[plakat]

Thanks for your reply.

Please let me know which other totl headphone has been replaced after only two years by a comparable headphone that is half the price.
Most other top line headphones have a shelf life of far more than two years.

I am not certain what the point of your reply is. Would you be a satisfied owner of a new, expensive car that was replaced after two years by a comparable or better model for half the price? And that car loses value as you drive it away from the dealer.

Cheers

I feel your pain. It certainly is not a pleasant experience to have some new model come along that gives you the feeling of having your purchase devalued.

But is it really? You already got 2+ years of joy out of it, and it is not any less good now than it was yesterday. Used prices might take a hit (not even sure about this), new Stealth sales might take a hit (also not sure about this), but your headphone still works and will continue to do so for many more years. It’s not the newest anymore, yes. But the E3 will suffer the same fate at some point. And the Stealth most definitely has better looks

I really commend @mrspeakers for offering what seems like an excellent sonic performance comparable to the Stealth at a more reasonable price point. I think this is a step in the right direction, not to just inflate prices again as the whole industry seems so excited to do.

 

[BassicScience]

I am not certain what the point of your reply is. Would you be a satisfied owner of a new, expensive car that was replaced after two years by a comparable or better model for half the price? And that car loses value as you drive it away from the dealer.

Except that the Stealth hasn't been replaced by the E3. There are apparently salient differences in tuning between the two headphones, not to mention the ergonomic/aesthetic differences. I'm sure many people will prefer the tuning of the Stealth to that of the E3... and vice versa, of course.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Thanks for your reply.

Please let me know which other totl headphone has been replaced after only two years by a comparable headphone that is half the price.
Most other top line headphones have a shelf life of far more than two years.

I am not certain what the point of your reply is. Would you be a satisfied owner of a new, expensive car that was replaced after two years by a comparable or better model for half the price? And that car loses value as you drive it away from the dealer.

Cheers

Susvara and He1kSE.
The latter came shortly after is nearly as good and costs half of the Susvara.

Essentially the same thing

 

[coopdog]

Except that the Stealth hasn't been replaced by the E3. There are apparently salient differences in tuning between the two headphones, not to mention the ergonomic/aesthetic differences. I'm sure many people will prefer the tuning of the Stealth to that of the E3... and vice versa, of course.

All the reviews I’ve read have all said that the tuning is basically the same with adherence to the Harman curve. Dan Clark states that the technology is more advanced on the E3 in his interview with Jude. Would you spend an additional $2,000- for a relatively minor difference in tuning? I guess that is up to each individual.
Happy listening!

 

[Lohb]

Looking forward to any Aeon 2C successor closer to $1-1200k for the 'budget-fi' end..hopefully this one is not it.

Ton of people will buy that price slot as well, I'm guessing.

 

[gammi]

Thanks for your reply.

Please let me know which other totl headphone has been replaced after only two years by a comparable headphone that is half the price.
Most other top line headphones have a shelf life of far more than two years.

I am not certain what the point of your reply is. Would you be a satisfied owner of a new, expensive car that was replaced after two years by a comparable or better model for half the price? And that car loses value as you drive it away from the dealer.

Cheers

Felt like addressing your point because it was a negative attitude opposed to the benefit of this entire space.
Imagine complaining about companies offering more for less...

Sorry you regret buying an amazing headphone that's still TOTL and just as good as the day you were ok paying $4k for it. Hope you feel better.

 

[feverfive]

Yeah, I get the nervosa about new products displacing older ones, but I feel like if you're in this game (or any other hobby for that matter), you are in it with the understanding that progress happens; innovation happens. It's not gonna stop. It's not always easy, but I just try to not worry about having the latest and the greatest. YMMV obviously.

 

[DMITRIY R]

.

