Geshelli Labs Erish 3 Pro

HiFi, Audio
Geshelli Labs Erish 3 Pro [E3] — Discrete, Balanced, and Honest

This is the third and final review in my Geshelli Labs special. We’ve done the J2S DAC, we’ve done the Archel 3S Pro mid-tier amp, and now we arrive at the flagship of the headphone amplifier range — the Erish 3 Pro. It is the most expensive of the three pieces in this stack at $549.99, and unlike the Archel 3S Pro it doesn’t have tone controls, doesn’t have RCA input, doesn’t have a single-ended headphone output. It is balanced in, balanced out, and that’s it. This is Geshelli stripping away everything that isn’t the signal path and going for it.

Build & Design

It’s a Geshelli, so you know the drill by now. Powder-coated steel case, plexi front and back, latching push-buttons with illuminated LED rings in your choice of eight colours. Mine matches the J2S and Archel 3S Pro, naturally. There is something deeply satisfying about a Geshelli stack lined up on a desk in matching colours — three units that look like they belong together because they actually do.

What sets the Erish 3 Pro apart visually is the gain switch on the front (unity or 6×) and the preamp output enable button. There’s the volume pot — the same Alps audio-taper unit as in the Archel — the power button, and the 4-pin XLR balanced headphone output. That’s the entire user interface. There is no 6.35mm jack. There is no bass control. There’s nowhere to plug an unbalanced source. You get an XLR cable from your DAC to the back of this thing, you plug your balanced headphones into the front, and you turn the knob.

It is so refreshingly committed to one job.

Round the back: balanced XLR input only, balanced XLR preamp output, the input from the 12V FCC Level 6 power brick. That’s all. The minimalism is the point.

What Makes It Special

The Erish 3 Pro arrives with four Sparkos SS2590 discrete opamps installed as standard. Read that again. The Archel 3S Pro requires you to pay an extra $120 to get a single set of Sparkos opamps; the Erish 3 Pro comes with four of them at the factory because they are part of the design, not an option. This is what you’re paying for.

Those four Sparkos opamps drive the fully balanced output stage from input to headphone jack, with no IC opamps anywhere in the audio path. The published specs are properly impressive: <0.000082% THD+N at 4Vrms, >121 dB SINAD at 4Vrms, >130 dB SNR at 4Vrms, 2 watts per channel into 32 ohms. Geshelli measure their gear on an Audio Precision APX555 and publish the numbers. That’s the kind of transparency I want from a small builder.

Sound

Listening was via the J2S in best config feeding the Erish 3 Pro by balanced XLR, with headphones rotated through the Sennheiser HD800S, Audeze LCD-X, Hifiman Arya Stealth, Meze 105 AER and Focal Clear MG. (The Meze 105 AER and the LCD-X needed cable-end adapters to plug into the 4-pin XLR; everything else was native balanced.)

Bass

This is a properly punchy amplifier. Not in a coloured way, not in a “bass head” way — it just has the headroom and the current delivery to make planars do what they should do. The LCD-X on the Erish 3 Pro is genuinely thrilling. There’s slam and weight and texture, and it never feels like the amp is running out of grip. Same story with the Arya Stealth. The bottom octave on the Hifiman is something you can either hear properly or you can’t — depending on your amp — and on the Erish 3 Pro you can.

Dynamic-driver headphones like the Focal Clear MG and HD800S also benefit. The Clear MG’s famously tight, punchy bass has a bit more authority through the Erish than through the Archel, and the 800S — never the strongest in the bass department — gets some additional body without losing its character.

Mids

The Erish 3 Pro presents mids that are clean, neutral, beautifully resolved and a touch — and I mean really, really subtly — drier than the Archel. The Sparkos opamps are doing similar work but in a fully balanced topology, and the result is a slightly more matter-of-fact midrange. iiWi Reviews described it as “smooth and coherent” with “exceptional clarity and tidy, focused notes” and that’s about right. There’s no romance added. Whatever the recording has, you’re going to hear.

This is where headphone choice really starts to matter. The HD800S on the Erish 3 Pro is sublime — that famously honest Sennheiser midrange paired with this transparent amplifier is a genuinely revelatory combination. Vocals on the LCD-X get a touch of the Audeze chestiness in a good way. The Arya Stealth, with its neutral-bright presentation, sometimes wants a hint more warmth than this amp gives it.

Treble

Smooth, extended, never harsh. The Sparkos discrete opamps have a way of presenting treble that has body — you don’t get the slightly etched, slightly silvery quality you sometimes hear from IC opamps. On the Focal Clear MG it tames the slight upper-mid bite I sometimes hear from this headphone. On the HD800S, you get the air and sparkle the Sennheiser is famous for, without any of the occasional sibilance. iiWi described the treble as “well extended, clean, and with a touch of brilliance” and that’s the right phrase.

Soundstage & Imaging

Wider than the Archel. Noticeably so on the Arya Stealth — already a wide-staging headphone, taken even further by the balanced output stage of the Erish 3 Pro. The HD800S, which is the soundstage king of dynamic headphones, gives you that signature out-of-head presentation in spades. Layering is exemplary. Instruments occupy specific places in three dimensions. iiWi noted “more nimble, precise, layers better” compared to the Topping A70 Pro and that matches my experience.

Dynamics

This is the Erish 3 Pro’s headline. It is genuinely fast. Transient response is excellent — drum hits crack, plucked strings have realistic snap, hand percussion has bite and decay. The headroom on big orchestral passages is unbothered by any of the headphones I tried. The LCD-X, in particular, has been waiting for an amp like this — it loves grunt, and the Erish 3 Pro provides it.

Comparisons

Against the Archel 3S Pro sitting next to it on the desk: the Erish 3 Pro is more transparent, more dynamic, has a wider stage and a slightly drier midrange. The Archel is the more flexible amp (tone controls, single-ended output, RCA input) and the more inviting one for casual listening. If I had to keep just one, I would honestly struggle — the Archel 3S Pro is the more useful tool, the Erish 3 Pro is the better-sounding amp.

Against the Topping A70 Pro, iiWi Reviews put it neatly: the Geshelli is “more nimble, precise, layers better, and offers more fluidity in the highest frequencies” but the Topping has more inputs and outputs and a remote. Different priorities.

Against the Aune S17 Pro, the same review found the Aune warmer and more romantic, with the Geshelli quicker and more neutral. “Both are fantastic.”

Against my Burson Soloist 3X GT, the Burson is again the bigger, more obviously expensive product, but the Erish 3 Pro is shockingly close in subjective performance for half the price. The Burson has the edge in absolute headroom and the deepest bass response. The Geshelli has an honesty to it that I find slightly more rewarding for long listening.

Against the Singxer SA-1, the Erish 3 Pro is clearly more resolving, but the SA-1 has a tube-flavoured smoothness that some recordings (and some moods) want.

The Single Output Question

Yes, balanced 4-pin XLR is the only headphone output. If your headphones live on stock single-ended cables, you’ll need adapters or recables before this amp makes sense. This is the same warning I gave for the Archel 3S Pro in reverse — committed-balanced users only.

If you’ve already got balanced cables, this is the amp you want.

A Note On The Build

I should mention this: in iiWi’s review, one of the called-out weaknesses was “Build is not up there with the best.” That’s also true. The Erish 3 Pro will not impress someone who’s spent £2,500 on a fully machined-aluminium statement amplifier. The plexi panels, the slightly hand-made feel, the visible hex screws — all of it screams “small workshop.” Whether that’s a feature or a bug depends on you. For me, it’s a feature. I’d rather know that Geno bolted the unit together himself than receive something that came out of a Chinese OEM line.

Verdict

The Erish 3 Pro is a stripped-down, properly engineered, fully balanced headphone amplifier at a price that — for what’s inside it — looks underpriced. If your headphones are balanced and you want one of the cleanest discrete-opamp amps in the under-$700 bracket, this is essentially unbeatable. Pair it with a J2S DAC (in best config, please), and you’ve built yourself a Geshelli stack that will run for years and that you’ll keep wanting to listen to.

It is the right amp for the HD800S in particular. That synergy alone is worth the asking price.

Pros

  • Four Sparkos SS2590 discrete opamps as standard, no upgrade tax
  • Properly balanced topology end-to-end
  • 2W into 32Ω drives anything I tried with confidence
  • Beautifully clean, neutral, fast presentation
  • Astonishing measured performance for the money
  • Hand-built with real customer service behind it

Cons

  • Balanced XLR headphone output only — no 6.35mm fallback
  • Balanced XLR input only — no RCA at all
  • No tone controls (you’ll need the Archel 3S Pro for those)
  • DIY-flavoured build won’t suit fans of polished aluminium
  • Lead times — these are made to order, not stocked

Ratings:

  • Build & Design: 7 / 10
  • Sound: 9 / 10
  • Features: 7 / 10
  • Value: 9.5 / 10

This concludes the three-part Geshelli Labs special. As a stack — J2S DAC into Erish 3 Pro, Archel 3S Pro on the side for tone-control duty — Geshelli has built something I’m happy to recommend without reservation. They are the kind of small audio company the hobby needs more of.