Looking for Headphones with Great Soundstaging/Sharp Transient Response

Christmas time is here, and I've got a $250 budget (~$350 if I can get my SR225i sold off). Okay, I've told you cash limit, but what do I want? A headphone, with:
+Great Soundstaging
+Sharp Transient
+Fluid Midrange

Specifically, I want cymbals to float, and have that uppermost sizzle--very alive yet airy and quick. A better midrange than my HD555's would also be nice, but I'll live with whatever fills my top two requirements. Headphone type preference:
Circumaural>Supra-aural>IEM

If the headphone you suggest needs an amp, slap in a decent affordable portable amp in your recommendation as well. It might helpful for you to know that I do not like the SR225i... at all. It was too colored in the upper mids, and lacked treble extension. I do want a solid mid response, though. The mids are a bit boring on my HD555, though I do find them much more neutral than my Grado. Again, I do not have an amp. Thanks to all that help me out!!!


This might also help:

I was able to pinpoint a decent audiophile headphone shop--in an airport of all places! I tried all the top products. They had the complete Shure line--I liked the SRH840 the best for its resolving bass and mid detail. Its only con was being a little dull on the top, but still more sharp than my HD555, and surely more extended than my Grado. The only other Shure I cared for was the SE530. It seemed more detailed the SRH840. Yet, the SE530's treble was even less assertive than my HD555, and I know I want more treble.

I was also able to get a listen to the Klipsch Image X10. I liked this! Unlike the ER-6i I had tried a few months back, the X10 had bass. What more, this IEM's bass was very fluid and solid. Obviously not as good as the SRH840, but much better than my HD555. It was near colorless in the bass, yet full of life. The mids seemed just as detailed, and the treble integrated very well with the mids. But... the X10 seemed to be devoid of the uppermost treble sparkle I was after. I like a crispy response in the tippy-top, which maybe incorrect, but that's how I like to hear my music.

I also tried the Super.Fi 5 Pro, and it wasn't nearly as refined as the X10. I can't really remember Super.Fi. Yes, it was good, but nothing spectular. Average mids, average bass, average treble. The Ultimate Ears were basically less than or equal to my current Senns. This might have been from the UEs being a tad big for my ears, but I really didn't want IEMs in the first place.

Thanks!

What amp would match up well with the DT880s? I tried the DT880s without an amp at a Guitar Center a while back, and they sounded very blah.

Bump...

So would the DT880 be very crispy sounding--sufficiently amped, that is? I'm after a certain sound, not necessarily reference. This may help... this is how I EQ my modded HD555s.

Attachment 23451

I wouldn't mind a less bass, actually. When I listened to the DT880s--albeit unamped--its bass was slow. It was deep, but seemed almost purposely plushy. It certainly didn't jive that well for me. Plus, without taking the sound quality/dynamics into account, the Beyers seemed very 2D-headphoney to me. Yes, the stage was wide, but also lacked depth.

That said, I think the AD900 might be my ticket to audio nirvana, especially if the soundstage is wider and deeper than the HD555 and drastically fixes the treble extension and midrange color. But, I certainly don't want the kiddish John Grado midrange sound. It works somewhat ok for guitars, but I actually hear more much fret reverb with my HD555s than any Grados. Plus, the mids in the SR125 and SR325i were crazy colored when I tried them a month or so ago, and I thought my SR225is were colored!

EDIT: Question: are there any "amp required" headphones that build off the strengths of the AD900?

Thanks! I think I'll be going with the AD900s.

I see you have the Presonus HP4. So does that work magic with the DT880? Maybe it'd do some magic with my HD555s, and SR225is even. Do you have any experience with Meier Audio amps? I was initial thinking of getting a Corda Headsix. I mean, I read so many good reviews about the Meier audio amps that it makes me want to actually get an amplifier just for the sake of trying that brand.

If I do need to get an DAC, I'd really prefer an all-in-one solution. Plus portable. If that would work the magic as everyone says, I'm ready to dive head first!

Bump... I read this comment:

"The 202 is dark sounding. Darker than my hd600/equinox.

As for the sparkle on the ad900s, I would say its more bright than sparkly. The hd580s are an example of what I'd call slightly sparkly because since the lower treble(5-8khz) is recessed, the upper treble(12-16khz) gets more emphasized. I would say that the mid treble around 8 to 12khz is whats bright on the ad900 by ear. I didn't measure it though so its all by my ears estimation "

I really want treble sparkle, even if it's a bit out of place. I really want the rev of race cars to excite me... and even though my HD555s extend better than my Grados, they just don't do it good enough. (By the way, the Grado SR225i just mess such sounds up... very messy and incoherent from the overbright mids and unextended treble.) I really want zing and zap in my audio... I get "better" from my x-530 Logitechs...

So, what's the best in treble quickness? Possibly some DT860s? The things I've heard about them make me want to try 'em out...