Quad Era-1 Planar Magnetic Headphones

Product Information

Amps/DACS: Chord DAVE , C hord Hugo M-Scaler , Cen.Grand 9i-906 "Silver Fox" ( w/Hifi Tuning Supreme Fuse) , Eddie Current Aficionado , Meier Audio Corda Soul , Chord Mojo 2 w/ Chord Poly , Cavalli Audio Liquid Carbon V2 , iFi Zen Stream (w/iFi iPower X) , iFi Zen Can , iFi Zen DAC V2 , AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt , C ore Power Technologies USBe Perfect They both sound great and quite similar with the piano. The ERA-1 is a bit clearer sounding. You can hear every little detail and nuance, every reverberation. I like that Arya is showing all that important micro-detail information but in a non-aggressive way. Very non-Sennhseiser-HD800-like but natural somehow. It plays every small micro-vibration and detail but doesn’t scream: Look At Me How I Do It!

In the low end, the Quad Era-1 distinguishes itself with a full and energetic character. Notes seem highly detailed and accurate, but its the precise and tactile bass that steals the show here. Adding a certain weight to the lows, the bass features just enough impact to help you feel what you’re listening to – without ever going too far overboard and sounding sloppy or uncontrolled. Midrange Bass notes besides going deep and sounding clean, have a much-needed slam that I craved for a very long time. Put it this way, with the right headphone amplifier ERA-1 has top-level slam and impact, possible the best slam I’ve heard on headphones… If bass is your thing, please try once the ERA-1 from a desktop rig, you will not be disappointed.

Well, first of all Hifiman Arya is a planar-magnetic headphone that uses an advanced asymmetrical magnetic system. In simpler words it means it uses smaller magnets on the ear side and huge magnets on the outer side that are pushing a lot of air. This way the sound waves interference is greatly reduced, so the total harmonic distortion is reduced as well. They are actually so similar that I often confuse which one I have on my head. The differences remain as before. The ERA-1 is a tad clearer. The Elear sounds great but a bit more diffuse, or relaxed, could I say, because it’s not entirely a bad thing. They both are well balanced, and punchy, have rich and textured vocals and clear highs.

A complete straight line from 20 Hz to 1Khz and just a small deviation in the treble area that is just normal behavior.Again they sound more similar than not. The Elear has a bit more bass, both have lots of space. The ERA-1 sounds a little bit more intense, details are sharper cut. The Meze has got some serious bass punch. They sound quite similar in many ways. The ERA-1 has a tighter bass, the 109 Pro a bit more oomph. The soundstage is similar, nice and spacious with both. They feel similarly bright with this quite bright-sounding song. The bass is tighter and more detailed with the ERA-1. Cohen’s voice is very nicely rendered by both headphones. Lots of textures and nuances.

Open, spacious, enveloping, holographic and very dynamic were my first thoughts. That was the moment I realized my favorite Quad ERA-1 are much more closed-in sounding and will be dethroned really soon. I’m a big believer in planar-magnetic design and no matter what happens I should always have a pair with me, be it Quad, Audeze or Hifiman. I can count all the minuses Audeze and Quads are having, I can identify them with me eyes closed but I can’t say the same about the Arya, because nothing really stands out too much but in the same time everything is at its place, I felt it sounded just right from the moment I pressed play. Headphones: Final Audio D8000 Pro (w/FA OFC silver) , Hifiman HE-R10P ( w/Invictus Quad Metal ), Audeze LCD-24 (w/Norne Vygarde) , Hifiman HEKse ( w/Norne Vygarde) , Focal Utopia OG (w/Danacable Lazuli Reference) , Hifiman HEK V2 ( w/FAW Noir Hybrid HPC) , Focal Stellia (w/ivipQ Litz Silver/Palladium) , Meze Audio Phoenix Empyr ea n (w/Invictus Quad Metal) , Dan Clark Audio Ether 2 (w/WyWires Platinum) , Klipsch HP-3 , Hifiman HE6se V2 , Hifiman HE-500 ( w/FAW Noir Hybrid HPC) , Hifiman HE-560 V4 ( w/FAW Noir Hybrid HPC) , Audio-Technica ATH-R70x (w/Lavricables Ultimate Silver) , Campfire Audio Cascade (w/Wywires Red) , Focal Bathys , B&W P7 Wireless , Koss KPH40 , K oss KPH30i , Koss Porta Pro Remember the “Window Shade” system I was writing about that created this see-thought magnet and driver structure? This kind of design was implemented to have the widest possible soundstage and an impressive transparency. The Woo WA22 tube amp, however, sounds like nothing else with the ERA-1. It’s absolutely gorgeous. It makes the ERA-1 sound more euphonic and well-rounded without losing detail or punch, whilst at the same time delivering a bigger soundstage. I thought I’d say that expensive amplifiers don’t necessarily make a big difference but the WA22 proved me wrong. AMPLIFIERS CONCLUSION Weighting just 404 grams (14.3 oz) it is among the lightest planar-magnetic headphone I put my hands on. Arya has a clever weight distribution mechanism that is mostly relying on two things: on the super-wide and extra-large headband that is already evenly applying pressure on the top of your heard and it is also relying on the huge and soft ear-pads that will absorb side pressure. In my opinion Arya are among the least head-crunching headphones I tested so they are scoring great marks in terms of comfort.For a full, articulate sound with plenty of soundstage, too, it’s hard to beat the Quad Era-1. If you’re looking for a slightly warm sound, I might recommend the Mr Speakers AEON Flow over the Era-1, but only if you already have an amplifier that can drive the AEON. While the Era-1 remains easier to drive, its low end seems just a smidgen less intense. Because, typically for a PM design, its impedance versus frequency trace is almost flat, the ERA-1 suffers negligible frequency response modification when used with sources of finite output impedance, amounting to a mere 0.1dB for a source impedance of 30 ohms.