[433115]

I know this is totally way out-there and that very very few people have probably listened to all of these super-saiyan-god tier headphones, and I doubt anyone aside from maybe one or two quite rich audiophile maniacs would own them all, but I can't help but to be curious as to if any of these is truly "The One" right now and what people have to say about them.
 
I was going to put the HD800, Mr Speakers Ether, and AKG K812 in this list as well, but I'm figuring those are probably a tier below this level.
 
Anyway, I may or may not actually be able to afford something huge like this sometime in the near future due to circumstances. I'm just curious as to which would really be the choice for most applications.
 
Assuming all would be paired the the best possible amplifier and dac for that given headphone and played from the best source possible.
 
 
 
Again, this is mostly out of curiosity and for future reference. But I suppose a big problem with asking about the future is that in the future new and even better headphones will eventually be released. Still, I can't help but to want to ask.
 
But I figured this may at least spark an interesting discussion 

 
On the flip side, hope this isn't just a great way to open a can of worms.
 
Thanks!

 

[dcpoor]

  I know this is totally way out-there and that very very few people have probably listened to all of these super-saiyan-god tier headphones, and I doubt anyone aside from maybe one or two quite rich audiophile maniacs would own them all, but I can't help but to be curious as to if any of these is truly "The One" right now and what people have to say about them.
 
I was going to put the HD800, Mr Speakers Ether, and AKG K812 in this list as well, but I'm figuring those are probably a tier below this level.
 
Anyway, I may or may not actually be able to afford something huge like this sometime in the near future due to circumstances. I'm just curious as to which would really be the choice for most applications.
 
Assuming all would be paired the the best possible amplifier and dac for that given headphone and played from the best source possible.
 
 
 
Again, this is mostly out of curiosity and for future reference. But I suppose a big problem with asking about the future is that in the future new and even better headphones will eventually be released. Still, I can't help but to want to ask.
 
But I figured this may at least spark an interesting discussion 

 
On the flip side, hope this isn't just a great way to open a can of worms.
 
Thanks!

one random fellow's take
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-sound-2015-finale-headphones#PuYc0JFSK4sI3V0v.97
 

 super-saiyan-god tier headphones

really? *insert facepalm*

 

[433115]

 
one random fellow's take
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/big-sound-2015-finale-headphones#PuYc0JFSK4sI3V0v.97
 
really? *insert facepalm*

 
Oh dear me, he did that recently it seems, I didn't know that.
 
 
Hey, kind of a geek / nerd / dweeb, I don't know any better.

 

[433115]

Dear me, I didn't expect this really. The most expensive gets crushed and one of the very less expensive coming out on top?
 
Hmm...
 
Hey, does anyone sell pre-modified HD800s by chance? I mean... I certainly don't have the confidence to go doing it myself.
 
As for unmodified headphones I suppose the Ether would be a good choice.
 
 
Of course, all subjective and all. I know Tyll has his own preferences. I've heard metal lovers are crazy for the Abyss. But in that case it comes off as a highly specialized headphone then, a master of a limited set of genres but not the jack of all trades most people want.
 
Makes me as a consumer feel good though. $5k is just crazy ridiculous, $1.5k is already pretty much impossible to justify to anyone I know. Hell, even $400 for a headphone is "What" to anyone I know. But that aside the HD800 or Ether is far more realistic than the rest in terms of price.

 

[dcpoor]

Interesting times as the HD800S was just announced/unveiled.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/785577/
 
Will be interesting to see it's pricing and whether the current HD800's price will be affected

 

[Mihalis]

The Abyss I think beats the LCD 4. I find its soundstage more natural as it is more spread out. The LCD 4 probably has the upper hand in transparency and dynamics. Also it's low end is more noticeable (not for bad reasons) although on A-B basis hard to tell.

The Stax are a dream in micro dynamics and I personally like their overall presentation more but that is a bigger question of electrostatics vs non, and also of amps used.

If you are thinking of buying listen to them because they are quite different sounding and none of them obviously completely realistic.