[BootsandPants]

1. Grado GH1 w/ G-pads - these just hit almost all of my sweet spots for a lot of the music I listen to (rock, bluegrass, acoustic). Wish they had a bit more bass slam like the LCDs, but nothing is perfect. Limited edition also makes me feel special when I put them on because I'm a nerd
   
2. Audeze OG LCD2 - oldschool rosewood LCD2 sound awesome for when I want some more bass in my life. Best way I can describe these is CREAMY. Everyone needs a planar in their lives
   
3. Beyerdynamic DT150 with velour pads - Total sleepers. Sound great when amped well, at $150 they're a steal. Perfect work headphones as they isolate really well and look like something you'd wear during hearing tests in the 70s (ie. nobody is going to steal these off my desk).
   
4. AKG K7XX red - They're great starter cans and do a lot of things right. Excellent value! I just don't listen to them when I have the above to choose from. I used to use these at work, but then my seating situation changed and open backs are no longer an option. I should probably just sell them...
5. Bose QC20 - Best ANC choice out there, sound is a bit anemic, but then again when you're in a pressurized tube at 40k ft going Mach0.9, trying to go for ultimate sound quality is like spitting into the wind. Whatever helps me not hear the screaming child a few rows back is A-OK in my book!

????. Grado HF3 - preordered...looking forward to seeing what these have in store! Looks like a tweaked RS2e for less money, which sounds awesome to me. We'll see!!

Now to upgrade the source...ugh!

 

[themuna]

1. Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro - Excellent accuracy, clarity, energy
   
2. Sennheiser HD 6xx - So relaxing and sublime
   
3. Sennheiser HD 558 - Open, clear and wide
   
4. Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro - 250 ohm - Fantastic soundstage for closed back
   
5. Audio Technica ATH-M50x - Fun but fatiguing
   
6. Sony WH-1000XM3 - Excellent portability and utility, bloated bass, lacking clarity
   
7. Sennheiser G4ME One - Decent for a gaming headset
   
8. Sennhesier HD 598 Cs - Grainy treble but comfortable
   
9. Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC - Terrible comfort and meh sound quality, these are going on ebay

I have some of the same phones you do (6xx, M50X. And 1000xm3) though I chose the Elex instead of the DT1990 Pro. Play around with the EQ settings on your phone/device for the 1000xm3. I found this from someone on Reddit (YurkTheBarbarian):

Here are my system EQ settings on Android (Samsung S8)
63Hz -1dB
125Hz -2dB
250Hz -3dB
500Hz -2dB
1kHz 0dB
2kHz +2dB
4kHz -2dB
8kHz 0dB
16kHz +2dB
It works fine with Spotify and all codecs, AAC / AptX / LDAC / SBC.


I use these settings and now my 1000xm3 sounds better than my M50X and equal to or slightly better than my Sennheiser Momentums. EQ it in your phone settings, not the Sony app! That way you can keep using the LDAC codec. Based on you liking the 1990 so much, I'm sure you want clearer treble and less bloated bass and this solved that nicely.

 

[themuna]

1. Focal Elex
2. Senn HD700
3. Sony wh-1000xm3 (because of utility)
4 Senn HD6XX
5. Senn Momentum 2.0 (so sleek)
6. Senn HD598 (*great* for gaming)
7. Audiotechnica ATH-M50X (the starter)

 

[Preachy1]

My stable has evolved a bit since last year, so here were in the now:

1. ZMF Auteur Teak
2. Audeze LCD-3f
3. ZMF Atticus Padauk
4. ZMF Blackwood Planar
5. Audeze LCD-XC
6. Focal Elegia
7. ZMF Ori Cherry
8. ZMF Vibro Cherry
9. AudioQuest Nightowl


Yeah, I rather like Zach's stuff!!!

