Physically Comfortable Headphones

I am very happy with my new Dan Clark Audio E3’s. They have a full sound with plenty of bass, detail without being too bright. I can listen for hours with no issues at all. They are very comfortable, even with my 7-7/8 dome. They aren’t all that expensive either. Highly recommend.

Echoing the comments regarding comfort of Hifiman headphones. I have the HE1000 V2 and they are very comfortable. Had the Arya v2 before that, and they are the same. 

Thank you all for your headphone-comfort thoughts. It is funny - to a certain extent, I would compromise sound quality just to be able to wear the things without discomfort. It would be really nice if I didn't have to compromise too much. 

I tend to like a warmer sound - the pre-fazor LCD-2's are very close to my ideal, but the weight and the fit can be punishing. I tried the Sennheiser 800's and the treble response was a bit too much for me - though I agree that they were more comfortable than average.

I have a local dealer - Goodwin's High End - who are Hifiman dealers, and claim to have the Arya to audition. So, I think I will go see them and try them on. The trouble is that I need to sit there for at least 30 minutes to see how the fit works over time. I hope they have a sense of humor about that...

You also brought up some brands I knew existed, but didn't know anything else about, like Dan Clark and iBasso. I will start my auditions soon. 

I really appreciate the opinions. I find it helpful, as I usually do on this site.

David

While I no longer have them, I've tried a lot of different headphones, and the Meze Empyreans are for me the most comfortable.... 

I'm glad you're willing to go and audition the HifiMans. I would also recommend them. I considered myself a Focal guy until I tried the HE1K V2's and I was instantly converted. Liked them so much I made the considerable leap to the Susvara, which was another huge improvement. I hate to use such an overused term but these truly are "end-game" for me (and I got a pretty substantial discount off the $6K list price). They have so little clamping force that if you tilt your head forward or back they will fall off! HFM obviously placed a major importance on comfort.

I've had a few Audeze models and they're all just ridiculously heavy. Focals are much better. I've never heard the Utopia 2022 but it's the only other HP I would still like to. The Clear Mg is an excellent HP and in your price range. A little more clamping force than the Susvaras but I suspect that will be true for pretty much any other 'phones.

I use the McIntosh tube headphone amp. There's a review you can easily find if you Google it saying that, with a tube change (which I've made), it is the best HP amp the reviewer has ever heard (this is from an older, very seasoned reviewer) and I believe it's a fair bit less expensive than the balanced Woo Audio choices. Only caveat would be that I would try to have a DAC or preamp with a volume control because the one on the Mac is annoyingly hair-trigger. With that taken out of the equation it's pure bliss.

Definitely stay with open-backs. The best closed-backs I've personally heard are the Denon 9200's ($1600 and extremely well-made). I use them nightly so as not to disturb my wife and they are quite good but can't hold a candle to the Susvaras.

Sorry for such a long-winded response but headphone rigs are something I'm (obviously) pretty passionate about.