Summit-Fi headphones?

Originally Posted by HiFiGuy528 

I was under the impression that Summit-Fi should be $1K and over.

Originally Posted by HiFiGuy528 

Aside from Stax, HD800, T1, & Audeze LCDx what else are on the market if you own those already?

Originally Posted by HiFiGuy528 

I was under the impression that Summit-Fi should be $1K and over.

Originally Posted by obobskivich 


In addition to the already mentioned HiFiMan and Sennheisers (I'd add the HD 580 to that list too), you could also add:
Koss ESP/950
Grado RS-1, GS-1000, and PS-1000 (you could probably make a case for PS-500 as well)
Denon AH-D7000 and D7100 (and probably D5000), and their Lawton Audio cousins
Ultrasone Signature and Edition line-ups; the PRO2500 and PRO2900 get mentioned sometimes in here as well
Audio-Technica ATH-W series (all 11 of them), and the higher end ART and AIR monitors (A1000X/2000X, AD1000/2000 and so on)
Jecklin/Ergo Float headphones
Beyerdynamic T5p and potentially T70
JVC HP-DX1000 and HP-DX700
Shure SRH-1840
Fostex TH-900
probably some others I'm forgetting plus all of the "mod phones" like the Mad Dogs, Paradox, various Headphile creations, Magnums, stuff that people cook up at home, the HE Audio Jade, etc
There's also a bunch of top-end IEMs from Jerry Harvey, Westone, Ultimate Ears, etc that should be considered as well - but I don't know much about IEMs (I'm thinking of stuff like the JH16 and K3003 though).
And then when you get into recent production or long-time crowd pleasers, you'd want to add:
Sony MDR-CD3000 and R10, SA5000, and the Qualia
AKG K1000
The older ATH-W series from above with special preference on the L3000 and W2002
Older STAX and Koss ESP (like the original Omega for example)
The Yamaha Orthodynamic and older Isodynamic and Electret headphones in general (including the Sony 'stats)
Joe Grado models and the Grado PS-1 (these are quasi-modern production, since Joe Grado is still doing tune-ups and upgrades)
etc
There's also probably at least some argument that can be made for "oddling" headphones like the DT48 or CD900ST being mentioned as well, but I don't know if this would be agreed upon universally. Performance vs rarity/exoticness is certainly something to consider.
Not explicitly. Price is kind of an inaccurate gauge. Especially today when we've got all sorts of over-priced junk (I can think of at least three items on my list above that are likely to be contested as such). Basically I equate Summit-Fi with "exotic" - British touring saloon style if you will. That means wood, leather, precious metals, exotic motors, serialization, hand-built, etc. But that doesn't always mean Rolls-Royce. I think something like the ATH-ESW9 or ATH-ESW10 could be fit into that category loosely, but so can something like the MDR-R10 or HP-DX1000. It doesn't have to be massively expensive is the point. And sound quality doesn't always have to be "improved" (because honestly once you break the diminishing returns bar, you really don't get "better" you just get "different" and while I've said this bar exists at something like $600 in the past, honestly I think it's probably lower than that, if you throw out all of the celebrifone/bass-bazooka crap that has flooded the market recently - I mean look at something like the ATH-M50 or HD280Pro; are they perfect? no. But is the HD 650 five times better? not really. It's better, but it's more different and ergonomically/aesthetically refined than anything else - it's exotic. If you're a car guy, this is like the difference between a Caterham and a McLaren - both will absolutely leave rubber and get out there and race bikes, but there's additional factors that contribute to the McLaren costing as much as a house, and the Caterham costing less than an upscale family sedan).
Really there's a ton of options out there, and this "narrowing pyramid" that puts T1 and HD800 as the only possible "top of the line" options is really doing a huge dis-service to, well, basically everyone. Because it completely ignores the huge range of options that you have once you get into exotic headphones and assumes that as you improve you also want less options. It's just like exotic cars - sure, most teenagers know about Ferrari and Lamborghini, but there are literally so many other options out there, many of them better for an individual's tastes or budget or whatever else than *just* Ferrari or Lamborghini.