NDH 30

Whichever is comfortable and non-fatiguing. For example: SJY Moonlight, HD600, Aeolus (suede pads), LCD-2, LCD-X, HD550, COSMO (Dekoni Elite Velour HE pads), Ananda, HD660S2, NDH30...

Neumann NDH30 OPEN headphones highly specialised for Mixing and Mastering, are around your budget. If you want to get wven more flatter, you can buy and use Sonarworks Sound ID for Headphones which is around 100 dollars I think... I have got the VSX Platinum too but did not get to play with them at all yet.. probably waste of money... NDH30 is great.

The absolute best headphones for the price, in my experience

Audeze LCD-X with Realphones EQ. Neumann NDH-30 with RIME.

I very strongly recommend the neumann ndh 30 as it fits all your requirements and price. Neumann has really great products in recording/mastering space especially with their monitors and recording equipment. The ndh30 is no different, as it's very balanced in bass/treble so it's very suitable for mastering and mixing. It also sounds really great if you plug it into a tube amp or a decent solid state. It's also built like a tank and will last a decade. While I sold off my ndh30 last year (moving on to higher end closed backs), I still have the ndh 20 and even after 6 years of use, it literally seems like it will hold up another 6 or more. I can't recommend these two headphones enough especially for what they cost. Sweetwater is also having a sale on these for $470. While comfort is subjective I've had no problem wearing these for hours on end, though if you feel like you would like more comfort, then order a zmf crescent snap headband cover and that will solve any comfort issues (I personally have ordered 3 of these over the last 5 years for my other headphones).

These aren’t without some trade-offs, but, yeah, can’t go wrong with them - they’re pretty heavy, though. Down from there are the Focals and NDH30. Below there id recommend checking out vsx or just going with what’s comfortable on your head. In the end, it doesn’t matter how expensive or how good the headphones are if you can’t wear them for more than a few minutes.

With Neumann NDH30 coming in after those. However, “best” also has to mean you can wear them comfortably for extended periods. And that may or may not be any of them (Neumann, Focal, Audeze) depending on a person’s head.

I’m daily driving the Neumann NDH30. It is widely considered the spiritual upgrade to the HD650, as the HEDD D1 is to the HD600. I wanted to get the D1, but the all plastic turned me off. I’m a sucker for all metal designs. The NDH30 is the same price as the D1, yet it is all milled from solid anodized aluminum for the ear ups and aluminum spring steel headband. Both are Made In Germany, but I still prefer the NDH30 for its German tank build quality. Maybe I’m also partial to the HD650 sound. I’ll get a D1 someday down the line.