Apr 25, 2025 at 12:34 AM Post #2,776 of 2,794
Last edited:
May 4, 2025 at 7:17 AM Post #2,777 of 2,794
I have now listened E3 daily, 2-4 hours per day. It pleases me more and more.
There's not a single fault to my ears and likings.❤️
 
May 5, 2025 at 6:36 AM Post #2,778 of 2,794
Hey guys, I bought my E3 second-hand from a seller in US and it just arrived today. It sounds incredible... is what I would say if there wasn't a terrible channel imbalance issue. The second I put them on it was immediately apparent. I compared it to my other headphones. I also switched the audio to mono and flipped the headphone on my head to ensure that there was an issue, and sure enough, the image had shifted to the right (from left).

Please note that I'm using a 6.35mm cable (connected to JDS Labs Element 3). I made sure that the connection was secure on both ends... so what do I do know? Would the warranty still be valid? (It said the headphone was purchased in October 2024). Even if it is valid, I'm in Australia... so shipping this back-and-forth will be a nightmare.
 
May 5, 2025 at 8:38 AM Post #2,779 of 2,794
Hey guys, I bought my E3 second-hand from a seller in US and it just arrived today. It sounds incredible... is what I would say if there wasn't a terrible channel imbalance issue. The second I put them on it was immediately apparent. I compared it to my other headphones. I also switched the audio to mono and flipped the headphone on my head to ensure that there was an issue, and sure enough, the image had shifted to the right (from left).

Please note that I'm using a 6.35mm cable (connected to JDS Labs Element 3). I made sure that the connection was secure on both ends... so what do I do know? Would the warranty still be valid? (It said the headphone was purchased in October 2024). Even if it is valid, I'm in Australia... so shipping this back-and-forth will be a nightmare.
Of course, I would contact Dan Clark directly. I’ve had this issue on Aeon’s and it sounds like the same thing. Which is, the driver traces are thin and rarely, if one breaks, you will get this. Oddly, it can be intermittent with temperature, as the metal trace contracts and expands to make/break contact. You might also try to contact the previous owner for some relief. Shipping is a relatively small price to pay for the great sound of the E3. Good luck!
 
May 5, 2025 at 9:50 AM Post #2,780 of 2,794
Of course, I would contact Dan Clark directly. I’ve had this issue on Aeon’s and it sounds like the same thing. Which is, the driver traces are thin and rarely, if one breaks, you will get this. Oddly, it can be intermittent with temperature, as the metal trace contracts and expands to make/break contact. You might also try to contact the previous owner for some relief. Shipping is a relatively small price to pay for the great sound of the E3. Good luck!
Perhaps, no way to know without opening it. I've sent DCA an email and will try calling them tomorrow (it's nighttime here). Hopefully they get back to me quick because what little I heard I was very impressed by. This tuning/sound signature is exactly what I was looking for.
 
May 5, 2025 at 11:05 AM Post #2,781 of 2,794
Perhaps, no way to know without opening it. I've sent DCA an email and will try calling them tomorrow (it's nighttime here). Hopefully they get back to me quick because what little I heard I was very impressed by. This tuning/sound signature is exactly what I was looking for.
If you bought it used from a reputable storefront, I'd go there first and get a refund, unless you have the original receipts showing that it should still be covered by warrenty.
 
May 6, 2025 at 7:56 AM Post #2,782 of 2,794
Not sure how Phonitor got on this list from us, to my knowledge none of their products are a good fit. When you look at their power and distortion curves it's quite clear they optimized for 150 ohm dyanmic headphones. I spoke with one of their engineers who confirmed this.

We also stopped recommending the AK. We dug in and ohms law does not apply, the unit severely current starves into low Z loads. AK does not seem to like posting actually power at different loads, just the voltage they swing, which is only relevant to high Z loads that don't pull current. The rest is right as those vendors have strong current capacity.
We have plenty of other gear on the list these days, though not a ton of new portable options we suggest.


Power is a complex question, for sure. We generally put out a number that will get to the point of being too loud to listen safely for a long time, e.g. > 100dB.

I myself have a couple of devices, like a WiiM Pro as my bedside unit. It only has something like 150mW @32ohms yet puts out quite solid bass and plays as loud as I listen to, even on a Stealth.

We generally rate a bit higher on power than I listen to give the average user headroom to get louder without clipping, as nothing makes for a bad experience like clipping. That said, YMMV. For example someone turning up bass EQ will want more power to bump their EDM at moderate midrange SPL, while those listening mostly to acoustic will likely never come close to the min recommended power except perhaps a crescendo in a symphony.

The one thing I've learned is that there will always be someone who listens way louder than safety dictates, and for them more power is needed. For most other people are min should be fine.

As a last comment, it's not been our experience that having excess power translates to better sound, but having too little does, if you are hitting clipping or are getting current starved. For those reasons I suspect some people will always want more than the minimum.

I mainly use the PHONITOR one with sparkos op amps and upgraded the other internals as my main amp for the Dca Stealth. It's still unbeaten so far. The Phonitor One is kinda closer to what an 02 amp is vs it's larger brothers and I can agree where the larger Phonitors has a certain distortion in their sound.
 
