So I made a last minute decision to drive up from San Diego this morning. I had 2 goals. See if the DCA Expanse I bought earlier this week stacks up to other top headphone and how does it sound on other equipment. I currently run them out of the Naim HE and really enjoy that combo. Amazing resolution while still being fun and plenty of pace, rhythm and timing.
The first thing I tried out was the new Focal Utopia. I have the original with Danacable Reference that I’m probably going to sell since think I prefer the Expanse. I didn’t bring my Utopia but I got to hear the Utopia 2022 out of my same setup, Naim HE. It was only 10:30am and floor was still pretty quiet. So the new one had nice kick and sounded excellent, but I could tell it had less resolution than my Original. I’d say that’s due to the Danacable. So original plus Danacable for less money combined is better than new model. Be sure to remember that when I sell mine
Next I stopped by the roon setup because they had DCS Lina stack and no one there. I believe I tried a balanced LCD-5 out of it first. That was a pretty enjoyable listen. But then switched to my Expanse. Not only did it sound worse, I know my Naim He for a 1/10 of the price sounded better. I was shocked. The Expanse and the Lina amp do not mix well. Flat and no bass. Saves me $30k
I tried some other random stuff but eventually found the Abyss and Woo amp room. I tried their new WA23 Luna headphone amp that was sourced by the DCS Lina dac without the additional clock. This was the highlight for me. Simply the best. The Expanse has lots of bass, great impact and the mids and highs were perfectly blended in the mix. I like this much better than the Abyss 1266 out of their top if the line amp. The WA23 was also a much better match for the Expanse than the top of the line amp. The WA23 is $9k so out of my price range. I also got to hear the Meze Elite out of their portable tube amp. I get why people like this headphone. It’s got great bass and is a really fun listen. But the Expanse on my Naim HE is just as fun but also has much better resolution across the board. Think my Utopia/Danacable also beats it.
Next I went to the Dan Clark room. I got to test the Expanse against the Stealth on some nice tube amp. Forgot the make but wasn’t as great as the Woo but have no idea even in same price bracket. Anyway, the Expanse is a big win over the Stealth for me. It’s warmer, better bass, impact and more fun. The Stealth didn’t do anything for me.
That pretty much if for me. Had no interest in trying iem headphones and was getting hungry and didn’t want to spend $22 for a burger and fries. Found great food nearby and headed back home.
