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Dan Clark Audio
Website:https://danclarkaudio.com/
Est. year: 2012
Location: USA
Dan Clark Audio is an American headphone maker from San Diego, founded in 2012 by audio engineer Dan Clark under the name MrSpeakers. It builds planar-magnetic over-ear headphones, both open and closed, and adopted its founder's name in 2019, announcing the change at Capital Audiofest in Washington, D.C. The company holds six patents on its driver and magnet designs.
Range & what it's known for
The current range includes the ÆON RT, ÆON 2, ÆON NOIRE and ÆON CORE, the closed STEALTH, E3, NOIRE X and NOIRE XO, the open EXPANSE, and CORINA. Dan Clark's interest started with a Head-Fi forum thread on orthodynamic headphones, and the company began with the Mad Dog, a heavily modified Fostex T50RP, and its Alpha Dog was presented as the first 3D-printed headphone. Revenue from Alpha Dog funded ETHER, the first fully in-house design. Patented work covers the V-Planar driver, whose diaphragm is pleated rather than flat, and the TrueFlow magnet system. STEALTH introduced the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System, or AMTS.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company is private and led by its founder, with design and engineering in San Diego. Its headphones are manufactured in the USA, and the current range keeps to planar-magnetic drivers throughout. The 2019 renaming was meant to reflect work beyond the original speaker-related name. The firm grew from modifying existing headphones to designing its own drivers, cups and headbands.
The lineup in this catalog
Headphones, from about USD 1,000 at the ÆON end of the list to over USD 4,000 for the top closed and open models.
Who it's for
Dan Clark Audio is a natural choice for a listener set on planar-magnetic headphones designed and built in the United States. The ÆON models are the entry point, E3 and NOIRE X sit in the middle of the closed range, and STEALTH and EXPANSE cap the closed and open lines. Buyers who need isolation can stay with closed models all the way up, while those who listen at home in quiet rooms can move from the open ÆON versions to EXPANSE without leaving the brand.
Range & what it's known for
The current range includes the ÆON RT, ÆON 2, ÆON NOIRE and ÆON CORE, the closed STEALTH, E3, NOIRE X and NOIRE XO, the open EXPANSE, and CORINA. Dan Clark's interest started with a Head-Fi forum thread on orthodynamic headphones, and the company began with the Mad Dog, a heavily modified Fostex T50RP, and its Alpha Dog was presented as the first 3D-printed headphone. Revenue from Alpha Dog funded ETHER, the first fully in-house design. Patented work covers the V-Planar driver, whose diaphragm is pleated rather than flat, and the TrueFlow magnet system. STEALTH introduced the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System, or AMTS.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company is private and led by its founder, with design and engineering in San Diego. Its headphones are manufactured in the USA, and the current range keeps to planar-magnetic drivers throughout. The 2019 renaming was meant to reflect work beyond the original speaker-related name. The firm grew from modifying existing headphones to designing its own drivers, cups and headbands.
The lineup in this catalog
Headphones, from about USD 1,000 at the ÆON end of the list to over USD 4,000 for the top closed and open models.
Who it's for
Dan Clark Audio is a natural choice for a listener set on planar-magnetic headphones designed and built in the United States. The ÆON models are the entry point, E3 and NOIRE X sit in the middle of the closed range, and STEALTH and EXPANSE cap the closed and open lines. Buyers who need isolation can stay with closed models all the way up, while those who listen at home in quiet rooms can move from the open ÆON versions to EXPANSE without leaving the brand.
