[babarrun]

Not really, the Oratory curve is measured with a Gras 45, so given a certain position of the headphone on the jig (it is sensitive to that), the measurement and resulting EQ will be correct. The Harman curve is more like an indication (people trying to make an headphone sound as close to a "flat" loudspeaker in a certain room by setting some EQ values) than something that needs to be followed to the letter. Two different brands of headphones with a similar curve don't necessarily sound the same. It is a good reference though, because if you deviate too much from it, headphones start to sound coloured in some regions.

I did a similar thing with another jig (MiniDSP Ears; who claim they have something "similar" to the Harman curve, whatever that means), and I've flattened the response. To me this wasn't a success.


You can't use it in your case, as your streamer is doing everything for you. I use iTunes, Qobuz or ROON on my computer, and send the audio via the USB interface of my Mac to my DAC-amp, which is an Ayre Codex. To me it makes sense to use one EQ program for all those programs.


BW and Q-factor for a parametric equalizer have a mathematical relationship, so having only one of them is enough. In the case of ROON, only fill in f and Q. In the case of AUBandEq, only fill in f and BW. Oratory was so nice to give both values, so people with different EQ software don't have to do the math.

thank you so much for your detailed reply which is very helpful.

I am using my DMP A-6 as a Roon endpoint if that makes any difference? would it still not work? what about oversampling? --is there a way to make this work in my sound chain without losing anything.
(I am using USB to connect the MacBook to the DMP). I am using a Mac mini as the Roon Core which is in another room.

again, thanks for your really helpful and detailed reply.

 

[streets112]

Anyone with a large head can share their experience with Expanse? I'm looking to purchase them, but I'm a little worried. I have really large head (I'm using HD800 with headband fully extended, or HE1000 with one and a half dot from the top ...) and this headband system looks a bit sus. Does it pull stronger if you extend it more? Comfort is my main priority and when I look at this headband system I imagine that it just can't sit well on a large head as it will keep pulling the earcups upwards.

I have no way of trying them out - there are no dealers in my country with either Stealth or Expanse so I have to buy them blind from abroad.

 

[Bojinx]

Anyone with a large head can share their experience with Expanse? I'm looking to purchase them, but I'm a little worried. I have really large head (I'm using HD800 with headband fully extended, or HE1000 with one and a half dot from the top ...) and this headband system looks a bit sus. Does it pull stronger if you extend it more? Comfort is my main priority and when I look at this headband system I imagine that it just can't sit well on a large head as it will keep pulling the earcups upwards.

I have no way of trying them out - there are no dealers in my country with either Stealth or Expanse so I have to buy them blind from abroad.

I can comment that the "pull" of the Expanse headband feels consistent. Tension remains steady as it adjusts. Earcup pressure feels more horizontal rather than vertical due to the gimbal's design.

I have a relatively large head (7 1/2 hat size) and there is still plenty of room for both the headstrap and gimbal to extend. I wear HEKse with two dots from the top.

 

[Rasuti]

Anyone with a large head can share their experience with Expanse? I'm looking to purchase them, but I'm a little worried. I have really large head (I'm using HD800 with headband fully extended, or HE1000 with one and a half dot from the top ...) and this headband system looks a bit sus. Does it pull stronger if you extend it more? Comfort is my main priority and when I look at this headband system I imagine that it just can't sit well on a large head as it will keep pulling the earcups upwards.

I have no way of trying them out - there are no dealers in my country with either Stealth or Expanse so I have to buy them blind from abroad.

Never measured my head but, I used to wear my HEKSE one dot from the top or fully extended, so I would say its large. Expanse feels quite comfortable and fits very well, can barely fit a finger between the strap and the rod at the very top and center but have just enough space to not bottom out/touch. Like @Bojinx said, pull doesn't change much, and consistent clamp across the pad for me.

 

[Hifivoice]

I had the opportunity at the Dutch Audio Event in The Netherlands to audition some headphones and amplifiers. The Dutch distributor Dune Blue was present with a lot of other brands. They are the official importer of Dan Clark, but also of headphones like Hifiman, Meze, and HEDD, plus DAC-amplifiers like Enleum, Feliks, Violectric, Rockna, Viva and others.

