[steve468]

I think Expanse has a huge soundstage. That said, it presents differently from the HD800 in a couple of ways.

Expanse places the first row closer to you, so vocals etc are more "intimate," but it also places the furthest objects pretty far back, so front to back depth on Expanse is very large.

I'm not sure if this is how you're viewing soundstage, but often I hear that "it's smaller" when discussing vocals that are nearer, vs overall depth of field. Of course perception and impressions can vary by user and you may be thinking about this way I am and just have a different experience...

I can agree with that. I guess linguistically I was using “soundstage” to describe width, and “pinpoint imaging” to describe depth and placement of images. I agree the Expanse is just very different than the HD800 in how it portrays the stage; with the HD800s, I’m watching the band from a good few rows back, but with the Expanse I’m in a room with the musicians set up around me. So I think we’re saying the same thing, you’re just saying it better

In any case, I’m hearing what you’re describing.

 

[mrspeakers]

I can agree with that. I guess linguistically I was using “soundstage” to describe width, and “pinpoint imaging” to describe depth and placement of images. I agree the Expanse is just very different than the HD800 in how it portrays the stage; with the HD800s, I’m watching the band from a good few rows back, but with the Expanse I’m in a room with the musicians set up around me. So I think we’re saying the same thing, you’re just saying it better

In any case, I’m hearing what you’re describing.

…so that’s why we call it Expanse!

 

[XGeneX88]

So I have had the E3, Expanse, and Stealth. I have what most would consider a pretty modest array of setups (Element 3, Modius / Lyr+, A70 Pro (different rooms / areas of listening). I have a friend who is way more into source hardware than myself(Ferrum stack, Lina Stack). We spent a lot of time testing out different combinations and here are some of my observations:

1. The Element 3 is an amazing all in one. It drove all of them almost equal to the super high-end equipment. All of the headphones sounded fantastic. Don't worry about having to dump money in to upgrades. If you are happy with how they sound, they are working as intended. You don't need to go broke here.
2. I couldn't discern any difference in detail retrieval between the 3 headphones. Just different sound signatures. The E3 was the livliest. My favorite was the Expanse overall but it's close.
3. The build quality on all of them are stellar. My opinion in order would be: Expanse > Stealth > E3 for build quality. All have the same comfort once the headband has broken in and conforms to your head. My initial hotspot has gone away.

Can you comment on how well the Lyr+ does with the Expanse? I'm considering purchasing an expanse and have a Lyr+ that I'd be running it on if I were to do so.

 

[dougq]

Can you comment on how well the Lyr+ does with the Expanse? I'm considering purchasing an expanse and have a Lyr+ that I'd be running it on if I were to do so.

It ran perfectly. Sounded fantastic.

 

[gahan]

Can you comment on how well the Lyr+ does with the Expanse? I'm considering purchasing an expanse and have a Lyr+ that I'd be running it on if I were to do so.

A really good combination, specially in tube mode.

 

[SteveM324]

I was comparing my Expanse to my Susvara this afternoon. My system is an Aurender W20SE > Holo May KTE > Auris Nirvana > Expanse/Susvara. I also tried my Holo Bliss KTE but I much prefer the Nirvana with NOS Mullard EL34 and a RCA 12AU7.

The Susvara produced a larger soundstage but I prefer the image placement within the soundstage of the Expanse. As Dan said above, the Expanse’s soundstage seems to be very deep. Background vocals seemed to be properly placed behind the main vocalist more so than on the Susvara. The main vocalist, in this case Susan Wong, was sharply in focus on the Expanse and the background vocalist further back to the right. The Expanse was also a bit warmer and fuller but not by much. Female vocals are perfect.

I think the Expanse holds it own and then some against other top flight headphones. I much prefer the Expanse driven by a powerful quality tube amp like my Nirvana or WA23 Luna as opposed to my Bliss KTE or Enleum 23R. If I put a vacuum tube preamp in front of my SS amps then the gap isn’t so large.

 

[domiji]

Hello Expanse-Lovers out there,

i've got my Expanse for a few weeks now and i noticed that the pads smell ridiculous. It is pretty disgusting. I've never had any problems with another headphone so far.

Does anyone have a similar experience?

Best
Dominik

 

[alxw0w]

Hello Expanse-Lovers out there,

i've got my Expanse for a few weeks now and i noticed that the pads smell ridiculous. It is pretty disgusting. I've never had any problems with another headphone so far.

Does anyone have a similar experience?

Best
Dominik

Nope, no problem at all.
Is that a brand new unit?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Hello Expanse-Lovers out there,

i've got my Expanse for a few weeks now and i noticed that the pads smell ridiculous. It is pretty disgusting. I've never had any problems with another headphone so far.

Does anyone have a similar experience?

Best
Dominik

Did they start to smell or do you mean that "factory fresh" smell?

 

[SteveM324]

Hello Expanse-Lovers out there,

i've got my Expanse for a few weeks now and i noticed that the pads smell ridiculous. It is pretty disgusting. I've never had any problems with another headphone so far.

Does anyone have a similar experience?

Best
Dominik

No odor issue with my Expanse.

 

[domiji]

That is strange

Did anyone already swap the pads on the Expanse?

 

[plumpudding2]

That is strange

Did anyone already swap the pads on the Expanse?

I swapped pads on the Stealth and they smelled a bit funky for 2 weeks but it goes away, maybe you're very sensitive to that smell

 

[SLC1966]

Hello Expanse-Lovers out there,

i've got my Expanse for a few weeks now and i noticed that the pads smell ridiculous. It is pretty disgusting. I've never had any problems with another headphone so far.

Does anyone have a similar experience?

Best
Dominik

No smell here. Did you get the Expanse new or used?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Both my Expanse and Corina had that "factory fresh smell"
However in no way is that an unpleasant odor, just like with a new car it's quite nice.

It also preserves for months if they are kept in the original packaging. My Corina still had it when I switched to it a month ago.
However since it's my daily driver since then, the smell is gone by now.

 

[domiji]

Thanks for your help so far

I got mine used but it was literally new and only used a few times it doesn’t smell like that when I got it.