Sound Analysis.
The sound analysis of the Era was conducted mostly with Jewel and R70x, while playing a variety of… Well, this is an interesting one because at the heart of Era is a CD player, and I had to dig deep to find my old collection of CDs, or whatever was left of it when we moved to our current house 16 years ago. I tried a few original CDs I had purchased, rather than “burned” mix CDs I had made in the past, focusing on those with fewer scratches, and started to notice a common pattern in their sound: they sounded lively, dynamic, and vibrant. It really sounded like a “live” performance, so I decided to use a CD by Live, their Throwing Copper album, as my test tracks.
As usual, I prefer to describe the DAP/DAC/source sound by comparing it to other DAPs/DACs/sources and pairing it with different IEMs/headphones, since it doesn’t have a distinct sound on its own. We perceive the sound through connected IEMs/headphones or by comparing differences relative to the source using the same pair of IEMs/headphones. But this is not an ordinary source, and because of the very short time I had with it and the abundance of sound-shaping options, my analysis ended up being based on going through every sound setting on the Era to compare the changes it offers. This is my subjective opinion, based on how I hear Era.
It is not easy to summarize Era’s overall sound characteristics across these numerous options, since they do fine-tune the sound. At its core, you will find a balanced, dynamic tuning with a fuller-bodied, natural tonality. The bass notes come through with authoritative weight, presence, and fullness, powerful and tactile but not overwhelming. The textured analog tonality of the mids will vary depending on the timbre and DAC selection. With the available fine-tuning options, you can dial up the mids to pair perfectly with your IEMs or headphones. I was also pleased that the mids presentation always stayed forward, keeping the tuning balanced without being pulled back. The treble remained natural and resolving, with a musical sparkle regardless of the setting, providing a level of natural energy without making the sound too laid-back, even under the Velvet tube setting. Still, I will go over the tonality and technical performance for each corresponding setting, focusing on one “variable” at a time in each test.
Source Test: CD/USB/BT
Setting: P/Low Gain/NOS/TR/Class A
CD vs USB (Galaxy S25, Spotify streaming, 48kHz) – the most noticeable difference I hear when listening to CD in this particular setup is an improvement in dynamics, which feel more delicate and lifelike, especially in the vertical expansion of peaks, making the sound more multidimensional, with improved layering and separation and more air between the layers of the sound. This multidimensional expansion of sound peaks is rather fascinating because you can isolate different sounds not just by their positions in 3D space (holographic imaging) but also by their loudness and effects. Also, speaking of imaging and soundstage expansion, in both cases the soundstage expands in a big, immersive way, but when listening to a CD source, you hear more depth, the effect of being a few steps further away from the performer, as if you are in a more reverberated studio space, of course, without any echoing artifacts. Using a USB connection as a source is great too, but when you switch to CD, it takes a few seconds to adjust because it literally feels like you are listening to a live performance with the performer in front of you.
CD vs BT (Galaxy S25, Spotify streaming, LDAC, 96kHz) – switching to a BT/wireless connection was a noticeable step up over the USB connection in my smartphone setup. The wireless connection to Era closes the performance gap compared to a CD, especially when paying closer attention to technical aspects such as dynamics, soundstage expansion, and imaging. BT doesn’t match the dynamics I heard on a CD, but it comes close. The vertical expansion still feels multidimensional, with sounds not only easily distinguished by their position in space but also by their loudness, adding another “dimension” to the sound. The CD performance set a high bar for me here, pushing it further with more delicate micro-details and slightly more air to separate and layer the sounds. Don’t get me wrong, I was quite impressed with the wireless performance, especially after switching from a USB connection, but the CD, used as a source, still felt ahead by a step or two. Btw, BT also closed the gap in imaging, bringing it closer to CD-level source performance, with the music a few steps further away from you, giving you that feeling of a live, no pun intended, performance, while I was using my Live CD. One interesting observation I made here is that the background appears deeper and blacker when using a BT/wireless connection compared to CD. This change wasn’t as noticeable when comparing CD to USB, due to slightly reduced dynamics with USB. Using the BT connection improved the sound dynamics, bringing it closer to CD. Yet the CD had a bit of that analog background diffusion, not the noise floor or distortion, but almost like a faint diffusion of the sound fading into the background. I want to reiterate: my S25 smartphone may not be the best USB source (it was only transmitting at 48kHz), and the audio quality of the USB connection could be improved with a different source. Also, I don’t know how LDAC sounds compared to aptX lossless, which has limited hardware support.
