Best sounding headphones you have owned?


At one time I had gone through Shure, early Stax, Audio Technica electret condenser....and more.

What have you owned in both expensive and inexpensive headphones that gave you pleasurable listening?

 

jusam

I fully agree with the above post by bjorn154.

I recently got a pair of the JM Editions XTC-2 open backs. They are superb hheadphones. The ordering process is unique in my experience. You can actually hJM  tune the headphone to your sound preference.                                                 Build quality is also superb.           

I have had many headphones including a few TOTL.

The JM XTC2 is the finest set of headphones I have heard. I attribute that to the great communication with John regarding preffered sound.

 

JM Audio XTC 2.5s here. I feel John could charge double and they’d still be worth it given his tuning services. Really one of the best high-end bargains I’ve found.

I see quite a few mentions of the Hifiman Susvara and HE1000se but no mention of the HiFiMan HE6se.  Just based on price I would have thought that fell squarely between the two.  I have the HiFiMan Ananda's but as my stereo system has gotten much better I almost never listen to headphones anymore.

I recently changed the cable on my iBasso SR-1's to a 6nines Silver Plated OCC cable & I am absolutely head over heals Gaga in lust/love with these headphones..
 I've spent a lot of time & $ over the last year driving hundreds of miles to Austin,San Antonio & Houston auditioning TOTL's from Audeze,HiFiMan,Focal & Sennheiser..I've still yet to hear ANYTHING that has the naturally organic tone of the iBasso..Honestly they sound like iBasso invited a pair of Harbeth M40.1's, a Cary Audio 300SEI amplifier & an un named,Class A,KT88 Ultra Linear amplifier to a motel & threw a drunken orgy,culminating in the birth of a step child with the voice of all the angels in heaven..
 They don't need a special tube amp to thrive either..As a matter of fact,they are NOT really suited to a tube amp that is voiced to be warm & tubey,they would sound like an older Conrad Johnson tube amp then,syrupy & sloppy...
They ABSOLUTELY LOVE Class A Solid State..​​​​​​ Driven by the headphone out from my SimAudio 240i or a Topping DX7Pro DAC/Amp,they simply drip & oooze tonal color & saturation..
 They don't have quite the massive standing & imaging of the Sennheiser HD800S,or the super deep slamming bass of say an Audeze LCD-3/5,or the razor sharp,super extended treble of an AKG studio headphone,what they do have is a balanced tone that makes them a superb all arounder,favoring no specific style of music & giving hour after hour of fatigue free,blissful listening...
 I know I know,everyone hears differently & I'm coming off as if my sub conscience desires have over ridden my analytical brain but I am NOT easily impressed or swayed by any piece of gear,be they audio,video,amature astronomy,automobiles,whatever...It's SOOOO very rare to find a piece of audio gear that,with a bare minimum of tweaking(changing the cable),can compete with the absolute best of the best...I would pay good $ to get a few golden ears who own TOTL cans from ANY manufacturer together for a blind listening session with these headphones..I have ZERO doubt,more than one of them would walk away shaking their heads after finding out what they were actually listening to...