[nar53]

I still love my ERA-1's & use them for a couple of hours most days but I'm very disappointed to find the pleather on the headband has worn through where they sit on top of my head. A patch about 1" square or 2.5cm has worn through & peeled off.

 

[TeeNine]

Hello everyone, this is my first post.

I've just bought a pair of these very enticing headphones, to join my first set up (Vena II, KEF Q350, REL T5X). They haven't arrived yet but I wanted to know if anyone is running them off the Quad Vena II? If so how is your experience?

These are my first pair of headphones that could remotely be described as high end / audiophile. I'm so excited to have em in my paws!

 

[WorksUnit]

Welcome @TeeNine , can`t speak for the Vena2 pairing.... hopefully someone will chime in..
I suspect you are going to have fun with these

 

[TeeNine]

Welcome @TeeNine , can`t speak for the Vena2 pairing.... hopefully someone will chime in..
I suspect you are going to have fun with these

I'm so excited. I entered the hifi hobby a year ago and am in LOVE with my (relatively) modest set up. Probably my favourite headphone experience so far has been Bose Quiet Comforts or Beats... and I know they aren't rated by serious audio ppl.

I've wanted these since I bough the rest of my gear and I can't wait to hear them. Ready for mind to be blown.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

I'm so excited. I entered the hifi hobby a year ago and am in LOVE with my (relatively) modest set up. Probably my favourite headphone experience so far has been Bose Quiet Comforts or Beats... and I know they aren't rated by serious audio ppl.

I've wanted these since I bough the rest of my gear and I can't wait to hear them. Ready for mind to be blown.

Nice.
Hope you'll love/ like them as much as we do.

Please report back your impressions (after a few days of listening).

 

[WorksUnit]

Ready for mind to be blown.

Take your time with them, you might find some tangible benefit over your existing system, and some negatives...

 

[TeeNine]

Take your time with them, you might find some tangible benefit over your existing system, and some negatives...

Thanks, I'm not expecting them to make me ditch my speakers but I have a small house, a young child, and I'm a nightowl. I'm hoping they'll give me an avenue to enjoy music late at night without fear of waking everyone up!

 

[ChrisGB]

I'm so excited. I entered the hifi hobby a year ago and am in LOVE with my (relatively) modest set up. Probably my favourite headphone experience so far has been Bose Quiet Comforts or Beats... and I know they aren't rated by serious audio ppl.

I've wanted these since I bough the rest of my gear and I can't wait to hear them. Ready for mind to be blown.

I think you'll like them, they sound excellent when new, but mine seemed to get progressively better over time. Bass seems to go deeper and weightier and the whole sound has become more organic than when they were new. These are seriously good value. You've now got the tough decision to make though: Leather or felt

 

[The Jester]

Start organising your favourite music,
“Are they there yet, are they there yet ?” ..

 

[TeeNine]

Start organising your favourite music,
“Are they there yet, are they there yet ?” ..

Since I got my system my tastes have really diversified.. I'm a metal head at heart but mostly now listening to mellow bluesy stuff like Otis Taylor, Keb Mo and Eric Bibb. But I think my first listen with these will still be the latest Tool album

 

[Thfoolonthhill]

Hello everyone, this is my first post.

I've just bought a pair of these very enticing headphones, to join my first set up (Vena II, KEF Q350, REL T5X). They haven't arrived yet but I wanted to know if anyone is running them off the Quad Vena II? If so how is your experience?

These are my first pair of headphones that could remotely be described as high end / audiophile. I'm so excited to have em in my paws!

Hey, I'm running the era-1 off the Quad Vena II and it's a wonderful experience.

