Forward mids is kinda the Quad house sound. Not talking specifically about headphones, but Quad gear in general. I say that having sold many pairs of Quad speakers / components. !
Actually, the Quad "house sound" is the "ESL", their famous electrostatic speaker from the '60s.
It had a few incarnations along the way.
The ERA-1 Headphones are designed to offer the sound of this speaker system, refined.
And here is how their "house sound", is defined by the "industry".
"""""The Quad sound is renowned for sonic transparency and very low distortion. Its midrange performance is usually described in superlative terms, common to other electrostatic designs.
Its sound is tonally
neutral, exceptionally spacious, and transient response very fast.
The experience of listening to the Quad is often described as non-fatiguing or listenable. There is no discontinuity from bass to midrange to treble—it's all so
natural...... Transient response is excellent. There are no boxy colorations because there are no boxes.""""
So, the Quad "house sound", is not midrange forward, its "neutral" & "natural".
And the ERA-1s are quite neutral, (Quad house sound) and offer a very generous midrange that is both analytical and rich.
Its really a very very fine audiophile headphone sound.
I have them on my head as im writing this FYI to you.....