Quad ESR-1 teaser

I went to the audio show in the DC area a few months ago and heard these headphones in the QUAD booth.

I was only able to listen to a few songs, and quite frankly I think the amp I listened to left a lot to be desired, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

The headphones were pretty darn good, but not amazing. They did have a very classic british sound. They are very dynamic, punchy, and energetic. They are a HAIR on the bright side, and they sounded like the lacked the same depth that even LCD-2s have.

Now again I remind you all that these were literally the first pair in the US. The two Quad reps has listened to them for a few minutes the night before the show. So they probably didn't even have an hour of break in. God only knows what the cable situation is like, and the source I was listening to was a turn table of unknown origin.

I am exceedingly eager to get these headphones on a more controlled system to see what they are capable of.

 

We got a whole bunch of them in. Fairly positive impressions from me aside from the weight seems to focus one point on my headphone.

Tested it on a few amps, do yourself a favor and immediately put on the leather pads. Sounded way too mellow on the velours. The leather pads tightened up the bass immediately and are just so much more premium.

Stock cable I wasn't too hot on the braided cable and the way the cables plug into the headphones makes me a little sad since I would want to put these on a balanced cable. Little bit of a recessed 3.5mm jack that would cause you to need a cable with thinner 3.5mm plugs.

Build is nice, solid metal everywhere.

Overall pretty solid headphone. Few nitpicks here and there for me.

 

Filing for name change to: Nostradamus.

 

First quick impression after a couple of days: Refreshing old school planar sound (think HE-6, Abyss). Impactful, explosive, focused transient attack, fast, dynamic, average stage width with good depth (reminds a bit of Focal Clear), very good resolution. Bass quantity is sometimes on the moar side (compared to my modded HE-6s), but not too much imo. No midrange suckout. Vocals are well present and with enough body. Treble is airy and sparkly - like HE-6 and Abyss these are not for treble shy people. They do not hide bright recordings, and treble has proper (imo) bite.

These are the opposite of both Audeze and Mrspeakers sound. So lively, impactful, and energetic (fun too). After listening to the Quads the Audeze LCD2C sound soft/undynamic/boring. Moving from LCD2C (no grills/outer damping with Reveal) to the Quads I miss some stage width, and note increased clarity, focus, articulation and instrument separation. The Quads resolve better too. The LCD2C bass may be slightly more controlled, likely in a quite narrow bass region, because I don't hear this on every track with lots of bass. I have to analyse more, but I cba at the moment, really enjoying these.

They are relatively efficient but don't buy too much into the Quad claims. Bin the stock cable, get a decent XLR cable if you have a balanced amp, they scale a lot for example moving from a portable Leckerton to 2x Benchmark AHB2 for example. I prefer the leather pads to velour/pleather ones, the latter being a bit too soft/wooly sounding.

In terms of music genres, these are an absolute blast with rock, metal (except for the most rubbish quality recordings I suppose; for that I'd still go LCD2C), EDM, and acoustic stuff.

 

The QUAD is nice and smooth, but has the typical planar scooped out upper mid/lower treble presence, which zaps some energy and cuts things like cymbals in half, throwing the lower half away. I'd say they were a poor man's version of the LCD-MX4. Still, terrific value for money.

 

It's also important to note that Audeze provide the Reveal plugins to correct some of the FR issues. That is how I actually use them. In the same way one can also EQ the Quads. Maybe because of their energetic sounding nature I am actually finding the Quads require this less than my Audeze.

That said I have not yet found a fix for headphones that are softer/smoother sounding, because imo that is primarily a driver/magnet/tuning limitation usually. That kind of sound helps poorer recordings and make for an easier listen, but also hinders quality recordings.

For those who find Audeze in general/HEK a bit soft/smooth/undynamic, the Quads have an advantage. The transients are more focused/impactful/energetic, which also helps resolution. On a top rig, the articulation is quite amazing, and not only for the price.

 

Now you got my attention.

 

I broke down and ordered a pair. I am very sensitive to weight, and most planars make my neck hurt. But these are less heavy than the hifimans and audeze that I couldn't stand (for several reasons besides just the weight). I was intrigued by @Negura 's description of the sound. I found them in Denmark for about 40% off. So I think the risk is low,

 

If you are looking for an extremely comfortable planar check out the MrSpeakers Ether 2, mine came in today, they are HD800 comfortable.

 

Of course, one would expect that two thousand dollar headphones would be supremely comfy for long sessions. Which pre Hifiman/Audeze was never in question. Anyway, the flows are considerably more expensive than what I just paid.

I will write some impressions/comparisons after I have had them for a bit. They still haven't been shipped

 

Very happy for you, oh, and you’re welcome.