Dan Clark Expanse Headphone Review

[isostasy]

How much are the materials in a Picasso? This is not that, but I’m looking to make a point. There is such a thing as intellectual property and it has value, especially when it pertains to products that are not manufactured with much scale. Look at it is this way, if these are that easy to replicate, then we will all be able to buy a Chinese knock off in a year or two for a 1/10th the price.

Not just materials, but time. In one of the CanJam videos (The Headphone Show I think) Dan explains this took over a year to develop. Additionally, this is a small company with only a handful of products. It's not for me, because I can't afford it, but I don't understand why others find it so hard to say that too. If I could afford it I would definitely want to give it a go.

Lastly, 'justify' is always the wrong word to use. You are the one who justifies the cost by either buying it or not, not the manufacturer.

 

[oscar_dziki]

They just arrived. No problems, no need to equalize for me. L30 II is overkill for these headphones. I don't even go to high gain unless the track is really quietly recorded. With normalization turned on it wouldn't be needed at all. This headphone sounds just right for the first 2 hours of listening. The bass is super solid. Tracy Chapman sounds great. I haven't listened to her for some time. It all sounds just so correct... thats just my subjective mumbo jumbo... I don't have anything to compare to right now. Also, I just want to listen to music now. OK, lets Pink Floyd

 

[Grobbelboy]

Could you check if you hear a sound coming from inside the cups when you push the cans and cushions just slightly towards your head (and a bit of pressure is applied to the driver)? I would describe the sound as if you pull of a small plaster or sticker off of something. Thank you in advance!

I’ve already posed the question via the DCA website and got back the answer below, but would still like to check if the Expanse of others is “affected” too:

When you push on the outside of the headphone cup there may be a sound.

My advise is - don’t do that! It does not affect the headphones at all.

 

[oscar_dziki]

Could you check if you hear a sound coming from inside the cups when you push the cans and cushions just slightly towards your head (and a bit of pressure is applied to the driver)? I would describe the sound as if you pull of a small plaster or sticker off of something. Thank you in advance!

I’ve already posed the question via the DCA website and got back the answer below, but would still like to , check if the Expanse of others is “affected” too:

Yes, I can hear this sound I don't think it's a big problem. It's not like an iem pop - it's much quieter.

 

[Grobbelboy]

I don’t think it’s a problem either, but good to know that I don’t seem to have received an outlier. Thanks for checking!

 

[oscar_dziki]

I can't imagine even for a second listen on A90D level, like @amirm did. His dedication for science and sacrifice is most amirmable.

 

[Zenairis]

Something I've noticed between the two the Stealth sounds cleaner than the Expanse (this is with me A/B'ing them) or slightly more precise and I believe that likely has to do with the bump to the mid bass? or at least if I had to guess that's the cause.

Now needless to say the Expanse reproduces depth a lot better than the Stealth does.

That is difficult to answer. I only decided after a few days and several hours of listening. There were different phases, sometimes I found the Expanse (very) good, sometimes significantly worse than the Stealth. What I mean by that is that a lot depends on the mood of the day. Therefore, it is certainly better if you spend more time with it and if you make up your own mind.

For me, two things were ultimately decisive. First, with too many of my albums, I had too much bass with the Expanse, so it sounded a bit more muddy than with the Stealth. It was better with the EQ (-2.5, 175Hz, Q2.6), but not for every music, and i really did not want to buy another headphone that needs EQ (for me). I wanted a headphone that sounded correct to me no matter what.

Second, It was also more difficult to separate the different details. I like to listen to metal, for example Devin Townsend. Some of his recordings are not technically perfect, highly compressed, but still full of details. @Zenairis wrote me in this thread that the different details "flow together" a bit more with the Expanse, but the space is wider, while the Stealth is more "tight" and the sounds feel more separated. I think that description is on point. And with the music i like the most it was a clear disadvantage for the Expanse, here the razor sharp separation of the Stealth fits better.

And then there was the fact that I found the treble on the Stealth to be more correct, or at least more pleasant. An example of this is the piece "Nobody´s perfect" by Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris from the Album "Threads". I found it through this thread in a recommendation by Karl-Heinz Fink. He writes (translated by DeepL):

With the Stealth i found this music almost tolerable, but not so much with the Expanse.

So, after all, it was pretty clear the Expanse to me was not what i hoped for. Still the differences very much depend on the music and what you personally find important.

This is 100% of my interpretation. The Expanse has a lot of depth this is especially noticeable in games, which is close to, but not quite a Hifiman Arya in terms of depth. The sound of the Expanse has more of a "Hall effect" where as the Stealth has space/stage when it's called for but not as forced. As far as directional accuracy they're both really close and I didn't notice much of a difference in overall room presence besides depth.

