Guidance selecting higher end open back fullsize headphones sought.

[rchiwawa]

Greets to all and happy new year.
 
 
 
 
From time to time, I think it'd be nice to have some open back over ear headphones.  Normally, its quite quiet when I am sitting down to listen anyway so isolation is not a concern. Heat and related discomfort which is why I have initially pegged and open back as the way I want to go.  I am a big fan of the Shure sound.  I went through about a dozen and a half IEMs before I settled on SE535 and SE846 as my setup.
 
Initially, I looked at the Shure SRH 1840, since the word is they have the company signature sound but I am not convinced they would be the best fit for me because i have pretty consistently read that the 1840's bass detail, particularly when listening at louder levels. So I started looking at other manufactures and I have found myself lost.
 
Essentially, I would prefer to not spend Sennheiser HD800 money if avoidable for the detail and cohesion of my beloved SE846 iems.  I have several speakers with ring radiator tweeters and am a HUGE fan of their sound in that application and well worth their trade-off.  In headphones, I am pretty sure they'd be phenomenal without their loudspeaker drawbacks and that has me really, really interested in the HD800.
 
What i really want is an excellent sound stage, clean and obvious instrument separation, very close to neutral presentation across the board and consistency out quality at the level I typically listen (somewhere between whisper and normal conversation at 5 feet), at loud enough to induce hearing loss in minutes or anywhere in between.
 
The equipment I use for jacking in headphones  is listed below:
 
Denon DA-300USB DAC/headphone amp
Emmeline/ Ray Samuels HR-2 headphone amp (never really had cause to plug it in, took it in on a trade)
Yamaha C-80 preamp
Pioneer XDP-100r DAP
HTC One M8
 
I would love just a few suggestions kicked out about what to look at.  What I have found myself looking at, shortlist-wise is as follows:
 
Grado RS 1e and RS 2e
Sennheiser HD 800
Shure SRH1840
 
I really tried to not make this a TL;DR affair but also to not leave out pertinent detail.  I pride myself on being able to sort this stuff out myself but I'd like to leverage the muscle of the internet forum to leave no can unconsidered and to save myself some time.  Thanks in advance.

 

[Music Alchemist]

The HD 800 meets your requirements. I would suggest using a parametric equalizer to make it even more neutral.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587703/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial-part-2
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress
 
If you want to avoid spending that much, I like the STAX SR-207 more in terms of transparency, and it's slightly more neutral than the HD 800 too, though it lacks some of its "technicalities" and is not as comfortable.
 
Since you seem to just be starting out with open-back headphones, here are some resources to read through to get a better idea of what's out there. There are so many options!
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-full-size-open
http://www.head-fi.org/a/head-fi-buying-guide-ultra-high-end-headphones-summit-fi
http://www.head-fi.org/a/head-fi-buying-guide-over-ear-headphones
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared
 
You may also want to change your thread title, because...the "highest-end" (as in most expensive) open-back full-size headphone system (Sennheiser Orpheus HE 1060 headphones + HEV 1060 amp/DAC) costs ~$55,000.

 

[rchiwawa]

I really intended to put "higher" not "highest".  Thanks for the catch and the reading... just the kind of post I was hoping for.

 

[joseph69]

  I really intended to put "higher" not "highest".  Thanks for the catch and the reading... just the kind of post I was hoping for.

It does sound like the HD-800 fits your requirements, but it is picky with amplification, so keep this in mind. The RS1e (unfortunately) is not a big hit at all among Grado listeners. The RS2e is a huge hit with Grado listeners as well as the[size=x-small] Grado GH-1 "Limited Edition" with Grado (G) cushions which will make them over-ear and give you a nice [/size]spun-stage.[size=x-small] The GH-1 come "stock" with (L) cushions which are on-ear. The GH-1 are a beautiful sounding headphone which may interest your requirements at less than half the price of the HD-800. Hope this helps.[/size]

 

[rchiwawa]

  It does sound like the HD-800 fits your requirements, but it is picky with amplification, so keep this in mind. The RS1e (unfortunately) is not a big hit at all among Grado listeners. The RS2e is a huge hit with Grado listeners as well as the[size=x-small] Grado GH-1 "Limited Edition" with Grado (G) cushions which will make them over-ear and give you a nice [/size]spun-stage.[size=x-small] The GH-1 come "stock" with (L) cushions which are on-ear. The GH-1 are a beautiful sounding headphone which may interest your requirements at less than half the price of the HD-800. Hope this helps.[/size]

I want to throw out that I realize that I may need to upgrade the amplification end of my setup in order to get the right results and courtesy of the link provided earlier, I now find myself salivating at the thought of the Schiit Yggdrasil and hell, why not pick up a serious amp while I am at it too?  Damned rabbit hole.  The GH-1 looks sexy, much like the rest of the Grados but I have never heard one of their products...  I might have to pick up some amazon open stock and look into Grado's direct buy return policy... but not tonight.  Thanks for the pointer.  My googlin' hadn't yielded the GH-1 and If I can get something really worth all of the charged price, $700 give or take is where I'd rather be.  I have a vision of my ordering up a set of HD800S or HD800 and going in 5x-10x more than I was initially picturing when the dust settles

 

[joseph69]

 
I want to throw out that I realize that I may need to upgrade the amplification end of my setup in order to get the right results and courtesy of the link provided earlier, I now find myself salivating at the thought of the Schiit Yggdrasil and hell, why not pick up a serious amp while I am at it too?  Damned rabbit hole.  The GH-1 looks sexy, much like the rest of the Grados but I have never heard one of their products...  I might have to pick up some amazon open stock and look into Grado's direct buy return policy... but not tonight.  Thanks for the pointer.  My googlin' hadn't yielded the GH-1 and If I can get something really worth all of the charged price, $700 give or take is where I'd rather be.  I have a vision of my ordering up a set of HD800S or HD800 and going in 5x-10x more than I was initially picturing when the dust settles

Good luck and enjoy whatever you decide on.