Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the Dan Clark Audio E3 placed on a mannequin head to help show how these headphones would look on the human head. Note that the head is slightly under average sized, so account for the discrepancies accordingly. As with all headphones, getting a good fit and seal is crucial, so make sure to properly use the various pivot points, and the height adjustability of the headband and ear cups. This section is mostly a summary of the points expanded upon in more detail on the previous page, but I will point out that the E3 weighs 455 g, which is actually on the lower side for closed-back planar magnetic headphones. Part of this is due to the use of a relatively smaller driver and smaller, single-sided magnets but the use of lightweight premium materials in the form of the Nitinol wire headband and the aluminium/glass ear cups also helps. I mentioned on the previous page how everything about the E3 has been designed with comfort in mind and the end result is a set of headphones you put over your ears and then almost forget they are there. These approach the Meze ELITE in how comfortable they are for me, which is saying something for a closed-back set. This comfort also holds up over longer periods of use since there are no hot spots on pressure points developed either, at least on my head. The clamp force was about perfect for my average-sized head, as was the fit and seal achieved with the combination of the highly flexible ear cups and the thick, contoured pads. The closed-back isolation is quite significant across the entire frequency response. It's not going to best ANC headphones where lower frequencies (<500 Hz typically) are toned down further, but the E3 can be a very decent work set too if you have the budget for it.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

I recommend going through this page to better understand the base technologies developed by Dan Clark Audio and how they were implemented in its other planar magnetic headphones. The E3 uses DCA's latest fifth generation driver that has a 76 x 51 mm diaphragm using new materials, in addition to highly optimized V-Planar knurling. Then there's the integrated acoustic metamaterials tuning system (AMTS) which is a 3D-printed device that combines waveguides, resonators of multiple design, and diffusion elements. It's customized to the E3 so the AMTS implementation here is different from that in the STEALTH, for example. The diffusion elements help reduce standing wave formation whereas the resonators act as both precision and broadband filters to smoothen and shape the transducer frequency response from the mids through the highs. The goal here is that AMTS, combined with the newer drivers, "deliver exceptionally high resolution without the fatiguing distortions and rough frequency response users may be used to." The dual-mode bass ports are also new with the E3 and the end result is a set of headphones which are fairly demanding, with a typical planar magnetic characteristic of low impedance (27 Ω) and low sensitivity (~90 dB/mW), but one that is easier to drive than the notorious DCA STEALTH that is quite current-hungry. Going with a balanced connector and pairing the E3 with an amplifier with enough juice will help ensure you are not bottlenecking these headphones. I do expect most people to use the E3 in their home/office with a desktop setup though, and I generally paired it with solid state amplifiers and a good delta-sigma DAC at home.

Frequency Response Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Our current headphones test setup uses a set of two custom in-ear microphones for the two channels. These microphones closely adhere to the IEC711 class, but have been tweaked to be more reliable in the >10 kHz frequency range, the precise issue with my previous setup, that is otherwise still very good and will continue to be used for IEMs and earphones. Two soft silicone pinnae are installed on the sides, separated by a distance matching my head, and multiple "height" adapters have been 3D-printed for further customization based on fit, head size and shape. Each set of microphones has an XLR output I separately adapted to 3.5 mm. I used a transparent source—the FiiO K9 Pro—for measurements after confirming it was not a bottleneck in any way. This artificial head simulator feeds the microphone lines into a reference USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, netting a good balance of detail and signal-to-noise ratio. The default tuning was used for testing, and no app or program-based EQ settings were chosen, unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is measured at least thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the individual measurements for statistical accuracy.


As per usual, you can find my headphone frequency response measurements on VSG.squig.link, along with all the earphone measurements. Scroll to the bottom and choose different targets there, including two from Harman Kardon, developed after years of R&D. As with the DCA STEALTH, this is a rare occasion where I am opting to use the full Harman 2018 over-ear target for reference here given this is a well-tuned closed-back set that is designed around this very target. But first, let's talk about the channel matching achieved here and, once again, Dan Clark Audio has managed to impress with excellent matching throughout the entire frequency range of interest. In fact, keeping in mind that measurements on the 711 couplers are best taken with a grain of salt in the higher frequencies anyway, this easily exceeds the industry standard of +/-3 dB variance. Knowing this is a randomly picked retail unit makes it all the better and this is the level of quality control that very few audio brands manage to achieve consistently. I will also mention that using the headphones for well over 100 hours didn't change anything either for those who would undoubtedly be curious about burn-in.

As mentioned before, a closed-back set tuned with the Harman over-ear target in mind can sound like a good set of speakers in a well-treated room. This is easier to say than actually achieve though and the Dan Clark Audio STEALTH is really the first set of headphones that managed to convince me of this. The newer E3 continues the trend while doing a few things different enough to make this not only a fantastically tuned set but also one that is likely to get a larger subset of the audience to jive with it. The E3 does bass better than any other closed-back set I've listened to date. It is accurate, it is engaging, and it is also actually dynamic too. I don't think the complaints some have about DCA headphones sounding lean in the lower frequencies will be valid here. Perhaps this is the newer driver at play, perhaps it is the dual-mode bass port implementation, perhaps it is the specific-to-the-E3 AMTS, or perhaps it is a combination of all of these, but the trailing ends of tones get their fair dues here. Bass guitars in classic rock music is a good example to showcase this where you will hear and feel the strumming without compromising on detail. Sub-bass extension is also excellent, although I would still say this is a set better suited for mid-bass tones more. I found the likes of house and trance music to be a touch too emphasized to where it was less enjoyable after ~20 min or so.

