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Dan Clark is a exceptional man. What began as a tiny cottage enterprise providing modified Fostex headphones below the “Mr. Speakers” model has become one of many main high-end headphone corporations on the earth and none of his rivals can afford to take him frivolously anymore. The Head-Fi neighborhood could be a polarizing place however nearly everybody might be counting down the hours to CanJam SoCal 2022 which is sort of right here. The Dan Clark Audio Expanse and Meze Audio 109 Pro are going to be the discuss of the present.
I believe most of us had been considerably shocked when the Dan Clark Audio Stealth was launched as a result of the marketplace for closed again headphones on the very high has all the time been dramatically smaller than the marketplace for open again fashions — many of the innovation resides in that class and it was stunning to see somebody launch a really costly new closed again with modern new expertise.
But Dan has all the time been somewhat unpredictable and he definitely marches to his personal drummer. He’s by no means been a follower and his assist of the neighborhood for over a decade has constructed a big buyer base and massive loyalty.
The flip facet of the DCA Stealth is that we will see the trickle-down impact already in movement with the Dan Clark Audio Expanse; which isn’t to say that the brand new headphone is simply an open-back model of the Stealth simply because the 2 fashions have comparable design options.
If the Dan Clark Audio Expanse breaks new floor, it will likely be due to the teachings discovered from the event of the Stealth.
The Skinny
The industrial design options of the Dan Clark Audio Expanse are fairly hanging, however all of that “innovation” isn’t only for present. Dan Clark may be very conscious that there’s an open competitors to see who can design the lightest open again full-sized planar headphone; the choice to construct the Expanse out of aluminum and titanium with an improved stage of structural energy was definitely a problem however DCA has created a 418 gram headphone that may really feel very comfy in your head.
The gimbals are an up to date and upgraded model of the expertise used within the Aeon Series and that additionally makes the Expanse simpler to fold up and journey with.
How many $4,000 headphones can boast that?
The artificial leather-based used for the pads and headband assist enhance consolation and the folding design helps reduce the area the Expanse takes in a carry-on or purse. A case is offered to guard the headphones whereas touring or in storage as effectively.
The outer grill was not only a beauty design resolution; it was designed utilizing generative design rules to be a focus but in addition close to sonically invisible.
Dan Clark has invested lots of money and time into his patented driver expertise; the Expanse includes a new 76mm x 51mm fourth technology planar magnetic driver and DCA’s Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System.
The drivers are 20% bigger than these discovered within the Ether 2 Series however are reported to be each lighter and quicker than their older counterparts. They are additionally extra intently matched as a brand new diaphragm tensioning system has helped enhance matching to ± 0.25dB (weighted) throughout the complete audible spectrum.
This new system of driver matching helps enhance imaging and stability whereas DCA’s v-Planar expertise has diminished THD to a exceptional 0.03%.
The new driver has higher low finish extension and extra element than any earlier DCA planar magnetic headphone.
In addition to the motive force tuning, DCA makes use of its patent-pending Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS). This is a bodily machine that sits between the transducer and the ear and is a conglomerate of wave guides, diffusion management, and Helmholtz resonators that assist enhance sound high quality.
Some parts act to scale back standing wave formation whereas others act as filters to form the sound that reaches the ear. DCA says the result’s “high frequencies are rendered with a refreshingly smooth, accurate, and detailed delivery across all genres.”
We look ahead to evaluating the Dan Clark Audio Expanse to the Meze ELITE and Audeze LCD-5 in a “King of the Ring” planar shoot-out later this yr.
The Dan Clark Audio Expanse Headphones will retail for $3,995.95 USD and may already be ordered on their web site.
For extra data: danclarkaudio.com/expanse.html
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