[Slim1970]

with similar definition?
How do they compare on musical enjoyment?

No, the XC's have more clarity and resolution. They both are musically enjoyable but the XC's are more dynamic sounding. The XC's also better at low level listening. I had to turn up the volume quite a bit more to get good sound from the Quad's.

 

[Varmint Cong]

Joking aside.

I do listen from Amaranthe to Unleash the archers and the Era-1 is doing a phenomenal job on it.

I enjoyed Nightwish a lot. Jinjer also.. Full powerful sound.

The Quads do very well with metal. Nice midrange energy on the guitars, very good bass thump on the drums, vocals sound very natural. The treble is not sharp with cymbals and other high frequency sounds, so you have a lot freedom on volume dial.

Fantastic! Thanks for the confirmation everyone. I read in the Soundnews review that he liked them with metal, but I wanted to see if others agreed as well. I’ve been researching for a while now...weighing the pros and cons of different headphones. Within my price range, it seemed like I’d have to settle in one aspect or another on every set I looked at. I stumbled across the Quad, not sure how I missed it. As I dug in more, it seemed to offer everything I wanted, without having to settle on anything. This seals the deal for me. I’ll be ordering it soon. I’m beyond excited!

 

[Slim1970]

Music Direct has an open-box pair of Quad Era-1's:

https://www.musicdirect.com/headphones/Quad-ERA-1-Planar-Magnetic-Headphones-OPEN-BOX

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

Thanks, that's what I'm looking for, an open back headphone which has superb instrument seperation with high clarity where the sound is very clear, but with a very high level of bass. I mean sub woofer level of bass. So far the headphones I have which have that typa bass are Audio Technica M50x or VModa M100, but those headphones have poor imaging and instrument seperation. I want heavy bass, but I don't only want bass.

Someone recommended me the LCD2c by saying that headphone has strong slam, but I just didn't feel that slam bass people are talking about.

I own the Hifiman Arya, and whilst I love the imaging and soundstage, the bass isn't as strong as I want. If there's a headphone in existence that sounds just like the Arya with heavier bass level, I would be in heaven.

I don't know if you can feel a headphone speaker vibrate and if it's even something desirable, but the Quad does go super low in the bass. There's barely no roll off to speak about. It's stupid good on dance or rap music. I've been enjoying house music like Gui Boratto on these. If you like linear bass that digs super low, this headphone will deliver. I imagine a closed planar would be even better for impact.

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

XC, way too heavy for my liking. I want something no heavier than 500grams max.

Agreed, the Quads do go very low, but my Audeze LCD-XC's have more impact. The XC's hit hard and fast.

 

[Slim1970]

XC, way too heavy for my liking. I want something no heavier than 500grams max.

Yes, the Quads are much, much lighter in comparison. They don’t have the clamp force of the XC’s either. The Quads to my ears, are probably tops of the mid-fi headphones that I’ve heard. The Beyerdynamic DT-1990 is another excellent choice. Both are very good all around headphones.

 

[mobbaddict]

Thanks, that's what I'm looking for, an open back headphone which has superb instrument seperation with high clarity where the sound is very clear, but with a very high level of bass. I mean sub woofer level of bass. So far the headphones I have which have that typa bass are Audio Technica M50x or VModa M100, but those headphones have poor imaging and instrument seperation. I want heavy bass, but I don't only want bass.

Someone recommended me the LCD2c by saying that headphone has strong slam, but I just didn't feel that slam bass people are talking about.

I own the Hifiman Arya, and whilst I love the imaging and soundstage, the bass isn't as strong as I want. If there's a headphone in existence that sounds just like the Arya with heavier bass level, I would be in heaven.

The Quad has a very good level of transparency and instrument separation. In my opinion it's in the same league as the Stax Lambda series, while maintaining a very nice deep bass (slightly elevated even maybe?) when the music calls for it. I don't know if it will be better than the LCD2C you heard though, maybe you just don't like the planar bass? The LCD2 is one of the very few headphones that really impressed me at that pricepoint.

 

[mobbaddict]

Speaking of closed headphones, anybody compared the Ether CX with the Quad? I don't know how i missed these when I was looking for a sub-1000$ planar. They seem really intriguing for a neutral/intimate sound.

