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Dan Clark Expanse Headphone Review
- Thread starter amirm
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MRC01
Major Contributor
I have mixed feelings about this headphone.
First impression: WOW this is excellent!
Next thought: an Audeze LCD with EQ to correct the response, gives the same result (lowest distortion Amir has measured) for less than half the price.
OK, the Stealth looks lighter and more comfortable.
Is that worth $2.5 k ?
First impression: WOW this is excellent!
Next thought: an Audeze LCD with EQ to correct the response, gives the same result (lowest distortion Amir has measured) for less than half the price.
OK, the Stealth looks lighter and more comfortable.
Is that worth $2.5 k ?
What is your result when both are PEQ to the best of their individual abilities?
MRC01
Major Contributor
To me, the Harman curve has a bit too much bass and treble than actual live sound or good speakers. So I'd be EQing it either way.
PS: that's not a dig on the Harman curve. It's a well established broad population preference. It's a good target, but it doesn't apply to everyone.
PS: that's not a dig on the Harman curve. It's a well established broad population preference. It's a good target, but it doesn't apply to everyone.
AlephAlpha001
Member
Good thing you're not Australian.
AlephAlpha001
Member
I have both. The Stealth is lighter and more comfortable for sure. I can see how hipsters and fans of 'authenticity' would like the slightly Frankenstein bolted together 'honest' (in reality more like honestly we didn't know how to do CAD and composites properly when we started out.. too late now, design language lock-in) aesthetic of the LCD-X. Dan's products are state-of-the-art modern materials computationally-derived form-follows function in the Current Year. So more authentic in the true sense of the word, if you ask me.
That being said, Use Amirm or Oratory1990s PEQ settings for the LCD-X and they're so close to what the Influencers call End Game that it makes. no difference.
If I were sane, I'd own just the LCD-X (PEQ'd) or the Expanse (no EQ) and the Stealths (no EQ) to cover open- and closed-back use cases. However, I am neither remotely sane nor rational... I am a human being instead, and like to play with different headphones with different aesthetics and haptics at different times and in different moods. To be fully consistent, I shouldn't Harman PEQ any of them and enjoy the aural differences.. but that would be logical. Can't have that.
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funny you should say that... take the $4000 headphone and connect it to a DSP device like the Smyth A16 and those $4K headphones turn into emulating a $250,000 speaker system perfectly...
staticV3
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Not without you having someone take your HRTF they don'tfunny you should say that... take the $4000 headphone and connect it to a DSP device like the Smyth A16 and those $4K headphones turn into emulating a $250,000 speaker system perfectly...
actually all you have to do is take your headphones and the included microphones and record the interaction of the headphones to your ears... the A16 will then correct the frequency response and you just take out the microphones from your ears and fine tune the results to finalise the interaction with your inner ear and brain perception.... once it has your personal hearing with those headphones its just a matter of you selecting what listening room you want to emulate while wearing the headphones.... there are two sites that sell the listening rooms for you to choose and at least one free site with several listening rooms for your use... and of course you have the option to record any listening room you might want... they just released a new firmware so now you can listen to an emulated listening room full of speakers costing at least $250K via Dolby Atmos, DTS-X and Auro 3d ... its 24 channels over a set of headphones... it don't get any better...Not without you having someone take your HRTF they don't
AlephAlpha001
Member
Not bad considering could be home and hosed for ~$10K all inclusive. Apple could and might smoke all this goodness for pocket change (for them, R&D-wise) in the next few years as they ramp up VR and tag-along HRTF goodness.funny you should say that... take the $4000 headphone and connect it to a DSP device like the Smyth A16 and those $4K headphones turn into emulating a $250,000 speaker system perfectly...
DualTriode
Addicted to Fun and Learning
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If I were to purchase another pair of headphones it would likely be these.
Headphones are not my favorite. I do not like the in head experience. It has been months since I have had headphones on my head.
I much prefer near field monitors, even open baffle sometimes.
Thanks DT
Headphones are not my favorite. I do not like the in head experience. It has been months since I have had headphones on my head.
I much prefer near field monitors, even open baffle sometimes.
Thanks DT
What do they keep down the back of their sofas?!
That's how I understand it, you have to wear the in-ear microphones and go through a process to record sweeps from speakers placed at different orientations to you. What @dixter seems to be saying below seems like somekind of a shortcut - @dixter you're suggesting a shortcut right? Because your shortcut is not capturing your whole HRTF. I would think if you go to the trouble & expense of a Smyth Realizer that it's worth going through the full process to fully optimise it. On the topic of "headphone performance", I've said before in this thread that I reckon you'd get a better experience investing in the Smyth Realizer and using an under $1000 headphone if you're gonna be considering spending thousands/thousands on a headphone.Not without you having someone take your HRTF they don't
AlephAlpha001
Member
It's more about rooting in Australian vernacular meaning something rather different.
Ha, well that's pretty niche, I'm not even sure you'd find that kind of a fetish in the depths of the internet!
I mean some people love their sofas, but they don't usually take it literally! (Although, I did just have an image of two people in the "depths of their massive sofa" when I re-read your post - so I get you!)
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Softer and more compliant than a kangaroo though.Ha, well that's pretty niche, I'm not even sure you'd find that kind of a fetish in the depths of the internet!
US adds sale tax later. In Europe it's already included. And the euro keeps losing value.
So 4000 USD plus 20% tax on average and 5000€ seems about right. (Shipping, handling etc costs money for DC as well).
Can't really blame manufacturers for tax in other countries. :-/
As i´ve written before, Stealth went up to 4899 EUR in Germany as well. Some dealers have not yet updated the price, so better buy it today, if you want it.
EUR lost 20% to the USD in the last year, so the increase reflects the developement of the last year. All of this has been said in this same thread only yesterday...
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