Dan Clark Audio E3

Measured

On oratory1990's GRAS measurement (AutoEq mirror) the E3 sits within about 1 dB of the Harman 2018 over-ear target from 20 Hz to 7 kHz. Against each rig's own HD 600 (eight rigs) it carries +11 to +14 dB at 20 Hz and +5 to +6 dB at 50 Hz, returns within 1–2.5 dB by 100 Hz, dips 2–4 dB at 200 Hz, and tracks the HD 600 within about ±3 dB through 2–5 kHz. The 3 kHz ear-gain peak reads from about 3 dB under Harman (TechPowerUp) to about 4 dB over (boizoff, kr0mka, Jaytiss). On five rigs that also hold the STEALTH, the two stay within 2–3 dB of each other below 8 kHz. ASR's member poll: 78.8 % of 297 voters rate it 'Great'.

vs. listeners — The target match is not in dispute; the camps are hearing different parts of a seating-dependent band. Dan Clark: “Different ears couple with headphones differently, and concha and pin a gain vary which can often explain why some perceive a headphone as bright where others don’t.”

Measured

Every rig shows the sub-bass shelf (about 1 dB of Harman on oratory1990's GRAS) and no mid-bass bump: the E3 sits 2–4 dB under the HD 600 at 200 Hz, the 80–200 Hz region the 'reserved' camp names — one ASR owner found “it’s the mid-bass range around 100-200hz that I’m having to boost”. Earphones Archive's port files show the low end depends on the lower of the two cup ports: blocking it costs about 13 dB at 20 Hz, 7 dB at 50 Hz and 4 dB at 100 Hz, while blocking the upper port changes nothing measurable. Dan Clark says the E3 “is less sensitive to seal but it is still affected by it”, and several owners report fuller bass on a stronger amplifier.

Measured

Dan Clark on Head-Fi: position “adjusting around 2.5-5.5Khz”, with the advice to “pull the headphone down then forward so your ears touch the upper rear of the pad vs being centered” if it sounds sharp. The rigs agree on the direction: boizoff finds “The forward shift mutes the sound delivery at 2.5–5 kHz.”, kuulokenurkka that moving it down “calms the 3–5 kHz range by a couple of decibels”, and Earphones Archive's 'back' seating adds about 2.5 dB at 3–4 kHz.

Measured

Most rigs show a 6 kHz lift of 0–5 dB over the HD 600 (TechPowerUp names “a 6 kHz peak”), readings at 7–8 kHz that scatter from −2 to +9 dB, and a 5–8 dB notch near 10 kHz on GRAS and 711-class rigs (Headfonia hears “the 10k dip”). Earphones Archive's front and up seatings drop 10 kHz by 6–7 dB while leaving everything below 8 kHz within about 1.5 dB.

vs. listeners — The same curve is “almost perfectly smooth” to kuulokenurkka and bright enough that one Reddit owner cuts “the treble down 4-5 db”. Rig scatter above 8 kHz and seating both sit exactly where the camps disagree; nothing in the data marks one reading as the unit's true treble.

Measured

There's no stage measurement; Dan Clark says the E3's AMTS is shaped so “you're looking at the music instead of having it elevated”, which matches reviewers' 'speaker-like, in front' descriptions.

Measured

TechPowerUp's retail unit matched its channels well within ±3 dB; boizoff's bought unit did not, and an owner on the headphones.com forum found “the imaging and frequency response changes drastically if a cup is shifted just by a centimeter”.

Measured

ASR measured distortion “very low where our hearing is most sensitive (2 to 5 kHz)” and “very clean” group delay; boizoff found distortion low above about 70 Hz on one driver but not the other.

Measured

Reference Audio Analyzer measured about 85 dB/mW (101 dB/V) averaged over 100 Hz–10 kHz and 23.4 Ω, below DCA's “~90 dB/mW”; headphonecheck recorded a 91.15 dB maximum level. ASR found it an easier load than the STEALTH but “You still need a high-performance of headphone amplifier.” Headfonics drove it from four powerful DAPs on their balanced outputs; owners report phone dongles and some interfaces falling short.

Measured

455 g without cable (DCA). headphonecheck measured a relatively high 793 g average contact pressure but found the soft pads mask it. In the Head-Fi thread about 26 owners raise clamp, jaw or headband pressure over three years (a few the opposite: too loose); DCA offers owners a clamp-adjustment kit.

Measured

Across the three-year Head-Fi thread about six owners report a rattle or a failed or imbalanced driver, plus one on ASR; each was repaired or replaced under warranty — one owner's left driver “went kaput entirely” and came back “in great shape”. The glossy glass cups collect fingerprints but haven't drawn breakage reports.

Measured

Dan Clark on Head-Fi: “Above 90 db there’s a little outward leakage but it’s reasonable. Inbound noise blocking is very good.” headphonecheck found both isolation directions “surprisingly low” for a closed model; Headfonics says the E3 is better at blocking lower-frequency noise than the STEALTH.

Measured

$2,299.99 at Dan Clark Audio, headphones.com and Crutchfield; $2,179 on Amazon via a dealer (checked 2026-09-30). Dan Clark on the rise from $1,999.99: “with inflation and tariffs a price increase was required.” DCA's AEON CORE closed-back now sells for $899.99, and one owner who has both found the cheaper Noire X “the way to go” on value.