[jlbrach]

I listened to the same album last night with the expanse

 

[Somatic]

Don't make me bring 801 in here so he can tell us how all we need is a diablo on low gain!

No offense but he is on that IFI GO Blu using LDAC right now hehe.

I do think clean source makes a huge difference but doesn’t make a headphone have a small soundstage vs an “expansive” one.

Compared to an LCD5, how is soundstage conveyed? Width/ depth?

 

[ra990]

I listened to the same album last night with the expanse

You know what I'm talking about with the bells then...those were some real sounding bells, damn!

 

[Somatic]

OK, this EQ is really helping...this is more like it! There's more light in the room and I get a nice clear stage that is connected. The dead space I was hearing in the front is gone, there is more front to back depth. Just had to reduce the midbass to make more room for the treble and atmospheric details that were already in the treble. Mid bass sounds more in line with what I prefer, less overpowering in mixes.

I remember I had the same problem with the Empyreans. Too much mid bass energy. Scaled it down 1.5-2db and the clarity and tonal balance came to fruition.

So is the Expanse similar in tonality? Mid bass bloat with stock tuning?

 

[ra990]

No offense but he is on that IFI GO Blu using LDAC right now hehe.

I do think clean source makes a huge difference but doesn’t make a headphone have a small soundstage vs an “expansive” one.

Compared to an LCD5, how is soundstage conveyed? Width/ depth?

With the EQ applied, I'd say these are at least as wide and deep as LCD5. Probably more, but I'm just getting reacquainted with the soundstage after the EQ. Before the EQ, I thought the LCD were maybe not as wide but had better depth.

In regards to them having a midbass bump, a bit like OG Empyreans but executed very differently. There's way more physical presence and texture in the bass than the OG Empyreans, which actually hid detail from mids because the bass bled into it.

 

[Somatic]

With the EQ applied, I'd say these are at least as wide and deep as LCD5. Probably more, but I'm just getting reacquainted with the soundstage after the EQ. Before the EQ, I thought the LCD were maybe not as wide but had better depth.

Honestly it’s easier for me to hear how wide the soundstage is vs how deep. I like a wider soundstage if possible. LCD5 was pretty intimate.

So what’s with the name, Expanse? Thought it would be super wide and deep? Deep space …

 

[Nomax]

I remember I had the same problem with the Empyreans. Too much mid bass energy. Scaled it down 1.5-2db and the clarity and tonal balance came to fruition.

So is the Expanse similar in tonality? Mid bass bloat with stock tuning?

I can share your impressions....Empy also always had too much for my ears

NOMAX

Ps.But in any case, the Expanse is a whole other higher league as the Empy...tonally as well as technically superior

 

[ra990]

Honestly it’s easier for me to hear how wide the soundstage is vs how deep. I like a wider soundstage if possible. LCD5 was pretty intimate.

So what’s with the name, Expanse? Thought it would be super wide and deep? Deep space …

Hahaha I agree with the naming! That's what threw me off at first.

I'm telling the Ether 2 fans out there, this is the Ether 3...improvement across the board but still that type of textural warmth and smoothness that I remember them by.

 

[Currawong]

That is true that the higher the output impedance is, the more the impedance characteristics will act like an EQ. What I meant is the higher impedance in that region reduce the current demand for low frequencies, especially considering Expanse and Stealth are quite low impedance HPs. But its effect is probably not that important considering we don't have pure low frequency audio. But there is something going on there when we consider the massive bass Expanse delivers compared to Stealth. Either as a result or a reason.

Ok, I get what you are saying. I don't believe that all but quite cheap amps (~$100) could be affected in that way, and then probably only at louder SPLs. If the reduced current demand had that effect then... well, look at the impedance plot of a HD800. Hold that thought though -- the next time I'm talking to someone who designs amps I'll ask about it, unless you already know someone in the industry who has written about it.

Given what you've said about just the treble region flaws in the Expanse, I wonder what the various rave professional reviewers were smoking when they wrote their high praises of the headphones' upper-mid and treble response.

What do you make of these flat-out contradictions? It's like the pro reviewer has an entirely different ear design than us users. Barely a peep out of him about any of the various flaws found by Head-fi members. To look at the various reviews, professional and user; there are such radical differences it doesn't look like the reader can easily come to any conclusions at all about the product (without personally trying them out), from the pro reviews. That is, the professional reviews are probably worse than nothing as far as solving the audiophiles' need for unbiased professional evaluation of the products. Because these pro reviews tend more to mislead than to elucidate the truth about the product and its usefulness to the potential user. They tend to be very business-biased distorted glimpses of the products' pros and cons, rather than the good source of guidance hoped for by the audiophile.

