[xirxes]

It's already trading blows with the TC and it hasn't fully awakened yet. I'd like a comparison with the Utopia too, but from rough memory Utopia definitely hits harder than Stealth in percussions and mostly will out-do the expanse in this area as well

In my memory Utopia is like LCD-XC tuning but more so, peaky bass and peaky treble, sibilant more often than is pleasant.

 

[xirxes]

Also, this might not apply to anyone here, but it is pretty enlightening. Stealth are quite clearly the VERY best gaming headphone on the planet for all the things it does, and Expanse may be a very close second in that it adds more bass to the experience and adds sound stage for more natural sound, but the 1266TC while i am testing them are downright horrid for gaming, and it makes very clear what they are doing to arrive at their house sound. 1266TC separates bass from mid bass from high mids and treble in depth, HEAVILY emphasizes the bass and sub bass, manages the mids at an average volume, but actually presses out and THINS the high mids and trebles to a non-natural digitized version of themselves. This makes it an absolute flop in gaming, as the explosions, voices, shots, ricochets, footsteps etc need to be presented accurately and fairly evenly to be believable. The level swings between these different inputs is pretty staggering in TC, where in Expanse it is a sheer joy, and even more believable than on the stealths in natural presentation, but i DO prefer the Stealths to the Expanse here still because it images and resolves so damned well and through the closed cans i cannot hear keystrokes, the fans required on gaming PC's nor the fan at my feet to keep the gamer himself cool.

 

[801evan]

Yep. TC has phase issues. Trickery. Falls flat on well mastered stuff and linearly inclined source like gaming or Atmos/360ra. TC excels on compressed stuff like EDM that's only 5DR as it sculpts the sound to be seemingly expansive. But not faithful at all.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Yep. TC has phase issues. Trickery. Falls flat on well mastered stuff and linearly inclined source like gaming or Atmos/360ra. TC excels on compressed stuff like EDM that's only 5DR as it sculpts the sound to be seemingly expansive. But not faithful at all.

Also the artificially (extremely) bumped higher treble to make it sound "more detailed". Even when you consider the weird tuning for the rest of the FR, any HP that leans on that trick is out of my list. It might work for music that doesn't care about FR balance and only needs bass and more bass and some exaggerated crispy treble but not for anything natural. I am happy that industry is not listening only to "bass bass bass" people just because they are the loudest.

 

[801evan]

Also the artificially (extremely) bumped higher treble to make it sound "more detailed". Even when you consider the weird tuning for the rest of the FR, any HP that leans on that trick is out of my list. It might work for music that doesn't care about FR balance and only needs bass and more bass and some exaggerated crispy treble but not for anything natural. I am happy that industry is not listening only to "bass bass bass" people just because they are loudest.

There is actually merit to the bass, but not to the level of the bass bass bass camp.

The better the chain for me, the more extended and deeper the bass is in the stealth. It can also be punchy as hell and fatiguing if my air-conditioner is plugged in idly. It can also sound undynamic if on an 'ok' chain, but this 'ok' chain is what a majority of headfi people have where the seemingly punchy bass of other brands will appear better, and I will agree, but they would criticize the Stealth, while I would criticize the chain. Hence how controversial the sentiments is for the Stealth. So I usually disregard reviews that uses a PC,Roon and if they think they need an external amp when they own a tt2, Dave, Hugo 2 because it sounds better that way.

So since no one is in the same room in this forum, one way to describe the quality of the bass on the stealth is similar to great floor standers with subs or the best Dolby Atmos cinema and on the sweet spot. And A/B with a hard sounding/peaky competing headphone is practically moot because that other peaky headphone will induce ear trauma and kill off the capacity to perceive the nuance DCA HP brings.

And yes, ppl fall on the detail trap too soon.

 

[BassicScience]

The better the chain for me, the more extended and deeper the bass is in the stealth. It can also be punchy as hell and fatiguing if my air-conditioner is plugged in idly. It can also sound undynamic if on an 'ok' chain, but this 'ok' chain is what a majority of headfi people have where the seemingly punchy bass of other brands will appear better, and I will agree, but they would criticize the Stealth, while I would criticize the chain. Hence how controversial the sentiments is for the Stealth. So I usually disregard reviews that uses a PC,Roon and if they think they need an external amp when they own a tt2, Dave, Hugo 2 because it sounds better that way.

So since no one is in the same room in this forum, one way to describe the quality of the bass on the stealth is similar to great floor standers with subs or the best Dolby Atmos cinema and on the sweet spot. And A/B with a hard sounding/peaky competing headphone is practically moot because that other peaky headphone will induce ear trauma and kill off the capacity to perceive the nuance DCA HP brings.

You're either on drugs, or have an amazing imagination...

