Dan Clark Audio Stealth Headphones

They best most every open-back headphone I’ve ever heard in the openness and transparency department while being closed-back. And they combine this with a quality of fit and finish that is unparalleled.

The only downsides to the Dan Clark Audio Stealth headphones are price, and the need for a high-power headphone amplifier. If you can afford them and can drive them, they will deliver the best that dynamic headphones have to offer.

Value is a word used a lot on this website and elsewhere in audio land. Can a $4,000 pair of headphones be considered a good value? Many of you will say no, regardless of any objective or subjective information or interpretation I could provide. But I have to say that I think the Dan Clark Stealth headphones, which cost a nosebleed-inducing $3,999.99, are in fact a good value. Yes, they are very expensive. But they are also the best-sounding headphones I have personally ever listened to. They possess the amazing characteristic of being a closed-back headphone that sounds more open and spacious than most any open headphones I’ve heard. They also have the finest build quality of any piece of audio gear of any type I have ever laid my hands on. The only major downside is that I can’t afford them (but don’t let that stop you).

Dan Clark Audio makes high-end headphones by any interpretation. Their “entry-level” headphones, the Aeon RT, cost $500. The Stealth is their closed-back flagship headphone. One of Dan Clark Audio’s key patent pending technologies is called AMTS or Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System. A metamaterial is an engineered structure that behaves like a material that does not occur in nature.

I work on metamaterial electromagnetic materials in my day job as a radio astronomer. We make lenses and mirrors that focus radio waves that are flat and less than one wavelength thick, by embedding metal squares smaller than the wavelength of light in an insulator material. That combination of insulator and tiny metal squares is a metamaterial that has properties not found in nature.

Dan Clark Audio makes a metamaterial structure that goes between the driver and the ear. This structure acts as an acoustic filter, allowing control of frequency response and resonant behavior of the sound reaching the ear. This is combined with a planar magnetic driver made in-house with a patented damping material used inside the headphone enclosure and a patented headphone with a hingeless headband design. Everything about these headphones is a custom-made, bespoke item. The only things I could find that are “off the shelf” are the screws and the electrical connectors on the headphones and cable.

All materials used are first class. The headphone cans are made from CNC-machined aluminum and carbon fiber. Not plastic with “carbon fiber” printing on it. Real, hand-laid carbon fiber. Tap it with your finger and the rigidity and quality of the material are immediately apparent. That carbon forms the rear enclosure of the driver, supported by the machined aluminum frame.

The headband is made of a multi-piece machined aluminum articulating structure with nickel- titanium wire springs. The headband is quilted leather stitched with red thread and an embroidered “stealth” logo. The headband is self-adjusting. When you put them on, the articulating arms and springs automatically fit themselves to your head. The headband allows the drivers to fold up inside the headband with no additional hinges (hence, hingeless).

The earpads are super soft synthetic leather material, no doubt done to prevent sweat staining and prevent wear while still allowing a super soft material to be used. Those earcups are replaceable, and available from Dan Clark Audio’s website for a reasonable $99.99 a pair.

The weight of the headphones is a very light 415g or less than 1lb. For large, closed-back headphones, this is light. Combined with the premium materials and self-adjusting headband, the Stealths are so comfortable I found I barely knew I had them on.

Inside the cans live Dan Clark Audio’s 4^th generation planar magnetic driver. For the Stealth, these are matched to 0.25 dB response averaged over the full audio band.

The cable provided with the Stealth is similarly premium. Virtually any termination is available, with 1.1m, 2m, and 3m cable options. The wiring is silver-plated OFHC with a braided nylon jacket over the wiring. Even the Y of the cable is covered by a custom CNC machined aluminum housing secured with socket head cap screws. The headphone connectors appear to be 4-pin Hirose HR10 connectors with bayonet-style “push-pull” locking collars. Again, all metal.

The only plastic I could find on the Stealth headphones was the dielectric inside these connectors separating the pins, the strain relief boot on those same connectors, and the outside of the 1⁄4” headphone plug on the cable that came with the review samples. The only thing I could find anywhere that was less than Uber high-end was the marking for the right-side connector for the headphone cable. This was a small band of red shrink tube put around the locking collar of the connector. This band of material was, on very close inspection, not cut perfectly square. That’s the only fit-and-finish flaw I could find anywhere on them. And I looked hard.

A clamshell style zippered case accompanies the Stealths that perfectly fits the folded headphones with the cable removed. This case is neither hard nor soft. More “firm”. It’s made of high-quality fabric inside and out with a nice “Stealth” patch logo sewn on. My only usability and fit and finish niggle: the case has nowhere to put the cable. The cable must be disconnected to fit the headphones in the case. You can roll the cable up and put it on top and still manage to close the case, but it’s tight and things could get scratched. For 4,000 clams, I would like a case that can properly hold the cable too. Or maybe a little fabric bag sized to fit inside the case to contain the rolled-up cable.

