[arielext]

Sennheiser HD800S; best.thing.ever
Beyerdynamic T5p: closed back magic machine

I have had loads of headphones and sold almost all of them (including the HE60/HEV70!) but these are my keepers.

 

[talmadge]

Sony MDR-Z1R

 

[Lurk650]

Amiron Home and 99 Classics

 

[rodel808]

Sennheiser HD 540 Gold and 560 Ovation II (love the tonality of these)
Grado PS500e (easy to drive and fun)
Sony CD870 (comfort can't be beat)
ATH-M50 (the one that introduced me to this rabbit hole and built like a tank)

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

1) Phillips Fidelio L2...it's an underappreciated gem. Insanely easy to drive, Very well built and designed ....and in terms of sound it does nothing wrong (it doesn't have a very wide soundstage, so it's not perfect by any means) but it does almost everything right. bass, treble mids, no complaints. It looks great, feels luxurious, sounds lovely, fits comfortably (even with glasses)...
I paid $100 for them, a bargain.... and I have yet to see another headphone that is better for the same money. For me to think about getting rid of the Fidelio, I'd have to find another headphone for $100 that does everything they are capable of, and is significantly better than them, and I just don't see that happening.
2) Sony MDR7506...I have modified these to make them a nearly perfect (for me) portable headphone. (mods include: removable cable, a nice three button remote that works really well (sourced from a set of One More on ears) Fidelio L2 earpads (perfect snug fit, clarified/deepened bass) driver bass port mod.) They fit perfectly (snug, secure but comfortable) they sound amazing, their reputation for durability is well learned and they are imminently serviceable ( I have every confidence that if anything ever goes wrong with them, it's fixable) and they have a cool industrial/hipster look. For a closed/compact portable they sound amazing...I mean, I can listen to hip hop on these, rock an roll...rocks.... and I can watch a movie with them...they aren't audiophile, but they do it all...these are my bomb shelter headphones, these things will last a lifetime and never let you down...
plus, what could i get for them, sixty bucks, tops? My life is never so bad that I NEED $60.

EDIT...I meant to say, of ALL the headphones I have the L2 is the one that if I had to just own one headphone, it's my One.

 

[Mhog55]

Never say never. I'm pretty sure I could replace each, if I find something I like better. I've replaced a few thinking that the one that got replaced was a forever keeper. That being said, I'd have a hard time replacing my HD 58X, Beoplay H6, and Hifiman Edition S. I know their are better, but I haven't spent over 200 dollars on any as of yet.

 

[muffins]

Personally I kind of collect headphones in addition to using them as listening devices, and I only have one pair that I would even think of getting rid of because I dislike them. That being said, I have a few standouts ~

Audeze LCD-2.2 -
I ADORE these headphones, and I have no intention of selling them. Both the craftsmanship and sound, as well as the kindly gentleman at Audeze that still sold them to me during that mess of a black friday sale a couple years ago make them very special to me.

Sennheiser HD600 -
At this moment in time I think this is the perfect headphone. Comfortable, durable, darn near perfect timbre, and perhaps the first headphone that I can say I listen to for my music instead of music I listen to for my headphones. Everything sounds good on them. They won't be leaving me.

 

[chimney189]

I'll go ahead and say that the Sennheiser 6XX won't be going.
I still believe that it can hang with mid-tier headphones without breaking a sweat, even though it's priced as a low-tier headphone.

I even played MGS: V -- Phantom Pain with them on last night and they did just fine. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.

I'd also like to add that I'll probably never get rid of the Atlas .. it's an amazing IEM, even though I think it's used price is still too much. I think it'd be an unbeatable IEM at $700 MSRP.

 

[arjubx]

It been a while I am watching the trade/sale category and it is hard to find a DT1990. The DT1990 pre-owned price is also extremely solid, close to its brand new price. On the other hand, you have headphones that are more often available for sale, some of them for half their brand new value. I started to understand the meaning of this. Headphones that are regarded as masterpieces or flagships such as HD800 or T1 have inferior resell value and are available like cakes.

The HD800 has been around 10 years and I think the T1 are similar. The HD800 is easy to find $1000 new now. Also the popularity of the HD800 for expensive headphones combined with the long production run drives prices down. Higher end gear in general loses more value. Drive a top end BMW off the lot, you just lost 15k easy, a Civic barely has that to lose. DT1990s are relatively new and who knows about their popularity in the hotly contested price bracket.

For me, it would be my Emerald Green TH900s. I love the spacious bass emphasized sound signature. They are relatively easy to drive as well and super comfortable. There is something about the crasftmanship I love about them after watching the Fostex video and it is a limited edition rare color (I have SN #29 out of 100). I might have to get the LE blue ones as well someday to have all 3 finishes.

 

[Magicman74]

Beyer DT880 Premium- Just a fantastic can..
I'll also never part with the DT770 or DT990
Can't go wrong with either 3, the 880 just slightly is my favorite of the three.

 

[King CATalyst]

I definitely plan on keeping my nightowls, alot of people seem to dislike them but i love how they sound and they're super comfortable. I wish they leaked a bit less, they leak quite a bit for closed backs but oh well.

 

[catscratch]

"Never say never" is indeed correct. Something is a keeper until a bigger keeper comes along.

At the moment though:
HD650
SR-007 Mk1
maybe the Focal Clear? not sure about that one
Westone UM Pro 50, and the UM3X should have been a keeper. Sadface is sad...

 

[dwinnert]

My Grado SR-80i's and M50X's. I will always try and own headphones priced higher, but those two will always be around.

 

[cpetrillo]

Sony MDR-Z1R

 

[ScareDe2]

Sony MDR-Z1R

The ultimate jazz headphone I guess. I performed an equalization with my K812 once to match the graph of the Z1R and the sound flavor really fit with jazz.