No contest for me at least. Zero has a big 11k spike for me that completely kills the timbre. Quarks has smooth treble and the upper treble is somewhat subdued. If it just had a little more from about 9-14k without any peaks it would be perfect the way my Dusk is after applying EQ but as-is without EQ (user applied EQ at least) it may be the best sounding audio device I have heard yet.