Dan Clark E3 Headphone Review

[Jumbotron]

I had the RT Closed first. Now I own the Noire X and one month ago I ordered (and paid for) the E3 from a Spanish online retailer. This was a Black Friday sale and the product appeared as "in stock". Otherwise, I would never have placed the order. A couple of days after I placed it, I got an email from this retailer telling me that they actually had no stock of the product and that they would send it to me as soon as they got stock of it. Well, it's been roughly 30 days since I placed the order and they still have me waiting for the product I ordered. I've been told by other customers of this online retailer (Supersonido) that they are trustworthy, but I must say that that is not the impression I'm getting from this experience, honestly. I'm gonna contact them, but I feel doubtful between asking them to directly cancel my order and give my money back or just complain and ask what's the matter with this situation.

 

[Chagall]

I had the RT Closed first. Now I own the Noire X and one month ago I ordered (and paid for) the E3 from a Spanish online retailer. This was a Black Friday sale and the product appeared as "in stock". Otherwise, I would never have placed the order. A couple of days after I placed it, I got an email from this retailer telling me that they actually had no stock of the product and that they would send it to me as soon as they got stock of it. Well, it's been roughly 30 days since I placed the order and they still have me waiting for the product I ordered. I've been told by other customers of this online retailer (Supersonido) that they are trustworthy, but I must say that that is not the impression I'm getting from this experience, honestly. I'm gonna contact them, but I feel doubtful between asking them to directly cancel my order and give my money back or just complain and ask what's the matter with this situation.

I don't understand. You can call them and cancel the order or better yet send the cancelation via email stating 30 days wait as the reason... or wait longer for E3 to arrive. I waited for mine 2 or 3 months, but that was expected as E3 just came out.

As I understand online payments, the funds are only reserved/automatic hold on your card until the shipment is sent - final charge. Might work different, but i wouldn't worry as this things happen often.

 

[Ahmonge]

I feel doubtful between asking them to directly cancel my order and give my money back or just complain and ask what's the matter with this situation

Si el ahorro sobre el precio actual es importante, pídeles una fecha estimada y si es razonable, espera. En caso contrario, cancela la compra. En cualquier caso, me parece inaceptable que te hayan cobrado por adelantado.

If the savings on the current price are significant, ask them for an estimated date and, if it is reasonable, wait. Otherwise, cancel the purchase. In any case, I find it unacceptable that they charged you in advance.

 

[Jumbotron]

Chagall, Ahmonge​

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I've just sent an email to their customer service to ask if they have some news about restocking the product in their shop. I'll wait for their news before doing anything else.

Ahmonge,​

Saludos desde Málaga.

Greetings from Málaga.

 

[Jumbotron]

The next day after my email to the shop, I got their reply telling me that their provider would deliver my unit to the delivery company in few days at most. Finally, I received the package with the E3 yesterday and later today I'll be trying the product for the first time.

All is good if it ends well, but I can't help but wonder how longer would I have to keep waiting had I not sent that last email to them. Oh well...

 

[Ahmonge]

Finally, I received the package with the E3 yesterday and later today I'll be trying the product for the first time.

Great! Please, tell us what you thing about them.

 

[Jumbotron]

Great! Please, tell us what you thing about them.

If you don't mind my shallow, non-technical impression on the product (I'm afraid I can't offer more than that), sure, I can do that after some hours of music listening with them. Also, although I'll try to remember remarking it once I write my impression on the product, it's worth noting that I'm using Oratory1990's Harman target PEQ for the E3 in the PC where I listen to my music. It's not like that EQ makes big changes to the sound signature of the E3, though. Only subtle edits.

 

[dasherzx]

I received my warrantied E3 today, I turned it in because I heard resonance or rattling or whatever in the 400hz areas. They replaced the pads for me, that's cool. But disappointment sets in once i ran a frequency sweep. Now the right driver is rattling at sub bass (20hz) while the left one is still fine, this is just from playing a 20hz test tone on spotify at average volumes. also I still seem to hear the same issue at the midrange...this isn't happening on the stealth and expanse i own now. I just blew 150 bucks returning it for a repair. i was told both the drivers were replaced, so I'm ready to assume the 400+ hz rattling is just me or that's how the headphone is. but that rattling bass I just cant. ughh...
I’m leaning 50-50 on all I got was just fresh earpads, I can’t be this unlucky

 

[Chagall]

I received my warrantied E3 today, I turned it in because I heard resonance or rattling or whatever in the 400hz areas. They replaced the pads for me, that's cool. But disappointment sets in once i ran a frequency sweep. Now the right driver is rattling at sub bass (20hz) while the left one is still fine, this is just from playing a 20hz test tone on spotify at average volumes. also I still seem to hear the same issue at the midrange...this isn't happening on the stealth and expanse i own now. I just blew 150 bucks returning it for a repair. i was told both the drivers were replaced, so I'm ready to assume the 400+ hz rattling is just me or that's how the headphone is. but that rattling bass I just cant. ughh...
I’m leaning 50-50 on all I got was just fresh earpads, I can’t be this unlucky

So, it no longer rattles at 400Hz and does it rattle at 20Hz in normal use with music? I mean, you won't listen to test tones forever.