 

[Thunder240]

My ERA-1s just arrived today, and I’m smiling ear to ear After the obligatory run through my standard evaluation playlist, with all of the jazz and classical tracks you’d expect, I decided to throw on Pac’s California Dreamin remix. It’s like I’m right there in the studio at the mixing board looking over Dre’s shoulder! The track separation is simply magical.

 

[Pinkus]

Getting on better with these. Not sure how it all works and it may just be good old subjectivity, but I perceive the velour pads as sounding more 'open', spacious, with more room for the instruments to stand out. It feels like maybe something to do with the upper bass/lower mids being less prominent? That's what it feels like to my ears. I've been mostly using the leather pads but I switched back the other day and the difference was instantaneous. (I'd previously almost written the velour pads off). Really think the two separate pads are a unique selling point for the Quads.
Leather pads still the better option for techno, dubstep, electronic...Maybe rock as well. I think anyway.

Still need to get an amplifier for them when I can put my mind to it.

 

[Pinkus]

Getting on better with these. Not sure how it all works and it may just be good old subjectivity, but I perceive the velour pads as sounding more 'open', spacious, with more room for the instruments to stand out. It feels like maybe something to do with the upper bass/lower mids being less prominent? That's what it feels like to my ears. I've been mostly using the leather pads but I switched back the other day and the difference was instantaneous. (I'd previously almost written the velour pads off). Really think the two separate pads are a unique selling point for the Quads.
Leather pads still the better option for techno, dubstep, electronic...Maybe rock as well. I think anyway. Velours can sound a bit thin by comparison. Although maybe my ears just need to get used to that.

Still need to get an amplifier for them when I can put my mind to it.

Meant to edit this, not double post it.

 

[mobbaddict]

Getting on better with these. Not sure how it all works and it may just be good old subjectivity, but I perceive the velour pads as sounding more 'open', spacious, with more room for the instruments to stand out. It feels like maybe something to do with the upper bass/lower mids being less prominent? That's what it feels like to my ears. I've been mostly using the leather pads but I switched back the other day and the difference was instantaneous. (I'd previously almost written the velour pads off). Really think the two separate pads are a unique selling point for the Quads.
Leather pads still the better option for techno, dubstep, electronic...Maybe rock as well. I think anyway.

Still need to get an amplifier for them when I can put my mind to it.

Yes I agree with you about the pads. The leather pads definitely add some presence in the bass (even some deep bass impact) and lower midrange, creating a shift in the tonal response. The response is more mellow and laid-back. The velour pads make for a more mid-centric response which can be nice for acoustic but a bit fatiguing on the long run, since it's not smooth like the Sennheiser HD6 series. If you don't want to invest in an amp yet, just grab of those cheap Fiio amps like the A1 or E5, you will be surprised by the improvement over a basic smartphone output. It's a bigger improvement than between my K5 pro and E5.

 

[Pinkus]

Yes I agree with you about the pads. The leather pads definitely add some presence in the bass (even some deep bass impact) and lower midrange, creating a shift in the tonal response. The response is more mellow and laid-back. The velour pads make for a more mid-centric response which can be nice for acoustic but a bit fatiguing on the long run, since it's not smooth like the Sennheiser HD6 series. If you don't want to invest in an amp yet, just grab of those cheap Fiio amps like the A1 or E5, you will be surprised by the improvement over a basic smartphone output. It's a bigger improvement than between my K5 pro and E5.

It's so genre-dependent, haha. Can see why I wrote them off initially because with some music it feels like a big chunk of the sound spectrum has just been scooped out. But with ambient and soundtrack music it really seems to sharpen things.

 

[mobbaddict]

It's so genre-dependent, haha. Can see why I wrote them off initially because with some music it feels like a big chunk of the sound spectrum has just been scooped out. But with ambient and soundtrack music it really seems to sharpen things.

It's a trade-off I would say, the leather pads still add a nice touch for percussions and drums in general, even with orchestral music. But the mid-range has more bite with the velours yes. It's nice to have both options as you said.

 

[Thfoolonthhill]

Ive had to stop using the velour pads, they are hurting the bottom of my ears which are obvs just a smidge to big for these pads. The leather pads put too much pressure on my head on longer listening sessions which are pretty much every night. I'm thinking about moving on the quads which is a real shame as I really do love the sound from them.