Best is easy, Senn HD650.

Worst would be(for the money)Shure E3.


But I've not made any bad choice once on this board!

Worst would have to be my first "real" headphones, the HD570. Though I've gotten much joy outta them (before finding this place), I really paid too much for that awful sound quality. The only good things are the unmatched comfort and the fact that they fit my small kids' heads so well.

Close second is the Shure e2c. What a horribly muddy sound! Luckily I got a decent compensation for my suffering when selling them.

All of my other headphone purchases have been pretty good, but the top honors have to go to HF-1 at their original price. You really can't beat that!

I've also been very happy with the amazing little Senns, the PX100.

Best, if I had to pick one I would probably be my AKG K501's, I just love them.
Best deal, Koss KSC75 nearly PX100 for 1/4 the price.

Worst Senn's HD515's...dont have then anymore.
Worst before joining head-fi, dont ask

Best - tied between the Alessandro MS Pros and the AT W100. The MS Pros have fantastic resolution and even response from top to bottom and provide a kind of intimacy due to their close up presentation. The W100s are a more all-round can that have a certain involvement factor not found on other cans.

Worst - Senn PX200, well its only worst because all my other purchases just outshine it in all departments, so its no biggie. I only got them for portable use, but since the MS Pros came along, these just collect dust.

Best - Akg k340, such an emotional can, it grabs at my soul and never turns back.
Runner up - Akg k501 and senn hd580, two great overall cans imo, very clean sounding, not as lively as the k340.

Worst - Sennheiser hd455, it was the best can i had before joining headfi and quickly became the worst can after. Head-Fi is indeed a curse!

runner up - stanton srs-265, too boomy for my tastes.

Best - HD650, with the MS-2 following closely behind. These cans never fail to stir me up with whatever music I play.

Worst - K601. I don't mean to put it like it's a bad can. I actually enjoy it heaps with certain music genres and when I feel like an airy/light-bodied presentation. However, the other two cans are clearly technically superior to my ears, esp. in terms of details and 'soul-stirring ability'.

Best: given limited selection and limited auditioning...KSC75. That may be subject to change, of course (I'm mainly budget-limited ).

Worst: E3c (which I'm wearing right now). They work, the isolation is great...but the bass is crap, and I can't escape the "I'm listening to equipment" feeling, even with music that is mastered to have poor soundstage.

Worst before head-fi: $15 Sony behind-the-neck. Not even having heard the KSC50 yet, that was just unbearable. Much better was nearby, and cheaper. It was trying on these that got me to ask about good cheap headphones, and then...

BEST: DT770. Suits perfectly to my musical tastes (90% Downbeat). Should have chosen the A900 though, which performs as well, but has a better bandwidth.

WORST: EP630. As they don't fit, sound & comfort is a real mess.

Best (in terms of how much it improved my setup)
1. Phillips SHP-895 = infinitely better than anything I had at that timie
2. Stax SR-5 gold - best pair of phones I have now. Not itching for an upgrade anytime soon >_<
3. KSC-75 - Inferior to both phones mentioned above it, but still a good buy for the price.

Worst
None. Unless you're going to call the KSC-75 the worst buy I've made =P

Best: SR325i... now I HAVE to own all SR325s and MS2s...

Worst: EX51, MDR-Q23... I may reccomend the EX51 if it was maybe $10... screams OVERPRICED...

BEST - K81DJ and SR-60: both for best money/value ratio (just because I bought SR-60 used from USA, otherwise Grado are t o o e x a n s i v e here!).

WORST- AKG 26P: no words. There would be still so much space for a mini tiny closed headphone in the market, sob

Best: Alessandro MS-1.

Worst: Alessandro MS-1 cause they're leading me to spend additional money on the MS2i.

(yeah, I know....they're my first and only quality set of cans)

Best:
I would have to say that my DT880 has given me already (only had it about 6 months) countless hours of absolute pleasure. It's so comfy that I can easily forget that I'm wearing it and just listen/focus on the music (which is what this is all about right?) My first really high-end (at least I think it's high-end) headphone and something that I listen to when I just want to relax.

The A900LTD also has to have a special mention here. I'm not sure whether it's partly due to "newness appeal" (or honeymoon period ) but these are really great to listen to. So comfy to wear - the earpads aren't as comfy as the DT880 but the headband on the LTD makes the Bayer one really feel like it's digging in by comparison. The LTD is also just so much fun! These more of a bass boost which just makes the music sound great fun and if I was to have only one headphone then I think these would be it.

For price/performance though - KSC75 is king. How they can sound so good for so little is just amazing.... wish I'd known about these about 15 years ago when I was using crappy supplied buds.

Worst:
Not really had anything that sounded too bad although going back the supplied buds that came with my PCDP or DAP sound dreadful by comparison. I think extra special mention would go to the Crysn buds that came with my X5. These just hurt after about 5mins and the cord wasn't really long enough so that they would pull on my ears and pull themselves out. The sound quality was never anything I could really quantify because of the trouble I had with them.

I guess the HD555 gets a mention... it was my first major headphone purchase after arriving on this forum and led me to realise just how good sound could be. That led me to getting the "curse"

Best - AKG K340

Worst - Sennheiser HD 650

Best: koss portaPro

Love this thing! so cheap, yet so beautiful!

Worst: Creative HN-505

pretty much flat out sucks. rolled off highs and bass, the only good point is the sound cancelling circuitry.