 

[dasherzx]

So, it no longer rattles at 400Hz and does it rattle at 20Hz in normal use with music? I mean, you won't listen to test tones forever.

It’s both now. That is obviously true, I was prepared to give it a pass already and just ignore the midrange one which could maybe have just been me. But now I just can’t help but worry if bassy music doesn’t sound correct, even though it might be near impossible to identify. Or what if it gets worse.

 

[Chagall]

It’s both now. That is obviously true, I was prepared to give it a pass already and just ignore the midrange one which could maybe have just been me. But now I just can’t help but worry if bassy music doesn’t sound correct, even though it might be near impossible to identify. Or what if it gets worse.

Oh, it's rattling both frequencies now.. sorry misunderstood. That's not great...

 

[Jumbotron]

I've been using my E3 for a couple of weeks or so now. For some reason, the first week of use they felt more uncomfortable resting on the top of my head than my Noire X (maybe because the E3 is heavier?). But that sensation has disappeared now, luckily for me. The E3 earcups are larger than the Noire X's, so that's a plus for me. This seems to perform slightly worse than the Noire X blocking ambient sound though. The Noire X performs a little better isolating you, I'd say.

Now for the really important aspect, the sound. Honestly, I haven't found much of an improvement with the E3 over the Noire X in that regard. They sound pretty similar to my ears. But then again, as I've done with the E3 now, I also had the Noire X EQd with Oratory1990's Harman Target preset, so it's not that surprising that I can't find significant differences sound wise between the two, I guess. So, when it comes to value, I'd say that the Noire X are the way to go.

But I have both phones now, and I appreciate the larger cups on the E3. So I'm gonna keep using it.

 

[dasherzx]

So an update, the bass rattling resolved itself after a day or two, hooray. Things i did include shaking it lightly, blowing lightly at the seams around the pads etc. I was told it could be pads not being seated properly. Sounds insane, but it is what it is.

 

[Hammondk]

Wanted to get an opinion from folks here.

How would you objectively measure DCA E3 vs Audeze LCD-XC?

I have my E3 for 8 months and I am really loving them but the sub bass is very dependent on position and seal. Was hoping how you guys would advise between these 2 headphones.

 

[sharock]

Wanted to get an opinion from folks here.

How would you objectively measure DCA E3 vs Audeze LCD-XC?

I have my E3 for 8 months and I am really loving them but the sub bass is very dependent on position and seal. Was hoping how you guys would advise between these 2 headphones.

Both have been measured here on ASR and by Oratory. The LCD-XC definitely needs a bass shelf EQ to bring it up to that of the stock E3. It's sort of flat <100Hz and rolled off <40Hz. Thankfully, it's essentially distortion-less.

On my head, the XC is less position/fit-dependent and also heavier. I actually don't notice the weight too much.

You could also consider the Noire X, which is not unlike the E3 sonically but with smaller cups.

I do not wear glasses.

 

[Hammondk]

Both have been measured here on ASR and by Oratory. The LCD-XC definitely needs a bass shelf EQ to bring it up to that of the stock E3. It's sort of flat <100Hz and rolled off <40Hz. Thankfully, it's essentially distortion-less.

On my head, the XC is less position/fit-dependent and also heavier. I actually don't notice the weight too much.

You could also consider the Noire X, which is not unlike the E3 sonically but with smaller cups.

I do not wear glasses.

Thanks Sharock for your opinion.

I would like to explore beyond DCA as my last 2 pairs of headphones are all from DCA (Aeon Open, Aeon RT then E3). There are not really many choices for closed headphones that are of E3 performance.

My chain that I use at work is Fiio M21 USB output to Xduoo XD05 Pro (I have 3 of their DAC). So far E3 is doing well if I am wear it accurately with my current glasses. (flat titanium temples).

I am having a pair of smart glasses inbound, just thinking it might break the seal for bass leakage

 

[Presently42]

Was wondering @Dan Clark , if you'd be willing to provide an E3 to KB5000 conversion eq. I think what I'm using is close - but it'd be lovely to have something from its creator

 

[michihito]

Why does the E3 sound spatially narrow despite measuring so well?

