It seems to me with headphones that sound quality and fatigue are two big things to consider independently.
Headphones and in-ear buds in particular can easily become fatiguing, even in many cases where sound quality is technically excellent. In the case of in-ear buds, you are pretty much injecting the sound directly into your ears. Very efficient but correspondingly also potentially very fatiguing!
For this reason, I am a fan of dynamic speakers but of eletrostat headphones, like the Stax and a few others. The dynamics of eletrostat drivers tend to be less fatiguing in general when done well. Much better suited for direct exposure to the ear IMHO in terms of low listening fatigue and longer listening sessions.
Headphones and in-ear buds in particular can easily become fatiguing, even in many cases where sound quality is technically excellent. In the case of in-ear buds, you are pretty much injecting the sound directly into your ears. Very efficient but correspondingly also potentially very fatiguing!
For this reason, I am a fan of dynamic speakers but of eletrostat headphones, like the Stax and a few others. The dynamics of eletrostat drivers tend to be less fatiguing in general when done well. Much better suited for direct exposure to the ear IMHO in terms of low listening fatigue and longer listening sessions.