May 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM Post #2,783 of 2,794
Hey guys, I bought my E3 second-hand from a seller in US and it just arrived today. It sounds incredible... is what I would say if there wasn't a terrible channel imbalance issue. The second I put them on it was immediately apparent. I compared it to my other headphones. I also switched the audio to mono and flipped the headphone on my head to ensure that there was an issue, and sure enough, the image had shifted to the right (from left).

Please note that I'm using a 6.35mm cable (connected to JDS Labs Element 3). I made sure that the connection was secure on both ends... so what do I do know? Would the warranty still be valid? (It said the headphone was purchased in October 2024). Even if it is valid, I'm in Australia... so shipping this back-and-forth will be a nightmare.
Bought E3 second hand on Stereo NET AU and immediately noticed a slight channel imbalance…and it drove me nuts! Seriously!
Contacted DCA and a very friendly and responsive lady guided me through the RMA process and after 3 weeks I had them back with new drivers. Good turnaround considering like you I am at the end of the world(New Zealand). In my case I had all the paperwork and was still covered by warranty…but I don’t think they cared about this that much.
It was a pleasant and efficient experience and most importantly I have now a headphone I prefer to the Stealth I had previously.
Good luck!
 
May 7, 2025 at 6:46 PM Post #2,784 of 2,794
Hey guys, I bought my E3 second-hand from a seller in US and it just arrived today. It sounds incredible... is what I would say if there wasn't a terrible channel imbalance issue. The second I put them on it was immediately apparent. I compared it to my other headphones. I also switched the audio to mono and flipped the headphone on my head to ensure that there was an issue, and sure enough, the image had shifted to the right (from left).

Please note that I'm using a 6.35mm cable (connected to JDS Labs Element 3). I made sure that the connection was secure on both ends... so what do I do know? Would the warranty still be valid? (It said the headphone was purchased in October 2024). Even if it is valid, I'm in Australia... so shipping this back-and-forth will be a nightmare.
First swap the L/R cables, if the problem changes sides, you have an issue in the electronics. However if the problem stays on the same side it's a service issue. Happily we allow transfer of warranty so you're still 100% covered.
 
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May 10, 2025 at 9:57 AM Post #2,785 of 2,794
Seems that i need DAP also to drive my E3 sometimes; has Fiio M23 enough juice to drive E3? In a way that soundquality does not take many steps down.
 
May 12, 2025 at 12:51 AM Post #2,786 of 2,794
Seems that i need DAP also to drive my E3 sometimes; has Fiio M23 enough juice to drive E3? In a way that soundquality does not take many steps down.

I will probably sound okay, as the E3 simply is an amazing headphone. Although it loves power. As much as it can get. The M23 has a bit more power than my M11plus, which I‘d say is too underpowered. But power is not everything. As even my Fiio Q7 which has power in abundance (and which I bought especially for this purpose) doesn‘t sound as good as my stationary amps.

So why don‘t you give it a try? The E3 is a fantastic headphone that sounds at least good with almost everything.
 
May 12, 2025 at 10:09 PM Post #2,787 of 2,794
First swap the L/R cables, if the problem changes sides, you have an issue in the electronics. However if the problem stays on the same side it's a service issue. Happily we allow transfer of warranty so you're still 100% covered.
Tried that and the results were as you described so got in touch with a staff who provided me a RMA number! Sent the headphones a while back so it's probably arriving at your office any day today! Thank you!!
 
May 27, 2025 at 9:47 AM Post #2,788 of 2,794
In our livingroom. My wife has sensory defensiveness, others may want to watch tv when i'm listening and so on...Who listens music at the office with 2,5keur headphone? :)
Just purchased an E3 and anxiously waiting for it to arrive. I’d mainly be using it at work, in a shared office. Curious about sound leakage as well.

I’m tempted to use it while commuting with my Hugo2+2go (I need 45min to get to work) but it’s probably not worth the risk.
 
May 27, 2025 at 11:54 AM Post #2,789 of 2,794
Just purchased an E3 and anxiously waiting for it to arrive. I’d mainly be using it at work, in a shared office. Curious about sound leakage as well.

I’m tempted to use it while commuting with my Hugo2+2go (I need 45min to get to work) but it’s probably not worth the risk.
Are you driving during this commute? If so, I would skip the E3s. LOL! That would be more than a little dangerous. :laughing:
 
May 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM Post #2,790 of 2,794
E3s on a train/bus for a daily commute scares me on multiple fronts - mostly the risk of breakage, then a distant second place risk of theft/other interpersonal hassling. Something about glass-backed planar headphones out and about just sounds like asking for problems to me... that's the realm of BT ANC cans designed to be lugged around, and/or full-on IEMs in my view.

Anyway, reporting back after, uh, what, two months? Give or take? with these. They are excellent. I'm still glad to also have Bokeh and Cascade on the shelf to mix and spice it up like once a week or so, but I so far have found luck with E3 sounding "exactly correct" for almost any genre or artist or song I throw at them. I can't think of another headphone I could say that about - almost all of them had serious tradeoffs for one genre or another (Caldera is probably the closest to a true exception to that rule I had). They're also juuuuuust subtle enough on Zoom calls and so forth that I can leave them plugged in for work calls and not look like a complete dork or snob. Well done, DCA. No notes. Well, actually, I listen to quite a lot of notes on these, but anyway...
 

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