I tried headphones from $70 (SHP9500) all the way to $300 (Sundara) and I can’t think the difference is justified no matter what. I have a Sennheiser G4ME ONE and when I test it against the HD6XX and Sundara I can’t see where the $200 difference is. There is definitely some difference but it’s like a $5 worth of difference if anything. It feels like everyone here repeats the same stuff and I have a feeling it’s all psychological due to expectations like “Sennheiser 6 series headphones don’t have soundstage, Fidelio x2hr large soundstage, 6xx sound different with more power even if it’s loud enough etc). I swear I was listening to the G4ME ONE for a few minutes todsy and I thought I’m listening to the HD6XX until I noticed my 6XX on the table.
Is my hearing just bad? When I compare something like HyperX Cloud headsets to a SHP9500 then yes the difference is definitely there. But as soon as It’s anything more than SHP9500 it doesn’t feel significant or even small. Of course diminishing returns but it’s too strong considering the price difference. I feel like SHP9500 could sell for $200 and people wouldn’t question them. I’m not new to headphones btw. I used the HD58x, 6XX, Sundara and SHP9500 for years and I tested them against headphones in their price range.