[DarginMahkum]

I am not sure if I am imagining things but I have a feeling Expanse is becoming warmer and fuller sounding with time? Anyone else to comment on that? I guess people that didn't like Stealth will love Expanse.

 

[commtrd]

So far really liking initial owner reviews on the Expanse. Very encouraging. I usually wait for some time to get a lot of diverse feedback on review / impression before buying but initially all looking very positive for an Expanse purchase.

 

[Nomax]

Your reviews are getting shorter and shorter.

Don't worry, my impressions will come

NOMAX

 

[DarginMahkum]

Don't worry, my impressions will come

NOMAX

Don't worry. We know that you have just been on a second honey moon with your first love that just received a facelift. Remembering the good old days together must have made you forget what is in the market.

 

[Nomax]

Don't worry. We know that you have just been on a second honey moon with your first love that just received a facelift. Remembering the good old days together must have made you forget what is in the market.

In any case, the tonal facelift of the Frenchman suits it better than the.......

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[iamoneagain]

I am not sure if I am imagining things but I have a feeling Expanse is becoming warmer and fuller sounding with time? Anyone else to comment on that? I guess people that didn't like Stealth will love Expanse.

Yeah I think so. I wasn’t a fan of the Stealth at all. I heard them out of the same tube amp yesterday in the DCA room at CanJam. The vocals seems more prominent and it lacked bass to my ears. It did have great layering and depth for a closed headphone. Actually very close to the Expanse. But the Expanse has a different sound signature. It’s warmer overall, the bass lines have energy and weight and you can feel the impact. I didn’t get any of that from the Stealth. Could be possible I wasn’t getting a great seal but tried them several times out of different setups throughout the meet and not once liked it.

 

[iamoneagain]

So one other recommendation for good synergy. The Benchmark HPA4 with their DAC3. Very clean and punchy. Plenty of power and control. Much better than the DCS Lina stack. Do think I prefer the Naim HE over the Benchmark because it’s warmer and more fun.

It’s strange with the Lina because the DAC was amazing with the Woo amp but if any part of the chain is bad, it’s bad. So the complete $30k stack is worst the $3700 Naim HE. Even as for as trying to make out better resolution and timing, I couldn’t hear it in the full stack. And there was just no weight or fullness to it. But on very efficient headphones, the Lina stack performed great. Still think it’s way too big, no remote and display screen too small and lacking. Doesn’t even show album art and not even sure if was a color display.

 

[duas2noites]

So, DCA Expanse isn't a open back version of Stealth, there is a clear difference in sound signature overall, and these differences is not because of the open back design. Nice.

 

[iamoneagain]

So, DCA Expanse isn't an open back version of Stealth, there is a clear difference in sound signature overall, and these differences is not because of the open back design. Nice.

If you haven’t watched the video with Dan talking to Jude, do so. He goes into the tuning differences and why it not just named Stealth Open. Yes, it’s the same driver and almost same frame but with grills but he had to completely rework the metamaterial and open design allowed for different tuning. However, I don’t see why he can’t create a warmer version of the Stealth for a new model. It seemed like he was stuck so close the Harman Target on that one but for the Expanse, he decided to make some changes to create a more engaging sound. For me, he succeeded. I want a technical headphone but not one that sucks the fun out of music.

 

[HONEYBOY]

So, DCA Expanse isn't a open back version of Stealth, there is a clear difference in sound signature overall, and these differences is not because of the open back design. Nice.

The Stealth DNA is still there to me, but the Expanse is just warmer sounding. Stealth are a tad more neutral. Timbre on Stealth is just superbly good with the Expanse very close. It is almost like Dan was saying, You all want OOMPH, here's OOMPH for ya. The bass impact is definitely more elevated, particularly the midrange, and I suspect this will be to more people's liking. Not gonna lie, it is beginning to win me over despite my bias for the more neutral sounding Stealth. The weightier or more corporeal aspect to the instruments, coupled with a tad more agility is adding a nice additional performance to the Stealth.

