Dan Clark Audio EXPANSE Review: Interview, Measurements, Impressions

[Utah dude]

I have had the Expanse now for a few weeks and love them. The sound good no matter what I hook them up to. I greatly enjoy them with the Tor balanced even though that amplifier has only 450W. It just sounds beautiful. I have also been impressed with the Expanse on my DAP (Lotoo Paw Gold Touch Ti), which for me makes for an utterly enjoyable listen. Even with the DAP I do not feel that it is lacking in anything. While I greatly enjoyed the Stealth, the Expanse suits my taste a little better. It feels to me that there is just more body, yet all the details I could want is still there. Totally non-fatiguing and soooo comfortable.
I am traveling right now and have the Expanse with me with the Acro CA1000. Transportable audio Nirvana.

 

[jlbrach]

try listening to it through a powerful totl amp it will knock your socks off

 

[jerick70]

If we are taking portable amps, the Cayin C9 sounds incredible with the Expanse. I have it set to tube timbre in class a. Sounds glorious. The Expanse is a real winner.

 

[Utah dude]

try listening to it through a powerful totl amp it will knock your socks off

I do have a powerful tube amp at home that makes the Expanse sing, but there is something about the Tor balanced that is special.
It is a special type of headphone where you can gain with better amps, yet I feel like nothing is lost with my DAP. Still wonderful music that I can get lost in.

 

[Chronos]

Had some CanJam withdrawal so went to The Source AV in Southern California. @TSAVWayne and staff were really helpful and friendly. I stayed past closing on a Saturday and instead of kicking me out, they were happy to chat about audio and even asked me to listen to a set of headphones they had a question about.

Listened to the Expanse, Stealth, LCD-5, Meze elite, focal Stellia, Denon 9200 and 7200. The Expanse was my favorite.

Other impressions are accurate, it’s a balanced sound with excellent resolution, imaging, soundstage, and impactful bass. Somehow it ties all this together and is still musical. It’s a very enjoyable headphone and does well with every genre.

They definitely shine with power, I was underwhelmed without it. I tried them on my N8ii DAP and had to crank it to volume 90 on medium gain, P, Class A amp. Tried a Sony amp that couldn’t drive it on low gain. Chord TT2 could drive it but wasn’t a good match, was cold and analytical without bass. The Woo Audio WA33 made it sing. Was a huge difference and you could really hear the full range now with good bass impact.

I’m a bass head so I would still say they aren’t chest thumping bass, Denons are for that. The Stealth is a colder more analytical sound, soundstage is good for closed back but Expanse is bigger, more musical, and fun.

 

[iamoneagain]

Had some CanJam withdrawal so went to The Source AV in Southern California. @TSAVWayne and staff were really helpful and friendly. I stayed past closing on a Saturday and instead of kicking me out, they were happy to chat about audio and even asked me to listen to a set of headphones they had a question about.

Listened to the Expanse, Stealth, LCD-5, Meze elite, focal Stellia, Denon 9200 and 7200. The Expanse was my favorite.

Other impressions are accurate, it’s a balanced sound with excellent resolution, imaging, soundstage, and impactful bass. Somehow it ties all this together and is still musical. It’s a very enjoyable headphone and does well with every genre.

They definitely shine with power, I was underwhelmed without it. I tried them on my N8ii DAP and had to crank it to volume 90 on medium gain, P, Class A amp. Tried a Sony amp that couldn’t drive it on low gain. Chord TT2 could drive it but wasn’t a good match, was cold and analytical without bass. The Woo Audio WA33 made it sing. Was a huge difference and you could really hear the full range now with good bass impact.

I’m a bass head so I would still say they aren’t chest thumping bass, Denons are for that. The Stealth is a colder more analytical sound, soundstage is good for closed back but Expanse is bigger, more musical, and fun.

I heard them out of the WA33 and WA23 and the WA23 was more for a basshead. Warmer, more bloom and more quantity. The WA33 was a very balanced sound but still with bass impact. And agree with you on the TT2, was very clean but analytical. Wasn’t a fan of any of the amp pairings that didn’t bring out its bass. I’m still very happy with how well the Naim HE pairs with it especially with people thinking it was going to be underpowered. Doesn’t have the tube magic but it’s one the warmer, bassier solid state pairing I’ve heard. I also have no regrets letting the original Utopia go.

 

[jriems]

I might have missed this in the thread, but has anyone spent time listening to the Expanse with the Jotunheim 2? Curious if it has enough power to make them shine, and if it's a good pairing.

 

[smodtactical]

brutal

 

[theveterans]

brutal

Out of NFCA based amps yes that's how Expand will sound. I heard it out of a proper amp, and inverse everything that's on that list

 

[smodtactical]

ncfa ?

 

[theveterans]

ncfa ?

It's NFCA or Nested Feedback Composite Amplifier

 

[801evan]

brutal

I take it as a positive review from $omeone too $oaked in Aby$$ HP.

I mean Aby$$ made a video about overdamp headphones.

 

[smodtactical]

I take it as a positive review from $omeone too $oaked in Aby$$ HP.

I mean Aby$$ made a video about overdamp headphones.

Hes done with Abyss. He even said Atrium is basically his favorite headphone.

 

[801evan]

Atriums? Gee. Surprisingly the tone of the Atrium and Stealth is very close vs any other headphone. But other than that, Stealth excels on every other factor in my demo.

 

[Chronos]

He acknowledges high end tube amps bring these to life, then how can he not realize the lower end stuff just weren’t driving these properly?