[SaddleSC]

   
Or a HD650 that sounds like a Grado RS1

That would definitely work too! (It would be hard to give up the mahogany though)

 

[mcandmar]

That's true, plastic ear muffs are no where near as sexy.

 

[grizzlybeast]

  But the wallet screams no.. 

 
 
it rhymes 

lol
mine too though i kinda want one but just not that bad

 

[grizzlybeast]

  That would definitely work too! (It would be hard to give up the mahogany though)

how do grado's work with hip hop etc. That is one brand I have never tried.

 

[xkonfuzed]

  lol
mine too though i kinda want one but just not that bad

To be honest i don't think I'll ever buy a headphone above $300. I mean, in the end, its still a headphone. I doubt that i can notice a big difference between a sub $300 can and a $600+ one. 

 

[TwoEars]

  To be honest i don't think I'll ever buy a headphone above $300. I mean, in the end, its still a headphone. I doubt that i can notice a big difference between a sub $300 can and a $600+ one. 

 
You keep telling yourself that

 

[Claritas]

  To be honest i don't think I'll ever buy a headphone above $300. I mean, in the end, its still a headphone. I doubt that i can notice a big difference between a sub $300 can and a $600+ one. 

 
You'll notice a difference, but it's not necessarily a difference you'll prefer.

 

[grizzlybeast]

  To be honest i don't think I'll ever buy a headphone above $300. I mean, in the end, its still a headphone. I doubt that i can notice a big difference between a sub $300 can and a $600+ one. 

Well I can see notable differences in 300 - 999 dollar headphones I have heard and you get what you pay for to an extent but there are a couple of staples in mid-fi that make summit fi sound VERY overpriced. But again balance aside the double priced he-500 doesnt do twice as good as the he400. An lcd2 sounds great but 1000 dollars for it doesnt wow you. 
 
to quote tyll when he is reviewing the akg k812:
 
"AKG K812 Professional Reference Headphones ($1499)
In 2005 AKG introduced the K701 to much acclaim, and joined the Sennheiser HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 Ohm to form the triumvirate of world class dynamic headphones at the time. I prefer the HD600 with its warmer tone, but all three were, and remain, excellent headphones.
In 2009, Sennheiser introduced the HD 800 at $1500 and pushed the price and performance ceiling of dynamic headphones to a new high. In the years since, many new $1000+ headphone have entered the rarified air of ultra-high-end headphones, including: Beyerdynamic T1 ($1399); Audeze LCD2 ($1145), LCD-3 ($1945), and LCD-X ($1699); HiFiMAN HE6 ($1299); and a number of others.
The problem is, none of them are without flaw. To quote Head-Fi member Beagle from this thread:
 

I have not heard a +$1000 headphone that wasn't a waste of money in the long run. Or put another way, I haven't heard a +$1000 headphone that didn't have a sound that I could pretty much get for way under $1000.

Put another way, SanjiWatuski produced a document looking at measured performance of flagship cans and came to the conclusion the most don't cut the mustard, and headphones like the HiFiMAN HE-5 ($500) represent performance exceeding that of most $1000+ headphones. The title of his document: "The State of Flagships: An Under-engineered Mess"

 

[TwoEars]

If you want to hear what a $1000 headphone sounds like get the HE-500 and make sure you have an amp powerful enough to run it.
 
I got rid of my HE-500 since I prefer the soundstage, comfort and build quality of my current HD800.
 
But I would say that judging by sound quality alone the HE-500 is fantastic in its price range and deserves to be mentioned in the same sentance as the HD800 and LCD-2/3/X.

 

[grizzlybeast]

  If you want to hear what a $1000 headphone sounds like get the HE-500 and make sure you have an amp powerful enough to run it.
 
I got rid of my HE-500 since I prefer the soundstage, comfort and build quality of my current HD800.
 
But I would say that judging by sound quality alone the HE-500 is fantastic in its price range and deserves to be mentioned in the same sentance as the HD800 and LCD-2/3/X.

another ideal open headphone for me would be the he-500 with he400 bass and t90 soundstage.

