You're asking a really great question here. I remember when I first started looking into "hi-fi headphones" and "audiophile" gear, there was a lot to learn. I had no idea what soundstage was, what separation was. But I quickly learned things like "big soundstage good, small soundstage bad" and "instrument separation good, less separation bad". Like it or not, there is a lot of culture involved in what hi-fi is supposed to be (and a big ass pile of M.F. snake oil).
For anyone lost in the quagmire, repeat after me; it's okay to prefer closed back headphones. Open back headphones aren't automatically superior. It's okay to enjoy a bit more of an intimate sound. Meticulous separation of every instrument does not automatically make for an enjoyable listening experience. It's okay to want a bit of bass emphasis. A neutral sound isn't automatically the be all and end all. What you hear is a billion times more important than any graph.
Trust your ears. Something doesn't have to be "technically hi-fi" to be the best listening experience you've ever had. And what's better than the headphones you enjoy more than any others? Nothing. Get out of your head (no pun intended). Enjoy the music.
That reminds me of a Joshua Valour video I was watching recently.
He was doing a comparison between the Grado SR-80e and the GS-2000e, and he came to the conclusion that the SR-80e is the better of the two.
Not merely a better value or better per dollar, but better, period. Better in absolute terms. He concluded that a $100 headphone sounds better than a $1400 headphone from the same company. And Joshua Valour isn’t exactly a novice. He knows his stuff. He’s incredibly knowledgeable and experienced in the headphone world.
My point is that getting back to my lengthy post from a few pages ago, the entire concept of “a $550 headphone” is meaningless. What does a $550 headphone sound like? What does a $1400 headphone sound like? How many $550 or even $1400 headphones actually sound better than a $200 560S or 6XX?
Not many.
The relationship between price and sound quality completely breaks down once you pass the $150-$200 mark. There are great sounding expensive headphones, there are mediocre sounding expensive headphones, and there are awful sounding expensive headphones.
The price-performance relationship becomes a dart board at a certain point. That’s why so much of what’s discussed on this board and in this community isn’t about actual audio fidelity, but about personal taste as well as the artistic and artisan nature of some of these non-mainstream brands.
That’s why this is a hobby and not a science. We headphone lovers have more in common with Star Wars geeks than with physicists. We’re engaging in hobby. It’s a passion. It’s about materials and designs and customization and socializing within the community - just as much as it’s about sound quality.
This is like Scotch tasting. You can buy a $3000 bottle and enjoy the story behind its creation, the aging the barrels, and the history of the distillery, but at the end of the day, a nice $100 bottle will taste just as good.