The current low price of the new product may also be due to the fact that significant costs for scientific development paid off on the DCA Stealth / Expense model and did not have to be included in the price of the E3.
It is also important to remember that a couple of years ago, due to COVID, supply chains were disrupted and businesses could not operate at full capacity. The cost of components has skyrocketed. Today, the problem of past years is behind us. This also allows you to reduce the price of finished products.
Like you, I am the owner of DCA Stealth. Perhaps I'm not happy about the fact that I will someday have to sell the Stealth at a price lower than I expected. BUT! I am very glad that DCA has picked up the trend to reduce the cost of products. I hope that in the future there will be DCA Stealth MK 2, which will set a new bar for sound quality, while the cost will not exceed $3k.

 

[ThEvil0nE]

The man went to a music store to hit some drums, toot some horns, smash piano keys and probably licked on some guitar strings while 3 (speculatively) other wanna be rockstars on constant assault on who can chop Smoke On The Water the hardest to tune the E3... I'm in on a lively DCA.

 

[SpaceInvader77]

Sound aside, I gotta say the look of these headphones are fantastic.

At first look, I didn’t think they were amazing by any means. However, the longer I look at it the more I’m digging it. Obviously sound is most important, but Dan Clark has done a wonderful job designing these.

 

[BassicScience]

All the reviews I’ve read have all said that the tuning is basically the same with adherence to the Harman curve. Dan Clark states that the technology is more advanced on the E3 in his interview with Jude. Would you spend an additional $2,000- for a relatively minor difference in tuning? I guess that is up to each individual.
Happy listening!

"Adherence to the Harman curve" is virtually meaningless to me as an indicator of how a headphone will actually sound, as well as to whether I'll enjoy it. When it comes to transducers, FR graphs can't tell the whole story in my experience. AFAIK, all DCA headphones adhere (at least loosely) to the Harman curve, yet there are notable (even dramatic, in some cases) differences in their sonic presentations. As a happy owner of the Aeon 2 Noire, my main complaints are lack of ultimate comfort during long listening sessions and a few (relatively minor) frequency response anomalies. The Stealth fixes those issues, but I've just never found it an engaging listen, especially at its price point. The E3 may be just what I'm looking for, and I'm quite looking forward to auditioning them!

 

[gammi]

I don’t understand where the negative attitude is.

Maybe negative attitude is too strong, apologies. I simply felt it was the wrong attitude when we should be thankful to DCA for giving us a new product for less. They could have charged us $3-4k for it but they didn't, we should thank them for that.

The funny thing is, Stealth already sells for $2400 used. Doubt it drops more than $200 because of the E3. The whole thing is kind of a moot point.

Anyway, hope we can get back to discussing how excited we all are to try the E3, sorry I opened a can of worms.

 

[DMITRIY R]

Do I understand correctly that the valves on the back of the headphones are designed to adjust the amount of low frequencies? If you need a little more, do you just tape the valve shut? Or are the stickies included? Or are such actions not recommended by the manufacturer?

 

[coopdog]

Maybe negative attitude is too strong, apologies. I simply felt it was the wrong attitude when we should be thankful to DCA for giving us a new product for less. They could have charged us $3-4k for it but they didn't, we should thank them for that.

The funny thing is, Stealth already sells for $2400 used. Doubt it drops more than $200 because of the E3. The whole thing is kind of a moot point.

Anyway, hope we can get back to discussing how excited we all are to try the E3, sorry I opened a can of worms.

OK
I will say it one more time: I expressed my happiness that the sq of the Stealth is now available to a larger audience.

“ As a very happy Stealth user I am very glad to see the technology and sq become more affordable, and therefore, available to a larger audience who will get to enjoy such a listening experience.”
“If the reviews are correct and the E3 equals the Stealth (or maybe even outdoes the Stealth) in sq, then I urge you to try the E3.”

I don’t understand why you are giving me a hard time on issues that we agree on.

I agree with you that we should get on with discussions of the value that the E3 provides and congratulations to all that decide to purchase this headphone.

Have a great day and happy listening

 

[Alien HP]

Would it make sense to apply screen protectors to cover the glass which could be prone to scratches? Or should that not be a concern?