I tried out the Stealth at CAF last weekend, and I think you described its strong points very well. It’s very neutral and very precise in its rendering of sound. But to me, it wasn’t comfortable due to an intense hotspot at the top of my head, and I didn’t really get along with the sound. The aspects of sound that grew to annoy me on the Noire are still there in the Stealth. It rendered instruments as if they were played in a heavily sound-dampened or anechoic chamber. No decay to the sounds, notes just suddenly cut off. When I was A/B comparing it vs the Stax SR-X9000, the Stax was significantly more relaxed, open, and ultimately enjoyable to me. The Stealth sounded “uptight” in comparison, like it was trying too hard to be precise.
I don’t want to be a downer, and I’m happy that you are properly enjoying all of the things that the Stealth excels at. I wish it fit better on my head, and I wish I enjoyed the sound more. It has basically perfect Harman Target adherence, so according to Dr. Olive’s research, it should be the “perfect” sound. Maybe a bit too perfect for someone like me :)
I tried out the Stealth at CAF last weekend, and I think you described its strong points very well. It’s very neutral and very precise in its rendering of sound. But to me, it wasn’t comfortable due to an intense hotspot at the top of my head, and I didn’t really get along with the sound. The aspects of sound that grew to annoy me on the Noire are still there in the Stealth. It rendered instruments as if they were played in a heavily sound-dampened or anechoic chamber. No decay to the sounds, notes just suddenly cut off. When I was A/B comparing it vs the Stax SR-X9000, the Stax was significantly more relaxed, open, and ultimately enjoyable to me. The Stealth sounded “uptight” in comparison, like it was trying too hard to be precise.
I don’t want to be a downer, and I’m happy that you are properly enjoying all of the things that the Stealth excels at. I wish it fit better on my head, and I wish I enjoyed the sound more. It has basically perfect Harman Target adherence, so according to Dr. Olive’s research, it should be the “perfect” sound. Maybe a bit too perfect for someone like me :)