Dan Clark Audio Corina Reference Headphones Review

Jay Garrett reckons this new high-end electrostatic is a real head turner...
Electrostatic headphones do many things so well but are invariably less user-friendly than conventional dynamic types because they require a dedicated 'energiser' to work. This is different to a conventional headphone amplifier as it sends out a bias voltage to charge the transducer membranes, as well as carrying the regular left and right audio signals, generally via a five-pin DIN connector.
Until recently, Japanese brand Stax was king of the electrostatic headphone hill, but today, there are offerings from the likes of Warwick Acoustics, Audeze, HiFiMan, Sennheiser and, of course, Dan Clark Audio in the mix. The latter's new Corina Reference is not only priced above the company's Applause Award-winning Expanse open-backed planar stablemate, but is an electrostatic design.
This isn't Dan Clark Audio's first electrostatic dalliance – that particular accolade goes to 2018's Voce, which the Corina supersedes. Indeed, at first blush, one might think the newcomer is simply a redressed Voce as it is equipped with the same 88mm electrostatic panels as its predecessor. However, that's akin to saying a nineteen-nineties TVR Griffith should be a great off-roader because it shares the same engine with a Land Rover of similar vintage.
UP CLOSE
Just as TVR worked its magic on the Landy lump, so the Corina Reference's 88mm driver benefits from a new tensioning system that first appeared in Dan Clark's planar magnetic headphones. This, we are told, increases diaphragm tension as well as making it more uniform across the panel, resulting in a more linear sound. Although its large stator is like the Voce before, it is less efficient than some of its rivals.
This product is the first electrostatic design to feature Dan Clark Audio's Advanced Metametal Tuning System (AMTS), which sits between the stator panel and the outer pattern of the ear cup. This sophisticated wave-guide system can act as a Helmholtz resonator at specific frequencies. According to the manufacturer, it is tuned specifically for each drive unit and mitigates treble spikes.
Tipping the scales at 465g, it is slightly heavier than the Voce but still a comfortable wear thanks to a headband similar to that of the Expanse and Stealth planar magnetics, plus a new ergonomic earpad design with suede contact surfaces cossets your lobes. This makes longer listening sessions more comfortable, even when the heating is ramped up. I love the almost Art Nouveau organic design of the sculptured grey grille, which is contrasted by the blue stitched black headband.
The Corina Reference is not an easy thing to drive, so for this review, I enlisted the help of a High-Amp Electra Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier, which is also compatible with all Pro-BIAS Stax models, by the way. This unassuming-looking unit – measuring 90x340x315mm [HxWxD] – offers XLR and RCA inputs alongside the all-important 5-pin connector with 580V DC bias voltage. In fact, you get two of these outputs. According to the spec sheet, it boasts a frequency response of 0 to 50kHz, 60dB (x1,000) gain and less than 0.02% distortion at 100Vrms, 1kHz.
THE LISTENING
This exotic electrostatic has all the incision, resolution and transient speed that you would expect from a top-tier headphone. It also displays a remarkably punchy, deep and fulsome bass, which lends the Corina Reference a darker-sounding character than some of its rivals. There's still the company's familial timbral accuracy, however, which is organic and balanced. It doesn't over-light the high end in order to give all that detail but instead relies on subtlety and speed.
Kate Bush's Pi showcases the Corina Reference's talents well. Said to be dedicated to the "obsessive nature and deep fascination for numbers", the track starts with a low, percussive bass line above which synthesisers float. Kate then casually sings the value of Pi to its 78th decimal place and later from its 101st to 137th decimal place – good pop quiz knowledge, that! The acoustic guitar shimmers and the fretless bass is mellow, while the vocals project with glassy clarity. Meanwhile, the piano in Prologue demonstrates the naturalness and delicacy of the presentation.
The same effortless realism is evident when I drop the needle on Joni Mitchell's Sisotowbell Lane. The acoustic guitar comes alive with microscopic details that tell the listener precisely what is being played and how. You can practically picture where on the instrument's neck her chord choices are positioned. And thanks to the Corina Reference's mastery of higher frequencies, Joni's vocal line is free from cold, sharp edges, and instead bristles with her trademark phrasing and vibrato.
However, this naturalness isn't confined to the upper regions, as this headphone is also a master of the midband. Be it the harpsichord and violin playing in Bach's Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, II Allegro or Mark King's bass stylings in Level 42's 43, the instrumentation hits you just right. This approach not only lets the Corina Reference impart a sense of even-handedness to voices and acoustic instruments but also to electronics too. Whether it's violins, cellos, pianos, and percussion you're listening to, or electric guitars, synthesisers or human voices, music sounds magical.
As you'd expect from electrostatic headphones, soundstaging is sublime. TOOL's Vicarious reveals just how spacious things can get. All that room lets me get inside the mix and look around without a hint of congestion. At the same time, the super-fast attack transients make the rhythmic element of the music an absolutely engrossing experience. Palm-muted guitar arpeggios come through cleanly, changes in direction happen with pinwheel sharpness, and everything just feels that little bit more vital – even when compared to my reference Expanse headphones.
As a result, the Corina Reference is a delight with well-recorded, mixed and mastered music – it delivers a real out-of-the-head experience. It searches out micro details that various other price rivals skip over, yet is smooth and natural too. It handles high-frequency detail with delicacy and ease, yet excavates vast tracts of bass too – I'm talking Trentemøller levels of low. Whether you prefer a dirty drum machine hi-hat cymbal sound, or the rumble of a pipe organ, this headphone delivers the goods.
THE VERDICT
Dan Clark Audio's Corina Reference has converted me to the world of electrostatic headphones. Its wonderfully fast, open and lifelike sound shows both what this manufacturer can do and what this genre of headphones is capable of. The only caveats are, of course, its price and the fact that you'll need to pair it with a suitably meaty energiser/amplifier to get the best out of it. This is pretty much the best you are currently going to get from an electrostatic design this side of Sennheiser's Orpheus system and Warwick Acoustic's Aperio. Put it at the top of your shortlist if you're shopping for those attributes.
Visit Dan Clark Audio for more information

Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Applause Awards | 2025 | Headphones | Over / On Ear | Headphones | StereoLUX!
JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION
Want to share your opinion or get advice from other enthusiasts? Then head into the Message
Forums where thousands of other enthusiasts are communicating on a daily basis.
CLICK HERE FOR FREE MEMBERSHIP
Trending
applause awards
Each time StereoNET reviews a product, it is considered for an Applause Award. Winning one marks it out as a design of great quality and distinction – a special product in its class, on the grounds of either performance, value for money, or usually both.
Applause Awards are personally issued by StereoNET’s global Editor-in-Chief, David Price – who has over three decades of experience reviewing hi-fi products at the highest level – after consulting with our senior editorial team. They are not automatically given with all reviews, nor can manufacturers purchase them.
The StereoNET editorial team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected hi-fi journalists with a vast wealth of knowledge. Some have edited popular English language hi-fi magazines, and others have been senior contributors to famous audio journals stretching back to the late 1970s. And we also employ professional IT and home theatre specialists who work at the cutting edge of today’s technology.
We believe that no other online hi-fi and home cinema resource offers such expert knowledge, so when StereoNET gives an Applause Award, it is a trustworthy hallmark of quality. Receiving such an award is the prerequisite to becoming eligible for our annual Product of the Year awards, awarded only to the finest designs in their respective categories. Buyers of hi-fi, home cinema, and headphones can be sure that a StereoNET Applause Award winner is worthy of your most serious attention.