One does not simply begin at endgame

You would likely be happy with all of those options. But I’m going to add the LCDX as a suggestion. It EQs better than most headphones. So you can zero in on the exact sound that tickles your fancy.

Looking for endgame, just buy a Sennheiser hd600 a nice tube amp like de Feliks Audio Elise and be done with it :)

Let’s start with, have you actually listened to any of the headphones you are thinking of getting?

Why HE1000se vs v2 or v3? The v3 are tuned very closely to the SE but are significantly cheaper. The v2 would be my pick because of the larger soundstage and are very much just an upgraded arya. At least that’s why I gather without ever hearing them.

If you only want one pair I would seriously consider the DCA Stealth. I’m probably a bit biased, but for me they do just about everything right and they’re closed back so you can use them in places where open back doesn’t work.

I bought them specifically because I didn’t want to have ten different headphones. I wanted just one really high end pair for everything and they do that for me.

They are a fair bit more expensive that the other options you list though.

There is zero chance you know your preferences without actually listening to any headphones. What are you using now? What do you like/not like about them?

What I have narrowed it down to, essentially, is the HE1000SE, Focal Clear MG, Arya Stealth Magnet… If I purchase one of these, will I ever be truly satisfied with just the one pair? Or will I long for an experience that other pair’s of headphones have to offer?

None in this sub can probably tell since every person is different with their preferences. You can be the type of person that would already close the book in your headphone journey after one big purchase, or you could be wanting to explore all the different sounds offered by the different headphone companies. If you have the option to visit a headphone store which has some of those headphones available to demo, you can give those a try and see which you’d like best.

On a personal note, out of all the above you mentioned, I really only tried the Focal Clear and they’re perfectly fine headphones for all types of genre, although they have a slightly sizzling treble for certain tracks, you can do some mods or EQ them out.

HE1000 v3 is my end game but I’m not sure I would appreciate them without the journey through gaming headsets, HD650, Elegia, and LCD-X (which is now my end gaming headphones). Hopefully you have access to a retailer that will let you demo so you find something that suits your taste. We have definitely heard from first time purchasers that take a big swing and wonder why they prefer their Beats to a $3k set.

For me “End Game” comes in 3 headphones HD 600, Meze 109 Pro and HE 1000 V2. Each of them are different. I’ll spare you my thoughts on them because they’ve all been reviewed and lauded by the YouTube verse.

I did it. I spent a lot of time looking at reviews and all the research and asking myself what do I really want/need and what is excessive. I have a pair of dt1990s and the topping dx3pro+ and that does it for me. Now it’s really about enjoying the music. I also have a pair of moondrop starfields and the ifi go blu, probably could’ve stopped with that but I wanted a pair of open backs that I could listen to for hours. And that’s what I do now; it really is about the music.

Nope. You have no idea which pair of headphones will truly satisfy you.

Forget all of those, and look at ZMF.

As others have pointed out, there is zero point in spending big on headphones when you really don’t know what you even like yet. Just get a mid-level pair that has been around for a while and is well-regarded. And then, and this is important, spend a good amount of time with them to figure out what you like and don’t like about them.

You might now know it sometimes, but the best way to avoid constant upgrade urges is to just enjoy what you have, what you’re listening to. Trying to try everything and only ever using the same thing, neither are great approaches.

It’s better to start off with cheap IEMs to figure out your preference, IMO.

Companies continually making and improving the audio tech industry which makes it hard not to be tempted to crave for something new, innovative or maybe even better audio than the one we have, that is just part of the business