If you watch the video at the top of this thread, (somewhere near the 16-minute mark) Dan Clark himself says the bass on the Stealth was something of a compromise (to enhance soundstaging in a closed headphone), and that the level was boosted on the Expanse to sound more realistic.

 

[801evan]

You're either on drugs, or have an amazing imagination...

If you watch the video at the top of this thread, (somewhere near the 16-minute mark) Dan Clark himself says the bass on the Stealth was something of a compromise (to enhance soundstaging in a closed headphone), and that the level was boosted on the Expanse to sound more realistic.

You seem to have a bigger imagination that just because Dan said 'compromised' bass that my statement is now invalid. Or maybe you lack the experience to realize that subs paired with floor standers is about creating a bigger Soundstage presentation...not more bass, which is on point what what I said and what Dan said.

And seeing your impressions where you heard Stealth as bass-lite, I rest my case.

 

[Slim1970]

Overall A/B impression so far: The A/B on these is pretty jarring to be honest. I consider DCA Expanse to be fairly neutral but coming straight from TC my first thought was literally "Oh God did i buy a pair of celestee's??". This is not to say that DCA is bass light, but that TC is BOTH bass forward and bass Centric such that the whole experience of the song is night and day. It takes a whole song on Expanse to wrap your brain back around the concept of balance, then you are permitted to enjoy what this headphone is really doing so very well, that is presenting a clear, concise, balanced look at the music as a whole, if anything, letting the mid/high transition lead slightly. TC on the other hand takes you into the venue and sets you up with a dj that makes sure that you really FEEL the music, get that energy, with high mids and low volume trebles not only physically placed behind the bass, but many times overwhelmed right out of experience.

Ill head into some harder rock and EDM next to check on the real strength of TC perhaps.

The TC has this effect on almost any headphone you listen to afterwards. It’s hard to compare any headphone back to back with the TC’s. They are so pulverizing and aggressive that ou need to let your ears readjust to really enjoy the sound of other headphones.

 

[onecolorist]

Based on the price, this seems to be an Earther or Martian edition of the Expanse. I'm a Belter, so I'll wait for the lower end model to be released.

That was clever

 

[iamoneagain]

It's already trading blows with the TC and it hasn't fully awakened yet. I'd like a comparison with the Utopia too, but from rough memory Utopia definitely hits harder than Stealth in percussions and mostly will out-do the expanse in this area as well

I should have my Expanse tonight and will be comparing it to my Utopia, with Danacable Reference XLR, out of the Naim Atom HE. As others mentioned, perhaps the HE won’t have enough power but we’ll see. I never heard the Stealth, can only compare against the Utopia. Haven’t heard any of the other current TOTL headphones out there. Only owned old school stuff at one point like limited editions Audio Technica L3000 and Grado PS-1.

I really do enjoy the tight snappy, hard hitting sound of the Utopia but think I’ve come to realize it sort of throws this sound signature over everything. The Grado PS-1 used to do a similar thing. So very curious how the Expanse will present things.

Mostly listen to alternative, classic rock stuff, some jazz, some classical. I do like listening for the bass rhythm and texture maybe even more that bass slam. And saw video with Dan saying he was a bass player and increase the bass energy to be able to feel it. So that’s what got me to pull the trigger over ever seeking out the Stealth.

 

[DarginMahkum]

I have been talking to the dealer in the EU and there will be some "updates" to both Stealth andf Expanse prices. Due to the recent € and $ rate change, the price of Expanse will be €4900. Soon, also the price of Stealth will go up to the same value. Expanse should be available next week.

 

[rthomas]

5000 Euros!

It better be a world beater at that price.

 

[dfiled]

I’ll say it again, I personally am interested in impact/excursiveness (in both mids and bass) not just more bass quantity. Based on what I’ve read so far, the Expanse doesn’t seem to do this better than other TOTL planars (Susvara, LCD-5, etc).

But it’s early days, would love to be wrong.

 

[DarginMahkum]

5000 Euros!

It better be a world beater at that price.

This is possibly just the tip of the iceberg. Let's see what the prices of already €5-6K HPs like LCD-5 and Susvara will be. Then the Expanse will be "cheap".

 

[rthomas]

In my experience of owning nearly every totl you can EQ the bass how much ever you like or the graphs can show a bass boost but satisfactory bass impact depends on the transducer and ear up design .

For example my Audeze crbn with zero EQ has better bass than my SR009S with a Harman boost.

If the graphs were all that mattered we could all buy an AKG 371 and EQ to perfectly match Harman Target.

Expanse starts from a good place as it matches a well known target. This doesn’t make it “the best TOTL” . Only once it’s on your head will you know how it presents music.

Also I take all Headfi release reviews with 5 tonnes of salt as they are designed to generate hype and present a headphone in the best possible light.

The only way to know is to get a home demo and compare to other TOTLs