I had a quick impression of a bunch of headphones which I compared to the Expanse, like the DCA Stealth (more shut in sound, treble not so refined, thinner timbre), DCA Aeon 2 Noire (zizzy treble; definitely needs EQ), the DCA Corina via a Stax SRM-T8000 amp (super nice resolution, not as rich and “acoustic” as the Expanse), the HEDDphone TWO (really off in timbre, scratchy treble), the Hifiman Susvara (larger imaging and clearer separation, but nasal-type of coloring), and finally the Meze Elite (good bass control, nice overall timbre, a bit less refined treble, but overall very enjoyable and closer to the Expanse as I would suspect). The DCA Expanse was clearly my favourite, not because I own one, but because of its natural timbre, its refined treble, and the evenly energetic/drive/punch over the full frequency range. It feels most natural to me. The negatives is the somewhat narrower imaging (or “air” if you like it more), and the deeper bass region can be a bit muddier with some recordings (easy to EQ).

I did audition the DCA Expanse (and most others) via an Enleum AMP-23R, which always intrigues me. It has a marvellous natural timbre, with an incredible good separation and control. In my own setup I use an Ayre Codex, which sounds very good to me as well, and I was curious about the exact differences, and whether it makes sense to do a further investment. The exhibitor was OK if I would bring my own stuff for comparison, so the next morning I was sitting at the same spot with my Ayre Codex, with next to it the Enleum AMP-23R and the Enleum AMP-23RM. The Enleums were connected to the Ayre Codex analog outputs, so that the conversion was done with exactly the same source; the DAC from the Codex connected to my Macbook with my own music.

The Enleum AMP-23R is clearly the better amp; it has a better control of the bass region, its mid is comparable to the Ayre (slightly thinner), and treble is in the same league, but a bit more crisp. What is most striking of the Enleum is the super accurate outlining of sound sources, which gives an added contrast and texture to the musical scene. The Ayre has a similar organic sound, and its mid is super lush and accurate. Treble is comparable and a tiny bit veiled compared to the Enleum, and bass is a tiny bit muddy in the deepest registers. The amps are much closer to each other than I did expect, and gave a similar dynamic response. The order of difference wasn’t worth a €7500 upgrade to me. If I would have to start from scratch, and I wouldn’t care too much about the finances, I would definitely and seriously consider it.

The cheaper Enleum AMP-23RM (€3700) has similar characteristics as the AMP-23R, but for all of the above described differences it is less explicit, and much closer to the Ayre Codex. Where I would rate the 23R as better than the Codex, the 23RM I would rate as a little bit better.

I’ve also auditioned the Enleum with a Rockna Audio Wavedream DAC. It results in a more crisp and energetic treble, but it also gives a scratchy edge to the treble for which I am pretty allergic. The difference between DACs was larger than the difference between the amplifiers.

So, learned a lot in about 1,5 hour, and a confirmation that my current setup is within a 80-90% range of what can be potentially reached (at a fraction of the price).

—

There was a lot of other stuff to be heard, like the complete OOR stack, the complete DCS stack, Chord DAVE and HugoTT2, Lehmann, T+A HA-200, Riviera Labs, Erzetich, the Yamaha YH-5000SE, multiple Hifimans and Mezes, but at a certain point you reach listening saturation, so maybe next year I have more experiences to share.

--

Forgot to make a photo... but you can get an impression of the exhibition via Facebook here and here

 

[babarrun]

It does well. I can make out all instruments clearly and where they are within the stage. I tend to think of the Expanse as a good all-rounder. There is no genre that will blow your socks off, but whatever you listen too will draw you in, make your toes tap, and your head bob. Also from other posts it can really shine on a tube amps that can drive them. I haven't taken the tube plunge, but I've been thinking about it, still doing my research.

hi.. I feel the same. did you settle in on a tube amp?

 

[babarrun]

I realize I'm replying to an older comment here but just wanted to chime in and say I love my Expanse + R800i which is "only" $2k and gives 48W of tube power.
The dynamics are crazy with that much headroom. I got the 805 tube version and it's just so very powerful. Woke my Expanse up a lot vs my Jotunheim 2.

I haven't seen anyone else using the Expanse with these Willsenton amps so I'm trying to spread the word. Even the $1k R8 was great but the R800i was worth the extra to me personally.



Have you heard the Expanse with the Holo Bliss? I would love to replicate the experience I get on the R800i but with something solid state and more reasonably sized.

I can't find it for $2k

 

[dude120]

Anyone with a large head can share their experience with Expanse? I'm looking to purchase them, but I'm a little worried. I have really large head (I'm using HD800 with headband fully extended, or HE1000 with one and a half dot from the top ...) and this headband system looks a bit sus. Does it pull stronger if you extend it more? Comfort is my main priority and when I look at this headband system I imagine that it just can't sit well on a large head as it will keep pulling the earcups upwards.

