[FinHifi]

Pads didn't come off easily. I watched the DCA video and used a stiff credit card to wedge around the edge to pry them off. A bit of a tug and you won't damage anything doing that. After that I used a bit of rubbing alcohol to remove any excess sticky stuff which truthfully I could have skipped. From there just pull the backing paper from new and use top edge to orient THEN press in. First one went on perfectly, second I had to re-orient.
As for sound no clue if it's different. Sounds the same to me. As someon Plumpudding suggested maybe a bit of break-in. I was really surprised how much the old ones were just plain mooshy. Plus they'd picked up body oil etc (gross).
Side bonus the look brand new.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dan...w-interview-measurements.959214/post-17946026

Yeah, it was tight

 

[Vyyy]

@mrspeakers i have a question, i noticed that HP plugs have 4 pins and only 2 og the wires are soldered. Is there any advantage to solder all 4 pins having 4 wires config? Also on headphone side if 4pins are used as well? Its like biwiring possible but not sure. Thanks!

 

[rsbrsvp]

I have both Stealth and Expanse. Both are some of the best headphones I have ever heard.

If I had to choose one- it would be the Stealth- having nothing to do with being closed, just for plain sonic pleasure. The tuning is to my ears the best of any headphone I ever heard. It is also the cleanest headphone I have ever heard. It has flagship level detail- but in a round and not sharp way. Regarding claims that it is thin- Not to my ears. I have thick sounding equipment like a DSD dac and tube preamp- and the Stealth sounds plenty thick to me.....

True, the soundstage is slightly boxy due to being closed- but you adjust to that from an open headphone in around one minute of listening and never go back to thinking about this issue during the remaining listening session just because it is so ridiculously accurate and the tuning is so so perfect.

The Expanse gives up a little on this "perfect timber, tone" in exchange for some openness and a bit of heft in the midbass- but it is not worth the price. My ears hear the loss of that perfect tonality/tuning and are aggravated about it for much longer than a minute. It is however still a superb headphone.....

Both headphones have that crazy black background- but the Stealth even more than the Expanse. Expanse has a bit of reverb and warmth- but still super clean. The Stealth is more focused and less fuzzy- like a chamber that is hermetically sealed.. It has no warmth- and is actually stone cold- but in a good way. Not bright at all- just cold- meaning dead accurate- no semblance of veil or fuzz. Expanse still may be the second least fuzzy headphone I ever heard, but second, is not the same as first.. Also, I do not get what people mean when they say these headphones are not dynamic. Perhaps I do not understand what the meaniong of "dynamic" is. Both, and especially the Stealth in crazy incisive. Incisive to me is dynamic.

These phones NEED power. A lot. My dealer who uses his oor/ hypsos to drive them says my old cfa-3 with these headphones BLOWS away the oor with the same headphones. It is not a volume issue as the OOR gets them to blistering volumes. It is POWER. The difference is HUGE... Power makes the sound tonally denser and way more dynamic. Do not underpower these- because it is a waste of a incredible headphones true potential.

Tone, timber and tuning are #1 in headphone listening to me and Stealth is #1 in these areas against everything I ever heard. The fact that it is closed is just an extra credit benefit.

I'd appreciate others comments on how they feel about how the two compare..

 

[HONEYBOY]

I have both Stealth and Expanse. Both are some of the best headphones I have ever heard.

If I had to choose one- it would be the Stealth- having nothing to do with being closed, just for plain sonic pleasure. The tuning is to my ears the best of any headphone I ever heard. It is also the cleanest headphone I have ever heard. It has flagship level detail- but in a round and not sharp way. Regarding claims that it is thin- Not to my ears. I have thick sounding equipment like a DSD dac and tube preamp- and the Stealth sounds plenty thick to me.....

True, the soundstage is slightly boxy due to being closed- but you adjust to that from an open headphone in around one minute of listening and never go back to thinking about this issue during the remaining listening session just because it is so ridiculously accurate and the tuning is so so perfect.

The Expanse gives up a little on this "perfect timber, tone" in exchange for some openness and a bit of heft in the midbass- but it is not worth the price. My ears hear the loss of that perfect tonality/tuning and are aggravated about it for much longer than a minute. It is however still a superb headphone.....

Both headphones have that crazy black background- but the Stealth even more than the Expanse. Expanse has a bit of reverb and warmth- but still super clean. The Stealth is more focused and less fuzzy- like a chamber that is hermetically sealed.. It has no warmth- and is actually stone cold- but in a good way. Not bright at all- just cold- meaning dead accurate- no semblance of veil or fuzz. Expanse still may be the second least fuzzy headphone I ever heard, but second, is not the same as first.. Also, I do not get what people mean when they say these headphones are not dynamic. Perhaps I do not understand what the meaniong of "dynamic" is. Both, and especially the Stealth in crazy incisive. Incisive to me is dynamic.

