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Dan Clark Expanse Headphone Review

Rate this headphone:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 10 2.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 12 3.3%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 65 17.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 281 76.4%

  • Total voters
    368

tsanguine

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DCA headphones are in a league of their own. I've always appreciated what Dan was doing even back to the Fostex headphones he was modding but every new model he just keeps one upping himself. I've opened up and modded my Aeon2's and the craftsmanship on the enclosures and tolerances are just amazing. I have Sennheiser's and Focal's and they are nice but my DCA Aeon2's are just in a league of their own and they don't hold a candle to the amount of engineering and R&D that is present in the Stealth and Expanse. I can't afford either but they are the only expensive headphones that I can justify and understand the pricing. Congratulations!!!
 

tsanguine

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I sure do hope there is a decent warranty on these and the Stealth models, wouldn't want to plunk down $4000 for just a year's coverage.
But damn, I sure would love a pair of these bad boys.
I've had wonderful support from DCA on a headphone that I purchased used and wasn't even covered under warranty.
 

Doodski

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I've opened up and modded my Aeon2's and the craftsmanship on the enclosures and tolerances are just amazing. I have Sennheiser's and Focal's and they are nice but my DCA Aeon2's are just in a league of their own and they don't hold a candle to the amount of engineering and R&D that is present in the Stealth and Expanse.
Regarding the Stealth, Dan Clark advised me that they are fully serviceable. All parts are serviceable.
 

sq225917

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i once tried the stealth and didnt like it that much but apparently it might be because my glasses makes it not seal properly. i really want to try the expanse because it probably isnt as reliant on the seal
I don't wear specs, it didn't bowl me over either.
 

GWolfman

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4 grand for a headphone is laughable regardless of how it measures. there is nothing in materials that justifies this cost!
It's called research (and prototype iterations). That's what you are paying for.
 

NMixes

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@amirm would you say the ADI was enough? Only headphone amp I own for now is the ADI-2 Pro FSR and I'm considering getting these headphones.
 
OP
amirm

amirm

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@amirm would you say the ADI was enough? Only headphone amp I own for now is the ADI-2 Pro FSR and I'm considering getting these headphones.
Yes, it is enough for everyday use. That is how I use my Stealth.
 

Robbo99999

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I don't wear specs, it didn't bowl me over either.
(Interesting, a data point, you're talking about The Stealth so my quote doesn't go out of context). Do you have other headphones, which ones, do you EQ them, using which measurements? (Do you have "studio monitor speakers" too?)
 

BALKAN_RAKIA

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I am very happy that this headphones competitive advantages are technical. I really hope this is driven by customer preference based on knowledge.
However, while I can't justify this for myself it is absolutely insane where the current price equilibrium is for whatever this segment is supposed to be.
Can't hate on good engineering though.
 

PeteL

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I mentioned this above, but the Noire has the same FR bump, but not meta-materials.
Got it but many headphones have bumps in their frequency response and no meta-material and no passive electronics. Is it that important? headphone tuning is still all about physics, there is not only one way to get there. I think the point is that's part of the signature sound, Mr Clark likes it.
 

Robbo99999

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Got it but many headphones have bumps in their frequency response and no material and no passive electronics. Is it that important headphone tuning is still all about physics, there is not only one way to get there. I think the point is that's part of the signature sound, Mr Clark likes it.
Yup, he definitely puts in that 80Hz bump to enhance "slam". His overall thinking is that low distortion headphones need that in this area as that area is not reinforced by 2nd harmonic distortions that lesser & more distortion prone headphones add harmonics to that area (of course those harmonics are obscuring detail, but they do add to tonality - he's modifying the target curve because he believes the target curve was created with more distortion prone headphones in mind).

EDIT: although thinking about it, 2nd harmonic distortions would "cloud" rather than "slam" drum hits wouldn't they.........I'm just going off his reasoning for including the extra energy at 80Hz, which he said was included due to the low distortion of his drivers. (Maybe it's a win-win: you get the same tonality balanced out, but with the bonus of the defined "slam").
 
Last edited:

Yuhasz01

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This is a review, listening tests and measurements of the Dan Clark Expanse open-back planar magnetic headphone. It was loaned to me by the company and costs US $3999.
View attachment 230421
The design takes that of Stealth headphone to another level with nicely done grill on the outside. It is very comfortable to wear, nicely molding to my head. You have a choice of cable connectors (I received the balanced XLR one). The cable itself is quite thick and sturdy but nicely drapes so no complaints there.