As I understand things, everyone has a null in their hearing between 8-10 kHz. As a result, someone's impressions of the FR of a pair of headphones not only could, but very often will be quite different to someone else's. Then, add to that different music preferences and listening loudness, as well as individual unit variations, and it's not unusual to get people who have radically different opinions about products.

I think though that it can be easier to notice what is impressive about a product initially, and less so any flaws, if not dramatically large. I've even seen groups of vehemently anti-head-fi people get caught up in their own hype-trains over products, potential flaws only being talked about long afterwards. It's not easier when someone has to review something with only a short period with the product, not always long enough to find issue with it.

Posting this image to show there is a small difference between the Stealth and Expanse in the treble that might be what I'm hearing. (thanks @Nomax for the reference plot)



I think that subdued 6-10k region, plus the bump in the mid/bass region, could lead to a less airier presentation on the Expanse.

I'd want to test a few different units first before coming to any conclusions about FR.

I remember I had the same problem with the Empyreans. Too much mid bass energy. Scaled it down 1.5-2db and the clarity and tonal balance came to fruition.

So is the Expanse similar in tonality? Mid bass bloat with stock tuning?

The Expanse is closer to the Elite (or at least my pair is) and doesn't sound bloated, so much as there feels like there is significant mid-bass.

 

[ThanatosVI]

First Impressions / Mini Review
It's now about a week since I received the DCA Expanse.
This is my first headphone from DCA.

Unpacking:
Even though Dan mentioned in an interview that one of the measures they had to take during Covid to keep the selling price unchanged, was to make the packaging simpler, I must say it still feels very good. That engraved logo on the Case feels and looks nice.
In the outer packaging one can find the travel case, which is a lot smaller than I expected prior to receiving them. They can be stored in a really compact way. Something I didn't know I valued this much until I had it.
The stock cable also looks and feels quite good, I'd even go as far as saying it's the best stock cable I've seen to this day. However it's still a little microphonic which might be a "no go" for some (I also ordered adapters to use my Norne cables instead, but all my impressions have been with stock cable)

Comfort is excellent on these, the earpads feel amazing. Unfortunately they are glued and after a few years they have to be sent in for replacement. I think that the glue was required for the seal, which is much more important on the Expanse than on many other open headphones.
I must confess, it never took me as long as with the Expanse to grasp the sound signature.
At first the felt muffled and narrow. This changed over time, but a lot of this can be attributed to brain burn in and getting used to the sound signature.

So how do they actually sound?
They are called Expanse, and this might set you up for for dissappointment if you seek an expansive experience.
The soundstage even after burn in and getting used to is still on the smaller side, they are nowhere near as Expansive as a Meze Elite for instance. And I'd even consider this a clear weakness compared to its piers - IF you consider Soundstage size very important.
They have a lot of other qualities to make up for it.

The Bass is very strong. Not only Harman strong but beyond that. They have great Bass in quantity and quality. Most headphones with that amount of Bass would feel bloated but the AMTS does it's magic and you receive a lot of very clean non bloated Bass. My Basshead heart loves the performance and if you love Bass give them a try!

The mids have great texture and detail. They sound very realistic and lifelike. They have an impressive weight to them even on low volume, which is something I didn't hear in that fashion on other headphones before. Thick but super detailed usually two things that you don't get both at the same time.

The treble is there, they are not dark by any means.(well better don't quote me on that, all my headphones are usually on the warmer/darker side...) They have a lot of energy in the treble especially in the presence region. However they are lacking in the air frequencies which results in that comparatively narrow soundstage. This will be a matter of taste, some prefer it this way, some prefer the more accentuated way most other headphones handle the air region. The treble is completely non fatiguing, if you're treble sensitive give them a go. They have energy up top but not in an tiring way.

Details are plentiful, however the overall signature is very balanced, so details are not emphasized like on the Solitaire P for instance. However when A/B-ing between them you can clearly hear all the detail that was also present on the other headphone.

Overall they offer a very detailed meaty sound with a balanced non fatiguing signature.
They now rank #2 in my collection and I am certainly a DCA Fan now.
Dans opinion on many subjects regarding sound and tuning is very relateable and I'm looking forward to what he will develop in the future.
I'd love to get an electrostat that includes all the new inventions of stealth and expanse.