HOWEVER The overall sound doesn't sound as clean/tight as the Stealth. Look at it this way you the Expanse trades some (not much) accuracy for more bass and sound stage depth vs Stealth. That's the best way to describe it imo. The Expanse also rumbles/vibrates more on your ears because of the stronger bass. I think what gets me is hearing the sub/mid bass increase in things it shouldn't be in, but songs where it should it edges out the Stealth.

Short version Stealth = tight/accuracy, Expanse = hall effect depth/more bass, slightly less accuracy.

This is where you decide which headphone is right for you.

 

[srkbear]

I just got my pair. The tuning is superb, as is the soundstage. But I’m afraid they have to go back. I have a 5.1 volt DAC fed into a 14 watt balanced amp, and the reasonable listening range of these headphones starts at 2 o’clock. I don’t think I’ve encountered a lower sensitivity in a set of cans I’ve owned other than the Susvara, which I also ended up selling.

I like quite a bit of bass. I recently acquired a set of HifiMan HE1000se’s that have a sensitivity of 96, and with the analog bass boost I have on my amp, I can literally feel the low end pleasingly rattling my chest. By the time I achieved an even remotely exciting range of volume with the Expanse, the bass boost was precariously close to clipping, a problem I never encounter with the HE1000se or my Utopias.

I so wanted to love these headphones. Perhaps with an even more formidable or better matched amp I’d be able to appreciate them more. I’m going to give the Stealths a try before I give up on DCA, but knowing its published sensitivity I’m not optimistic…

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

I just got my pair. The tuning is superb, as is the soundstage. But I’m afraid they have to go back. I have a 5.1 volt DAC fed into a 14 watt balanced amp, and the reasonable listening range of these headphones starts at 2 o’clock. I don’t think I’ve encountered a lower sensitivity in a set of cans I’ve owned other than the Susvara, which I also ended up selling.

I like quite a bit of bass. I recently acquired a set of HifiMan HE1000se’s that have a sensitivity of 96, and with the analog bass boost I have on my amp, I can literally feel the low end pleasingly rattling my chest. By the time I achieved an even remotely exciting range of volume with the Expanse, the bass boost was precariously close to clipping, a problem I never encounter with the HE1000se or my Utopias.

I so wanted to love these headphones. Perhaps with an even more formidable or better matched amp I’d be able to appreciate them more. I’m going to give the Stealths a try before I give up on DCA, but knowing its published sensitivity I’m not optimistic…

Maybe use a speaker amp?

 

[srkbear]

Maybe use a speaker amp?

I suppose I could do that, but I think it might be simpler (and more cost effective) to just buy a more sensitive headphone

 

[srkbear]

Yes, I can hear this sound I don't think it's a big problem. It's not like an iem pop - it's much quieter.

Everything is quieter with these headphones! What are you using to drive them? They are power hungry to the extreme—so much so that I think this was underemphasized in the review, to a misleading extent (it was mentioned, but in my view, not sufficiently in this case).

If the standards here are that we’re going to qualify a recommendation for one headphone or another with EQ but not without, then I think the same should hold true for amp requirements. These things have a sensitivity of around 85-86, which is ridiculously low—almost Susvara low. There are a very limited number of amps that could drive these $4,000 cans, and single-ended would be unthinkable.

This is just my view, but I think specs this low are just as much a design failure as noncompliant tuning—and PEQs are far more accessible to the average user than mammoth amplifiers. The Stealths are demanding enough, but these are built on the same technology and are considerably worse—what’s going on in this design that is drawing so much power, and what could have been done, if anything, to mitigate it?

 

[Grobbelboy]

If the standards here are that we’re going to qualify a recommendation for one headphone or another with EQ but not without, then I think the same should hold true for amp requirements. These things have a sensitivity of around 85-86, which is ridiculously low—almost Susvara low. There are a very limited number of amps that could drive these $4,000 cans, and single-ended would be unthinkable.

Eh? The 150 dollar Topping L30II power them, single ended, to absolutely deafening levels when set at high gain.

 

[PGAMiami]

I suppose I could do that, but I think it might be simpler (and more cost effective) to just buy a more sensitive headphone

One man’s cost effective solution is another’s extravagance… And one reason why I chose the Utopia was how easy they are to drive.

But given you’re already in the deep side of the swimming pool with these luxury headphones, there are folks using the Benchmark AHB2 on headphones. There is even a headphone adapter you can buy on Etsy, see below. These are absolutely fantastic amps and they certainly will not clip current or voltage into a headphone.

Benchmark AHB2 Headphone Adaptor Cable NL4 to Female 4 Pin XLR Mogami Cable - Etsy

This Electronic Cables item is sold by FogCityAudio. Ships from San Francisco, CA. Listed on Mar 11, 2024

www.etsy.com

 

[PGAMiami]

Thinking about getting the DCA Noire as my compact, closed back traveling phones, do you all think a Topping G5 has enough power?