AMP Power Mode Test: P vs P+ vs Turbo vs DC In
Setting: CD/Low Gain/NOS/TR/Class A
P vs P+ – (volume changed from 40 to 35, relative to Jewel), a slightly wider soundstage, a bit more bass rumble (probably the response of the DD driver in my IEMs).
P+ vs Turbo – (volume changed from 35 to 33, relative to Jewel), smaller improvements in bass, rumble, and impact.
Turbo vs DC In – (volume changed from 33 to 30, relative to Jewel), the soundstage wraps more around and behind me. The bass has a faster and tighter punch. At this level, low-sensitivity, high-impedance R70x were driven more effectively to their full potential.
Gain Test: L/M/H
Setting: CD/Turbo/NOS/TR/Class A
Changing the gain setting only increased the sound’s loudness, so I had to keep reducing the volume to a more comfortable listening level. I didn’t hear any distortion, sound artifacts, or drastic changes in tonality or technical performance.
DAC Test: R2R NOS/OS and ESS
Setting: CD/Turbo/Low Gain/TR/Class A
R2R NOS vs OS – to my ears, OS (oversampling) mode has a slightly denser sound (adding more body in the mids) and a bit less air between the layers of the sound, while NOS has a “lighter” sound with a bit more air and some minor improvements in layering and separation. Interestingly, when switching to a different source to play a wider variety of music (more EDM and Pop, wirelessly from my phone), there was less of a noticeable difference between NOS and OS when playing electronic music. But when you start listening to recordings with acoustic, non-synthesized instruments, you can pick up these differences upon closer analysis.
R2R vs ESS (delta-sigma) – this particular DAC selection (ESS) gives the sound a smoother, more neutral tonality. It is actually closer to the OS, whereas NOS offers more transparency. Maybe I’m a bit biased here, with my preference for R2R and NOS, but this gives you more variation in sound tuning. So, overall, R2R was more resolving, with faster note transients.
AMP Circuit Mode Test: Class A vs AB
Setting: CD/Turbo/Low Gain/NOS/TR
A vs AB – typical of amp mode selection, Class A has a warmer, smoother, fuller body sound, while Class AB has a colder, less colored, more transparent tonality. I’m sure it will affect the battery, but when it comes to sound quality, I enjoyed Class A amp mode too much.
Circuit Timbre Test: TR (solid state) vs NuTube VELVET/LUMINA
Setting: CD/Turbo/Low Gain/NOS/Class A
TR vs Tube (Velvet) – This was a big surprise because I’m adding Tube (NuTube) texture to the sound, and it is quite noticeable, especially in the mids, with a layer of “velvety” analog texture that adds fuller body and warmth. I expected that. But what I didn’t expect is that technical performance remained the same. I went back and forth many times, pausing the music in between and switching on the fly, but I didn’t hear much of a technical change; the only noticeable thing was the added texture to the sound.
Lumina vs Velvet – I found Lumina tube mode to be a slightly scaled-down version of Velvet. The amount of texture and warmth it adds was somewhere in between TR and Velvet, allowing you to scale down the effect of Velvet Tube changes.
Sensitivity Testing.
Given how powerful the Era’s amp is and the many available sound-shaping options, I wanted to check its output to make sure it will sound friendly with sensitive IEMs, such as my usual test subject, the VE10.
Even in Turbo amp mode at higher gain, it remained dead quiet, with no waterfall hissing during playback in quiet passages of the track, at lower volume, or when idling or paused.
DAC Comparison.
I performed this test using the Line Out port into the Brise Audio WATATSUMI, using it as a reference buffer to isolate Era’s amp circuit.
First, switching between Circuit Timbre and AMP Power modes did not affect the sound as much. I did confirm that the Circuit Timbre selection is effective for Line Out, but I didn’t hear as much of a change in the sound, at least not in my test. I also confirmed that the Gain and AMP Power modes do not affect the LO. Then, between R2R and ESS, from LO, my impression matched the test above: ESS had a smoother, more neutral tonality, while R2R was more resolving, with faster note transients. One thing I did notice: when comparing ESS and R2R, the volume level was the same with R2R NOS, but when I switched to OS, LO output dropped, which I assume is by design. Either way, if you plan to use LO of Era, you should switch between “delta-sigma” and “R2R NOS” settings.
Another interesting observation was that the background was SUPER black, regardless of whether it was in R2R or ESS DAC selection.
DAP Comparison.
