Aune - SR7000

If only they veered away from that abysmal builld. The hinges are prone to breaking due to their design. It's the only thing stopping me from considering their SR7000. If they were cheaper maybe, but at high of a price with that build... no thanks.

The differences between headphones is often imperceptible at first listen but become more obvious over time. The human brain is just not well equipped to make these distinctions on the fly. As for price vs expectations, more expensive doesn’t often equate to “better tuned”. Money will buy you resolution, but not necessarily enjoyment. I think you went into the experience with the correct mindset, which is “what tuning speaks to me?”. The most enjoyable headphones are not necessarily expensive. As for the AR5000 - I love this headphone. It has a unique quality to the tonality. Kind of like a hint of harmonic resonance or reverb. I prefer the tuning of the SR7000 to the AR5000 but the SR lacks this resonance characteristic. It’s also $300 more expensive than the AR which I feel was a marketing blunder on Aune’s part.

For a budget closed back, check out Fiio FT1.  Or some more money, Sennheiser HD620.  For a slightly higher budget, Aune Sr7000.  Don’t mind the stock cable, you can switch ta a suitable connector type and length for 20-30€ anyway. 

That's actually a bit tough for me to answer considering I typically do not use closed backs for that kind of thing. My mind goes from the FiiO FT1 (non pro of course) straight to the Aune SR7000. Those are the closest thing towards neutral that still sound good enough to me for that type of work.

Fiio FT1 (Cheap but awesome) to Aune SR7000 (Better but not that much better than the FT1, but not $3x better than the FT1) to SJY Horizon Closed Carbons (little bit over your budget but probably worth it). If you are considering spending the dough, I would say skip the Aune SR7000 and go straight to the Horizon closed carbons if you can live with the look. Also, you would probably need a amp or dac or decent audio interface to run the SJYs. Regarding sound sig, if you don't mind doing EQ, i think all the headphones i mentioned can do what you want. The FT1s in particular have exceptional bass response.

From the top: Fiio FT1 - what can I say? Satisfying and clean bass, great bass texture, fun but clean and clear mids. Treble on the smooth side, but still pretty revealing. Aune SR7000 - great stage with good bass and more natural timbre. They're very comfortable. Sennheiser HD620S - neutral, warm with bloomy mid bass. Analytical, and revealing without being offensive in the treble. Great passive isolation. Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X - neutral with extended sub bass. Shimmery treble, but inoffensive. Very revealing and detailed. Meze 99 Classic - fun, bassy sound. Quite smeary in the mids, but I'm going for them for relaxed listening without fussing details. Harmonicdyne x Zeos Eris - very bassy, very sharp treble. Bass murder if I ever see one. But they're strangely fun. Hifiman HE-R9 - wonky, all over the place. Very bassy and messy. Very v-shaped. A roller coaster of tuning.

Fiio FT1 for sure. Aune SR7000 are also very good, but I can't justify the asking price.

Your third requirement severely reduces the amount of options you have. Aune SR7000 are quite solid and very open sounding for being closed-back, but you have to deal with dual entry cables. Another option is the DT1770 mk2, but you have to deal with the Beyerdynamic excessive treble. FiiO FT1 is an affordable option and really good at $150, but dual entry cables.

The AR9000 are very anticipated for me as well. Love the AR5000 and SR7000, and excited for them to have a flagship to pair with their powerful amp offerings.

If you like detailed and bright sound Hifiman Arya Stealth (used/refurbished) but beware they are quite bright and Hifiman build quality is poor. If you want balanced neutral sound Aune SR7000 (much better, build quality and comfort compared to Hifiman). HD660S2 is the most bassy and fun (not bass head) sounding of the Sennheiser HD6 lineup. It is not worth the msrp but you could find it for 250-300 used.