This is my quick review of the Expanse, more of a comparison and personal experience, but I wanted to leave it in this thread for posterity or in case someone experiences the same.
I’m a mixing and mastering engineer and have been doing this for a while, and that’s what I do for a living. Headphones are a big part of my workflow. I do 50% of my work in a mixing room with a +-1 dB deviation of my target (close to Harman target for speakers) from 15Hz to 20kHz, and the other 50% on headphones, the last few months on the DCA Expanse, and before that, on a pair of Audeze LCD-X with EQ. The EQ part is very important. I wouldn't mix or master on the LCD-X without EQ, so everything I’ll say only applies to the LCD-X EQ’d. Both headphones are driven by the RME ADI-2 Pro FS R.
The first thing I noticed when I used the Expanse is that they are really comfortable, light, and well-constructed. There’s just no contest with the LCD-X, and the ability to fold them and put them in the small included case is a big plus.
On the not-so-good side, my Expanse are very sensitive to how I place them on my head. One little movement, and I can hear the frequency response changing, especially the low end so I have to keep re-adjusting, while the LCD-X, no matter how I throw them on my head, they always sound consistent. Initially, I thought the earpads on the Expanse would soften, and this wouldn’t be a problem anymore, but here I am almost six months later, and it hasn’t changed.
Sound-wise, I find them to be on the same level, but it’s a very different experience. I notice there’s some sort of a “room feeling” on the Expanse that I can’t explain, like if there are some reflections happening on the inside of the headphone that makes it feel “roomy”. My assistant tried them and immediately mentioned “it feels like you’re in a room with speakers” and honestly, it makes for a very pleasant listening experience, but it’s probably a fake one that you wouldn’t want when mixing. When comparing to the LCD-X, the LCD-X are clearly more analytical and precise, which in my line of work is extremely valuable.
When I start comparing between the room, the LCD-X, and the Expanse, all SPL measured and matched as close as I could, it becomes clear that while both headphones match the frequency response and low-end feeling of the speakers, the Expanse adds this blurriness that comes with the reflections/room I’m talking about, it feels good but once you analize it and know exactly where the source material comes from, you can tell its not real. Maybe it’s the meta-material? Or the driver being smaller and further away from the ear? I’m not 100% sure, but we tried about ten reference tracks that we know perfectly, as well as our mixes, and the feeling was consistent between all of them.
So in the end, I’m going to stick with the LCD-X as my main pair of headphones for mixing (EQ’d of course). They just have this clean analytical quality that is very valuable for my work, and they don’t change that much no matter how I wear them. Oh, and don’t get me wrong, I’ve probably done 100+ mixes using the Expanse, and they came out great, and clients are happy. They are really amazing headphones, they just add a level of uncertainty that I can’t risk having.
I’m still not sure if I’m going to sell the Expanse. I’ll probably keep them as a third reference. (But if someone wants to buy them DM me lol)
If someone knows if those reflections/roomy feeling is something that’s fixable, I would love to read your thoughts.
I’m a mixing and mastering engineer and have been doing this for a while, and that’s what I do for a living. Headphones are a big part of my workflow. I do 50% of my work in a mixing room with a +-1 dB deviation of my target (close to Harman target for speakers) from 15Hz to 20kHz, and the other 50% on headphones, the last few months on the DCA Expanse, and before that, on a pair of Audeze LCD-X with EQ. The EQ part is very important. I wouldn't mix or master on the LCD-X without EQ, so everything I’ll say only applies to the LCD-X EQ’d. Both headphones are driven by the RME ADI-2 Pro FS R.
The first thing I noticed when I used the Expanse is that they are really comfortable, light, and well-constructed. There’s just no contest with the LCD-X, and the ability to fold them and put them in the small included case is a big plus.
On the not-so-good side, my Expanse are very sensitive to how I place them on my head. One little movement, and I can hear the frequency response changing, especially the low end so I have to keep re-adjusting, while the LCD-X, no matter how I throw them on my head, they always sound consistent. Initially, I thought the earpads on the Expanse would soften, and this wouldn’t be a problem anymore, but here I am almost six months later, and it hasn’t changed.
Sound-wise, I find them to be on the same level, but it’s a very different experience. I notice there’s some sort of a “room feeling” on the Expanse that I can’t explain, like if there are some reflections happening on the inside of the headphone that makes it feel “roomy”. My assistant tried them and immediately mentioned “it feels like you’re in a room with speakers” and honestly, it makes for a very pleasant listening experience, but it’s probably a fake one that you wouldn’t want when mixing. When comparing to the LCD-X, the LCD-X are clearly more analytical and precise, which in my line of work is extremely valuable.
When I start comparing between the room, the LCD-X, and the Expanse, all SPL measured and matched as close as I could, it becomes clear that while both headphones match the frequency response and low-end feeling of the speakers, the Expanse adds this blurriness that comes with the reflections/room I’m talking about, it feels good but once you analize it and know exactly where the source material comes from, you can tell its not real. Maybe it’s the meta-material? Or the driver being smaller and further away from the ear? I’m not 100% sure, but we tried about ten reference tracks that we know perfectly, as well as our mixes, and the feeling was consistent between all of them.
So in the end, I’m going to stick with the LCD-X as my main pair of headphones for mixing (EQ’d of course). They just have this clean analytical quality that is very valuable for my work, and they don’t change that much no matter how I wear them. Oh, and don’t get me wrong, I’ve probably done 100+ mixes using the Expanse, and they came out great, and clients are happy. They are really amazing headphones, they just add a level of uncertainty that I can’t risk having.
I’m still not sure if I’m going to sell the Expanse. I’ll probably keep them as a third reference. (But if someone wants to buy them DM me lol)
If someone knows if those reflections/roomy feeling is something that’s fixable, I would love to read your thoughts.
Last edited:
:
