I think I get it. I would consider the 9200 as fun but can be too 'fun' during longer listening sessions. I'm looking for a set that i can sit and relax with in the evenings without any fatigue. Sophisticated, that's what I am after.
QUAD ERA-1 Thread
- Thread starter FastAndClean
- Start date
When I think of 'fun' I think musical. I never got that from the Anandas. They sounded detailed, which initially drew me to them, but never really engaging and somewhat un-natural. I want to be seduced by music.
phthora
Headphoneus Supremus
Same reason I never liked the Anandas enough to buy them. They always sounded a bit flat and lifeless, though very detailed. The Arya are much better in that regard. I generally favor resolution and clarity more than anything else, but I have my limits. The sound has to have some body and vitality to it. The Quads definitely have that, but without sounding muddy or veiled. The bass sounds a bit more like a fast dynamic driver: very good impact, natural bloom, but with great extension and detail. Seriously, the ERA-1 are one of the most underappreciated headphones out there. I wouldn't mind so much, but I want them to make an ERA-2 dammit!
Interestingly the Arya is the only other headphone i'm considering.
Era-1 @ £469
Arya SM @ £1299
3 times better? The dilemma.
ChrisGB
100+ Head-Fier
That's a very good price on the Quads.
I find the ERA-1 very detailed, transparent too, but also very engaging.
Sonic Defender
Headphoneus Supremus
The ERA-1 is lovely. I could kick myself as I could have purchased it in pristine used condition from a friend for a very good price. I had it on hand for a few weeks before selling it on behalf of my friend and I loved the Quad. The issue was that I had 3 very nice headphones and I was again in university full-time and just couldn't justify a fourth headphone and I didn't have time to really decide if one of my other headphones should have been sold to acquire the ERA-1. Real shame as I do think it is a great sounding headphone.
Chris Kaoss
Headphoneus Supremus
There's no dilemma.
Get the Quad.
You'll be able to suit it to your taste with the different pads.
If you're that familiar with the D9200, you'll love the Quad as I do.
The D9200 is sold now, the Quad will stay forever with me.
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Thank you all for your positive input. I'm really tempted.
You sold the D9200 but kept the Quad. Why? Was there not a justification so keep them both or were they too similar in sound/performance?
There's no dilemma.
Get the Quad.
You'll be able to suit it to your taste with the different pads.
If you're that familiar with the D9200, you'll love the Quad as I do.
The D9200 is sold now, the Quad will stay forever with me.
You sold the D9200 but kept the Quad. Why? Was there not a justification so keep them both or were they too similar in sound/performance?
Chris Kaoss
Headphoneus Supremus
It was a tough decision for me.
But
1., the Quad isn't that far behind in terms of resolution, with slightly better tonality for long term usage (D9200 was a bit bright to me)
2. the Quad has wider pad openings, which lead to a better ventilation around my ears
3. while the Denon has great bass articulation, the Quad goes deeper, due to the larger driver surface ( for me )
4. for my listening, the Quad is slightly better on female vocals, depending on the volume level
5. on certain tracks, i thought I could "feel" some instruments more ( keys of the Piano on "Ashes" by Celine Dion, for example )
6. the Quad is a tad quicker on most power metal tracks
7. Price to pleasure ratio is way better ^^
Even with this enumerations, they share more similarities than they differ.
Note,
these are just my conclusions, which may vary from any other listener.
Comparison was made with Tidal to Mojo/ R28 or Tidal to Mojo as dac to R28.
Cable on both was the same Forza Audioworks Noir Hybrid.
I've to add that my ears are getting hot rather quickly with narrow closed backs, so to me it's the most important thing to keep my ears cool for an enjoyable listening.
But
1., the Quad isn't that far behind in terms of resolution, with slightly better tonality for long term usage (D9200 was a bit bright to me)
2. the Quad has wider pad openings, which lead to a better ventilation around my ears
3. while the Denon has great bass articulation, the Quad goes deeper, due to the larger driver surface ( for me )
4. for my listening, the Quad is slightly better on female vocals, depending on the volume level
5. on certain tracks, i thought I could "feel" some instruments more ( keys of the Piano on "Ashes" by Celine Dion, for example )
6. the Quad is a tad quicker on most power metal tracks
7. Price to pleasure ratio is way better ^^
Even with this enumerations, they share more similarities than they differ.
Note,
these are just my conclusions, which may vary from any other listener.
Comparison was made with Tidal to Mojo/ R28 or Tidal to Mojo as dac to R28.
Cable on both was the same Forza Audioworks Noir Hybrid.
I've to add that my ears are getting hot rather quickly with narrow closed backs, so to me it's the most important thing to keep my ears cool for an enjoyable listening.
I wanted to follow up my post now that I have received the pads. They are indeed perfect condition stock leather pads. They also arrived in under 48 hours. Basically, each pad was 22.50, and shipping was $15.00 (I was not offered a shipping option). It may be that you could get a lower shipping amount on request. Bottom line is the last time I had a pair of quads I couldn't find replacement pads, so this was a win.
phthora
Headphoneus Supremus
The Quads are among the very best options available under 1k. It's hard to put the four or five real contenders in any kind of ranking without knowing what someone is looking for, but IMO the ERA-1 is the best option for an all-rounder that leans towards the warm, relaxed side of neutral. In that sense, it's much easier to recommend than most. It's a better option that the Arya if you want something easy to drive even off portable gear, has a more natural timbre and bassy sound, and has a less aggressive presentation of guitars, vocals, and cymbals.
The Arya, on the other hand, is among the very best options under 2k. It's got excellent resolution, deep and clean bass, and a very wide soundstage. On any of the technical aspects of sound, it outperforms the ERA-1, but it doesn't have as natural a timbre and can even become shouty or glaring for some people. It takes some robust amplification to sound its best as well. I find it's an excellent choice for analytical listening, but the ERA-1 is much less fatiguing.
So, it really depends on what you prioritize. If money is a constraint on your choice here, I would recommend looking into an ERA-1 and an HE560. The latter sounds remarkably like the Arya, just a bit behind on technical ability and smoothness of the sound. I don't know about UK prices, but I've seen the HE560 go for about half what the ERA-1 does. Just be sure to find the model with the wood veneer and the 3.5mm connectors.
Sonic Defender
Headphoneus Supremus
Excellent and well reasoned summation, and I agree completely. Now I have never owned the Arya, but I did own the HE560 and had the ERA-1 on hand for long enough to know that how you described it matches to a T my impressions. If I could lay my hands on the Quad for a reasonable price I absolutely would, and as you also noted, the HE560 is a pretty respectable option and with some modest and thoughtful equalization can be made to sound pretty darn refined.
phthora
Headphoneus Supremus
When I was first looking into the HE560, many of the comparisons were between it and the LCD-X, comparisons in which the HE560 came out favorably. That was the old X, of course, with the completely linear bass and the big 4khz dip. At $900 for the 560 and $1200 for the X, that was pretty impressive. With the new re-tuned X, I think the Audeze is more clearly the better headphone, but now the price difference is more like $300 vs $950 (used). Although, I have been seeing the prices for the wood veneer 560 creeping upwards lately. Still a killer value if you can find one.
After buying the Arya, I realized just how similar the two sound, with the Arya being a refinement and modest improvement on the sound signature of the 560. The two are so close, in fact, that I had to pad-roll the 560 to give the sound enough of a difference to justify keeping both. But, if I'm being honest, I mostly kept the 560 out of respect for such an excellent OOP headphone.
Sonic Defender
Headphoneus Supremus
Absolutely, the original 560 that I had came with the SMC connectors on the cups, so first generation. I bought one from the first batches that came out. It was from Todd at Razordog Audio (that's a blast from the past just thinking about). The 560 was why I had a speaker tap cable made so that I could power it right from the speaker terminals of my, I think, extremely lovely NAD M3. I have been tempted to try a new 560 variant, but based on what I am reading it probably would be tuned quite differently from the first generation so not sure I'll test those waters. I would like to get a new Edition XS as I loved my Edition X V2. The 400SE has measured very well according to Amir at ASR and I have no reason to doubt that so that is another option.
Anyway, not to go to OT, if I ever see a Quad ERA-1 I will seriously consider it although as of late I have been only using speakers but I know that I'll again return to my love of headphones. I very much agree with your thoughts about the value the 560 represents and always did. I have also owned the LCD2 Fazor which was pretty nice and I hear the new iteration of the LCD XC is quite nice. So many options it is almost impossible to decide! Still, among even all of these choices I feel confident saying the Quad can more than hold it's own. I'm a fan of when really good speaker companies try hard to craft headphones that can carry their name proudly, and the ERA-1 certainly is that.
I just brought my Focal Clear Mgs and Moondrop Katos on a trip to west Texas, and I think with IEMs, you have to find tips that fit you perfectly, to avoid constantly fidgeting with them. I had left the Katos in for over an hour this time, without any discomfort. I had to go through a number of third party foam tips until I had found some that fit well and hadn't hurt. In this case, it was the medium foam tips that had come with them, and not the expensive SpinFits. Kato sound stage and imaging isn't as good as other products I've had, but I had "pronounced" enhancement active in my JRiver software and I had a good experience, after I had been prepared to sell them. Due to their small nozzle sizes, few IEMs tend to have good soundstage and imaging. I used to have $499 Shanling ME700 Lites. Those were very resolving, but the soundstage hadn't been any bigger than with the Moondrops, and had BA timbre that I could not gloss over no matter what I had tried with JRiver. They had just sounded bright and artificial even after I had tried low shelfing the treble. I had guessed right in going with a single DD set up, after. Since I had got a Hidizs S9, I have found reason to keep at least one set of IEMs around. They are mainly for travel.
Don't buy any Audeze headphones, except for LCD-1, if portability is important to you: I can't think of a bulkier headphone in terms of the products themselves, or their cases. Even the new "economy" case is still a brick.
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