Dan Clark Audio EXPANSE Review: Interview, Measurements, Impressions
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I second the Zahl, and I recommend Enleum 23R (at least V1).
IMO RME ADI 2 dac FS is the minimum gear combo you will see people starting to warm up to Expanse showing off its chops.
Still love the Nautilus pairing though, my #1 to date.
IMO RME ADI 2 dac FS is the minimum gear combo you will see people starting to warm up to Expanse showing off its chops.
Still love the Nautilus pairing though, my #1 to date.
After another 100 hours of using the Expanse it made another sudden jump. It sound now a little bit more detailed as the treble got even cleaner. The layering and realism got a lot better. Also the timbre accuracy got a little bit better overall but I did not change the score as it was not that big of a jump. The adjusted scores are gold. Thats a lot of 10s now! I would give detail and layering a 11 now if I could.
Just to clarify the dynamics score: I don’t see it as a negative as I was searching for a premium replacement for my Arya (same dynamics but lot slower attack) which had a dead driver. I am not always in the mood for the hard hitting Utopia, everything has it’s place.
Just to clarify the dynamics score: I don’t see it as a negative as I was searching for a premium replacement for my Arya (same dynamics but lot slower attack) which had a dead driver. I am not always in the mood for the hard hitting Utopia, everything has it’s place.
inthere
Headphoneus Supremus
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Has anyone tried the Expanse with the Feliks Audio Envy?
What do you guys think MHA200 matches with Expanse? I am wondering whether MHA200 provides enough power for Expanse. Thanks.
dmagnan
Head-Fier
According to the specs, the MHA200 is kind of weak for the Expanse. First of all, its power ratings start at 32 ohms, somewhat higher than the Expanse. Secondly, at 32 ohms it puts out a max of only 500 milliwatts, probably significantly lower at 25 ohms or so where the Expanse lies.
The good thing about the MHA200, is it puts out 500mw regardless of load. Other amps, outputs change based on the load. This is not the case with the MHA200. Whether that is enough for the listener, will come down to listening preferences.
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I have written about Expanse before but wanted to come back to it after more time with it. Here are some more random thoughts while David Crosby is singer in my head (Cowboy Movie). To me Expanse is a semi open HP. Which is a nice addition to a flock of closed back and open backs. LCD 5 and Caldera are open backs that allow you to hear everything in your environment. Expanse provides a slight muting of your environment. Not muted as much as closed backs of course. Takes a bit to get used to. I would consider the Expanse to be musically detailed. The Stealth is a more detailed HP and the sound is just as open as Expanse. Expanse does not have a huge soundstage. It is an intimate soundstage. The notes on Expanse are thicker than Stealth and more musical. There is a shimmer around each detailed note that adds warmth and musicality. Expanse has more mid bass vs. Stealth sub bass. I did not think I would keep both but they really are very different even though the driver is the same. I can see how some prefer one over the other. Expanse does not have the thickness warmth as caldera but has more detail warmth. LCD 5 is the detail and mid master but does not have the musicality/warmth of Expanse.
Expanse and Stealth REALLY respond well to better amps. I refuse to say "more powerful amps" anymore since it is not about just power. There is more going on with a higher quality amp that affects HPs that are harder to drive. That is another discussion beyond my understanding of amps.
It is wonderful that such HPs exist and it is obvious a lot of work went into creating this sound.
Expanse and Stealth REALLY respond well to better amps. I refuse to say "more powerful amps" anymore since it is not about just power. There is more going on with a higher quality amp that affects HPs that are harder to drive. That is another discussion beyond my understanding of amps.
It is wonderful that such HPs exist and it is obvious a lot of work went into creating this sound.
Today I took out the Expanse while Stealth is taking a rest...
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Agreed. Stock.
Eq'd it's so musically connected it's euphorically addictive. Well exceeding Expanse in that department regardless of Oor/Hypsos or monoblock power. Those who never dabble will never know. It's pretty apparent with many testimonials of other cans how powerful a proper convolution like Mitch's is. Just check the CA1A thread and check the non eq gang who have. Maybe Expanse needs way different source or convolution to shine. Would be glad to give it another shot.
I agree.
NOMAX
PS.lol
Terrible stock tuning. Hate it.
With corrected frequency response.... love it! Won't leave my possession anytime soon.
It's sad to see so many deal with stock tuning limitations, but all that matters is that you're happy.
I can already imagine how the initial hype about LCD5 has come to stand.....the one or the other has probably not listened closely at the Can Jam
And then they thought okay.....then we just say that he sounds great with EQ ... but this do other models for far less money
Ultimately, for me personally it's about how sounds the model to my ears without electronic intervention, because that's what you ultimately pay for
(With the LCD 5, I didn't need 60 seconds to do this, so I thought to myself
)
Soon everything will be praised....because with EQ everything is fine
Who is playing this game is welcome to join
.....but without me
NOMAX
PS.lol
And then they thought okay.....then we just say that he sounds great with EQ ... but this do other models for far less money
Ultimately, for me personally it's about how sounds the model to my ears without electronic intervention, because that's what you ultimately pay for
(With the LCD 5, I didn't need 60 seconds to do this, so I thought to myself
)Soon everything will be praised....because with EQ everything is fine
Who is playing this game is welcome to join
.....but without me NOMAX
PS.lol
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Soon everything will be praised....because with EQ everything is fine
No. Expanse wasn't everything fine for me with or without eq because it's not just all about tone. This is where a 60 second audition on one source fails and falls apart on many levels. Lol. Ridiculous.
The proper way to test to me now after hearing 2 differing brands devices, is not just discovering I found a flavor and settling. Preferences and frequency response vary too greatly between manufacturers and each person's HRTF. It only makes sense to me that the only real way to determine which is preferred in all other aspects is to have each headphone tuned by one person only instead of various tunings across manufacturers. This way you aren't picking based on just tonal preference. Keeping it down to the objective technical/presentation performance vs subjective tonal preference/tunings across brands that are essentially meaningless as I don't have your ears/their ears or music choices. Thankfully, we have Mitch and his experience to provide some filters on a few models so far as I don't have the skill or experience to do so myself.
Expanse is back and (again) not looking for a new home. This HP really confused me, especially after listening to Stealth exclusively for a year. Since yesterday I am rediscovering it, but with a difference: I am wearing them in a different position, more up and back. At least for the shape of my ears it sounds more crisp both mids and treble and makes up for the thickness I was indecisive about in the beginning. Maybe I got used to it but I was surprised that I preferred the tuning to my beloved Stealth(s) this evening. Hmmm...
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jlbrach
Headphoneus Supremus
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this is why so much of this stuff is subjective
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