Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed Back Headphone

E3 is Dan Clark Audio’s revolutionary new closed-back headphone. E3’s striking black and blue aesthetic, ergonomic shape, and Gorilla Glass 3 clad cups are just a preview to the exciting upgrades within!

E3 combines meticulous tuning and state of the art engineering to achieve DCA's legendary “open-back listening experience” in a closed headphone. Meticulous tuning and engineering integrate DCA's patent-pending Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS) with an all-new 5th generation driver to achieve a listening experience that is not only incredibly musically accurate it’s also astoundingly fun!

E3 delivers the kick of mule when called upon to rock, yet teases out the finest nuances of your most detailed recordings.

Naturally E3 is as comfortable as DCA’s other headphones; DCAs signature self-adjusting headband and ergonomics simply make extended listening a joy.

By unleashing top-of-the-line sound and comfort at midrange prices, DCA has set a new standard in headphone value, making E3 one of DCA's most exciting projects to-date by bringing uncompromising TOTL performance to a much larger audience.

A critical feature of E3 is the enhanced AMTS tuning system, previously found only in DCA's TOTL multi- award winning Stealth, Expanse, and Corina headphones. E3 not only brings this ground-breaking technology to a more affordable headphone, it does so with a new mode of implementation. All headphones are subject to high-frequency standing waves which can make treble sound harsh, fatiguing, or synthetic.

AMTS is a patent pending inline device placed between the transducer and ear that integrates waveguides, diffusion control, and resonators into one compact structure that eliminates standing waves while giving us complete control of the high-frequency response profile.

DCAs AMTS tuning architecture is "not one size fits all,” it is custom tuned for each headphone to deliver an optimized experience for each transducer.

For E3 DCA developed a new mode of deployment that departs from prior implementations. We won’t bore you with the details, other than to say that the AMTS in E3 delivers an absolutely superbly rendered top-end that will surprise and delight, with a tone that is simply remarkably lifelike. In fact, the new E3 AMTS even reduces sensitivity to seal for a more consistent bass experience.

Of course while AMTS renders high frequencies with a refreshingly smooth, accurate, and detailed delivery, bad recordings will probably still sound bad; DCA are just humble magicians!

E3’s all-new 5th generation planar-magnetic driver delivers the smoothest, richest, and most detailed experience DCA could create to date. Its innovative diaphragms are made on an all-new tensioning system for a more uniform and consistent performance, lower distortion, and enhanced consistency.

Extensive R&D was spent optimizing E3’s planar driver. New diaphragm materials combined with highly optimized V-Planar knurling deliver a remarkably smooth frequency response with low distortion throughout the listening range for levels of detail heretofore found primarily in the top-of-the-line electrostatics, all with an exceptionally easy and fun tonal balance.

Unlike many headphones where “detail” is created through exaggerated high-frequency energy, E3’s new drivers coupled with AMTS deliver exceptionally high resolution without the fatiguing distortions and rough frequency response users may be used to.

That would be the Dual-Mode Bass Port, yet another DCA innovation for E3. While it’s not unusual to find a bass port on a closed headphone, DCA's ingenious dual-mode port delivers unrivaled control of the bass frequency response, creating a superbly balanced, impactful bass experience that is full of power yet free of bloat or midrange creep.

E3’s 5th-generation driver and AMTS deliver an amazing balance of delicacy, nuance, and explosive dynamics that will have you reaching for all your favorite recordings, and cranking them up. And it’s not just about the tone and timbre; E3s soundstage is stunningly expansive, it’s all enveloping and can compete with even the finest open headphones in depth, width, and imaging. 

At Dan Clark Audio ergonomic design is of paramount importance. After all, what good is a great sounding headphone if you can only wear it for 30 minutes? E3 takes advantage of every ergonomic trick DCA has developed, including the acclaimed self-adjusting headband suspension system from Stealth and Expanse, as well as the convenient and stylish folding gimbals that make E3 a conveniently compact travel headphone.

The E3 is a stunning looking headphone, from the stitched headband to the all new Gorilla Glass 3 finish on the cups. Gorilla Glass 3 is a thin sheet of alkali-aluminosilicate that makes the glass stiffer and more scratch and break resistant, and the styling of the pattern under the glass evokes the mesh of an open-back headphone, a design cue to highlight the exceptionally open-back listening experience E3 delivers.

DCA has gone all-in with E3 to deliver the most exciting possible sonic experience, regardless of price, and combined that with an exciting new look and attention to comfort that make E3 the most exciting headphone DCA has released to date.

Equally satisfying with all genres of music, E3s soundstage, punchy bass, silky midrange, utterly smooth highs, and layers of detail will keep you engaged for days on end. Never fatiguing, E3 will have you revisiting your entire music library to experience your music like never before. The E3 is just too much fun.