ever (and it was out of warranty) and they only charged me the cost of shipping to have it repaired.

I'm a DCA club member so I can get these for around $3,200 but that's still more then I'd like to spend even though I'd love to have them. Likely an upgrade all around over my Aeon 2.

There's recently been a lot of improvement to the closed back space. After listening to the $350 VRZ Model one it's amazing to see how much sound-stage and positioning is improving.

 

[mechtech]

the 'monster audio cable' is probably $1k itself

 

[VSG]

the 'monster audio cable' is probably $1k itself

Easier to make jokes than read the article? The very first sentence on page 3 says it's $299.

 

[unwind-protect]

$4000 sounds quite insane.

But thinking about my whole collection it might come close to that in used value. Maybe worth thinking about putting all ears in one basket.

Although at that point I would have to wonder whether any of the electrostatic offerings in that region are... better? Different? I never heard one of those.

 

[JasBC]

"This is a more premium version of the DUMMER cable we saw provided with the Aeon Closed-X before and is a fully custom cable that uses silver-plated oxygen-free high purity copper conductor in a "carefully designed geometry" to maximize sound quality and ergonomics."

Can't not not comment on this: "dummer" in Swedish means "fool". Feels apt in a way, because yeah these expensive-ass audiophile products might be "great". . . but like - it's still just copper wire.

 

[VSG]

$4000 sounds quite insane.

But thinking about my whole collection it might come close to that in used value. Maybe worth thinking about putting all ears in one basket.

Although at that point I would have to wonder whether any of the electrostatic offerings in that region are... better? Different? I never heard one of those.

More different than absolutely better, especially since those e-stats tend to be open-back sets and this is closed. I can't recommend anyone blindly purchase an electrostatic set without trying a few different ones first, especially since it's a full commitment with the energizer too.

 

[Chrispy_]

More different than absolutely better, especially since those e-stats tend to be open-back sets and this is closed. I can't recommend anyone blindly purchase an electrostatic set without trying a few different ones first, especially since it's a full commitment with the energizer too.

I've stopped worrying about the absolute cost of these things, they're absolutely luxury items that are so far beyond the point of diminishing returns in terms of performance/$ that it's not even relevant anymore.

They cost what they cost for a combination of very low-volume manufacture, high-quality parts, R&D, brand heritage, and exclusivity. If you want headphones that perform similarly for 1/10th the price, you can definitely find them from just about anyone, including DC Audio themselves with the AEON RT. I think anyone complaining about the price needs to remember that these aren't about value for money - they're about making the very best thing possible, no matter the cost, and setting the profit margins high enough to justify the financial outlay of something that's not going to be cheap to develop and manufacture and definitely not going to sell very many units.

 

[Niceumemu]

"This is a more premium version of the DUMMER cable we saw provided with the Aeon Closed-X before and is a fully custom cable that uses silver-plated oxygen-free high purity copper conductor in a "carefully designed geometry" to maximize sound quality and ergonomics."

Can't not not comment on this: "dummer" in Swedish means "fool". Feels apt in a way, because yeah these expensive-ass audiophile products might be "great". . . but like - it's still just copper wire.

I have always found $40 aliexpress cables to perform the same as these $300+ cables being sold throughout the audiophile space, I will never understand buying these rip off cables

 

[mechtech]

I've stopped worrying about the absolute cost of these things, they're absolutely luxury items that are so far beyond the point of diminishing returns in terms of performance/$ that it's not even relevant anymore.

They cost what they cost for a combination of very low-volume manufacture, high-quality parts, R&D, brand heritage, and exclusivity. If you want headphones that perform similarly for 1/10th the price, you can definitely find them from just about anyone, including DC Audio themselves with the AEON RT. I think anyone complaining about the price needs to remember that these aren't about value for money - they're about making the very best thing possible, no matter the cost, and setting the profit margins high enough to justify the financial outlay of something that's not going to be cheap to develop and manufacture and definitely not going to sell very many units.

