Dan Clark Audio STEALTH Closed Back Headphones
Introducing the Dan Clark Audio STEALTH Closed Back Headphones. Four years in the making, Stealth sets a new standard in headphone performance and ergonomics. Featuring an all-new 4th generation planar magnetic driver and breakthrough Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System, Stealth delivers a stunningly smooth presentation to bring new life and enjoyment to all your favorite music.
And they didn’t stop at improving the sound; they also redesigned our headband to deliver a big step up in ergonomics and comfort!
Reviews
Features
- Patent-pending Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS) delivers unprecedented high-frequency detail and clarity for the ultimate in smoothness, tone, and detail retrieval
- All-new 4th generation v-Planar driver with our largest planar diaphragm to date, delivering exceptional dynamics with vanishingly low distortion for a natural and “easy” listen
- Improved driver tensioning system delivers incredible consistency across units
- All-new auto-adjusting suspended strap gives Stealth a perfect fit, every time
- Pre-formed ergonomic strap spreads weight evenly across the head for incredibly comfortable extended listening
- Strap quilting improves comfort and reduces heat buildup
- Composite synthetic suede and protein-leather pads offer a sung fit with minimal clamp, with a pleasant touch on the skin
- Carbon / aluminum bonded cup design yields maximum stiffness with minimum weight
- Folding gimbals allow Stealth to be packed in a compact case for safe and easy transport
- Stealth is designed and built by hand in San Diego, California, and is backed by quality and support you can count on
Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS)
All headphones are subject to high-frequency standing waves which can make treble sound harsh, fatiguing, or synthetic.
AMTS is a patent pending inline device placed between the transducer and ear. It integrates waveguides, diffusion control, quarter-wave, and Helmholtz resonators into one compact structure. Diffusion reduces some standing wave formation while resonators act as both precision and broad filters to smooth and shape the frequency response, smoothing the sound from the midrange through the highest frequencies.
AMTS renders high frequencies with a refreshingly smooth, accurate, and detailed delivery across all genres. OK, bad recordings are still bad, we’re not magicians!
Stealth’s all-new 4th generation planar-magnetic driver delivers the smoothest, richest, and most detailed experience they could create. Its 20% larger than the E2 driver and uses our patented v-Planar technology to reduce THD and improve low frequency extension.
But they didn’t stop there! Diaphragm are made on an all-new system for a more uniform and consistent tension, lower distortion, and better matching.
Stealth Redefines “Detail”
Stealth’s planar driver delivers incredibly low distortion throughout the listening range with levels of detail heretofore found primarily in the top-of-the-line electrostatics. Unlike many headphones where “detail” is created through exaggerated high-frequency energy, Stealth’s AMTS delivers resolution free from the fatiguing emphasis on the top register users may be used to.
Stealth’s 4th-generation driver and AMTS deliver an amazing balance of delicacy, nuance, and slam that will have you reaching for all your favorite recordings, and maybe staying up a bit too late.
And then there’s the soundstage; Stealth is all enveloping and can compete with even the finest open headphones in depth, width, and imaging.
It’s that effortless sense of space and instrument placement that lets Stealth “disappear” so you can simply relax into your musical experience. Everything, the headphones, the equipment, and yes, your daily stresses, just fall away.
Stealth Mechanical Design Innovations
Stealth takes its design cues from stealth aircraft, and is finished to levels you’d expect in the finest of luxury cars.
The leather headband’s fine red stitching creates a quilted head-strap that’s not only gorgeous but is also functional and comfortable. The embroidered Stealth logo adds a dash of color to Stealth’s all-black aesthetic.
Gone are the mechanical sliders for fit adjustment; they’ve designed a “self-adjusting suspension system” that seats the headphone just right, with no muss or fuss.
If it’s Not Comfortable, Game Over
If a headphone is not comfortable enough to wear for extended listening the design is flawed.
Stealth’s ergonomic and stylish ear cups is a natural extension of Aeon 2 ergonomics with a more comfy fit and softer ear pads. Stealth weighs in at just 415g making it one of the lightest super-premium headphones on the market.
Throw in Stealth’s new vegan suede and “leather” ear pads, self-adjusting suspension, and Stealth is so comfy you can just ignore it and “vanish into your music.”
Specifications
- Driver: 76mm x 51mm single-ended planar magnetic
- Driver matching: 0.25db weighted 20-10,000Hz
- Cable: 2m 4.4mm balanced cable
- THD: less than 0.03% 20-20KHz, ref. 1KHz at 94dB
- Headband: Nickle-Titanium
- Baffle: Carbon Fiber
- Ear Pads: Synthetic Suede and Leather