Is there a be all, end all headphone?

It's better to have lots of disposable cash to fund the widest variety of options... lol.  

What's your budget for buying equipment to solve your audio dilemma? 

And what types of music do you listen to / uses do you have for headphones? 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

In your experience had there been a headphone that you love and adore with everything or is it better to have a collection?

 

Is it better to upgrade or to have several sidegrade options?

There is a law of diminishing returns. Just buy the best headphone that has a peak of price/performance (around $400-600)
anything above is just luxury.

Or you can just say, "screw the world"
and buy yourself the sennheiser Orpheus, instead of a car.

I don't know about you guys...but those woodied grados look amazing....

You can try the HD600's...they have good punch with rock/metal and nice jazz performers. 

I assume you have a headphone amp already, right? 

A more neutral headphone would make it suitable for all genres.

Then the only problem left is the actual music production,mixing etc.... some albums won't sound as great as others but its not the headphones fault ...Although you could still prefer some companies sound signature over others.

With a $650 budget, FWIR, I suggest considering the AD900 with a PC connected source / amp. If considering the AD900 (or other headphones in this price range), I suggest finding out what equipment others are plugging it into for up to $400. 

The AD900s are a beautiful headphone if you're not into heavy bass. I have mine plugged into my higher end sound card and they sound great.

I believe the Audeze LCD-2 is what you are looking for... it no longer sounds like a headphone, and makes the HD800 sound just 'pretty good' For those who haven't heard it, it is a revealing experience as it sounds like real life more so than any other headphone I have tried. (including the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 T50p DT990, Sennheiser HD600-800, Audio Technica AD700-900, Shure SE535, JH 16 pro, Monster Gold, Radius DDM, ect.)

I'm actually quite surprised the audeze LCD-1's only cost $400 considering they are extremely limited in production numbers

Get several sidegrade cheaper mid-fi headphones that all polarize with each other. That way it keeps things interesting and you can do comparisons. Also, it is good to have isolating headphones of some sort. 

For $500 I got myself an Audinst HUD-mx1 DAC/ Amp and a pair of Sennheiser HD650s. As many will tell you, they're good for just about anything and respond well to future upgrades. If you don't like the HD650 for whatever reason, the HD600 could also be a viable option. (For the record, I got the Audinst off their website and the HD650s new from Thomann.de for $322 or so.)