Got a pair of Arya V2s for that price about a year ago. Far, far more impressive at that time than now 😔

Got the Schiit Bifrost 2, Valhalla 2, and Jotunheim 1 w/ DAC in a bundle.for $850 (~$961 after tax and shipping).

Got the Blue Ella headphones for ~$260 about a year ago, retail was $700 in 2017.

Hard to get great deals in headphones, in my experience. Far better deals are to be had in stereo.

How does the MM2 compare to the 2/64?

I use the Atrium Closed with the Suede pads, and I think they’re great. Suede pads kind of help to tame the bass a bit and even out the tonal balance.

Also, the wood type matters more for the AC, apparently: harder woods are faster, with tighter bass, while the softer woods are a bit slower with more reverb. I have the Cherrywood (softer).

I don’t go the multiple headphone route, for the most part: I have three pairs for specific use cases (main, travel/OTG/, and exercise).

However, when it comes to cost, I justify it by arguing it’ll make more sense in the long-run. You make the big purchases looking ahead 5-10 years, by which time it’ll have paid off.

You’re getting downvoted a lot, but I mostly agree with you: the value proposition of stereo is much better, in my experience. Part of that is, there are better deals on great vintage gear that still sounds amazing, whereas most headphone gear is newer and sold close to retail.

I do think most headphones over $2K aren’t worth it just off the warranty reasons alone. Imagine dropping $4.5K for the LCD-5 to get a 3 year warranty, or $6K on the Susvara to get the same, SMH. That’s crazy to me.

At least ZMF offers a lifetime warranty on the drivers, and Abyss offers an extended 10 year warranty on their products. Those are the only ones I would consider “worth it”, but even then Abyss is still too high for me to consider.

As you said in your edit, sound is subjective: you aren’t going to know how you feel until you listen for yourself.

The best thing to do is listen/watch as many reviews as possible - good and bad - and pay attention to the overlapping broad strokes. For example, most reviewers are going to say the HiFiMan Arya is a wide-sounding headphone, though they may disagree on the tonality. You take the defining characteristics that stick out and pursue it further if they interest you.

The most annoying thing about this hobby isn’t the different opinions, but how hard it is to actually listen to this stuff to form your own opinion. Most Hi-Fi stores don’t carry much headphone gear, if any. A lot of the time you have to just bite the bullet, make the purchase, and then decide to keep or return it/resell.

Once you’ve settled into your gear and know your preferences, you won’t have nearly as much review-stress, trust me.