[MikeW]

so those of you who have claimed 400$ to be the point of diminishing returns, how many of you have actually heard a 700$ phone, or 1000$ phone? Have you simply stopped at 400$ and decided that was good enough?
 
I've never heard anything better then a Denon D2k, and i also owned Beyer DT880's. But i don't claim that there's diminishing improvement beyond those, cause I have never heard anything better.

 

[TMRaven]

I've heard the HD800s, but that's the extent of my super expensive headphone experience.  The benefits are minimal.  I much rather spend that 1000 bucks on a pair of tower speakers or 2 bookshelves and subwoofer.  

 

[nicholars]

I think after about HD650 price level that it is a bit mental paying much more, unless you have laods of money I suppose...
 
Probably the LCD2 etc. are better but worth £1000? Hmmm I am not sure

 

[Kernmac]

[size=medium]Diminishing returns isn’t something that starts at a certain number (dollar figure) it is a constant, albeit with headphones a constant that is affected by variables; primarily preference to certain sound signatures.  That is to say that obviously not all $200 or $400 dollar headphones sound similar to each other, nor do they even preform at the same sound quality level.  Closed versus open, efficient and non-efficient, bass focused, treble centric, the variables are many.[/size]
 
[size=medium]Considering diminishing returns, as a generalisation, the difference between $1000 headphones and $300 headphones (keeping in mind sound signature variables) isn’t considerable.  Is it worth it?  That is the subjective question that each person has to make.  The answer to that question is also based around many variables, not the least of which is disposable income.  To a 16 year old that is still at school, $1000 dollars is a fair chunk of money, to a person struggling to pay their rent or mortgage it is or should be, prohibitive.  To a person that has a steady job, is in control of their house payments, and has a $40,000 car etc. then $1000 isn’t a big deal (probably owns a $2000-$3000 plasma/LED TV).[/size]
 
[size=medium]Regarding the speaker/headphone comparison, they are chalk and cheese.  That is like saying that once a motorbike gets to $20,000 you might as well buy a car; they are simply different rides.[/size]
 
[size=medium]Diminishing returns applies to almost everything in life, from food, to fashion, electronics, weddings, holidays and especially hobbies and past times-there is no one answer to the question-“How much is too much to pay for headphones.”  It is very subjective.[/size]

 

[nicholars]

Tbh if I had loads of money like £100,000's I would buy all the flagship headphones and an uber high end dac / amp....

 

[driver 8]

@OP: splurge on those HD25's you were talking about earlier, if you can.  They're worth it for the durability and versatility they offer, or even better, the DT1350's, but you'd probably be fine with the Senns.
 
Personally, I can justify these purchases by how often I actually wear headphones (all the time).  For that same reason I also have a Tempurpedic and wear Red Wing shoes, but yeah... If your friends want to call you dumb just try and make them aware of how often they're using the things and how often they probably end up rebuying them when the left ear dies.  There's nothing wrong with wanting quality out of the things you use constantly. 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I would never spend that much money even if I could afford it because I know there's not one headphone past $500 mark with the bass quantity that sounds "neutral" to my ears, 8~10dB boost.
 
Since I'm an EQ maniac I'd for sure buy a nice hardware EQ if I'd have lots of money on me though.

 

[gsilver]

Dollar for dollar, the point of diminishing return is well under $100. I've got a number of headphones, ranging from the M-50 to the LCD-2, and while the improvement between the two is IMO, huge, the price difference is also around 10x. If you compared the M50 to one that costs a tenth of its price, the difference in quality is vastly greater than between the M50 and the LCD2.

As for how much is too much, the answer is basically "income level". Those with more disposable income naturally have more to spend on non-necessities. The LCD-2 is likely the fanciest headphones that I'll ever buy, and there isn't anything more I really want out of a headphone (while the shortcomings of the others, even nice ones, are more pronounced), but I'm aware that better phones exist. If I earned twice as much, I might think differently. By contast, if I earned half as much as I do now, the M-50 would serve me well as a primary headphone (as it is, they're my office headphones).

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 Income level is a factor but I'd suggest it comes down to personal priorities in this hobby.
 
 I know of some blokes driving around in a $5000 Toyota Corolla, paying rent somewhere but they own a $10,000 Luxman amp
 and a set of $8,000 floor-standing speakers.

 

[davidgotsa]

Exactly, my brother earns around $20 000 a month but he would never spend more than $100 on headphones because he simply doesn't care. On the other hand, I'm still a student and have spent around $1000 on audio equipment. 
 
Quote:

 
 Income level is a factor but I'd suggest it comes down to personal priorities in this hobby.
 
 I know of some blokes driving around in a $5000 Toyota Corolla, paying rent somewhere but they own a $10,000 Luxman amp
 and a set of $8,000 floor-standing speakers.

 

 

[DavidMahler]

whatever brings you the most joy without sacrificing your responsibilities is just the right amount

 

[driver 8]

Quote:

I would never spend that much money even if I could afford it because I know there's not one headphone past $500 mark with the bass quantity that sounds "neutral" to my ears, 8~10dB boost.
 
Since I'm an EQ maniac I'd for sure buy a nice hardware EQ if I'd have lots of money on me though.

HE-500's?

 

[Magick Man]

HE-500's?

From what I understand the HD800s EQ like no other, looks like that would be a great "clean slate" to start with. Funds permitting, of course.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

so those of you who have claimed 400$ to be the point of diminishing returns, how many of you have actually heard a 700$ phone, or 1000$ phone? Have you simply stopped at 400$ and decided that was good enough?
 
I've never heard anything better then a Denon D2k, and i also owned Beyer DT880's. But i don't claim that there's diminishing improvement beyond those, cause I have never heard anything better.

Yes--for example I have heard near the best--in virtually all things sound--from a few of friends, including one who was a classical music DJ.  Everything about those systems, including special wooden disks that are spread around the room to enhance/improve the sound was great and often amazing.
 
The problem is not just the relatively small improvements at the high(est) end.  It's also that I would have to upgrade and/or add to my sound system(s) to achieve and fully implement that relatively small difference.  Unless I hit MegaBucks (or the like) at a casino, that just doesn't make financial sense and fit the budget.
 

 

[gilency]

How much money do you have?
Not much different than buying a car: a Kia is expensive if you make 30K a year; a Ferrari is cheap if you make 1 million.