These phones NEED power. A lot. My dealer who uses his oor/ hypsos to drive them says my old cfa-3 with these headphones BLOWS away the oor with the same headphones. It is not a volume issue as the OOR gets them to blistering volumes. It is POWER. The difference is HUGE... Power makes the sound tonally denser and way more dynamic. Do not underpower these- because it is a waste of a incredible headphones true potential.

Tone, timber and tuning are #1 in headphone listening to me and Stealth is #1 in these areas against everything I ever heard. The fact that it is closed is just an extra credit benefit.

I'd appreciate others comments on how they feel about how the two compare..

Stealth is still the best headphone I’ve tried. I pretty much hear the two headphones the way you do. The mid bass heft of expanse does bring some more body to instruments, but my ears seem to prefer the sub-bass emphasis of Stealth over the mid-bass emphasis of the Expanse, which I wish was just a smidgeon more subtle.

Tonality of Stealth is just unbeatable. It has spoiled me. I am now more keenly aware of the flaws in other headphones. Resolution is amongst the best, build quality and comfort is top notch and the headphone is very musical. The tuning works very well for me. The Sony R10 is the only other closed back that I think rivals it, but those are hard to find, expensive, and no longer in production. I know some folks seem to prefer E3, but Stealth performs a lot better with better amplification and source. E3 cannot match the refinement, sheer texture and resolution of the Stealth. After 2 years of ownership, I’m still enamored with the headphone.

 

[plumpudding2]

Stealth is still the best headphone I’ve tried. I pretty much hear the two headphones the way you do. The mid bass heft of expanse does bring some more body to instruments, but my ears seem to prefer the sub-bass emphasis of Stealth over the mid-bass emphasis of the Expanse, which I wish was just a smidgeon more subtle.

Tonality of Stealth is just unbeatable. It has spoiled me. I am now more keenly aware of the flaws in other headphones. Resolution is amongst the best, build quality and comfort is top notch and the headphone is very musical. The tuning works very well for me. The Sony R10 is the only other closed back that I think rivals it, but those are hard to find, expensive, and no longer in production. I know some folks seem to prefer E3, but Stealth performs a lot better with better amplification and source. E3 cannot match the refinement, sheer texture and resolution of the Stealth. After 2 years of ownership, I’m still enamored with the headphone.

Same here I can't believe I barely listen to Susvara anymore, Stealth is just that good. The HM1 (as you surely know!) shows that unbeatable tonality, resolution and texture but combines it with incredible body and slam!

 

[rsbrsvp]

Stealth is still the best headphone I’ve tried. I pretty much hear the two headphones the way you do. The mid bass heft of expanse does bring some more body to instruments, but my ears seem to prefer the sub-bass emphasis of Stealth over the mid-bass emphasis of the Expanse, which I wish was just a smidgeon more subtle.

Agreed totally. If I were to redesign the expanse I would actually make the midbass emphasis less- so it would be less of a departure from the Stealth- and perhaps some of that weight could be transfered to the subbass.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I just sold my 1266TC. The Stealth is better. Ironically- and I may get stoned for this, as different as these headphones are, they share a certain commonality- the colder, non fuzzy tone with lots of solidity of sound is somewhat comparable and is what I liked about the TC. The Stealth is just colder and less fuzzy and cleaner and I'm happy to give up the larger soundstage for that. I actually prefer the intimacy of the stealth over the soundstage of the TC. Headphones were not made for large soundstages- and forcing them in this direction causes damage in other areas.

I think the Stealth is the best headphone to my taste I ever heard because tone and tuning is king and everything else is secondary.

I would love to get the Corina which I unserastand has this same basic tuning, but Im just not going to get a $3000 electrostatic headphone amplifier- as I have to much equipment, and I'm not going there.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Anyone who thinks the Stealth is thin must hear it in my system. It is plenty thick and textured. If it sounds thin to anyone- it is the equipment which is mostly responsible.

 

[alxw0w]

Stealth > Susvara
eot

 

[rsbrsvp]

Stealth > Susvara
eot

Honestly these two are NOTHING alike IMHO and the comparison is so hard to make. Stealth is about solidity of sound, focus, cleanliness, blackness of background. It is anything but an airy and ethereal headphone. Susvara is an airy ethereal phone. They just have such different goals and results that they are incomparable in my mind.

I was never the airy/ ethereal type of headphone user- but if I was I'd get an electrostatic set up because they excel in this area. I like hard hitting, punchy, solid tone- which means planars in general, although the Susvara is an exception as are some of the other Hifiman offerings..

The one phone I have which is kind of in the middle is the HE1000 V2 NON-stealth. I like it immeasurably better than susvara;- more meat on the bone, rounder, less fuzzy but has a more airy character than most planars.

 

[JLoud]

I own both the Stealth and Susvara and had a HE1000 v2 non stealth. The Stealth and Susvara are very different sounding. But I can’t agree with the HE1000 being better than the Susvara. With enough power behind the Susvara it can reach very deep and has plenty of bass when called for. I also found the treble better controlled compared to HE1000. More detail and speed as well. But everyone has their own preferences I guess.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I respect all opinions....