Indeed, just like Rolex, Rolls Royce, etc. For people who can afford it and/or don't want to be lumped into the average joe category.

Easier to make jokes than read the article? The very first sentence on page 3 says it's $299.

Read the entire review, seen that, mispoke.............cable reminds me of the monster marketing...............make it big and charge lots. The actual cable price albeit expensive is inline with that market. The odd thing about the cable is the size, usually fine/high-end/refined products in that market segment usually avoid the big bulky/studio look.

 

[Aynsley]

The STEALTH headphones are way over my budget, but I'm intrigued by the technology and the sound.

Seeing the image of the headphones on the mannequin, I have a feeling that, on my head, they'd leave a gap at the bottom. I don't own any teardrop-shaped headphones, but I've experienced this problem with rectangular ones. As you and your partner found them a comfortable fit, I'm guessing that the STEALTH pads are soft and deep enough to fill the space around the jawbone.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you have lots of Bach's fugal music in your library. That adds an important data point in matching your audio evaluations with my expectations. I find that Bach's organ, keyboard, and instrumental music is a great test of acoustic frequencies, from rumbling organ bass notes to the complex harmonics of harpsichords. It's also an acid test of how clearly equipment separates contrapuntal lines.

 

[unwind-protect]

What are those Harman targets and why aren't they more linear? I mean the heap and then cutoff going on in the treble is quite something.

 

[Moofachuka]

I am still using the Alpha Primes and that's pretty much my end game...

 

[Chrispy_]

I am still using the Alpha Primes and that's pretty much my end game...

I'm not sold on planar magnetic. I've not tried many but the Adam Audio T7V didn't blow me away, nor did the Hifiman HE400 or Fostex T50RP headphones I've tried. Planar magnetic is different, but not necessarily better - because it's a matter of taste and hearing is different person-to-person, as well as year-to-year for the same person. I will add the caveat that I don't really class myself as much of an audiophile and I'm quite happy to listen to compressed audio in most cases. Only a few artists I care about need FLAC for me to fully enjoy them.

My endgame is still the 'traditional' Sennheiser HD800S, though my nicest headphones to listen to are probably the old HD580 set as I really can't justify the upgrade to even a €800 refurbished set of HD800S. I prefer the neutrality and soundstage of those headphones but I can also absolutely appreciate why some people with deep pockets will want to go down the rabbit-hole of high-end, flagship planar magnetics.

 

[zlobby]

It's always hillarious to see the paltry warranties on audiophile stuff.
The profit margins on these are off the charts, but you get the legal minimum of two years and then they wash their hands of you.

Yeah, if you believe in your product that much then put your money where your mouth is. Otherwise it feels like you're grabbing some Beats from the mall kiosk but with a price tag to cause a lasting bitter taste.

 

[vacsati]

What are those Harman targets and why aren't they more linear? I mean the heap and then cutoff going on in the treble is quite something.

Thats the raw response, not the compensated. You know, our hearing not the same sensitivity in every region, so some of the range need to be boosted, some need to be cut to get a more or less neutral response for our ear.

 

[unwind-protect]

Thats the raw response, not the compensated. You know, our hearing not the same sensitivity in every region, so some of the range need to be boosted, some need to be cut to get a more or less neutral response for our ear.

But if there is a curve that is clearly preferred by a majority (according to real studies), why is the music not mastered with that curve in the first place?

 

[JasBC]

But if there is a curve that is clearly preferred by a majority (according to real studies), why is the music not mastered with that curve in the first place?

Music today is mastered like shit, is the impression I've gotten from the net. Loudness is boosted to hell - easy to confirm, just compare on Youtube a older song from before the 90s to one mastered after - and channel separation is nearly gone and basically only the center channel is targeted - once again easy to confirm: compare an old song on stereo vs mono and then compare a modern song the same way, modern masters will sound about the same while older masters will really leverage the channel separation. I'd imagine somewhere in this mess of mastering for the lowest common denominator (mono cellphone-speakers) is the reason for not mastering music to that preferred curve.