 

[symgryph]

1.) Stax SR Lambda Pro Classic
2.) Stax SR-5 Gold
3.) Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro
4.) AKG K-501
5.) AKG K-14 P

The Lambda is the clear winner. Best frequency range and the quickest can I have, also a great soundstage and very comfortable. The SR-5 gains place 2 because it has the best soundstage and a very nice warm sound.
The decision between place 3 & 4 is hard: The Beyer has a great soundstage, a great frequency range but is a bit too bright, boomy & slow for my taste. The K-501 has definitely the nicest and warmest sound, is the most comfortable one, is very quick but misses a bit at the upper and lower end of the frequency spectrum. I think I grab the Beyer a bit more often.
The K-14P isn't bad, it shares some of the good points of it's big brother, but as an earbud it's too far behind. But it plays in a different league than my noisey Knopex IRHP-200 IR Headphone and the cheap earbuds (philips, sangean, noname china) that I have. The original iPod earbud is still in it's sealed package, as I know it's probably too bad for me. I can't rate these budget phones as I don't listen with them anymore.

I really like the Beyerdynamics. They sound really good and are all metal. Overall its my favourite headmine.

 

[carly]

Focal Elex
Audeze Sine
Beyer Xelento
DT 1990 pro
Hifiman HE-400i
Sennheiser HD 25 I-II
Grado Sr225i

 

[ls13coco]

1. Mr Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 (my go to)
2. Audeze LCD-2C (metal or rap king of collection)
3. Hifiman Sundara (brighter, detailed planars)
4. AKG K712 Pro (gaming preferred, gear testing)
5. Senn HD 6xx (vocal and warmth goodness)
6. Fidelio X2 (punchy gaming/soundstage)
7. Hifiman HE400i (my first planars and 2nd proper headphones)

Used to own DT1990, thx00 purple heart and the 598 (first proper HP)

 

[Tetonpowskier]

1. Mr Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 (my go to)
2. Audeze LCD-2C (metal or rap king of collection)
3. Hifiman Sundara (brighter, detailed planars)
4. AKG K712 Pro (gaming preferred, gear testing)
5. Senn HD 6xx (vocal and warmth goodness)
6. Fidelio X2 (punchy gaming/soundstage)
7. Hifiman HE400i (my first planars and 2nd proper headphones)

Used to own DT1990, thx00 purple heart and the 598 (first proper HP)

How does the Fidelio X2 Compare to XOO Purpleheart?

 

[ls13coco]

How does the Fidelio X2 Compare to XOO Purpleheart?

I found the X2 to have by far a larger soundstage, the imaging was better and it sounds overall less bright.
Both being v shaped, the x00 had the better bass but the highs seemed a bit sharp, the X2 had better mids to my ears.

Sold them sort of for the same reason as the 1990, the highs had a bit too much bite for me on the gear I was using.

 

[ekfc63]

1) Focal Utopias - Used for music only
2) Sony WH1000M3 - For general use, movies, youtube, travel. Wireless is so convenient.
3) Sennheiser PX100 - Decent sound but not used since the Sonys arrived
4) Bose QC15 - For occasional office use
4) AKG N60NC - Average sound. Will probably sell now I have the Sonys
5) TWS i30 Airpod knockoffs - Just got these. Low end sound but useful for the gym due to size/portability

 

[pataburd]

Martin Logan Mikros 90
Focal Utopia
Focal Clear
KingSound KS-H03
Ultrasone PRO 2900i
Ultrasone Proline 2500
1More Quad

 

[Nick-s-f]

2019 update:

1. Argon T50 MK3 - So smooth, but not lacking detail. Best combination of bass quality and quantity.
2. Alpha Prime (very close 2nd) - Still the neutral reference.
3. Koss KPH30i - Tuned more like a biodynamic than a typical dynamic, best headset for gaming and portable relaxation.
4. Mayflower V1 and ZMF Eikon (tie) - KPH30i is not too different from the ZMF Eikon in sound signature and beats the Mayflower V1 for convenience as a headset.
5. KSC75 and Tin T2 (tie) - This duo could easily complete someones budget setup...Tin T2 has the bass to handle rap and edm, KSC75 everything else.
6. Aeolus - Thin and harsh sounding, needs tube amp?