 

[iamoneagain]

The Stealth DNA is still there to me, but the Expanse is just warmer sounding. Stealth are a tad more neutral. Timbre on Stealth is just superbly good with the Expanse very close. It is almost like Dan was saying, You all want OOMPH, here's OOMPH for ya. The bass impact is definitely more elevated, particularly the midrange, and I suspect this will be to more people's liking. Not gonna lie, it is beginning to win me over despite my bias for the more neutral sounding Stealth. The weightier or more corporeal aspect to the instruments, coupled with a tad more agility is adding a nice additional performance to the Stealth.

I think you nailed the differences better than I did. I tend to exaggerate a bit but it really is kind of all or nothing for me. That little bit of extra warmth and oomph is what makes it. And without it, it’s not enjoyable to me. The mids and highs were probably very close but stand out little more on the Stealth just because bass is slightly less. But the Stealth seems boring to me since I couldn’t feel the music.

 

[HONEYBOY]

I think you nailed the differences better than I did. I tend to exaggerate a bit but it really is kind of all or nothing for me. That little bit of extra warmth and oomph is what makes it. And without it, it’s not enjoyable to me. The mids and highs were probably very close but stand out little more on the Stealth just because bass is slightly less. But the Stealth seems boring to me since I couldn’t feel the music.

Sometimes it’s the small nuances that matter significantly. Glad to see you enjoying the Expanse. They are the safer recommendation in my view.

 

[Andrewteee]

The Empyrean Elite is supposed to have more detail. I wonder how the Expanse would compare. Great impressions.

The Elite indeed does. Both the Elite and Expanse are very good. But on some music I love the clarity and ease of the Expanse while on other music, mostly space/ambient/psybient -- mostly slower paced electronic music, I prefer the Elite because the sound is more, uh, expansive and deeper. Less absolute detail but I can sink deeper into the music. It just fits it better for how I like it.

I've tried to prefer the Expanse for this, but it's precision gets in the way of simply sinking into the music in this particular case.

This is why many of us have more than one headphone correct?

I've also done brief comparisons of the Expanse and Stealth. I've long loved the Stealth for acoustic guitar music, where I can hear the detail, the venue, the instrument's character... a lot of precise detail but in a very musical presentation. As if the musician is in the room playing their guitar right there just for me. Focused and delightful.

I get that with the Expanse too, but less so, as if a few feet further back in the room. It is less "right there," slightly less precise. When I want to hear the guitar and the playing I still prefer the Stealth. This is true for small scale classical too. But the Expanse is also deeply enjoyable on these genres, if in a slightly different but very close presentation. It has an ease that allows the music to breathe a little, to be slightly less right there. The Stealth is tight and focused (closed back), the Expanse a bit more expansive (open back). Others describe the Expanse as warmer, which I can see.

Both headphone names feel super appropriate to their presentation The Stealth just shows up out of nowhere and the Expanse surrounds you.

At the moment, I'm preferring the Expanse for many things and much of the time, the Stealth for being right there in the music and performance and the Elite for spacing out. I'm forced to lay low this weekend, so I've been doing a lot of listening.

I also have a ZMF Atrium on order from weeks ago. Had I known the Expanse was coming I probably would not have purchased the Atrium. Still, ZMF is a brand I'm not familiar with and I was curious about them from what I've read. Worth an experiment. My hunch is that the Atrium or Elite will have to go eventually, but the two DCA headphones are definitely staying. It's pretty clear to me I love the DCA "house" presentation.

This is a lot of good gear, but I've been a lifelong music and gear lover, and my life is intense and stressful right now and the music is a helpful (and healthy) outlet. I go through phases of buying gear followed by living with the same gear for decades. I still have a DAC from 2010.

 

[ClicketEKlack]

Would a powerful DAP, like a Shanling M8, be able to drive the Expanse?

 

[caustic386]

Would a powerful DAP, like a Shanling M8, be able to drive the Expanse?

Without knowing output at 23 ohm, it's hard to say. Officially 500mW@23ohm is recommended, which m8 can probably do.