 

[Claritas]

  to quote tyll when he is reviewing the akg k812:
 
"AKG K812 Professional Reference Headphones ($1499)
In 2005 AKG introduced the K701 to much acclaim, and joined the Sennheiser HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 Ohm to form the triumvirate of world class dynamic headphones at the time. I prefer the HD600 with its warmer tone, but all three were, and remain, excellent headphones.
In 2009, Sennheiser introduced the HD 800 at $1500 and pushed the price and performance ceiling of dynamic headphones to a new high. In the years since, many new $1000+ headphone have entered the rarified air of ultra-high-end headphones, including: Beyerdynamic T1 ($1399); Audeze LCD2 ($1145), LCD-3 ($1945), and LCD-X ($1699); HiFiMAN HE6 ($1299); and a number of others.
The problem is, none of them are without flaw.

 

Put another way, SanjiWatuski produced a document looking at measured performance of flagship cans and came to the conclusion the most don't cut the mustard, and headphones like the HiFiMAN HE-5 ($500) represent performance exceeding that of most $1000+ headphones. The title of his document: "The State of Flagships: An Under-engineered Mess"

 
But Tyll also wrote (in that review), "I have to report that while these cans delivered significantly better price/performance ratios, they just didn't have that certain something that the high-end cans have. Finnesse or PRaT, call it what you will, they sounded dull and boring in comparison. Oh, if only someone would build a flagship without serious flaw."
 
And Sanji never came clean about what he's actually listened to. He's doing it "by the numbers," except it isn't even numbers but some rubrics he concocted. I'll take him more seriously about this when he puts his ears where his mouth is.
 
My opinion: None of the flagships plays everything well. More than that, there is isn't a single genre or subgenre in which a mid-priced model doesn't tie or best the flagships.

 

[TwoEars]

My opinion: None of the flagships plays everything well. More than that, there is isn't a single genre or subgenre in which a mid-priced model doesn't tie or best the flagships.

 
Define "mid-priced".
 
If it's $500-600 I can agree up to a point since you can get the HE-500 for about that.
 
But if it's $200-300 I haven't heard anything in that price ranges that comes close to the HD800 or LCD-2/3/X.

 

[xkonfuzed]

Lol

What I meant was that the price jump isn't justifiable. For example, does the LCD-2 sound twice as better as an HD650?

And also, being greedy won't really get you anywhere. If you're satisfied with your current setup, then there's no need to upgrade.. this hobby is really addictive, you keep wanting more no matter how good your current setup is, and that's the problem. you have to stop somewhere. And that somewhere for me is mid-fi

IMO

 

[cjl]

   
Define "mid-priced".
 
If it's $500-600 I can agree up to a point since you can get the HE-500 for about that.
 
But if it's $200-300 I haven't heard anything in that price ranges that comes close to the HD800 or LCD-2/3/X.

I haven't heard the open backed LCDs (or the HD800), but I have to say (and I know this is probably not a common opinion here) I actually prefer the Denon D2000 to the LCD-XC. I can't completely put my finger on the reason, but something about the XC just didn't sound quite right to me. It's an excellent headphone, but definitely not worth the price in my opinion.
 
As for my ideal headphone? Honestly, the Denon AH-Dx000 series comes pretty close. Maybe something like them, but with a bit better midrange...

 

[TwoEars]

Lol

What I meant was that the price jump isn't justifiable. For example, does the LCD-2 sound twice as better as an HD650?

And also, being greedy won't really get you anywhere. If you're satisfied with your current setup, then there's no need to upgrade.. this hobby is really addictive, you keep wanting more no matter how good your current setup is, and that's the problem. you have to stop somewhere. And that somewhere for me is mid-fi

IMO

 
No it is not.

 
At least not IMHO.
 

  I haven't heard the open backed LCDs (or the HD800), but I have to say (and I know this is probably not a common opinion here) I actually prefer the Denon D2000 to the LCD-XC. I can't completely put my finger on the reason, but something about the XC just didn't sound quite right to me. It's an excellent headphone, but definitely not worth the price in my opinion.
 
As for my ideal headphone? Honestly, the Denon AH-Dx000 series comes pretty close. Maybe something like them, but with a bit better midrange...

 
Personal taste does play a large part. I honestly don't care much for the LCD-2/3 either. I don't like the soundstage since I find it too cramped, but that's a personal preference of mine and I can see why people like them.
 
I haven't heard the X or XC myself yet. I'm intrigued by the X since it's supposed to be the most open and airy sounding of all the audeze headphones so far.