DAN CLARK AUDIO EXPANSE OPEN BACK HEADPHONES

The new flagship headphones from Dan Clark Audio are the Expanse open-back.

The Dan Clark Audio Expanse headphones are the brand’s new flagship open-back headphones.

ACOUSTIC METAMATERIAL TUNING SYSTEM (AMTS)

Headphones are subject to standing waves in the higher frequencies, which can make instruments like strings, cymbals, even vocals sound unrealistic and fatiguing.

Dan Clark Audio Expanse

AMTS is Dan Clark Audio’s patent-pending inline device located between the transducer and ear. AMTS integrates waveguides, diffusion control, quarter-wave, and Helmholtz resonators into one compact structure with the aim of eliminating standing waves.

Diffusion elements reduce standing wave formation while resonators act as both precision and broadband filters to smooth and shape the frequency response from the midrange through the highest frequencies.

DCA’S MOST ADVANCED DRIVER

Dan Clark Audio Expanse’s 4th generation planar-magnetic driver is 20% larger than the ETHER 2 driver and uses patented v-Planar technology to reduce THD to less than 0.03% while improving low-frequency extension.

Diaphragm tension is set on a proprietary system that creates a more uniform and consistent tension across the entire driver surface to minimise distortion and improve driver matching to better than 0.25dB weighted across the spectrum.

DAN CLARK AUDIO EXPANSE MECHANICAL DESIGN

“We set out to make Expanse a real design statement,” said Dan Clark, Founder and CEO. “Expanse design takes its cues from our Stealth headphone but adds an exciting and unique grill based on mathematical functions derived from the principals of generative design, for a truly unique and stylish look.”

Dan Clark Audio Expanse headband

The black leather headband features fine blue stitching to create a quilted head strap that’s functional and comfortable. Dan Clark Audio has designed a stable yet comfortable “self-adjusting suspension system” that seats the headphone just right on the head.

Dan Clark Audio Expanse quilting

At just 418g Dan Clark Audio Expanse is also one of the lightest super-premium headphones on the market, the new vegan suede and “leather” ear pads, self-adjusting suspension, and lightweight chassis make them very comfortable.

And for portability or storage the team incorporated AEON 2’s elegant folding gimbal structure into the Dan Clark Audio Expanse, allowing it to conveniently pack into a compact custom case that’s small and easy to stow.

DAN CLARK AUDIO EXPANSE PRICE

The Dan Clark Audio Expanse is designed and built by hand in San Diego, California, and is priced at £4100 or $3999 the same price as the brand’s Stealth model. Available in the UK through Electromod.

HiFi Pig Says: There is a very healthy market for High End Headphones, Dan Clark Audio being one of the big names in the market.