[preproman]

HE-6 for me.   The LCD-3s are a close second.  

 

[zorin]

I'll throw in my hat into this debate. Buy used T1 for under 1000. This headphones quite flies under a radar but they are a very good choice. They do not excel at any particular thing but as an overall package they beat LCD2, HE500 and HD800 even though those other headphones are better at some aspects of sound. LCD2 and HE500 lack, compared to T1,  what I would call a high frequencies sculpting of the sound, their sound is 'darker'. Listening on the low volume makes them sound even more dark, on low volume listening the music sounds a bit glued together with less separation between the layers of music. T1 has a semi-open design, they isolate a bit better then LCD2 or HE500 so you could crank up the volume a bit more so that the musical instruments and layers of music can be heard better separated. The treble, or the high frequencies, is more prominent on T1 and it helps better to delineate the sound of the instruments, to give a bit better 'air' around them, again, even on low listening level. The early models of T1 had a problem with the overly bright upper mid frequencies, Beyerdynamic tuned the later models to suppress this brightness, production numbers above 4000. Also, pairing T1 with a tube amplifier fixes this problem. HD800 is better in some technical aspects of sound than T1, but not all. It sounds a bit thinner, T1 has better harmonics, more pleasant harmonic series of note frequencies, the notes sound a bit fuller. The big spacial effect of sound of HD800 is good for the classical music with large orchestras but with smaller ensembles or bands the effect makes them sound a bit away from you. If you want to be so to speak more involved and closer to the stage then T1 is a better choice. T1 is not the best in some things like other headphones, but it has no big faults as well. It does all the audio things just well, but together the overall result is very good.
One important thing was forgotten in the debate, T1 are more transportable than other headphones. You cannot put an electrostatic headphones and the big home amplifier into, let's say, a camera bag and take them with you. You can take T1 and a portable amplifier with you. Lisa L3, Alo Audio Continental and RX Mk IIIB [balanced mode only] will drive T1 to its sonic almost heaven. I would say the Continental, the tube and solid state hybrid, is the best choice. The transportability of high end audio equipment is in our days and culture a most important thing, some would say a crucial thing. I think that the package of  - 1. sound of T1 plus  2. sounding good with all styles of music plus  3. transportability  beats the other headphones, if not on a K.O. then at least on points. Please let us know what was your choice.

 

[Timestretch]

I didn't vote because I have only owned the HE-6 on this poll. I can say that it was incredibly clear and strong, though. Bass went low, highs went high, and everything was clear and balanced. It was all I could really ever ask from  an audiophile headphone. It worked well for every genre of music I played. That's the joy of a neutral headphone - it plays everything, non-offensively. Of course, if you prefer a different tone, like a darker or brighter headphone, then it stands to reason that you might like experiencing all genres of music with that touch of coloration. If you like a little extra bass, what's the difference if you get a bassier Nero or a bassier Diana Krall? Or maybe it's not so simple as "the LCD-3 makes Diana Krall bassier than it should be," so much as it's more like, "the LCD-3 lets me pay closer attention to, and enjoy, the bass in Diana Krall, more than an HD800 would."    
  
If the others on the list are superior to the HE-6, I don't really know. It was  pretty near pristine to me.