Dan Clark Expanse Measurements
Let's start with our frequency response and comparison to target:
View attachment 230424
Prior to measurement company had told me that it complied with the target but that they had dialed in a boost in that 100 too 300 Hz region as you see. We will evaluate this in the listening tests. For now, compliance to the target is the best of any open-back headphone that I have tested. It is only approximated by the company's own closed back Stealth headphone.

If you do want to create an EQ, here is the relative frequency response:
View attachment 230427

Note that measurements above 7 to 8 kHz are generally not accurate but I put a cursor there in case you want to play with that dip. Here is the group delay as areas to avoid (sharp spikes):
View attachment 230428
Vast majority of headphones show very messy group delay indicating mixing of phase due to reflections and or resonances in the headphone. Dan Clark headphones are an exception showing clear attention to keep these factors at bay.

Distortion at two playback levels is exceptionally low:
View attachment 230429

We get a SINAD of 86 dB which is limited by the measurement noise rather than true distortion of the headphone. For a transducer, it is basically distortion-less. There is a hump at 114 dBSPL but note that this headphone requires no boosting in low frequencies so that again, is excellent. Here is our absolute distortion at 94 dBSPL:
View attachment 230431

We have so much margin in the critical audible band of 2 to 5 kHz.

Impedance is a departure from typical planar headphone by showing some variation in low frequencies:
View attachment 230432

So likely some electronic components are in the path to provide the bass response we saw in the frequency response graph. Not an issue though as the variation is relatively small.

Sensitivity is very low so you better have good headphone amplification:
View attachment 230433

On my RME ADI-2 Pro, average listening level was about -6 dB. I could get more volume but even at max volume, I could not get the headphone to distort.

Dan Clark Expanse Listening Tests
The small deviation in bass made subjective testing critical to assess whether that is or is not a good idea. I developed a correction for the filter (initially at -3 dB but later changed to -2 dB):
View attachment 230446

Listening with stock tuning, I enjoyed warmth that it added to my reference female vocals. Defeating it using EQ caused the vocals to stand out more, with slightly more spatial qualities. But the tonality comparatively could be said to be a bit bright. I preferred it without EQ. Moving to other clips, I occasionally would hear a bit of tubbiness which was made better with EQ. This was in cases where the tubbiness was already in the music and the boost in the response of the headphone exaggerated it a bit. Overall, I would say 70% of time of I preferred no EQ. For the others, if I didn't have EQ, it would still be delightful to listen to headphone. We are talking small differences here.

That bit aside, the superbly clean sound with very good spatial qualities and tonality that was right on the money, made the experience super enjoyable. On tonality the sound was familiar as in the sense of listening to a reference studio monitor but with none of the room modes. Low level detail was stunning at times in the way they would stand out with superb clarity.

Conclusions
What more could you ask for when a company delivers a headphone that both objectively and subjectively delivers on tonality, spatiality (instrument separation) and vanishingly low distortion? I know, you want it cheaper. :) But this is the price right now for this unique offering in open back planar magnetic headphones. It is times like this that makes my "job" a delight!

It is my pleasure to recommend Dan Clark Expanse headphone. Delivering on best of audio science matters and matters a lot. Company's commitment to this is admirable.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
This headphone has a ridiculous price… audio jewelery. Give a strong professional audio development company and they can develope good spec product for $250,000- $400,00 0 investment … mainly salaries for engineers
 

Nango

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Given the poor results in the group delay department we are used to see from other Mfr I wouldn't mind getting a little bit worser that means little more reflections and resonances ...... if it makes it more towards 300€ region for Sundara peers.
 

julian_hughes

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Surely it should be named Expense, not Expanse? I mean I wish I had one but $4000? There simply cannot be anything in the bill of materials to make this the motivation for the price. So, is it really so hard to make an open back headphone which sounds good and matches current preferences?
 

Rottmannash

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Who are the 2 members who voted Poor??
 

AndreaT

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I paid about as much for my automobile(s) insurance with a perfect driving record. In perspective, if you really wish to have these HP, some sacrifice is in order and necessary. I still live in hope that Fiio, like Topping and others for DAC and HP amplifiers, might push the price down of these sonic marvels one day. The Mola Mola DAC has been beaten today by DACs performing better for 1/20th of the price, all this in the past 2 and 1/2 years. Thank you Amir for showing and measuring what could done in the SOA products. Fiio & C., learn and improve.
 

restorer-john

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