The HD800S was EQ'd (I use an RME ADI-2 as the amp/EQ) to a Harman curve, as I found it sounds very "wrong" without the EQ. The E3 is un-EQ'd at the moment, I find that it sounds "right" out of the box. I might back the highs off for some things to smooth over issues, we'll see. Rolling the highs can help mask compression artifacts.
Also one area I noticed they really emphasized the problems on is some early digital audio. I'm an Information Society fan, and their album Hack has always sounded harsh to my ears. This is likely because it was one of the first done all digital, and mixing rez was only 16-bit. The harshness is even more noticeable on the E3s. They just really don't smooth over any details.
That's not a criticism of them, they are what they claim to be and should be. It just makes me wish I had better versions of some music.
Like Infected Mushroom is another band I love but damn do those dudes love their limiters. They smash their music WAY too hard and it was noticeable before but I can hear the distortion so clearly when it is running too hard. The E3s just make it that much easier to notice. I wish they'd release their albums with the limiter backed off about 6-8dB.
Thanks, I'll do that and yes, I am at the large end of the bell curve. I removed the set screws that I would imagine are for that purpose and it has made it much better, but I could go for even lower force so I'll e-mail your team and see what they suggest.
They make me want to try the Expanse for when I do have a quiet room. Can't afford them at the moment since we just had to buy a new central AC (and nothing makes audio look cheap like HVAC

) but perhaps someday if tariffs don't drive up their price too much.