[Levanter]

@Levanter @DenverW @Bhk1004 @HBen @PointyFox
You all mentioned or praised the ZMF headphones. I'm giving the Auteur, Eikon, and even Verite some serious consideration. The are made in the USA and look to be highly durable, which I appreciate. I don't need them to be so aesthetically pleasing, but wow, it goes without saying - they are gorgeous! I enjoyed the description of the Auteur, being made neutral and ready for tweaking. I personally like to play with EQ while I listen. I will post back here when I do finally pick a pair, even if it's not ZMF. Either way, thank you so much for the recommendations!

Glad you’re considering the ZMFs. The Auteur compared to the the rest of their lineup (excluding the Verites) are the better all rounder if you listen to a wide variety of genre. They are relatively neutral with some warmth that retains their musicality. My only gripe is the weight.
If you are looking for the best value - performance with good build quality, I would say the HD6XX/600 and ATH-R70x is right up there.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

^^^ you obviously looking for a fight & I'm game..It's clear you have drank the kool aid.HOW MANY minor upgrades have EVERY one of your so called TOTL's undergone in the last 3 years???So your saying ALL these upgrades mean nothing & the 3 year old model sounds exactly the same as a current version.TOTL being better is an illusion created by high $ manufacturers & your sub conscience mind to justify throwing $ away to prove you can afford "the best".
For the record,the iBasso SR-1,with the PT-1 pads could challenge ANY TOTL in a double blind,level matched listening contest but then you $ for sound zelotts WON'T take a challenge like that,instead believing in your golden ears...

Interesting confidence you have there. I've listened to a lot of headphones and I have never heard a headphone $500 and under that comes anywhere close to good headphones over $2000. The best headphones I know under $500 are HD600, HD650 and Sundara and none of them are in the same universe as a Hifiman HE1000SE.

Giving you the benefit of the doubt, I looked up the iBasso SR1. You have got to be kidding me? You think that sounds good? If anything, you win the tin ear of the year award. There are no pads on earth that can fix that horrible frequency response curve. It has no treble, no bass and wonky midrange.

https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/ibasso-sr1/

I just looked up Crinacle's ranking of your headphones of choice. He gave it a D+ rating. You actually have to try to be that bad. I don't think many serious audiophiles are going to follow you on twitter unless it's the comedy channel.

 

[HBen]

^^^ you obviously looking for a fight & I'm game..It's clear you have drank the kool aid.HOW MANY minor upgrades have EVERY one of your so called TOTL's undergone in the last 3 years???So your saying ALL these upgrades mean nothing & the 3 year old model sounds exactly the same as a current version.TOTL being better is an illusion created by high $ manufacturers & your sub conscience mind to justify throwing $ away to prove you can afford "the best".
For the record,the iBasso SR-1,with the PT-1 pads could challenge ANY TOTL in a double blind,level matched listening contest but then you $ for sound zelotts WON'T take a challenge like that,instead believing in your golden ears...

Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to fight - merely to challange you to back up your claim with some additional information. I am genuinely interested in your answer and if you find the iBasso SR-1 the best headphone in the world that's totally fine and I'm curious to try them myself - even though I see the chances of me prefering them over my currently prefered headphones on the smaller side. Also I'd gladly anytime accept any double blind challenge
Everyone is entiteled to his opinion - you, me and everyone else here. Great to hear you found your endgame and that even at relatively low price. Isn't that what we're all hunting for?
Unfortunately I had to find out that the iBasso SR-1 is a limited edition (500 pieces worldwide) headphone and on every homepage I checked they were sold out which makes this recommendation not only rather pointless for me but also for the OP of this thread. If you have knowledge of any (legitimate) place to buy them please let us know since I must admit you made me curious

Considering your claims I don't quite understand your point I have to admit:
If I have a TOTL headphone at home which is over 3 years old and compare it with some new 500$ headphones, why does it matter if those TOTL headphones had some minor (hidden) upgrades in the meantime? Because my headphones, which were in my home for over 3 years obviouly didn't get any upgrades and that's what I compare the new headphones against.

 

[HBen]

@Levanter @DenverW @Bhk1004 @HBen @PointyFox
You all mentioned or praised the ZMF headphones. I'm giving the Auteur, Eikon, and even Verite some serious consideration. The are made in the USA and look to be highly durable, which I appreciate. I don't need them to be so aesthetically pleasing, but wow, it goes without saying - they are gorgeous! I enjoyed the description of the Auteur, being made neutral and ready for tweaking. I personally like to play with EQ while I listen. I will post back here when I do finally pick a pair, even if it's not ZMF. Either way, thank you so much for the recommendations!

Make sure to try them before buying. If you can adjust to the weight they are definitely not a bad choice.
All the best on your headphone journey and lots of fun listening Looking forward to hearing what you choice was

 

[buke9]

^^^ you obviously looking for a fight & I'm game..It's clear you have drank the kool aid.HOW MANY minor upgrades have EVERY one of your so called TOTL's undergone in the last 3 years???So your saying ALL these upgrades mean nothing & the 3 year old model sounds exactly the same as a current version.TOTL being better is an illusion created by high $ manufacturers & your sub conscience mind to justify throwing $ away to prove you can afford "the best".
For the record,the iBasso SR-1,with the PT-1 pads could challenge ANY TOTL in a double blind,level matched listening contest but then you $ for sound zelotts WON'T take a challenge like that,instead believing in your golden ears...

Heard the SR-1’s and have to say wasn’t really impressed but it was at a CanJam so very noisy on the floor and not sure what pads so I don’t know but for the Double blind test there is no way in the world that I can’t tell the feel of the AB-1266’s , HD-800’s, ZMF Verites and AKG K 872’s and probably HiFiMans so might not work well for me.
With that said and only a short listen I doubt seriously that they are going to sound better than say a pair of SR-009’s,Focal Utopia’s or AB-1266’s as they are so distinct in the sound that I’m sure I could tell them apart and definitely by the weight and feel.