[normie610]

Just got the Expanse today and I am loving it! I only have a couple hours of listening time, but it is truly a great experience so far. Listening with May + HPA4 + AHB2 at the time of this post. The Expanse are also comfortable / light on my head which is always an extra plus. I will send some detailed impressions once I spend more quality time. Congrats to Dan on an awesome flagship. Back to listening for me!

It’s great to hear from you Trevor. Look forward to hear your detailed impressions.

 

[riverground]

Well I may have to consider the Stealth now since Liric is not shippable to Canada from headphones.com and I don’t know of any reputable Canadian dealers.

How does the stealth compare to Ether C Flows for warmth? I am not a basshead but I do want my punch.

You should hit up headfoneshop.com

Has been my go to shop here in Toronto for over a decade now.

He carries the Stealth as well.

 

[GenEricOne]

I realize this thread has all of its attention focused on Expanse right now, but I got my Stealths earlier this week to upgrade from my Aeon 2 Noires, and have some impressions I'd like to share, including a surprising synergy.

My goal of this headphone is to be both my "throw them on" quick-listen headphones and need-to-focus-on-a-task headphones, so they need to be really comfortable, good on an amp I can just leave on, and good isolation. My music preferences are the non-dubstep varieties of EDM, and in terms of headphones I've really been leaning into soundstage/openness from recent headphones, sub-bass makes my brain happy but mid-bass can irritate me, and 'slam' (sigh, I know) is important to me.

I started out on the Cayin iHA-6 in High Current mode, and everything others have reported about the Stealth is absolutely true--incredibly detailed and fast, very pleasing EQ, and surprisingly open sounding for a closed back. The iHA-6 seems like a good pairing using the XLR output. 'Slam' was a bit lacking, but inline with expectations.

I then switched to the amp/rig I use for my 1266TC: Freya+ with dual Aegirs as monoblocks for each channel. It's overkill but I love the results on the 1266TC. It's the best I've ever heard the 1266TC, with an awesome combo of an immersive holographic presentation, incredible dynamics, and tons of detail and speed. The 'slam' is particularly incredible. It's a yokozuna of an amp/rig and everything I want from a headphone rig except it uses tubes, has warm-up time, and consumes about 250W (which is too much heat for this room to handle on an ongoing basis). It's also ruined the 1266TC for me--every time I hear them on another amp I just want the Freya/Aegirs. I've been playing around with LISSTs to reduce power consumption and have as an always-on option, still on the fence.

I expected similar synergy on the Stealth, maybe even better with the lower impedance being better suited to speaker amps than the 1266TC, and was kind of disappointed. It is excellent, and the best I've heard the Stealths, but not otherworldly. Specifically the holographic presentation isn't there, likely a limitation of the closed back Stealths themselves, but everything else is truly excellent (including the slam), just not enough to supplant the 1266TC on this rig. If I'm spending the time to fire up this rig, the 1266TCs are still going on my head.

I then connected the Stealth to my XI Audio Formula S, which I've thought of as a good-but-not-great pairing with the 1266TC (despite its reputation as the pairing). And to keep it short, the Formula S with the Stealth is a fantastic pairing, bringing about 90-95% of what the Freya+ w/ Dual Aegir rig brings, actually a bit more overall bass, but having more usability since I can just leave it on all the time as it's solid-state with just 45W of power consumption. It's a clear step-up over the iHA-6 with the Stealth and I think the Formula S is better suited to the Stealth than the 1266TC.

 

[ddlo]

just received mine during lunch and listened for a short while this evening

quite similar to stealth's tuning with a tad more mid-bass and sounds wider, frankly still not the type i like the most (aka susvara!). dark sounding and very clean. but comparing to susvara, it seems there's something lacking and less enjoyable. i have similar feeling towards the 5 DCA/mr. speakers cans i got (yet very unwise kept on buying ).

the black cardboard box is much more tasteful (also the blue stitch) than the stealth's hifiman like box! more importantly, the grille looks so great it's not out of place in a meze TOTL open headphone! that's really some of the best (and complicated) open back grille design I've seen.

 

[Currawong]

quite similar to stealth's tuning with a tad more mid-bass and sounds wider, frankly still not the type i like the most (aka susvara!). dark sounding and very clean. but comparing to susvara, it seems there's something lacking and less enjoyable. i have similar feeling towards the 5 DCA/mr. speakers cans i got (yet very unwise kept on buying ).

I was discussing this with people at the Tokyo show on the weekend. I think the Susvara sounds a bit wider, and a bit more "exciting", but, in turn, a bit more fatiguing when listening for longer. Some amateur CSD plots of the Susvara suggest they have a bit of a resonance at 2 kHz or so, which may be the reason for it. The Expanse can tend to be a bit like listening to Chord gear in that you get more resolution, and that's where you get the better experience. They work for me on my system really well, but I can also get fantastic results with the Susvaras too.