 

[DEF]

Time and effort are undoubtedly a factor in the end result and in the price too.

Its 4800 EUR ~ roughly 5 grand in my location

 

[majingotan]

One man’s cost effective solution is another’s extravagance… And one reason why I chose the Utopia was how easy they are to drive.

But given you’re already in the deep side of the swimming pool with these luxury headphones, there are folks using the Benchmark AHB2 on headphones. There is even a headphone adapter you can buy on Etsy, see below. These are absolutely fantastic amps and they certainly will not clip current or voltage into a headphone.

Benchmark AHB2 Headphone Adaptor Cable NL4 to Female 4 Pin XLR Mogami Cable - Etsy

This Electronic Cables item is sold by FogCityAudio. Ships from San Francisco, CA. Listed on Mar 11, 2024

www.etsy.com

I went the opposite direction as I clearly couldn't hear even -60 dB SINAD or worse at all out of the Aeon X Open.

I drive my Dan Clark with distortion generator DACs and amps and my ears couldn't detect any bad clipping or distorted sound. Since I can't hear any of these (maybe others can), I take the inaudible penalty (of distortion to my ears) and power my Aeon X Open with an amp that has the same amount of power regardless of the headphone impedance: my distortion generator amp gets 4W at 32 ohms and 4W at 300 ohms unlike most solid state amps where power is aligned with ohm's law. Having lots of voltage swings without sacrificing current pretty much makes the Aeon X Open and Expanse sound fantastically amazing.

 

[Doodski]

Its 4800 EUR ~ roughly 5 grand in my location

CDN $5200 for either the Stealth or the Expanse in Canada.

Dan Clark Audio EXPANSE Planar Magnetic Open Headphones

ExpanseDesigned, tuned, and built in San Diego, CaliforniaDan Clark Audio’s design goal is to never compromise on sound, comfort, or aesthetics. EXPANSE is our ultimate open headphone statement and embodies everything we’ve learned since our inception. Years in the making, Expanse sets a new...

baybloorradio.com

Dan Clark Audio STEALTH Planar Magnetic Closed Headphones

StealthDesigned, tuned, and built in San Diego, CaliforniaDan Clark Audio’s design goal is to never compromise on sound, comfort, or aesthetics. Stealth is our ultimate closed-back statement and embodies everything we’ve learned since our inception. Four years in the making, Stealth sets a new...

baybloorradio.com

 

[PGAMiami]

Everything is quieter with these headphones! What are you using to drive them? They are power hungry to the extreme—so much so that I think this was underemphasized in the review, to a misleading extent (it was mentioned, but in my view, not sufficiently in this case).

If the standards here are that we’re going to qualify a recommendation for one headphone or another with EQ but not without, then I think the same should hold true for amp requirements. These things have a sensitivity of around 85-86, which is ridiculously low—almost Susvara low. There are a very limited number of amps that could drive these $4,000 cans, and single-ended would be unthinkable.

This is just my view, but I think specs this low are just as much a design failure as noncompliant tuning—and PEQs are far more accessible to the average user than mammoth amplifiers. The Stealths are demanding enough, but these are built on the same technology and are considerably worse—what’s going on in this design that is drawing so much power, and what could have been done, if anything, to mitigate it?

I was about to hit buy on the DCA Noire, when I read your post. Are the Expanse much worse than other DCAs? I’ve been spoiled with how eay it is to get great sound from the Utopia. My whole point in getting the Noire is to have a portable system with a Topping G5. Maybe I should focus on IEMs or the closed back Focal.

 

[Robbo99999]

I just got my pair. The tuning is superb, as is the soundstage. But I’m afraid they have to go back. I have a 5.1 volt DAC fed into a 14 watt balanced amp, and the reasonable listening range of these headphones starts at 2 o’clock. I don’t think I’ve encountered a lower sensitivity in a set of cans I’ve owned other than the Susvara, which I also ended up selling.

I like quite a bit of bass. I recently acquired a set of HifiMan HE1000se’s that have a sensitivity of 96, and with the analog bass boost I have on my amp, I can literally feel the low end pleasingly rattling my chest. By the time I achieved an even remotely exciting range of volume with the Expanse, the bass boost was precariously close to clipping, a problem I never encounter with the HE1000se or my Utopias.

I so wanted to love these headphones. Perhaps with an even more formidable or better matched amp I’d be able to appreciate them more. I’m going to give the Stealths a try before I give up on DCA, but knowing its published sensitivity I’m not optimistic…

That sounds like you're already deaf, or going to soon be so! Sounds absurd to be honest.

 

[DEF]

That sounds like you're already deaf, or going to soon be so! Sounds absurd to be honest.

To their defense - each ear is unique and perhaps there is a different seal or so.
If you ever had in ears - as comparision and you move it just a bit, the amount of audible bass changes drastically.