Dan Clark Audio STEALTH Planar Magnetic Closed Headphones

Stealth

Designed, tuned, and built in San Diego, California

Dan Clark Audio’s design goal is to never compromise on sound, comfort, or aesthetics. Stealth is our ultimate closed-back statement and embodies everything we’ve learned since our inception.

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 favourite music.

STEALTH is Dan Clark Audio’s flagship headphone, and its striking matte black and red design offers a teaser of its stunningly smooth, rich and spacious sound.

This is a closed-back headphone that delivers great isolation, while our proprietary Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS) works with our all-new 4th generation driver to create a huge, wide-open soundstage.

And we didn’t stop at improving the sound; we also redesigned our headband to deliver a big step up in ergonomics and comfort. This is our most exciting project to-date, with novel technology never before seen on any audio market. Ready to dive in?

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 is carefully programmed to integrate waveguides, diffusion control, quarter-wave, and Helmholtz resonators into one compact structure.

Instead of being made from a conventional material, it is instead made from a metamaterial — one that is engineered to have properties that cannot be found in those which are naturally occurring. This relatively new concept in physics has been applied in a number of fields, but is just beginning to make its impact in the world of audio. While you may have seen it applied to speakers, STEALTH is the first headphone in the world to feature metamaterials.

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.

Essentially acting as an integrated series of waveguides, AMTS renders high frequencies with a refreshingly smooth, accurate, and detailed delivery across all genres. This is a whole new natural staging and listening environment for a closed-back headphone.

Planar Magnetic Drivers

Stealth's all-new 4th generation planar-magnetic driver delivers the smoothest, richest, and most detailed experience we 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 we didn’t stop there — the diaphragm is 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 previously found in the top-of-the-line electrostatics. Unlike many headphones where “detail” is created through exaggerated high-frequency energy, Stealth’s AMTS delivers incredible resolution, free from the fatiguing emphasis on the top register listeners 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 favourite 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 the world around you — just fall away.

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. You'll find carbon fiber, aluminum, and titanium throughout to keep things strong yet lightweight.

The teardrop shape is designed to mirror the shape of your ear, maximizing the experience and comfort of the headphone while minimizing the amount of space and weight required.

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 colour to Stealth’s all-black aesthetic.

This top of the hinge-free headband is made of Nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium. This unique material’s properties include superelasticity and shape memory, offering a spring force that remains constant over time and over a larger area, allowing the headphones to fit smaller and larger heads alike. In Stealth, gone are any mechanical sliders for fit adjustment; we’ve designed a self-adjusting suspension system that seats the headphone just right with no fuss.

If it's Not Comfortable, Game Over

If a headphone is not comfortable enough to wear for extended listening, the design is flawed — no matter how great it may sound.

Stealth's ergonomic and stylish ear cups is a natural extension of Aeon 2's renowned design, with a more comfy fit and softer ear pads. Stealth weighs in at just 415 grams, making it one of the lightest super-premium headphones on the market.

Throw in Stealth's new vegan suede and protein leather ear pads (made from materials chosen for the most precise tolerances and ideal sound), plus the self-adjusting suspension, and Stealth is so comfy you can just ignore it and vanish into your music.

Finally, for storage or travel we incorporated our elegant folding gimbal into Stealth, folding it into a compact case that’s small and easy to stow or take with you.

Key Features and Benefits:

• 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 into its 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