So on the one hand, I take mild offense at your tone. When I used the word 'biggest' I said they were the biggest I had laid hands on - didn't say they were the biggest in the world. And while I did describe them as perfect, I didn't say they were the best. Most of all though, these were quick impressions, hurriedly written down at the end of the day in an effort to give people an idea of what was there and how I felt about what I heard. This was not a review.
On the other hand, you're absolutely right about the need for comparison - it's what I always look for in a review (which this wasn't, but....). Haven't heard the Stax or the Orpheus. Only heard the 800 once when demoing some Chord gear last year, and that was in a very noisy space so I would not claim to be able to judge them, let alone anything compared to them. My closest reference points would be the LCD 3 (a very distant memory) and the HiFiman Ananda (very different class of headphone) - not very close at all to what you're requesting, but that's where I'm at.
I demoed the LCD 3 a few years back, being driven by a decent amp full size amp fed from a similar sized player/DAC. To be 100% upfront, I had not yet gravitated completely to my current reference leanings, but still...I was not impressed. There was nothing wrong with them, obviously, but they did not stand out to me in any way. I couldn't level a criticism at them, but I also couldn't sing their praises. Would I feel differently if I heard them today? Maybe. The HEDDphone, by comparison and with the previous caveats, immediately sounded like a crisp and accurate reproduction of the recording (thankfully HEDD had a VERY wide range of songs to choose from, and I listened to Beck's Paper Tiger, with which I am very familiar - more on that below). Bass had impact and texture, highs were detailed without being sharp or sibilant. And in a very un-scientific description, they had something which just clicked with me.
Compared to the Ananda (which is ridiculous really, but here we are)....the HEDDphone reveal the coloration in the Ananda's presentation due to their linearity. Presentation is more spacious but I think in some ways it had less depth than Hifiman's cans. I would have to have a serious listen and possibly AB to really confirm (I listened for about two minutes). Much higher resolution (source was an iPad to Dragonfly (red I think) and then into Questyle amp) compared to Ananda's driven by M11 - is that fair to compare? Not sure, but didn't have the option to line up the gear and AB. Much more precise (which is the same thing really). But at the same time, when I say "much more" it's not really much. It's just a definable difference which is more than very slight - and very slight is often what we deal with when we compare upper bracket gear. Did they ruin the Ananda's for me? No, not at all, I was still enraptured when I listened to my cans later on at home.
More than this, I could not say at this point (which is why I didn't say it originally). I listened briefly and was beyond impressed. I didn't compare in my head, I simply experienced them and loved them immediately. As did my wife. My friend, however, found they did nothing for him at all (like me with the LCD 3).
With your knowledge and experience, it would be great to have your take on these headphones - if you ever get a chance to demo them please either PM me with your opinion or PM me with a link to your posted opinion in here. No snide or sarcasm here, I'll be taking an active interest in these cans from now on (though they are priced out of my comfort zone currently!)
