Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Headphones

[VSG]

Dan Clark Audio follows up on the flagship closed-back STEALTH with the more affordable but equally impressive E3. It uses a new generation planar magnetic driver coupled with a novel dual-mode bass port and custom acoustic metamaterials implementation to put out an accurate, balanced, and fun sound for a reasonable price.

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[remixedcat]

hmm these seem like they would be good for music production! I'd like to try these because they seem to have air in the right areas for a lot of the synths I use... if you would, please give my music a shot and see how good it does on these and let me know! links are in sig if you want a quick listen... and if anyone else wants to take a crack at it ti that has these

 

[Onasi]

Well, at least this time the Gorilla Glass experiment is successful, if expensive. I think all of us who had the… pleasure… to experience the Senn HD820 can at least sleep soundly knowing that a second abomination of that caliber wasn’t unleashed on the world.

 

[VSG]

hmm these seem like they would be good for music production! I'd like to try these because they seem to have air in the right areas for a lot of the synths I use... if you would, please give my music a shot and see how good it does on these and let me know! links are in sig if you want a quick listen... and if anyone else wants to take a crack at it ti that has these

Very cool music, and yeah they were really good on the E3. Thanks for sharing.

 

[remixedcat]

Very cool music, and yeah they were really good on the E3. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome!!! Dm me the nitty gritties!! I'd like to know more and possibly a mini review on em lol

 

[Space Lynx]

I think I am going to sell my beloved HD58X and a couple more headphones and get the HE5XX HiFiMan, on sale for $160... hopefully can sell my HD58X for $100

Dan Clark is next level, but out of my range

 

[poliacido]

As an audiophile i would really like to give it a try... even if i am more towards ordinary speakers technology... i mean everybody tries to reinvent the wheel... but anyway imho they need a better setup for that price... not worth using chineese dac/amps like Gustards (like the reviewer used) , Toppings, shiit or whatever even if they cost 2k... i might trigger someone but thats just my 2 cents

 

[VSG]

As an audiophile i would really like to give it a try... even if i am more towards ordinary speakers technology... i mean everybody tries to reinvent the wheel... but anyway imho they need a better setup for that price... not worth using chineese dac/amps like Gustards (like the reviewer used) , Toppings, shiit or whatever even if they cost 2k... i might trigger someone but thats just my 2 cents

If you feel that a product can be judged based on its country of origin alone then I don't have anything left to say to you.

 

[Onasi]

If you feel that a product can be judged based on its country of origin alone then I don't have anything left to say to you.

It’s even more bizzare of a statement considering that at the heart of all “Chi-Fi” hardware lie the same chips from ESS, Burr-Brown, Cirrus, AKM, what have you, as the non-China made stuff. I thought we’ve established years ago with the advent of objective testing that as long as the source is transparent and the amp has enough power nothing else matters. I felt like I went back in time to 2010 or so and the Head-Fi forum.

 

[poliacido]

If you feel that a product can be judged based on its country of origin alone then I don't have anything left to say to you.

Yes, as i told i knew i was going to trigger some but thats ok, that was just my opinion and i dont pretend that you agree with me, no offense for real and that was not a judgment on your review.

It’s even more bizzare of a statement considering that at the heart of all “Chi-Fi” hardware lie the same chips from ESS, Burr-Brown, Cirrus, AKM, what have you, as the non-China made stuff. I thought we’ve established years ago with the advent of objective testing that as long as the source is transparent and the amp has enough power nothing else matters. I felt like I went back in time to 2010 or so and the Head-Fi forum.

They might be the same like you said but they are not the same, your statement "as long the source is transparent and the amp has enough power" means nothing like saying all stuff is equal if they have the same features. Are 2 different cars the same if they have the same engine and both have 4 tyres and 4 doors? Also i am old enough, that i dont need a Delorean to travel back, to say that imho old stuff "if kept in the right condition or restored correctly" can sound better than most of the new stuff from "questionable source".

Still guys these are my 2 cents, enjoy your day

 

[Onasi]

@poliacido
I don’t think you understand. It’s not a matter of opinion. Not unless earth being a globe or water being wet is. There is objective testing that is done that has long ago confirmed my statement that you described as “meaning nothing”. Transparent uncolored sources are all, by definition, equal. And as such, any transparent source paired with a solid state amp providing enough power to drive the headphones tested will do for the purpose of measuring the performance of the drivers. Any drivers (I am omitting electrostats here due to their exotic nature). The price point of headphones is irrelevant in this case. If they can be driven by an amp a tenth if the price - so be it. There are high end IEMs costing several grand that can be driven off a phone without any adverse issues.
And yes, of course there are colored sources, like tubes and older DACs, that can SUBJECTIVELY sound better to someone. That’s fine. But in a review which strives to present the product characteristics untainted by anything else using such sources will introduce a variance. And that’s why it isn’t done.

 

[evernessince]

It’s even more bizzare of a statement considering that at the heart of all “Chi-Fi” hardware lie the same chips from ESS, Burr-Brown, Cirrus, AKM, what have you, as the non-China made stuff. I thought we’ve established years ago with the advent of objective testing that as long as the source is transparent and the amp has enough power nothing else matters. I felt like I went back in time to 2010 or so and the Head-Fi forum.

This is true although perhaps he was referring to the physical quality, consistency, and service provided with a product.

For me personally, I have not had a remotely good experience with my Topping DX5. It was buggy right out of the box and required a firmware update in order to use. Nowadays the unit barley functions, the volume knob jumps the volume up and down anywhere from 0.5 Db to 15 Db per increment. It would cost me $80 to send it back to China and likely 3-4 months to get it back which I really don't think it's worth it.

The sound it produces is fantastic but I'll 100% not be making the mistake of buying from a brand that doesn't have a reasonable RMA timeframe, which pretty much excludes Chinese brands. I've had to RMA a product to DCA before and they handled it fantastically. It sounds better than the JDS Element II I had before but I didn't have a single issue with the Element nor any other DAC. It's honestly surprising that a brand can screw up the basics like a volume knob and not having buggy operation as much as the DX5 has for me. Heck now when I try and use the remote the remote for the DX5 the volume up and down buttons do the inverse operation. This isn't a permium experience.