headphones: $200

Go to Headphone.com I got their top of the line balanced amp and Sennheiser 650's with rewired Cardas cable, and the sound is jaw dropping. Read all aspects of the website, call them with questions, and you too will smile

Grado GS1000s will give you lots of space and openness. They are also, IMHO, the MOST comfortable ones on the market--very light on the head and no pressure at all on the sides of your head. They are not bright, but not rolled off a bit like the Senn 650s (also nice phones, I had them and the Grados, but
like the Grados much better). The GS1000s are much less bright than Grados RS1s, which can be fatiguing (I have these too).
The Grados work nice with a last-generation Headroom Max amp (with that nice high frequency filter). They also sound good with a Ray Samuels tube amp (at least they do with a RSA B52).

The Grado 325i is a good pair that you can get for about that price.

Check out headfi.com. Off the top of my head Sennhesier HD650, HD600 or HD580 or Denon AH-D2000. Beyerdynamic DT880 is also a possibility.

Cheers,

JP