I used Jewel and R70x in my comparisons, matching volume while listening to the same test track, using the CD as the source on Era and streaming the same song on the N8iii from Spotify (lossless). Additionally, I’m primarily focusing on the differences in sound as I perceive them. These are my quick analysis notes comparing Era and N8iii, using “equivalent” amp, timbre, and power settings. I know some would have preferred me using the Evo One DAP, either Ti or Cu; however, I don’t have access to it.
Era (CD/P+/M Gain/R2R-ESS/TR/Class AB) vs N8iii (P+/M Gain/Solid State/Class AB)
Obviously, the baseline sound will depend on the DAC selection, and with R2R, the sound is slightly more transparent than with the N8iii’s AKM DACs. When I switched Era to an ESS DAC, the sound became smoother, even a bit smoother than N8iii. It’s not a night-and-day difference, but you can hear some difference in tonality. From a technical perspective, I hear N8iii as having a bit more width, while Era, when playing CD, has more depth, making it sound more like a live performance. Switching Era to the BT setting brings the technical performance closer to the N8iii, including a blacker background.
Era (CD/P+/M Gain/R2R-ESS/Tube Lumina/Class AB) vs N8iii (P+/M Gain/Tube Modern/Class AB)
You can hear more texture and smoother tonality in the mids of both the Era and the N8iii. The N8iii’s modern-tube setting adds a little more coloring to the sound than its previous solid-state setting, while Era, with its Lumina tube setting, scales it back a bit (relative to N8iii) for more transparency. When you switch Era from R2R to ESS DAC, the gap closes, with smoother tonality that brings it closer to N8iii in its modern-tube setting. Nothing is 100% identical, but it shows that in each case the device applies its sound-shaping changes, and these changes are heading in the same direction toward tonal adjustment.
Era (CD/P+/M Gain/R2R-ESS/Tube Velvet/Class A) vs N8iii (P+/M Gain/Tube Classic/Class A)
In this setting, I also changed Class AB to A and made the Tube mode selection to give me the most analog, warmest tonality. And indeed, each device delivers the smoothest timbre, noticeable in the mids, with added texture in instruments and vocals and a slightly smoother treble. Here, with Era in ESS DAC mode, it was very close to N8iii and its AKM DAC, with Tubes in both devices doing their magic. When I switched Era to R2R NOS, I still got a similar tonality, but the sound was tighter, faster, and the background was blacker. To me, R2R NOS with Class A and Tube in Velvet setting was a GOLDEN combination on Era.
Conclusion.
In the intro of the review, I mentioned trying to figure out what inspired Thomas/EvoAria to follow their successful Evo One DAP release with a “CD player.” It is hard to speculate. Maybe there is new demand for CD players, and it would have been easier to ask him myself. I might still do that in the near future. As I mentioned earlier, a CD player by itself might have limited appeal to me. Still, everything else that comes with Era, which can be used independently of the CD player with another source connected, wired (via USB) or wireless (via Bluetooth), is what makes it stand out from the crowd, elevate it to a whole new level, and add many features that have evolved from all the previous Thomas’s projects, yet still carry the same DNA. And this time, it is also a lot more affordable. I don’t know if all this was part of the inspiration, but it definitely is refreshing.
Tbh, during my testing, I enjoyed the Era’s CD playback very much, and I was equally impressed with its BT connection and Era’s performance as a Wireless DAC/amp. But what makes it special is the abundance of sound-shaping options, with a few surprises. The ability to support three different sources (CD, USB, BT) gave Era practical versatility. Equipping it with a Triple Timbre selection (Transistor, Lumina tube, Velvet tube) gave Era a sense of familiarity with previous NuTube releases. The same goes for the option of Class A or Class AB, or P, P+, and Turbo power modes, further enhanced by a DC-In mode in addition to the typical L/M/H gain selection. The availability of an R2R DAC (with and w/o oversampling) instead of the AKM flagship chipset was a bit of a surprise, but adding a delta-sigma DAC (ESS ES9069Q x2) was unexpected. CD ripping to USB was also unexpected. The solid build, cool design, and impressive battery performance were icing on the cake.
As I always say, when it comes to flagship sources, it’s not always about which one is better, but about finding the one that offers the best synergy with your earphones and headphones while playing your favorite music. It’s not an easy task when dealing with a one-trick-pony source that offers little tuning flexibility. But when we have access to more sound-shaping tools within a source, we no longer have to worry about which source to use or which modular card to switch to. Instead, we are in full control of how we mix and match the available tools within a source, such as Era, to fine-tune the sound of your favorite IEMs and headphones. To my ears, Evo Era carries Evo One DNA, and my only wish is to see a separate USB/BT DAC/amp from EvoAria to give users greater portability on the go!