The E3 has extremely low distortion, an excellent frequency response, clean group delay, and apparently very good time-domain behavior. Yet both my 10-year-old son and I had the same impression with Yosi Horikawa's Bubbles: many of the balls seemed to fall into almost the same spatial location. I have also seen the E3 described as having a “giant IEM” type of presentation.

That seemed difficult to reconcile with the conventional measurements, so I built a simple 3D FDTD simulation, using Claude Fable 5 extensively to help with the implementation and analysis, to look at the sound field across the pinna rather than only at the ear-canal response. The models are deliberately simplified, and the AMTS geometry is approximated from photographs, so this is not intended as an accurate simulation of the commercial headphones.

Figure 1 — Simplified geometries and probe positions

Figure 2 — Incident level distribution across the pinna

The interesting part is that simple level variation does not seem to explain the difference. The DX10000CL-type model also has substantial spatial level variation.
When the overall level difference at each probe is removed and only the spectral shape is compared, the result becomes much clearer.


Figure 3 — All probe frequency responses. Top: including level differences. Bottom: spectral shape only.

Mean spatial variation of spectral shape from 5–10 kHz:

• MDR-Z1R-type: 0.8 dB
• LCD-type: 1.5 dB
• DX10000CL-type: 1.3 dB
• DCA/AMTS-like: 2.7 dB

I also separated smooth spatial gradients from local irregularity using a local planar fit.

Figure 4 — Local spatial gradient vs. residual irregularity

The AMTS-like model is a clear outlier in the 5–10 kHz spectral-shape result.
So my current hypothesis is simply this:

A headphone can have an excellent frequency response at the ear canal while still producing a highly position-dependent spectral field across the pinna.

If so, conventional single-point measurements may be missing a variable relevant to spatial perception. The “giant IEM” impression would also make some intuitive sense: the final FR can be excellent, while the pinna is no longer being illuminated by a spatially consistent wavefront.

This obviously does not prove that AMTS causes the E3's spatial presentation, but I think it is an interesting result worth testing experimentally.

 

[Rja4000]

Why does the E3 sound spatially narrow despite measuring so well?

The E3 has extremely low distortion, an excellent frequency response, clean group delay, and apparently very good time-domain behavior. Yet both my 10-year-old son and I had the same impression with Yosi Horikawa's Bubbles: many of the balls seemed to fall into almost the same spatial location. I have also seen the E3 described as having a “giant IEM” type of presentation.

That seemed difficult to reconcile with the conventional measurements, so I built a simple 3D FDTD simulation, using Claude Fable 5 extensively to help with the implementation and analysis, to look at the sound field across the pinna rather than only at the ear-canal response. The models are deliberately simplified, and the AMTS geometry is approximated from photographs, so this is not intended as an accurate simulation of the commercial headphones.

Figure 1 — Simplified geometries and probe positions
View attachment 552264


Figure 2 — Incident level distribution across the pinna
View attachment 552265

The interesting part is that simple level variation does not seem to explain the difference. The DX10000CL-type model also has substantial spatial level variation.
When the overall level difference at each probe is removed and only the spectral shape is compared, the result becomes much clearer.


Figure 3 — All probe frequency responses. Top: including level differences. Bottom: spectral shape only.

View attachment 552266

Mean spatial variation of spectral shape from 5–10 kHz:

• MDR-Z1R-type: 0.8 dB
• LCD-type: 1.5 dB
• DX10000CL-type: 1.3 dB
• DCA/AMTS-like: 2.7 dB

I also separated smooth spatial gradients from local irregularity using a local planar fit.

Figure 4 — Local spatial gradient vs. residual irregularity
View attachment 552267


The AMTS-like model is a clear outlier in the 5–10 kHz spectral-shape result.
So my current hypothesis is simply this:

A headphone can have an excellent frequency response at the ear canal while still producing a highly position-dependent spectral field across the pinna.

If so, conventional single-point measurements may be missing a variable relevant to spatial perception. The “giant IEM” impression would also make some intuitive sense: the final FR can be excellent, while the pinna is no longer being illuminated by a spatially consistent wavefront.

This obviously does not prove that AMTS causes the E3's spatial presentation, but I think it is an interesting result worth testing experimentally.

Why don't you start a new thread on this ?

 

[michihito]

Why don't you start a new thread on this ?

Should this be discussed elsewhere?
I used to own the E3, but the spatial representation felt completely off, which is why I posted here.