 

[jlbrach]

both are extraordinary HP's....cant go wrong with either but I must admit since I have gotten my expanse it has been my go to recently

 

[Andrewteee]

After listening to the Expanse and doing some back and forth with the Stealth I have a renewed appreciation for the Stealth. Both are fantastic. It really comes down to genre for me. These are darn good headphones!

 

[ddlo]

I was discussing this with people at the Tokyo show on the weekend. I think the Susvara sounds a bit wider, and a bit more "exciting", but, in turn, a bit more fatiguing when listening for longer. Some amateur CSD plots of the Susvara suggest they have a bit of a resonance at 2 kHz or so, which may be the reason for it. The Expanse can tend to be a bit like listening to Chord gear in that you get more resolution, and that's where you get the better experience. They work for me on my system really well, but I can also get fantastic results with the Susvaras too.

I sometimes prefer the even more exciting hekse oe se-master1 over sus. It's one of the great thing about headfi that it's relatively easy to have multiple cans at home, both financially or spatially

The expanse is really a great product with very enjoyable sound. It's easily the best dca dynamic open-back in current lineup

 

[ThanatosVI]

Just received the Expanse.
They mentioned that they made the Box simpler, however the unpacking experience is still very nice

I love the compact foldable Design, really helpfull when you have a big collection to save some space.

The stock cable looks really well made, could even be the best stock cable I've seen so far.

I just put them on without Listening and comfort seems ok.

@mrspeakers is there a way to increase clamping force?
I have a small head and they sit very Loose on mine

 

[OCC7N]

Even better than the Chord TT2 is the Questyle CMA Fifteen with the Stealth. It really breathes some life into the Stealth and adds a bit of bottom end and top end sparkle. Listening to the Stealth on the TT2 after the CMA Fifteen makes them sound mushy and compressed. It's quite a bit better with the Stealth and is great with other planars as well. It can even handle the HE6SEv2 without running out of juice.

The only planar in my collection that I prefer the TT2 with over the CMA Fifteen is the LCD5.

This comparison is the XLR outputs or the SE, on the TT2?

 

[ra990]

This comparison is the XLR outputs or the SE, on the TT2?

I never used Stealth with XLR outs on TT2, there was no reason, SE out was plenty powerful. I just sold my TT2, because I preferred the CMA Fifteen over it on most headphones, except the LCD-5.

 

[OCC7N]

I never used Stealth with XLR outs on TT2, there was no reason, SE out was plenty powerful. I just sold my TT2, because I preferred the CMA Fifteen over it on most headphones, except the LCD-5.

Ok cool. So you don´t use any headamp, just the CMA Fifteen?

 

[ra990]

Ok cool. So you don´t use any headamp, just the CMA Fifteen?

Yes, it's an all-in-one, like the TT2. The special sauce is in their current mode headphone amplification tied directly to the current output of the DAC chip.

 

[raps1514]

I was discussing this with people at the Tokyo show on the weekend. I think the Susvara sounds a bit wider, and a bit more "exciting", but, in turn, a bit more fatiguing when listening for longer. Some amateur CSD plots of the Susvara suggest they have a bit of a resonance at 2 kHz or so, which may be the reason for it. The Expanse can tend to be a bit like listening to Chord gear in that you get more resolution, and that's where you get the better experience. They work for me on my system really well, but I can also get fantastic results with the Susvaras too.

I do think there is something to be said of a highly detailed headphone that is both supremely comfortable and easy to listen to for long periods. Stealth has been that for me.

 

[ItHz]

Today, I had my first listening session with the Expanse. I'm pleased with it so far but I think I still need more time for my brain to acclimate. The Expanse was plugged into the 16 ohm jack of an ampsandsound Nautilus being fed from a Holo Audio May KTE.

Some highlights:

Imagine performed by Chris Cornell from Songbook
I'm used to hearing Chris's vocals as though my head is the microphone, but Expanse pushed the vocals back a few steps. The difference caught my attention and I enjoyed the less intimate but wider presentation.

Castles by Freya Ridings from Freya Ridings
Freya's vocals exhibited the "volumes in space" effect that Dan described, which was neat, and Expanse rendered loads of nuance. The drums had a satisfying impact and authority.

10:27 Appledew Stew by Danger from Haven (Original Game Soundtrack)
Very atmospheric, and it sounded like the soundstage extended outward forever -- I don't mean that sounds were placed super far away, just that I got the impression of the sounds drifting outward. Portions of the track are very busy but I never felt like any parts were obscured or smeared.

Dare by Stan Bush from Transformers: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
80's pop-rock is a guilty pleasure of mine. Expanse gave each part (synths, instruments, vocals) loads of energy but never let the sound get unbalanced so that any part overshadowed the others. Listening to this track with Expanse was so much fun I think my mullet started to grow back.