On different note:
Club DCA is a great program, I wish other companies would adopt that as well. At 15% discount, if you're in the US, the Expanse retails for 3400$. I seriously don't think that you can get anything better than that, at this price.
If you're in the EU without Club DCA, things might look different ... they are still worth an audition though.

 

[Somatic]

First Impressions / Mini Review
It's now about a week since I received the DCA Expanse.
This is my first headphone from DCA.

Unpacking:
Even though Dan mentioned in a Review that one of the measures they had to take during Covid to keep the selling price was to make the packaging simpler I must say it still feels very good. That engraved logo on the Case feels really good and looks nice.
In the outer packaging one can find the travel case, which is a lot smaller than I expected prior to receiving them. They can be stored in a really compact way. Something I didn't know I valued this much until I had it.
The stock cable also looks and feels quite good, I'd even go as far as saying it's the best stock cable I've seen to this day. However it's still a little microphonic which might be a no go for some (I also ordered adapters to use my Norne cables instead, but all my impressions have been with stock cable)

Comfort is excellent on these, the earpads feel amazing. Unfortunately they are glued and after a few years they have to be sent in for replacement. I think that the glue was required for the seal, which is much more important on the Expanse than on many other open headphones.
I must confess, it never took me as long as with the Expanse to grasp the sound signature.
At first the felt muffled and narrow. This changed over time, but a lot of this can be attributed to brain burn in and getting used to the sound signature.

So how do they actually sound?
They are called Expanse, and this might set you up for for dissappointment if you seek an expansive experience.
The soundstage even after burn in and getting used to is still on the smaller side, they are nowhere near as Expansive as a Meze Elite for instance. And I'd even consider this a clear weakness compared to its piers - IF you consider Soundstage size very important.
They have a lot of other qualities to make up for it.

The Bass is very strong. Not only Harman strong but beyond that. They have great Bass in quantity and quality. Most headphones with that amount of Bass would feel bloated but the AMTS does it's magic and you receive a lot of very clean non bloated Bass. My Basshead heart loves the performance and if you love Bass give them a try!

The mids have great texture and detail. They sound very realistic and lifelike. They have and impressive weight to them even on low volume, which is something I didn't hear in that fashion on other headphones before. Thick but super detailed usually two things that you don't get both at the same time.

The treble is there, they are not dark by any means.(well better don't quote me on that, all my headphones are usually on the warmer/darker side...) They have a lot of energy in the treble especially in the presence region. However they are lacking in the air frequencies which results in that comparatively narrow soundstage. This will be a matter of taste, some prefer it this way, some prefer the more accentuated way most other headphones handle the air region. The treble is completely non fatiguing, if you're treble sensitive give them a go. They have energy up top but not in an tiring way.

Details are plentiful, however the overall signature is very balanced, so details are not emphasized like on the Solitaire P for instance. However when A/B-ing between them you can clearly hear all the detail that was also present on the other headphone.

Overall they offer a very detailed meaty sound with a balanced non fatiguing signature.
They now rank #2 in my collection and I am certainly a DCA Fan now.
Dans opinion on many subjects regarding sound and tuning is very relateable and I'm looking forward to what he will develop in the future.
I'd love to get an electrostat that includes all the new inventions of stealth and expanse.

On different note:
Club DCA is a great program, I wish other companies would adopt that as well. At 15% discount if you're in the US the Expanse retails for 3400$, I seriously don't think that you can anything better than that, at this price.
If you're in the EU without Club DCA, things might look different ... they are still worth an audition though.

Hmmm. These sound like something I might be in to.

 

[thecrow]

Any experienced views of the expanse v lcd4 when it comes to mids and lows and detail?

edit:
i did find this post - thanks
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dan...ents-impressions.964852/page-41#post-17156280

(but searching this thread with “lcd4“, “lcd-4” and “lcd 4” gave me no results)

 

[Arniesb]

I guess they bought into the audiophile tales and will even release a linear power supply (7:08 of this video):

Giving audience what they want.

 

[Nomax]

@ThanatosVI

Thanks for your Mini Rev

What is your personal NR.1 in your Ranking?

NOMAX

 

[ThanatosVI]

@ThanatosVI

Thanks for your Mini Rev

What is your personal NR.1 in your Ranking?

NOMAX

Meze Elite is my #1