np lol, i was talking more generally on the forum lol
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I would like to shill the X00s. They are harder to get now that they are discontinued, but they are my favorite headphone so far and make me question if I should bother to go any further or just stay here and save my money (who am I kidding, Iām going to spend more money at some point).
The purple hearts are a bass dream. They hit like a truck but the bass is never muddy and never intrudes on the rest of the track, only slapping and booming when the music calls for it. The ebony are still wonderful bass cans but are considered to be a more refined option. The E-MU teak are also well liked and can be purchased new from E-MU directly along with purple heart and ebony cups.
These are also great for going down the rabbit hole of modding with he Lawton stuff, pad swapping, attenuation rings, and different cups. These can all make a significant difference and it can be really fun if your into that sorta thing. Also the cumulative result can somtimes be considered āend gameā level.
Also, W O O D
A fair warning, the X00 can be a bit sharp for some, but Joshua Valor liked the Ebony and he claims to be a bit treble sensitive.
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Staxā¦ any Stax.
everyone should hear these at least onceā¦they can be a bit āMarmiteā and you either get them or you donāt but still worth a listen.
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Stax specifically, or estats?
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Iād say eStatāsā¦as long as their not King.
also, everyone should have a chance to demo some premium / end game level headphones. so they can actually experience / hear that the higher price does bring a notable difference.
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Part of why the 95X is on my list of things to try
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A good eStat generally but the base model Stax isnt a bad place to start.
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Definitely on my list to try as well. Going to add to this list that the Aeons either 2 or open x and most definitely the Nighthawks whether just regular ol nighthawk carbons or even the Owl if you want closed back are definitely a different experience. Personally, I have yet to try any electrostat headphone just yet. Really been meaning too but then I see the price tag of the āBetterā in that driver category and I suddenly steer away lmao I still wanna try the 95x though maybe later in the year.
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This is such a great community, thanks for the responses. Currently i have $400 to spend on some new headphones. I would like something thats gonna take well to the dark voice. Would a 6xx/650/600 or beyer 600ohm be much of an upgrade to the k712?
Everybody says the senn 600s are amazing on a tubeā¦ No personal experience though.
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I have the 650 and 58x and I love them both on my tuba and my little bear. I donāt have a 600 but I hear they take to tubes the best. For 400, I really love my emu teaks. Easily one of my favorite headphones for years. The were only surpassed after I went into the high end with my Aeolus, Aeon 2 and elegias.
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With that being said, I still out them on for a solid listen plenty. Not quite tube headphones though if thatās what youāre looking for.
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Definitely would recommend everyone experience the following:
Meze Empyrean, Abyss Diana V2/Phi, Abyss AB-1266 Phi, Campfire Audio Andromeda, Sony IER-Z1R, ZMF headphones, Sennheiser HD800s, Stax, Focal Utopia
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Should I start off by selling my car or my house first? 
Guys. Cāmonā¦ WAKE UP! Raal SR1a. Period. I am completely shocked that not a single person remembered them. Many companies do a lot of finessing in the high-end, RAAL invented something and I think there is nothing quite like it.
Not a fanboy or anything, but just saying - the SR1a is considered to be the best headphone on the market by many.
Plus you get the added bonus of looking like you are wearing two space age toasters strapped to the sides of your head!
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Yikes. True.
Are you buying headphones to look good or are you buying them for the sonic performance? If you are buying them for the looks, then buy something like the Cleer Next or Luzli Roller, if you are buying it for the sonic performance, RAAL SR1a is definitely something unique that you will not experience in other headphones.
There are many good looking headphones that sound terrible, while there are also great sounding headphones that look horrible. Your choice, but do not confuse the two - if a headphone is ugly, doesnāt mean itās bad sounding.
The more I listen to them, the more I think everyone should give the Grado Hemp LTD Editions a shot if you can.
If these are indicative of what Grados can do, then I fully understand why some people unconditionally love Grado. These have such a great visceral nature to the sound with the most natural presentation of sound I have heard thus far. These are tuned a bit warmer and less bright than others Grados from what I hear (these are my only experience with Grado so I canāt personally confirm this) so they are probably a good introduction to the brand.
If you can afford the $420 (lol) price tag, you should try them. Also they will probably hold their value a bit better than most headphones since they are a LTD edition, so if you donāt like them and cant return them, selling them shouldnāt be to hard.
Apparently the nighthawk 
Instead of a headphone, Iād recommend an amp with 300b tubes. So addictive.
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Itās 2a3ās or 300bās or 845ās depending on your preference.
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