I have been made fun of a bit for this but this is a problem I discovered with any closed back. My solution was to get dedicated headphone glasses. I did this specific for the stealth and use it for these: Gunnar Lightning glasses. It’s prescription glasses with a nylon head wrap. Wife and kids think I’m crazy, but with increase in sound quality I also get a big increase in comfort. No more pressure on my nose and sides.
Just raiser your glasses above the pads. The glasses still work fine and problem solved. It is what I do with all my phones.
Could be the pads need time to mold to your head. Also, are they getting enough power?I went out and tried the E3 with a Kann Max and the Fiio R7.
My only other pair of closed back is an Atrium Closed (Olivewood) and I found the E3 to be a very different presentation. I enjoyed the staging and layering I liked the level of detail that I am getting. They do sound like one or the best closed backs out there currently. I do prefer the E3 over the Stealth. I tried the Sony MDR-Z1 that same day and also preferred the E3 over that. From memory, I prefer E3 over Radiance (which is not as detailed and layered) and Stellia (which sounds metallic). That said, I am preferring the AC’s weightier presentation and perhaps that’s just me needing more time to adjust to the E3’s new sound.
The R7 is quite powerful, and so is the Max. The pairing may likely not be the best, the E3 being planar (and I have no idea how the current output of either sources are). But I was looking at the E3 as a portable option only because I’m quite set on my desktop set up already, and the Kann Max is my portable gear of choice atm. So that was going to be my target use case.
How long did you burn in the E3 before you did the shootout? Also, how long have you owned the Liric?
The Sonys have such a skewed FR - and you rank them as best in world in dynamics.... = preference for a character tuning vs audiophile tuning then.
You got the Chord2 add-on module there for H2 and also there is the much cheaper xDuoo X10T II transport device option + Hiby for untethered music control. Fantastic DAP alternative. Not pocketable but transportable at least for E3 chain.Listened the E3 at the dealership for 3 hours today and placed the order right after listening sessions.
Oh boy! These sound good! Very good! But the downside is this thing loves power. A lot of power. As anticipated, my AK kann alpha does not work well on E3 even on high gain. The sound will distort above I will say 80db. Which is another headache for my portable setup. But it still works well on chord mojo. Not as good as Hugo 2, but no distortion, still quite detailed and engaging as a portable setup.
It works perfectly on desktop setup.
For E3 on Hugo 2, It's very good. A noticeable step up from chord mojo.
The sound is even more detailed, slightly edged out Stellia. and the soundstage opens up, almost like an open headphone, which is quite remarkable at this price point.
Compare to Lric at the same price point at the dealer, I won't say E3 blow Lric out of water, but sound better than Lric in almost every way.
Even on Chord Hugo 2, my comfortable listening volume is blue (which is around 85%). I believe Nomax said is true. E3 really needs 1.5W to reach its full potential. Certainly need to hook an portable amp on the dap or source. Fortunately I don't travel recent days so I am ok with my current setup.
After today's listen, E3 will definitely replaced my old Celestee. Still looking for a powerful flagship DAP to replace my kann alpha. It has to give E3 1.5W power and sound as good AK SP3000. I really wish to have just one dap do everything rather than hook portable dap and amp together.
If you’re ok with carrying around a brick, the M17 does work very well with the E3 in my experience.Listened the E3 at the dealership for 3 hours today and placed the order right after listening sessions.
Oh boy! These sound good! Very good! But the downside is this thing loves power. A lot of power. As anticipated, my AK kann alpha does not work well on E3 even on high gain. The sound will distort above I will say 80db. Which is another headache for my portable setup. But it still works well on chord mojo. Not as good as Hugo 2, but no distortion, still quite detailed and engaging as a portable setup.
It works perfectly on desktop setup.
For E3 on Hugo 2, It's very good. A noticeable step up from chord mojo.
The sound is even more detailed, slightly edged out Stellia. and the soundstage opens up, almost like an open headphone, which is quite remarkable at this price point.
Compare to Lric at the same price point at the dealer, I won't say E3 blow Lric out of water, but sound better than Lric in almost every way.
Even on Chord Hugo 2, my comfortable listening volume is blue (which is around 85%). I believe Nomax said is true. E3 really needs 1.5W to reach its full potential. Certainly need to hook an portable amp on the dap or source. Fortunately I don't travel recent days so I am ok with my current setup.
After today's listen, E3 will definitely replaced my old Celestee. Still looking for a powerful flagship DAP to replace my kann alpha. It has to give E3 1.5W power and sound as good AK SP3000. I really wish to have just one dap do everything rather than hook portable dap and amp together.
I would say it took me about 3 weeks, ~1-2 hrs a day, demoing many different genre to finally discover how awesome the E3 are. Going back to my LCD-2C now makes me sad, those were my first nirvana headphone, but my brain wants E3 for everything now.I went out and tried the E3 with a Kann Max and the Fiio R7.
My only other pair of closed back is an Atrium Closed (Olivewood) and I found the E3 to be a very different presentation. I enjoyed the staging and layering I liked the level of detail that I am getting. They do sound like one or the best closed backs out there currently. I do prefer the E3 over the Stealth. I tried the Sony MDR-Z1 that same day and also preferred the E3 over that. From memory, I prefer E3 over Radiance (which is not as detailed and layered) and Stellia (which sounds metallic). That said, I am preferring the AC’s weightier presentation and perhaps that’s just me needing more time to adjust to the E3’s new sound.
I see what you're saying, but I literally have zero to no influence from others. I tried these headphones for many hours and I wrote up what I think. Of course, they are only my opinions! I do prefer a slight V-shaped sound.
