[Sekka]

I would like a neutral signature or slightly u-shaped, and I'm willing to do a bit of EQ. Primary use is for music, mostly metal genre, but some gaming as well so a good soundstage and imaging is a plus. Comfort is very important as I will be wearing them many hours at a time, I have a large head.

Headphones I have used are
AKG K550 (Treble is boring, not much detail, soundstage is good but imaging is mediocre, headband becomes irritating on my head after an hour or so)
SoundMagic HP100 (Too bright, not very comfortable, very fragile)

Amp & Dac are Schiit Magni and Modi, so I am looking for something that can be driven well by that combo.

I'm not trying to save money, I want to get the best pair of headphones I can for my budget. I can stretch my budget to $600 max if it's really worth it.

 

[Monsterzero]

Try asking in the metal thread.

 

[Rhamnetin]

My vote goes toward a used ZMF Blackwood (or a used ZMF Ori but that's less likely to fall into the price range). I'm sure you'll find some in like new condition, and the sound quality improvement it has over other models in the price range is worth it. Great for metal compared to other options, since they don't do anything wrong in any frequency range (this is extremely rare even for $2000+ headphones), have super deep bass with tons of impact (more bass impact than the vast majority of headphones), and treble is a nice balance of not being fatiguing nor is it laid back which would be no good for metal.

The Blackwood also has adjustable sound via bass ports that can be plugged.

 

[d34dj3d1]

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD380 Pros and they're awesome.