The Best Audiophile Earphones headphones and Amp

As an owner of a high end system, you are undoubtably aware that there is no one single "best" in any component category. There are plenty of headphone users that like electrostatics and many that don't, and there is disagreement about the merits of any contender.

I own an Stax Omega II, Mk. I, and a Blue Hawaii Special Edition amp. I like the sound, but it is far from perfect. The Blue Hawaii amp is, to me an improvement over the tube amp that came with the Stax phones, in most respects, but, it does exaggerate surface noise on LPs a bit more than does the Stax amp (also adds a tonal "ping" to ticks and pops), which I don't like. I heard the Stax 009 model headphone with a Woo amp, and did not prefer that sound. A friend heard the 009 with a Blue Hawaii amp in a shootout with the Omega II and preferred the Omega II (not as bright). But, most listeners prefer the 009, so again, it is a matter of taste.

For a much less bright sound and a richer overall tonal balance, I have heard Audeze headphones that I liked. I can easily understand how someone could prefer this sound to the Stax sound (and save a LOT of money).

My experience so far with tube headphone amps and Sennheiser HD600s leads me to opine it all comes down to tubes, fuses, isolation, cryogenics, cable cooking, and a lot of other things. Not to mention removing the HD600 grills and foam pads inside is a step in the right direction.

Sorry for digging up an old thread but this is an evergreen topic and I think there is not a definite product that fits for all. I am an avid music lover and have tried many headphones till now. This taught me one thing that never purchase a headphone without reading its reviews.I keep searching on the Internet for the best budget audiophile headphones and I found this list of good headphones here, hope this will help some of you as well.