I have no way of trying them out - there are no dealers in my country with either Stealth or Expanse so I have to buy them blind from abroad.

You should be fine.
The stealth fit me comfortably and I have a fairly large noggin.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I had the opportunity at the Dutch Audio Event in The Netherlands to audition some headphones and amplifiers. The Dutch distributor Dune Blue was present with a lot of other brands. They are the official importer of Dan Clark, but also of headphones like Hifiman, Meze, and HEDD, plus DAC-amplifiers like Enleum, Feliks, Violectric, Rockna, Viva and others.

I had a quick impression of a bunch of headphones which I compared to the Expanse, like the DCA Stealth (more shut in sound, treble not so refined, thinner timbre), DCA Aeon 2 Noire (zizzy treble; definitely needs EQ), the DCA Corina via a Stax SRM-T8000 amp (super nice resolution, not as rich and “acoustic” as the Expanse), the HEDDphone TWO (really off in timbre, scratchy treble), the Hifiman Susvara (larger imaging and clearer separation, but nasal-type of coloring), and finally the Meze Elite (good bass control, nice overall timbre, a bit less refined treble, but overall very enjoyable and closer to the Expanse as I would suspect). The DCA Expanse was clearly my favourite, not because I own one, but because of its natural timbre, its refined treble, and the evenly energetic/drive/punch over the full frequency range. It feels most natural to me. The negatives is the somewhat narrower imaging (or “air” if you like it more), and the deeper bass region can be a bit muddier with some recordings (easy to EQ).

Cool read on the overall impressions. When I auditioned the Stealth briefly, those were pretty much my exact findings. I wasn't sure if something was wrong with the setup however, (although it was at a DCA table at CanJam, so there shouldn't have been). The more closed in sound I was expecting, but the timbre was definitely thinner and less realistic. Hoping to give them one more try/listen if I have the opportunity to though.

 

[streets112]

You should be fine.
The stealth fit me comfortably and I have a fairly large noggin.

They arrived today and I have a about two hours of listening behind me. You were all right, the headband system is really well designed and has pretty much equal pull throughout. Overall comfort is very good, the only issues I found are the depth of the earpads - inside of the earcups touches the very edge of my ear and also the material on the inside of the earpads; while it provides great seal, it gets warm over time. But those are just minor issues.

I hooked them up directly into ADI 2/4 balanced out and they sound pretty good. On the card it says they need 50-100 to burn-in, but I'm already quite happy with the sound, which is great, since it was a blind purchase from abroad and returning them would be a hassle.

 

[babarrun]

i’m looking to add the freya+ to my sound chain: roon -> dmpa6 -> holoaudio spring -> (freya+) -> bliss -> expanse
i am simply looking to add some tube gooiness to my expanse.
is this a good fit?
any other suggestions for a budget of ~$2000

 

[theveterans]

You can add the Freya+ for sure but I highly recommend switching the stock tube to a 5692 tube for best tube effect: tight, wide and extended response without the bloom that usually decreases macrodyamics and bass and treble extension associated with tubes

 

[babarrun]

You can add the Freya+ for sure but I highly recommend switching the stock tube to a 5692 tube for best tube effect: tight, wide and extended response without the bloom that usually decreases macrodyamics and bass and treble extension associated with tubes

thanks so much, can you share a link to where I can get a good set?

 

[theveterans]

I can’t guarantee a good set unless you’re willing to spend big $$$ for a guaranteed NOS set from Woo Audio. Ebay is your friend to get these though. You don’t need a matching quad, just two matching pairs for driver and input tube sockets

 

[Currawong]

The cheaper Enleum AMP-23RM (€3700) has similar characteristics as the AMP-23R, but for all of the above described differences it is less explicit, and much closer to the Ayre Codex. Where I would rate the 23R as better than the Codex, the 23RM I would rate as a little bit better.

I have the HPA-23RM in for review, and the interesting thing about it is that due to the Stealth and Expanse having an impedance "shelf" in the bass, the current output results in a slight bass boost. Depending on taste, this may be a good match for some people. I do find it to be a very resolving amp, such that I can clearly hear the difference between using a Hugo 2 and a TT2 as a source, if it doesn't have quite the soundstage that my desktop amps do.