 

[bagwell359]

1. HFM HE-500 9.5/10.0 (heavy mods, see sig); midrange first, but bass and treble very good, very wide soundstage, excellent depth, speaker like, bit warm but lots of detail

2. HFM HEX v2 9.4/10.0 (have to raise bottom of cups up against bottom of ears (snugly) to get max treble and detail. Lacks detail, but music always gets through, doesn't ever offend

3. Senn HD-600 (lightly modded) 9.1/10.0 (mild mods), this rating on Ragnarok, on Bottlehead Crack it's a 9.3. Clean, tonally correct, great for classical.

Owned all these in the past year, some gone, others for sale soon because they couldn't contend with the the 3 above:

Audeze 2CF - reputation far outweighs what it is, thankfully seller took them back, coloration producing transducer
MD 4xx - cute, but then you hear the mylar chuffing, and the "fun" response curve - gave to son
HFM HE5-LE (FS) - remembered better than it was, too bright, too moody; unlike rest of this group it can sound like music.
HFM HE5se - dynamically limited, ever note seems to be missing small but critical piece(s). Audio milqetoast. Wait a year and get them for $150 if you must have them.
MD X00 - just awful, even w/ mods. Frowsy bass, 0 imaging capability, grainy colored treble, CANNOT handle complex or loud signals, image/soundstage falls apart, true for Ebony too.
Fostex FH500RP (FS) - tried many mods, clean and unobjectionable. No bass push, treble too polite and lacking detail. Mids OK w/ female vocals, it's time has passed.

Eyeballing big jump into Voce/Woo GES, since the Arya or E2 will only be incrementally better than what I have. Voce is the best can I have ever heard, including 007 and 009.

 

[Hi-Fi EDU]

My stable has evolved a bit since last year, so here were in the now:

1. ZMF Auteur Teak
2. Audeze LCD-3f
3. ZMF Atticus Padauk
4. ZMF Blackwood Planar
5. Audeze LCD-XC
6. Focal Elegia
7. ZMF Ori Cherry
8. ZMF Vibro Cherry
9. AudioQuest Nightowl


Yeah, I rather like Zach's stuff!!!

Nice. I’m curious, can you rank your same list based on wearing comfort alone (long-term)?

 

[Preachy1]

Nice. I’m curious, can you rank your same list based on wearing comfort alone (long-term)?

Great question. Let me alter the question a bit to reflect overall "wearability". First a few notes on my personal preferences. I don't mind heavier cans and I lean toward tighter clamp forces. That said, here goes:

1. Focal Elegia - Perfect fit, I could wear these to bed if I didn't tend to turn from side to side!
2. ZMF Auteur - Considering the weight, the clamp force is near perfect. I can lean forward and back without them slipping off.
3. ZMF Atticus - Very similar to the Auteurs. Similar weight, but the clamp force is a touch less, so they tend to slip if I lean to far in any direction.
4. ZMF Vibro/Blackwoods - Lighter than the previous ZMFs with very tight clamp. Some may not like them because of this.
5. Audeze LCD 3/XC - These are nearly identical in wearability. Both have the old style headband which as we all know was not the greatest design. I did a half-assed mod job by adding some rough cut foam rubber to the underside of the headbands, which makes them much more tolerable. But out of the box (without mod), I would have to rank these lower on the scale.
6. ZMF Ori - Extremely tight clamp (even for me), and my ears touch the inside. Not like smooshed inside, but still a bit too "close".
7. AudioQuest Nightowl - I rank these last because (and keep in mind my personal prefs), they are too light and the clamp is so weak that I cannot move in any direction without having to readjust them. So they are technically comfortable, but not practical (if that makes sense).

Other than the foam attached to the Audezes, no other mods have been done. All have the stock pads.