HD 579

I consider discontinued HD330 (later HD465 I think) as the best on-ears I've heard, but they are pain to refurbish - no direct replacement for earpads or rubber/silicone headband strap (straps can still be in good condition though). There is a higher model HD340 / HD475 which I haven't tried, nor anything Grado. I consider the above to be better than 60Ohm Koss (not a comparison really), or the very popular HD480 Classic II, or some more current lower-mid level over-ears like HD559, but not as good as say HD555/558/579. I might pick them over HD599 though, just because I don't like the bloated tonality of HD599. So all in all, it is still not the level of hundreds of dollars, but very usable.

Powered headphones will not last forever. If you want forever, you need passive repairable headphones with easy parts availability. That means Senn HD5 or 6 series. They aren’t my favorites, but if I could only have one set of cans and had to keep them forever. I’d get some HD600s.

I've listened to AC over the years on a few different sets of cans. The best experience in my opinion is a pair of open-back headphones. Specifically Sennheiser HD 5XX or 6XX. It allows the wide soundstage to really shine through the level of detail that is revealed is amazing.

Sennheiser 500eries goes on sale or refurb often cheap. They lasted me about 15 years, hella comfy as they use a velvet cup instead of fake leather shite

Sennheiser’s HD500 series models used

Is this actually true? My DT770s had the plastic parts break from dropping them just once. Meanwhile every 500 or 600 series Sennheiser I've had and dropped repeatedly have been as good as new, still are in fact. However, true, the headband itself is solid, if the adjustment plastic clips broke you can just tape them together or something.

Second this. Got my pair of Sennheiser open-back headphones a while ago now and I’ve never looked for another pair since. It takes a while to get used to it but it’s produces gorgeous sound quality.