I listened to the Stealths primarily at my office desk using the Mytek Liberty THX AAA headphone amplifier, Chord Mojo and Mojo2 (review upcoming) DACs and the Qobuz streaming app on my Windows desktop PC.

The 22-ohm impedance and relatively low sensitivity of the Stealths cries out for an amp with lots of power. The Mytek can deliver up to 6W into a 16-ohm load, so no problem there. I also tried driving the Stealths with the Mojo and Mojo2 directly, particularly when I was traveling this summer. The Mojo can deliver 720 mW into an 8-ohm load. For a portable amp, that’s pretty stout as well. Both successfully drove the Stealths, but the Mytek amp did have an edge in bass transient sharpness, power and control. Don’t even try a wimpy amp or God forbid plugging directly into a smartphone or something. Not like anyone spending 4,000 bucks on a pair of headphones would do that. But, if you were thinking of it, don’t.

Dan Clark Audio can provide lots of balanced cable options for your headphones, but the review sample came with a single-ended 1⁄4” headphone jack. I used a Sennheiser 1⁄4” to mini jack adapter to test with the Mojo and Mojo2. A note on balanced operation: those with sharp eyes will note that the planar magnetic drivers are described as “single ended” in the specs. This means they have magnets on only one side of the planar magnetic diaphragm. The driver itself is still fully differential electrically, so you do gain some small advantage in using balanced drive if your amp supports it.

For break-in, I put Qobuz on shuffle and let it go with the Mojo plugged into a USB power supply so it would play all weekend at moderately high listening volume. The next week I was ready for my treat.

The Stealths immediately reminded me of everything good about headphone listening and nothing bad. They are super open, airy and relaxed. I’ve listened to other high-end headphones that are much more aggressive in their presentation. Especially bass and detail. The Stealths had the same “wire with gain” character of the Mytek amp, the open, airy and big sound of high end Sennheisers, and the neutrality and detail extraction of single driver IEMs like my Hifiman RE800s. Nothing in their sound stood out any more than anything else.

They have plenty of bass extension and power, but without calling attention to themselves. They extract the most detail from recordings I have ever personally heard, without sounding etched, harsh or aggressive. They are supremely relaxing. Combined with the excellent comfort, they allowed me to escape into a world of sound that completely disconnected me from the technology. There was just magical, open, clean music surrounding my head with nothing to distract me from that experience.

Some of that is down to the comfort. They are light in the first place, but also feel more effortless than their just under 1lb weight would suggest. They have almost no clamp, but don’t feel loose or insecure. The clamp force feels a bit less than the pressure on the top of the head in the center of the headband from their weight. Like they are draped across the ears rather than pressing down. The self-adjusting headband system works just as advertised. No fiddling was needed. I just plopped them on my head and around my ears and the gimbaled joints and springs took care of the rest.

Listening to Qobuz’s curated “New in Chill Out/Downtempo” playlist was also super interesting. The differences between 16-bit 44.1 kHz, 24-bit 44.1 kHz and 24-bit 96 kHz were plain as day. The lower resolution wasn’t bad sounding, but you could immediately tell what was what without looking ahead at the output.

I also enjoyed the “High-res masters: Bossa Nova” playlist. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bossa nova junkie. And this playlist has the best of the best, both in terms of artists (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrid Gilberto, Baden Powell) and recording quality. This also played to the strengths of the Stealths and my personal tastes: rhythm, drive and pace, combined with the open, relaxed sound of the melodies.

The ultimate verdict was just how often I listened to the Stealths. When I must work hard and really concentrate, I usually prefer silence. But the Stealths allowed me to listen to and enjoy the music without it being distracting. It took so little mental effort to listen to the Stealths and hear what I wanted to hear that they really improved my mood and feeling while at my desk. I listened to them 2-3 times more than any other headphones I’ve ever listened to. This was reinforced by their comfort. I could easily wear them for hours on end without any discomfort at all. Sometimes I’d forget I was wearing them and get up from my chair still tethered to the Mytek amp.

The Dan Clark Audio Stealth headphones are pricey, but they are the best headphones of any kind that I have ever auditioned.

I loved the Dan Clark Audio Stealth headphones. I wish I could afford them. I’ll see if I can find a way to hold onto them, or at least a less expensive but hopefully similar pair of DCA headphones.

They do everything well. More than well actually, the best I’ve personally heard in extended listening. They tick all the boxes of perfection for me: open, clean, clear, detailed and fast with no sonic character or overemphasis. I could imagine people listening to them for a short time and being underwhelmed because they want to be “wowed”. I’ve come to know that equipment that “wows” at first blush many times does so in way that turns out to be a flaw. The Stealths are not that. If you want a “long term relationship” with a dynamic headphone that does everything in a state-of-the-art way (and you can afford them), the Dan Clark Audio Stealths should be at the top of your list. Even if you normally prefer open back headphones. Trust me, you won’t miss any openness.