chance_of_grain

You need something with less clamp. I can use my he400i with glasses no prob

Personally I'm not a fan of eq. I like my listening experience to be as trouble free as possible. The idea of using just one pair then having to mess with and tweak freqs every time I want to hear a "different sound" sounds exhausting. Better to just have different pairs of headphones for different moods/genres.

XM3 and XM4 are really good! They made some changes starting with the xm5, I'm not sure but it seems like people didn't like it as much as the old style. If you don't need ultra portable headphones maybe try the Airpods Max, they are pricey and a bit cumbersome but they do have better sound and comfort compared to the xm2/3/4 models. There's also Sennheiser, B&W, and even Clear has a nc model I believe if you're looking for something higher fidelity.

IEMs are very personal. If possible try before you buy something expensive, or buy from somewhere with free returns. But yes any headphone upgrade is worth it if you enjoy using them more.

This is a deeper problem than just headphones man

That mixtape must have been fire 🔥

I've never really had anyone pay attention to mine and don't go out of my way to show them off. Most people are used to seeing beats/gaming headsets so I don't think they're that surprised to see large headphones at my desk.

They are laidback headphones so that kind of makes sense to me. I really enjoy mine though. I also have a pair of he400i planar magnetic headphones which are very energetic and exciting, but I enjoy the more relaxed sound of the hd6xx as a compliment to them.

It's too late for you start learning sign language and lip reading now

Yup. They're very good. Not lifeless at all imo, just small sound stage. Very intimate.

Yeah you're never going to get reliable final verdicts on anything online. And that's for the best because everyone's ears are different and anything audio related is so subjective. But user reviews can be useful for more objective info like how hard headphones are to drive, overall sound sig etc.

Try the Arya before you make you're decision.