The use of a protable amp really would tilt the balance to the clear. Very easy to drive.
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Check out the Clear and Arya threads, but heed @mfadio’s warning. “In general” planar headphones require much more power than dynamic drivers (Dan Clark Audio is one of the worst in this regard, which is why I warned against the brand for battery use).
No one can say in advance whether you will like the fit or sound of any specific headphone. They are highly personal. We on this forum are fans of Headphones.com (we all just hang out here, we are not paid), and many like their buying and return policy.
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Compared to the Celestee are we only talking about the open-back, therefore my dogs hearing what I am listening to?
To make this slightly more complicated and as an ode to what’s been recommended, I think I would like to try something ALSO in the $500 range that’s easy to drive off the Qudelix 5k. Sundara?
Qudelix isn’t likely to drive the arya well. FYI.
Many would disagree with that, including some pioneers in the industry; best to qualify it as an opinion rather than making it sound like a factual statement. Whether you prefer one over the other is your choice, but let’s not make misleading statements here.
Planning to get on the Clear pre-order for October and then also grab something a bit cheaper to also test drive. Try things. Maybe the Sundara
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Assuming you mean the Sundara, I wouldn’t call it easy to drive, FYI. It greatly benefits from an amp due to lowish sensitivity - the more power the better IMO.
When I had the sundara, I did not have the qudelix. And it was one of the few headphones that my past experience makes me think the qudelix would not be a good fit. I fall in the camp of people who think that sundara needs some good power. By the numbers, qudelix should not be able to do it. But it has also driven other headphones I wouldn’t have expected it to drive so well (drop ether cx among them).
Now, the ifi idsd micro signature drives the sundara wonderfully. 
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“If you haven’t heard better, you don’t know what you are missing.”
My wife was happy with Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck” wine until I got her something better. Then, she was never again happy with it.
Many headphones will generate sound from the Qudelix or a phone or anything. However, they may not sound very good or come close to delivering their best performance. The $220 Sennheiser Drop HD-6XX is a common standard and known for scaling up dramatically with better amplifiers and DACs (or “appropriate devices”).
Satisfaction follows from your hearing and experience and fit and supporting devices. You simply won’t know until you try.
Also, I concur with the others, avoid planar headphones on batteries. My Dan Clark AEON Flow sounds absolutely horrible on anything other than a powerful desktop amp.
If it’s a temporary pair of headphones, to tide you over until the Clear arrives, I’d recommend buying used so that you could sell it later for less of a loss. If you buy used, though, avoid HiFiMan, whose products are notoriously flimsy. Only buy them from authorized dealers with the full warranty.
Congrats on the Clear. It’s a great pair of headphones (I have a pair). The closeout price for a grand is one of the best deals around in the hobby right now.
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Yep, I would only order it from Headphones.com so if there is a problem, I can always work with them.
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I had a different experience. When I listened to the Hifiman Sundara on about twenty of my amps which included many mainstream brands like Schiit, Singxer, Headamp, RSA, Little Dot, JDS Labs, SMSL, Monoprice, etc…, it stayed at pretty much the same level of fantastic no matter which amp it was on. This is one of my only “good” headphones that does this. So, while I do agree that it should have a headphone amp, I did not think that it needed any particular amp that will provide more power than another. The only amp from my collection that the Sundara did not sound good on that I tried was a tube amp, my Darkvoice 335SE. Since comparing amps, I have acquired more amplifiers, and should probably see it my “Hifiman Sundaras sounds good on most any SS amp” observation rings true with the my newly acquired amps. I predict that they will.
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Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! I have ordered the grey Clear and the Sundara from headphones.com, along with the Qudelix from elsewhere, so well on my way, I would say!
What’s next? 
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Speakers and studio monitors are next!
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It sounds like we actually had a similar experience, in that when driving the Sundara with proper power, it sounded quite good. Alternatively, when attempting to drive it with a phone or underpowered amp/device, it didn’t perform to its full potential. The Sundara doesn’t scale nearly as well as something like the HD 650, but in my experience it does need enough power to achieve proper performance. Planars love power baby! 
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I have never tried most of my headphones without amplifiers except a few with my Emotiva xda-2. However, the headphone out on it is considered to be pretty good by some.
I do know that my Koss headphones do not scale well. Those I prefer to use unamped and they sound better to my ears when not on an amp. Very odd behavior from Koss when amplified.
Not a bigger/badder dac amp?
Sorry if I have lost track of your needs. I hadn’t realized that you had not made up your mind yet on amplification. Reading your posts, I see that you are looking for portable. I don’t have a lot of experience on portable. My best portable amp is also a desk amp, the RSA Emmeline XP-7. It does not fit your requirements from what I have read in your posts as mine is quite large and it runs off of two nine volt batteries. Good luck with your search.
I got the dacamp Bluetooth that was recommended. I am guessing that to take things to the next step, I have to give up a little portability. Fair to say? A more powerful dacamp like the ifi idsd that was mentioned?