Parker, welcome...your choice is HD 650/Crack+Speedball is very good...but get that Speedball upgrade.

Cheers

Marv, on the tube rolling for the Crack, any suggestions for bettering the Amperex Bugle Boys?

Thanks

My humble office rig



Fiio X3 source, Epiphany EHP-O2 amp and Vmoda XS cans

Ferrum

 

Ferrum

I guess I'll do my intro post.

My current setup:

Wyrd 2->Modi 2->Mjolnir (at Schiit for repair, using iFi Micro iCan until it comes back)->HD800

My headphone history:

Grado SR80
I bought these in 2001 and and were my primary headphones until I graduated college in 2010. They were kinda the M50 of their time since they were pretty much the automatic recommendation for babay's first headphone. I used them with a couple different hand-me-down stereos and a Darkvoice amp.

Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm
I chose these as the big upgrade because I wanted a comfortable headphone with a neutral signature. Unfortunately, I never got over their treble and got rid of them after a couple years. I also never found a satisfactory amp for them, but that was probably more of a budget thing. I suspect my opinion on them may be different today if I used them on my current setup.

HiFiman HE-500
I bought these in 2012 after getting my first real big bonus at my first post-college job. I got them mostly because they supposedly competed with the $1k+ headphones at a much lower price. After hearing them, I kind of agree. I found them to be great sounding, if a bit grainy. I rarely used them, however, because they were so uncomfortable. They were too heavy and made my ears hot.

Sennheiser HD650
Bought them mostly because they were supposed to be really comfortable and I didn't feel like buying a kilobuck headphone at the time. They were certainly more comfortable than the HE-500s, but I found them to overall sound worse and too dark for my tastes. Looking back, I should have gone for the HD600.

Sennheiser HD800
I wasn't really planning on picking these up, but Sennheiser had "refurbished" pairs on sale for about $1k last year, so I couldn't resist. I absolutely love them. I've spent more time with them than I spent in the 4 years total I owned the DT880/HE-500/HD650. I don't find them as bright as other people do, so I haven't modded them. They're also the most comfortable headphones I've ever owned.

For future upgrades, I'm looking at a Yggy and perhaps a Rag. I want to get into CIEMs at some point, but the cost is a little scary for something that holds so little of its value.