When sound enters our ears, it has a planar wavefront with all spectrum components in phase. A typical dynamic headphone driver disrupts this coherence with its phase irregularity, resulting in less than perfect signal peak reconstructions. Quad's planar magnetic driver has much better phase coherency since all parts of the diaphragm vibrate in harmony without break up or delayed resonance. The driver's flat conductor pattern, without inductive components, eliminates inductance-related intermodulation distortion, this is especially common in dynamic drivers with high impedance and a high number of voice coil turns.

Given the heritage of Quad and their electrostatic speakers, it would not be fair to do this review without comparing their first headphones ever to an electrostatic. Quad themselves say the ERA-1 builds on their heritage and experience with electrostatic speakers, even though the ERA-1 actually is a planar magnetic headphone. In terms of sonics there is almost nothing to complain about them. Hifiman had a really long way in planar-magnetic design and all those years of experience paid off bit time. Hats off to Hifiman for this impressive technical achievement!

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Amplification: Auralic Taurus for Amiron, and Questyle CMA800R for the ERA-1. Again, both amplifiers sound very similar with the ERA-1. Listening to Sara K – If I could Sing Your Blues I can swear I am having a cigar at a live performance, that trumpet sounds so far away from me it is like coming from outside my room, it sounds detached from the rest of the instruments, I am really curious how they achieved that. As a result, treble is also airy, extended and detailed. Listening to some fast drum solos I was happy to hear clear and real cymbals, I was hearing its start and finish, not a single blob of muddiness. Treble is also biting and has a lot of presence and detail; however, it is never bright/harsh sounding.

Quad ERA 1, is the first planar magnetic headphones from the highly revered Quad brand, offering a frequency range of 10 to 40k Hertz. They are supplied with 2 pairs of different earpads (genuine leather and synthetic leather) for slightly different acoustics; the sound is tuned to match Quad's world-famous ESL range of loudspeakers. Quad's Legacy While perhaps not the disruptive technology the electrostatic loudspeaker proved to be, the Quad ERA-1 is still a very special performer indeed. Straight out of the box, the headphone showed considerable potential, yet initially seemed somewhat ‘opaque-sounding’. However, after about 70 hours of run-in the ERA-1’s opened up beautifully, at which point several key sonic attributes stood out.A good sense of soundstage makes use of ample depth and good placement, and the Era-1 clearly offers more headroom than most other headphones at this price point. Indeed, the sound falls nothing short of airy, with wide-open expanses bounded by finite positions for instruments and vocalists. All in all, this soundstage remains downright breathtaking. That included cable terminates in two dual-entry 3.5 mm stereo plugs, plugging in just below the yoke towards the rear of the earcup. Sheathed in braided nylon, the cable may kink just a little too easily, but the materials offer additional strength to combat wear and tear. Many planar magnetic headphones require high power amplifiers to drive them. Quad Era-1 combines high sensitivity with low impedance enabling them to perform well with a range of partnering devices, from high res portable players to high-quality headphone amps. Quad's valve-based PA-One headphone amp/DAC is a superb match for the Era-1 combining sonic clarity and fluidity to stunning effect. Upper midrange sounded meaty and heavy, male voices sounded really imposing as they moved much more air around the room. Listening even to Leonard Cohen can send shivers right down your spine.

Playing string music, the ERA-1 is really nice. It’s crisp and crystal clear. The LCD-X is also very enjoyable. It’s a little bit darker, with less treble intensity yet still very detailed.Velour ones are making the treble hotter and the overall sound signature becomes not as focused and speedy, smoother in a way. Some might prefer the velour ones. while the Denon has great bass articulation, the Quad goes deeper, due to the larger driver surface ( for me ) The biggest question of course is how my Quad ERA-1 will sound on a Quad Vena !! Play.. That should not go wrong, right ? Quad on Quad... Midrange is what I am calling the typical planar-midrange, or among the best midrange you can have in a headphone kingdom for short.