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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-06 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• Dan Clark Audio E3 — biggest strength: A closed-back planar with the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS) and a dual-mode bass port that keeps the bass flat, tuneful and free of midrange creep — plus a foldable gimbal that stores compactly.
• Dan Clark Audio E3 — biggest trade-off: It's a closed-back design, so the soundstage is expansive but won't feel as open and airy as a true open-back; there's no noise cancelling, and it runs wired only.
• Fostex TH1100RP — biggest strength: A premium RP planar magnetic driver in a solid hard maple housing, with an extended 10 Hz–40,000 Hz range and hand-dyed Aizome finish.
• Fostex TH1100RP — biggest trade-off: It's open-back, so it leaks sound both ways and offers effectively no isolation — a poor fit for noisy or shared environments.
• Who each is for: E3 for the traveling listener who needs one flat, closed, isolating pair; TH1100RP for the home audiophile who wants open-back openness and wood craftsmanship.
The E3 is Dan Clark Audio's midrange closed-back, and the spec sheet reads like a deliberate exercise in flattening the frequency response. Two technologies do the heavy lifting. First, AMTS — the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System — is designed to combat the standing waves inside a closed cup that typically make treble sound stiff or synthetic. Second, the dual-mode bass port gives unusually fine control over bass response so it stays impactful without bleeding into the mids. On paper, that combination is exactly what people chasing a flat response want: controlled lows, a clean midrange, and treble that doesn't turn glassy.
Under the hood is a fifth-generation planar-magnetic driver with V-Planar processing, built on a new diaphragm tensioning system for more uniform performance and lower distortion (the sheet cites under 0.1% referenced to 80 dB white noise). The frequency range is listed at 20 Hz–20,000 Hz. It's a wired headphone with 3.5 mm and 6.35 mm jacks and touch media controls.
Who should buy it: anyone who needs a closed-back that travels. The foldable gimbal construction stores compactly, the cups are clad in Gorilla Glass 3, and the stitched headband and ergonomic shape suggest long-session comfort. If your listening happens on the move — a hotel room, a cabin, a blind — the isolation of a closed cup is the whole point. For hunting specifically, I'd treat the E3 as the more practical pick: closed cups cut ambient noise, and a flat, uncolored tuning means you hear detail rather than boosted thump.
Who should skip it: if you want maximum open-back spaciousness, or you refuse to deal with a cable, this isn't the one. It's wired, has no noise cancelling, and weighs in at 0.98 kg as a package.
Fostex has been building acoustic gear since 1973, and the TH1100RP is its flagship open-back RP planar. The headline is the driver: a premium RP planar-magnetic design, paired with a solid hard maple housing — the same wood used for guitars — dyed using Aizome, the traditional Japanese indigo method from Tokushima. Each housing is dyed individually, so the grain pattern differs unit to unit. The magnesium alloy mechanical parts, reshaped ear pads and flexible head pad are all aimed at keeping weight down and fit comfortable over long sessions.
The measured frequency range runs 10 Hz–40,000 Hz, which is meaningfully wider at both ends than the E3's 20 Hz–20,000 Hz. Fostex's own framing is that the Aizome dyeing lets the hard maple's density do its job without adding coloration, preserving a firm, deep bass. Internal wiring uses 7N-grade cable, and the detachable connector port comes with a high-purity OFC unbalanced cable plus a protective case.
Who should buy it: the home listener who values openness, imaging and craft. Open-back designs trade isolation for air, and if you listen in a quiet room and want the music to feel like it's around you rather than on you, this is the design philosophy for you. The wood housing and Japanese assembly will also appeal to anyone who wants a headphone to feel like an object worth owning.
Who should skip it: if you need isolation, or you listen near other people. Open-back means sound leaks out and noise leaks in. It's also wired with a 3.5 mm jack and no noise cancelling. And here's the honest catch for the hunting use case: an open-back headphone is the wrong tool for a blind or a noisy environment — you'll hear the world, and the world will hear you.
• Best for isolation and noisy environments → Dan Clark Audio E3. Closed-back cups are the deciding factor; the TH1100RP is open-back and offers no meaningful isolation.
• Best for portability and travel → Dan Clark Audio E3. The foldable gimbal stores compactly; the Fostex ships with a case but is a stay-at-home open-back design.
• Best for open, airy soundstage at home → Fostex TH1100RP. Open-back architecture is built for exactly this.
• Widest measured frequency range → Fostex TH1100RP. 10 Hz–40,000 Hz versus 20 Hz–20,000 Hz on the E3.
• Best for flat, controlled bass without midrange bleed → Dan Clark Audio E3. The dual-mode bass port is specifically designed to keep bass flat and bloat-free.
• Best for hand-finished materials and craft → Fostex TH1100RP. Solid hard maple, individually Aizome-dyed, assembled in Japan.
• Best for low-distortion clean treble on a closed cup → Dan Clark Audio E3. AMTS targets the standing waves that make closed-back treble sound synthetic.
• Best for hunting and outdoor-adjacent listening → Dan Clark Audio E3. The closed cup is the practical choice when you can't control your surroundings.
In my opinion, I'd buy the Dan Clark Audio E3. The reasoning is straightforward: closed-back isolation plus a tuning engineered around flatness and controlled bass is the more versatile combination, and it's the one that actually works for hunting trips and shared spaces. The Fostex TH1100RP is genuinely lovely — wider frequency range, open-back air, and real wood craft — but it demands a quiet room and offers no isolation, which rules it out for the use case I care about most here. If your listening all happens at home in a quiet space and you prize openness above all, the TH1100RP is the better match. For everything else, I'd take the E3.
Yes — it's the core of what you hear. The E3 covers 20 Hz–20,000 Hz and the TH1100RP covers 10 Hz–40,000 Hz, meaning the Fostex extends further into the sub-bass and treble. How flat and controlled that range sounds depends on the driver and tuning tech, which is where the E3's AMTS and dual-mode bass port come in.
Closed-back. The E3's sealed cups reduce the noise around you, while the TH1100RP is open-back and leaks sound in both directions — a poor fit for a blind or any noisy setting. If you need to stay aware of your surroundings, that's an argument against heavy isolation, but the Fostex gives you essentially none.
Both are wired. The E3 uses 3.5 mm and 6.35 mm jacks; the TH1100RP uses a 3.5 mm jack and includes a high-purity OFC unbalanced cable with a detachable connector port and 7N-grade internal wiring. Neither has Bluetooth.
The data points to the E3's ergonomic shape, stitched headband and foldable gimbal, while the Fostex uses lightweight magnesium alloy parts, reshaped ear pads and a flexible head pad and headband. Both are built for extended use — the deciding factor is really whether you need isolation, which only the E3 provides.
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