[Dixter]

Its amazing how you can create a $500 headphone and convince people to pay $4000 for it...

 

[Currawong]

It might make for an interesting review style if you basically tell a manufacturer "don't tell me anything for now", you finish reviewing the headphone and record it like you normally would (without releasing it yet). Then you talk to the manufacturer, ask all the questions you had initially, your hunches about answers to those questions, additional questions you have as the result of the review, and then you basically react to your own review and record that, so that we can clearly distinguish your impressions before and after talking to the manufacturer. Or record the conversation with the manufacturer if possible, or do all three, and then release it as one video.

Almost like Billie Eilish reacting to her own interview the year before.

Thanks for the suggestion. I more or less do this by writing down my impressions first, and anything I don't understand or want to query, then ask the manufacturer about those things. I've mentioned as much in my reviews, such as with my impression of the upper mids in the EXPANSE. Having both my impressions and thoughts, and the manufacturer's reasoning in the review is more useful I reckon. It's also a good chance to learn things that one may not have even considered.

 

[hifixman]

Nice! I have edited the Stealth impressions thread to include the EXPANSE. It'd be great if you, and anyone else who gets them, can post their impressions there too.
Then we can keep this thread to arguing whether I'm biased or not.

I've been thinking about this, and where my bias lies is not because Dan sent me a pair, but because I spent a good amount of time talking to Dan about the Stealth and Expanse. When most people see a product, they just see the result, and not what the manufacturer had to go through to make it, all the challenges, and all the tiny decisions and what they were thinking. When you talk to people, you understand more, so you have a better understanding of what is going on. You get answers to the "So, why did you do this?!?!" type questions people ask, and some potential negatives don't seem as potentially problematic, or even bad as initially thought (eg: the elastic headband).

Actually, I'm more worried that my over-simplification of what is actually a very complex product was not quite correct. I'm sure I’ll talk to Dan again at some point and he'll tell me where I screwed up. It'll be embarrassing.

By the way, the part about Apple products at the beginning of the review came from a discussion I had with someone not long before. I had never realised that when I had the Airpods Pro in and transparency mode on, that sound was still directional. It is so well done I hadn't noticed... and now I have, it's absolutely amazing that they pulled it off.

TLDR: It's easier to appreciate things when you know the effort that went into them.

I know a brand making a headphone monthly and even weekly for four to six years and that was how the king created.

 

[dfiled]

Uh, what?

 

[xirxes]

Here's a bit that has become clear to me on A/B testing these now for 5 or so hours, again, subject to change with burn in:

The absolute laser precision of imaging and no-holds barred resolution present in the Stealth is somewhat diminished or rather spread out and dithered through the rest of the soundscape in the Expanse.

The example that got me looping on the A/B is at minute 4:00-4:35 of Bicep's "Opal (Four Tet Remix)" there are a series of bells or chimes, that on the Expanse are pleasant and present and spread out and imaged nicely, but when Stealth is popped on, although the distance between them shrinks by 40-50% the CLARITY and razor's edge sharpness and resolution with quark level imaging location is just something special.

 

[paradoxper]

Same. Nothing does, unless you can live with less bass. If you can, the Shangri-La Sr can beat it. It makes the TCs sound veiled, but yeah, the bass is nowhere near TC levels. So, it’s 1266 TCs at number 1 and the Shangri-La Sr at 2. Maybe throw in a Raal headphone if you like soundstage (the SGL has slightly higher resolution).

But yeah, I don’t know how the 1266 TCs can be topped

They can't be, not at this time. It will take a shift to DSP along with driver expansibility. And don't forget your DHT.

 

[PointyFox]

Combined FR graphs of an Expanse and Stealth from a website that can't be named here.

Teal/purple = Stealth Right and Left channels
Red/green = Expanse Right and Left channels

Dashed blue line = Harman Target

This Expanse has a little more bass from about 150-200 Hz.
This Expanse has a little more treble from about 3 kHz to 4 kHz.

 

[DarginMahkum]

And the bass gang enters the scene, talking about only bass, punch, slam... Just bass, pages and pages of bass, nothing else but bass. No mids, no balance, just bass. And that is not even bass, it is just the peaky midbass. "Oh, slam me, punch me HP with your bass, as my music is the only music in the world that is worth listening and it is all about punching and slamming. Give me your best slam, best punch bad boy! Yeeaaahh! Gimme, gimme!"

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Beats, Bose and others don’t have the market share they have because no one like the tuning… I don’t see a reason why demographics differs over here

 

[newworld666]

I still wonder if sound stage width and depth are significantly impacted with those new open drivers compared to the Stealth ?
With the frequency response curves, it's not really clear to guess what happens with a 5Db attenuation in the 6 to 8kz range of the Expanse, and both falling down significantly in the 8-10Kz.... maybe both are not really airy headphones ...
Than, let's hope for European, we will have a chance to get a 15% discount as Stealth owners and possibly buy the Expanse for some 3500€, Though I am not sure I will pull the trigger as the Stealth is already like "near to perfect" for my taste and closed back is more in line with my needs.

 

[Barone Birra]

What is the material of the external grill?

 

[801evan]

Currawong did hit upon the issue with the regular Stealth that caused me to sell it.

"no bass".

That was the same issue with the original "Aeon". It had no bass.

So, if this new edition "Expanse", solves that problem, and also adds more soundstage, then that is good to know.
Currawong stated that its basically the same STEALTH CLOSED sound, yet, we who have owned many headphones, know that a open version of a closed and vice versa is not the
"same sound"..... but if its in that same family of sound, TONALLY, then thats also good to know, as the Stealth has a unique sound.

The Stealth has a ton of bass.

Stealth = Green
Utopia = Red


You're probably not getting a good seal for some reason.
Mine hits nearly as hard as the TH900.

Another poor signal chain issue on why there seems to be 'no bass'...or the reviewer just likes a bass peaky response

 

[newworld666]

Unusual impedance behaviour for a planar and compared to the Stealth ?

 

[DarginMahkum]

Unusual impedance behaviour for a planar and compared to the Stealth ?

I was just comparing the two as you sent it. It is probably a the trick (or result of a trick) to adjust the mids and bass balance. I don't know where it comes from technically, but I would not be surprised if it was done deliberately. It will also give the option to elevate the bass region with increasing amp output impedance.

 

[newworld666]

I was just comparing the two as you sent it. It is probably a the trick (or result of a trick) to adjust the mids and bass balance. I don't know where it comes from technically, but I would not be surprised if it was done deliberately. It will also give the option to elevate the bass region with increasing amp output impedance.

Anyway, there should be a "hardware trick" in the path or in the driver itself, as the results on frequency response from ultra low to mid-low frequencies is nothing less than impressive for an "open back" headphone..
I don't think another open back headphone on the market can match a Harman target response in those frequencies even with a passive dedicated EQ BOX in the path like the RAAL SR1A ..
Just let's hope the result won't be a bit too muddy ...