The mids are fairly novel on the DCA E3 depending on how you perceive it. Once again the positioning of the ear pads around your ears can make a reasonably big impact on the mids with the general recommendation being to place the ear pads such as the top rear corner of the pads lines up with the top rear of your ears. This allows for the AMTS device to be in-line with your ear canals and for the waveguides and resonators to work as intended in producing an extremely smooth yet resolving sound. The side effect with the E3 is it can make some instrument fundamentals—flutes and clarinets, for example—feel like they were playing in the background compared to others such as string instruments. I found that positioning the ear pads slightly behind but still at the top of my ears to help with this, and it also helped prevent some female vocals coming off slightly lean. On the flip side, male vocals have that grunt that I only heard with the likes of ribbon and AMT driver headphones so far. Once you find the best positioning of the E3 for you, expect to have a set of headphones with excellent detail retrieval as well as a soundstage rivaling some open-back sets in depth and height. In fact, I initially thought the mesh pattern on the gorilla glass was a bit much, but I actually see the reference to open-back headphones is fairly valid. The E3 also has precise imaging in a wide cone in front of your head to where I can absolutely see this also working as a tool for music mastering and mixing too, let alone being an everyday set of headphones for general media consumption given the excellent comfort on offer.

The upper mids and treble reproduction is perhaps where I found myself most disagreeing with others who tried out this unit. I understand that AMTS helped make for a smooth playback and a less jagged higher frequency playback but here there is a 6 kHz peak to be aware of for those sensitive and, unlike what the frequency response measurements above indicate, some added air at 12-13 kHz which kept irking me with piano keys as well as cymbal strikes. I ended up getting used to it after ~15 min each session, but it was immediately obvious to where I almost played with EQ. There's still a slightly metallic timbre with the E3 for certain instruments though and upper harmonics also are not as smooth as I would have liked to see from harps, the viola, and the cello. Some of my classical music library tracks worked beautifully with the E3, others less so. To check if this was just me, I had others try this unit too and most people had no issues with the treble. Several did find the upper mids slightly fatiguing after a while although some of this could be attributed to their choice of music and the quality of the recordings used.


The obvious comparison to make here is with the Dan Clark STEALTH. It costs twice as much as the E3 and shares quite a lot as we have seen through the course of this review—the same cables, the same headband assembly, AMTS implementation, a similar driver and ear cup design too. If anything, the E3 has an updated driver as well as the cool new bass ports which end up making it more fun and engaging in the bass and thus more likely to win the comparison for many people. Yet I end up going back to the STEALTH over the E3 every single time. I prefer the ear cups of the STEALTH which are easier to hold onto and they look cooler to me. The ear pads are less open but the comfort factor is slightly in favor of the STEALTH since I don't have to fiddle around with the ear pad positioning. The ear gain on the STEALTH is also a better match to my preferences and, despite my originally finding the STEALTH treble playback to be slightly damped, I much prefer how it sounds in the higher frequencies compared to the E3. While less obvious, the harmonic overtones of string instruments and piano keys also felt more natural on the STEALTH with certainly better timbre. If the two were priced similarly I would pick the STEALTH every single time. As it stands, the E3 costs significantly less and I do think more people are likely to prefer it for the more fun bass response to where it will ultimately be a bigger commercial success for Dan Clark Audio and its retailers, if not already by the time this review is published.


Such is the woeful state of affairs when it comes to closed-back headphones that the comparisons are not great in general. I will mention here that I am missing out on closed-back sets from the likes of ZMF, Kennerton, and a few other brands though! Other headphones I have in my collection here that fall in the same price range as the DCA E3 include the even newer Meze Audio LIRIC Second Generation which landed a week before I wrote this review—look out for a dedicated review soon. The newer LIRIC is gorgeous in my opinion and is another example of Meze's fantastic industrial design, aesthetics, and comfort alike. However, I do think the E3 is going to be more comfortable for the average end user since the new LIRIC has a higher-than-average clamp force that can press against the temple. It's also reliant on a friction fit for sizing which works wonders initially but can be less reliant over time. More importantly, the LIRIC Second Generation is tuned such that it goes for a more V-shaped sound compared to the likes of the DCA E3 with almost bloated bass and lower mids in addition to upper frequency peaks that make the E3 sound super smooth by comparison. Given these cost the same and the E3 also is more technically competent, this one is an easy win for Dan Clark Audio.

Then there's the HIFIMAN Audivina which is so bad that I decided it wasn't even worth my time to review it. This also costs the same as the E3 and is designed to be the closed-back equivalent to the HE1000 series of HIFIMAN's teardrop-shaped headphones. Unfortunately HIFIMAN has yet to figure out how to make a closed-back set of headphones sound good. The drivers are quite small and overly damped in general, but the bigger issue is the ear pads don't seal properly around your ears resulting in sound leakage and bass drop. The tonality is all over the place and the only reason it sounds fairly open is because of the poor seal. I honestly don't see any reason for people to spend even half the asking price for this set; it simply does not belong in this comparison section if it weren't for being a relatively new release from a direct competitor at the same asking price. What is not a relatively new release though is the Focal Stellia, which was also kindly provided by Headphones.com for added context to my DCA STEALTH review. The Stellia follows Focal's striking design aesthetics, although the color scheme can be divisive. It costs slightly more than the E3 despite being long in the tooth and uses pure Beryllium diaphragm dynamic drivers to finally be a change from all the planar magnetic headphones being discussed here. The Stellia is more punchy as a result of the drivers as well as the tuning, making it more colored and less accurate sounding. It's less comfortable compared to the E3 for me and the uneven upper mids and treble playback makes it harder to use with a variety of music genres—especially those I tend to favor. The E3 isn't perfect here either but once again manages to take a comfortable win overall.