What I am looking for in a headphone is something that I can listen to that gives me sound quality that I enjoy when I don't want to disturb my wife or grand daughter (living with us for the time being) while listening to my speakers. I like accuracy and sound stage in my speakers; what would be referred to as the European sound. I was always a KEF fan back in the day and currently own a pair of Music Culture speakers from Wolfgang Meletzky, of MBL fame. I also have a pair of KEF M500 headphones which are decent but not enough. The KEF's are good for portable use with my Ayres Pono, but not high end enough for serious listening. So I am looking for comfort, accuracy, sound stage, and using a balanced cable. I don't care about them being super loud. I just don't listen to music very loud any more, as long as they can get up and run some.
At one time I had a pair of McIntosh. This was when I was first getting back into this wonderful hobby about a year ago. While they sounded good I felt they were not the most comfortable for long listening sessions. I also did not like the closed back design. It was too isolating and I also felt it didn't allow for as much openness. I also had a pair of Audeze EL-8. Again, pretty decent sounding but just not comfortable for any kind of length of time. I also did not like their different "slot'" connector. I felt it would loose connection far too often. Whenever I move my head in the slightest I would have to hold on to the cable. This really interfered with the enjoyment of listening and getting into the music.
Unfortunately it is not possible listening to a bunch of different head sets. There are just not any decent dealers within a few hours of me. Therefore I have to count on reviews and friends opinions; recommendations on forums, etc. So far I have yet to read anything bad about the HD-800S, other than maybe the price. And from my understanding they are now including the balanced cable in the box with them. This cable sells for $380 separately.