Dan Clark Stealth | Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones
Stealth is Dan Clark Audio's Flagship Closed-Back Headphone, Offering Rich and Spacious Sound
- Flagship closed-back planar magnetic headphones
- Built with 4th Generation v-Planer driver
- Features proprietary Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS)
- Redesigned headband for ultimate comfort and extended listening
Our Take |
"Vanish into your music”
Four years in the making, DCA's flagship Stealth sets a new standard in headphone performance and ergonomics. Featuring Dan Clark Audio’s 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.
Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS)
All headphones are subject to standing waves in the higher frequencies, and these can make treble sound harsh, fatiguing, or synthetic.
AMTS is DCA’s patent-pending solution to this perennial problem. AMTS is an inline device placed between the transducer and ear. It integrates waveguides, diffusion control, quarter-wave, and Helmholtz resonators into one compact structure. Diffusion elements reduce some of the standing wave formation while resonators act as both precision and broad filters to smooth and shape the frequency response, reducing the amplitude of response peaks and troughs from the midrange through the highest frequencies.
The upshot is AMTS greatly reduces standing waves so high frequencies are rendered 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 we could create. Stealth’s driver is 20% larger than the E2 driver and uses our patented v-Planar technology to reduce THD and improve low frequency extension.
The Diaphragm tension is set on an all-new system for a more uniform and consistent tension, lower distortion, and better driver matching, while FEA and CFD optimized motor structures increase driver force uniformity and smooth acoustic paths to reduce distortion.
Stealth Redefines "Detail"
Stealth’s all-new planer 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 industry-leading resolution free from the fatiguing emphasis on the top register users may be used to.
Dan Clark's 4th-generation motor and AMTS deliver a sonic performance best described as “effortless." From a delicately plucked string to the most intense dynamics of an orchestra, or the weight and attack of a kick drum to the overtones a decay of a crash cymbal, Stealth delivers 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
The top grade black leather headband features fine red stitching to create a quilted head-strap that’s not only gorgeous but is also functional and comfortable. The elegant embroidered Stealth logo adds a dash of color to Stealth’s all-black aesthetic.
Gone are the mechanical sliders for fit adjustment; Dan Clark Audio has designed a stable yet comfortable “self-adjusting suspension system” that seats the headphone just right, with no muss or fuss. At just 418g, Stealth is one of the lightest super-premium headphones on the market.
The new vegan suede and "leather" ear pads, self-adjusting suspension, and lightweight chassis make Stealth so comfy you can just ignore it and "vanish into your music.”
If it's Not Comfortable, Game Over
The ergonomic and stylish outline of Stealth’s ear cups is a natural extension of Aeon 2 ergonomics, albeit they are larger. For storage or travel we incorporated Aeon 2’s elegant folding gimbal structure into Stealth, neatly folding it into a compact custom-molded case that’s small and easy to stow.
Stealth Key Features and Benefits:
- Improved driver tensioning system creates a driver with incredible consistency across units
- FEA and CFD optimized motor structure increases driver motor-force uniformity and smoothes acoustic flow
- All-new auto-adjusting suspended strap design makes Stealth hassle-free to wear
- Pre-formed ergonomic strap design 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
Specifications
- Driver: 51mm x 76mm planar magnetic
- Weight: 415g
- THD: Less than .002% at 1kHz @ 94dB
- RMS Deviation: .25dB from 20Hz to 10kHz
- Materials: Titanium "Memory Metal" headband, Japanese synthetic protein leather
- Strap: Auto-adjusting suspended comfort strap
In the Box
- Stealth Headphones
- VIVO Cable with 6 ft 6.3mm, XLR, 2.5mm, or 4.4mm termination
- Travel Case