 

[ChrisGB]

Since I got my system my tastes have really diversified.. I'm a metal head at heart but mostly now listening to mellow bluesy stuff like Otis Taylor, Keb Mo and Eric Bibb. But I think my first listen with these will still be the latest Tool album

Getting good hifi really opens the window on music and is, in my opinion, a strong driver in discovering all sorts of music you'd never previously considered listening to. The ERA-1 are very revealing, you may be finding "hidden details" in much of your music and the wonder can just spread to other genres. Enjoy! On the down side, the more you hear the benefits, the more you end up spending to hear more. Slippery slope

 

[The Jester]

And then the slippery slope turns into a rabbit hole…

 

[Strat1117]

Since I got my system my tastes have really diversified.. I'm a metal head at heart but mostly now listening to mellow bluesy stuff like Otis Taylor, Keb Mo and Eric Bibb. But I think my first listen with these will still be the latest Tool album

Getting good hifi really opens the window on music and is, in my opinion, a strong driver in discovering all sorts of music you'd never previously considered listening to. The ERA-1 are very revealing, you may be finding "hidden details" in much of your music and the wonder can just spread to other genres. Enjoy! On the down side, the more you hear the benefits, the more you end up spending to hear more. Slippery slope

You are both correct and have hit upon something that takes many audiophiles a long time (and a lot of money) to learn - it is easy to let your system dictate the music you play, simply because you know that is what will sound best on your system. Eventually, either your taste will evolve toward what sounds best on your system OR you may evolve your system to sound best with the music you most prefer. That’s one reason why so many head-fi denizens have so many different amps and headphones - Grados for metal, Sennheisers for classical, Quads for jazz and on and on. It’s a slippery slope and a rabbit hole for sure, but there are some old timers (like me) who’ve been down here for half a century, and I’m still finding new things to like (and other things to be disappointed by). It’s all about the journey, and it’s all about pleasing yourself - it’s decidedly NOT about matching some mythical lines on a graph.

I’ve owned the Quads (headphones and speakers) and they are wonderful - but they might not be my first recommendation for a metal head. On the other hand, you’d be hard pressed to do better for jazz, folk, chamber and other less headbanger, more beautiful styles of music (my older son is a metal head and my good friend’s son is the bass player in Artificial Brain, so I’m not just talking out my rear end here). Quad amps tend to mate very well with Quad speakers so, although I have no experience with your particular amp, I would expect them to be a good match and certainly a great starting point. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself reaching for different headphones for different types of music (or vice versa). After all, the differences (both subtle and obvious) are what make audio equipment a hobby and not merely household appliances.

Enjoy!

 

[TeeNine]

You are both correct and have hit upon something that takes many audiophiles a long time (and a lot of money) to learn - it is easy to let your system dictate the music you play, simply because you know that is what will sound best on your system. Eventually, either your taste will evolve toward what sounds best on your system OR you may evolve your system to sound best with the music you most prefer.

It’s all about the journey, and it’s all about pleasing yourself - it’s decidedly NOT about matching some mythical lines on a graph.

I’ve owned the Quads (headphones and speakers) and they are wonderful - but they might not be my first recommendation for a metal head. On the other hand, you’d be hard pressed to do better for jazz, folk, chamber and other less headbanger, more beautiful styles of music (my older son is a metal head and my good friend’s son is the bass player in Artificial Brain, so I’m not just talking out my rear end here). Quad amps tend to mate very well with Quad speakers so, although I have no experience with your particular amp, I would expect them to be a good match and certainly a great starting point. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself reaching for different headphones for different types of music (or vice versa). After all, the differences (both subtle and obvious) are what make audio equipment a hobby and not merely household appliances.

Enjoy!

Yeah I'm not technically minded enough to have much time for graphs in this context (although I am on some kind of level a scientist.. just not this type!). I chose my current set up based on relative feature sets and budget. And, a little bit of aesthetic (the much vaunted WAF). I nearly went for Quad speakers too, but found the S1 and S2 which were in my budget to lack a little hit of low end for my liking. The KEFs were better but even then after 6 months I added a sub which I couldn't have afforded at the start. I wonder if I should have got towers instead but I'm really pleased with what I have.

I can very much see myself getting more headphones / amps down the line but it'll be slow. This stuff is all quite big ticket when real life expenses like kids and cars and mortgages play a big role in my finances!

Thanks for the reply. Nice community this though I've actually found places like reddit to house pretty friendly audio ppl as well, in spite of the reputation. Maybe the hobby just attracts nice folks?!