Please Help Weed Them Out

Got it and thanks for the good info.  Unfortunately as an open-back guy I got nuthin’ of use for you, but I think you’re gonna be thrilled moving up to the $1500 - $2500 price range as the improvements from the sub $500 range are huge — it certainly was for me.  I actually think your new price range is the sweet spot in headphones as they’re light years above the budget ‘phones yet provide a lot of the performance/refinement of the much pricier models.  Best of luck in your very worthwhile upward trek!

@koestner

The next step up would be the DCA Stealth. MSRP is $4k. Used ones can be had from $2800 to $3200. Very similar sounding from the midrange to treble. Somewhat less response in the bass region but the clarity is unmatched. It definitely requires some power to push the volume but the HPA4 should be able to handle it.

The AKG K371 and the DCA Stealth are tuned to the Harman target frequency response curve. If you like what you hear, try to find other headphones that measure similarly.

I had a similar problem. My wife works out of the house and I can't play the big rig during the day.  Also no vocal music and symphonic stuff at night if she is working.

I wanted a headphone system with close back phones that was faithful to the music and "really" good but not as good as my speaker driven rig. (always my #1 preference for listening).

After making my myself crazy reading online reviews (I got a crash course in the cult that is head-fi listening)...I settled on Focal Stellias driven by a Mytek Liberty II DAC/Headphone amp. I couldn't be happier!

The Focals are easy to drive and my new "private" stereo system doesn't give up too much to my reference Vandersteen/ Ayre/ Audible Illusions/ Benchmark/ Audioquest reference system. And they are really comfortable and best of all....I can play whatever I want, whenever I want!!

The Focal Stellias were on my list, but I then read about quality issues and having to send them back to France for repair. I am directing my interests on Audeze. I was wondering which of these (LCD-2C or LCD-XC) has more bass?

Yeah, I saw those reports about Focal too. I also thought a great deal about  Audeze phones too. (As well as ZMF). All I can share with you is MY thought process, obviously. One of the most frustrating negative aspects about internet research on these sort of things that drives me crazy is the lack of transparency. How do I know where these disgruntled people bought their headphones? Is this story even true? Is this the whole story? What's are the agendas at work? That's why I eventually bought my gear from Sean-Paul at Upscale Audio, a dealer and a salesman that has done right by me in the past and has been straight with me. Upscale is a sizable (I imagine) dealer with the entire Focal line (speakers and headphones plus Naim Audio). I "presume" they will help me out in the rare possibility of problem. And...more importantly...they have some clout with the importer. For me, I was worried about the weight of the Audeze headphones. I'm not a huge fan of wearing headphones usually. I knew the Focals would be comfortable because I use a pair of Elegies for my lap top YouTube videos. Oh yeah, I bought the Elegies on close out from Upscale six moths or so ago. Since you mentioned it, I will tell you the Stellias are not bass monsters. Like Benchmark, they are faithful and accurate to the recording. That may not be what you are looking for. I listen mostly these days to classical and jazz.