DAN CLARK CORINA

the pleasure, the discovery. The CORINA is phenomenal in this respect while providing the ambiance and air, and the interaction of the music with the hall.

There is a transparency via the CORINA which allows one to hear, literally, everything across “Agnus Dei” (Enchanted Isle, Decca), as it provides the various micro-details, orphaned with other headphones, with a ‘voice’ that makes them germane and clearly part of the piece. The STAX SR-X9000 and the SR-009S are certainly capable of providing ‘voice’ to the micro-details as is the Abyss AB1266 Phi TC, the only non-electrostatic headphone so capable. The CORINA however, in this respect, challenges them all.

Andy Bey’s voice is a blend that age and experience have honed to a graveled texture and substance, which can often cause its playback to be problematic—bloated, unrefined, opaque. On “Angel Eyes” (American Song, Savoy) via the Dan Clark CORINA Andy’s voice is natural, refined, transparent and resolved, superb! I go on memory now of the STAX SR-X9000 which gave a like rendering. The STAX SR-009S, however, which sits beside the BHSE, cannot match this rendering, cannot provide the naturalness of his voice. Not like the CORINA.

In truth, Dan Clark’s VOCE was, well, a bit acrophobic—shy of heights—when it came to the treble and could not keep up with the various STAX headphones. Though the VOCE’s midrange was more than a match for the various STAX with the exception of the SR-X9000. The CORINA suffers no similar treble limitations or treble-acrophobia as did its sibling. And in terms of naturalness and musicality it can match the STAX SR-X9000!

Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia) is a perennial favorite when it comes to ferreting out those components able to both parse and resolve treble energy in the form of drum cymbals—Joe Morello’s drum cymbals. As “Take Five” plays through it is energetic and delicate as the tip-top treble notes are easily parsed, natural, and beautifully resolved via the CORINA. This is, no doubt, a direct consequence of the CORINA’s superb microdynamics, its rendering of ambiance and air. As I have often commented regarding lesser gear—“this is not bacon frying or some other edible sizzling away on too hot a skillet, in lieu of well resolved high-treble notes.” No. This is the natural reproduction of those tiptop treble notes beautifully executed.

Hilary Hahn’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor: Adagio (Bach: Violin Sonatas Nos 1 & 2; Partita No. 1, Decca) plays through and the tone and timbre of the notes are rich, textured, extended, and its transients hypersonic. This, the speed, of course is the domain of electrostatics—headphones, speakers—and cannot be matched by any other technology. All in all, the CORINA has indeed come very close to matching the STAX SR-X9000. Some may well even choose the CORINA for its greater overall musicality and its immersiveness relative to the STAX SRX9000.

The Dan Clark CORINA is one of the most transparent, resolving, and musical headphones, inclusive of both dynamic and planar magnetic headphones, that I have heard or reviewed to date. The only electrostatic headphone that might top it and by a wee small margin is the STAX SR-X9000. Though given the pedigree of the various other headphones reviewed and lived with, this is no small feat.

Further, the CORINA handles the full breadth of the frequency range—bass, midrange, treble—with superlative ease and refinement, and this stands it at the very top of electrostatic headphones. In this respect, it has moved well beyond the STAX SR-009S and well beyond its sibling, the VOCE, as it assumes the mantle of Top-Of-The-Line (TOTL) for Dan Clark’s electrostatic offerings.

The Dan Clark CORINA represents a topdown fusion of an electrostatic headphone subsuming the best traits of dynamic and planar magnetic headphones. This would make its acquisition extremely important for those who wish to travel to that electrostatic world of which I speak, a journey that I cannot recommend more enthusiastically. You will, however, need a fairly robust—capable, powerful—electrostatic headphone amplifier for your journey (see HeadAmp).

The Dan Clark CORINA joins the topmost echelon of components and headphones that have received our DIAMOND AWARD for excellence both technically and musically. And a special salute must go to Dan Clark for the development of the AMTS technology responsible for this outstanding leap of ability over other electrostatic headphones.

For a long time, I had thought the STAX SR-X9000 as the ‘jewel in the electrostatic crown’ so to speak. I do not think about the STAX SR-X9000 that way anymore. Since reviewing the Dan Clark CORINA, I would be exceedingly happy to live with it instead.

Bravo!

Pros: Superb technical and musical abilities with a talent for a natural, compelling and dauntingly immersive listening experience.

Cons: Efficiency. As with most of Dan Clark’s headphones you will need sufficient top-shelf power to drive them well.

Cons: None.

Dan Clark

CORINA ($4,499.99)

3366 Kurtz Street, San Diego, CA 92110 USA

+1.619.501.6313 info@danclarkaudio.com