Maybe I’m late to the party, but FWIW here are my random thoughts after reading your original post.
There are (at least) 3 types of people who are into headphones:
- The music lover will likely be happy with a Sennheiser HD6XX or similar. Something under $500. It’s all about exploring the music with equipment that makes it sound natural. Perfection is not necessary.
- The audiophile is looking for the best headphone that they can reasonably afford. They want to get as close to perfection as possible. Unless you are super-rich, this will come with the caveat of not wanting to waste money and so diminishing returns become a consideration.
- The audionaut is just looking for entertainment via listening to music through various headphones - ear candy. They are interested in the journey much more than the destination. Start with generally well regarded standards like Sennheiser HD6XX, Focal Elex, Hifiman Sundara, Audeze MM-500, etc. Move upscale after some time like Sennheiser HD800S, Focal Clear, Hifiman Arya Unveiled, etc. Maybe branch out into estats. They find out what they like and if the upgrade is worth it to them. They will have a collection of various headphones to use depending on their mood.
You may have guessed that I consider myself more of an audionaut (it’s a spectrum, ok?). I know you said you might not have long, but if your goal isn’t to have a once-in-a-lifetime summit-fi system then there’s no rush. Enjoy the new experiences. I tell you, every headphone purchase I have made has taught me something new. Also I don’t feel that I really understand a headphone until I’ve been listening to it for at least a week, usually longer. And really there’s no other way to determine if the price is worth the expense to YOU.
But maybe you are looking for the best system you can reasonably afford right now, a one-and-done bucket list headphone. Based on my limited listening time of two different 15 minute CanJam demos, the Warwick Acoustics Bravura can definitely fill that role. I’ve even said so on other threads here. I personally cannot afford the $8k price or I might very well own one. Maybe someday I’ll sell all my audio equipment and buy one. Maybe.
As for the question of diminishing returns in general, yes there are definitely diminishing returns on sound as you go up in price. However for my enjoyment, it’s those small improvements in sound that create large improvements in emotional engagement. Like I can objectively say there’s a small gain in, say, spaciousness between two headphones. But which one do I reach for every time? Which one made me think “Wow!” the first time I listened to a certain song through them that I’d heard dozens of times before?
Personally I don’t think headphones get very interesting until Focal Clear and above. You can get great timbre for far less, but I learned over time that I index highly on both deep, impactful bass and spaciousness. Neither comes cheap and getting them both from the same headphone is rare, even with EQ.
Speaking of EQ, I haven’t heard a headphone that can’t be improved with it. However I don’t find it solves every problem. Some headphones just can’t do bass well, especially bass punch, no matter how much you boost it. And treble is very personal and difficult to EQ properly by ear. My best experiences with EQ have been with a headphone that already sounds good. I have not been able to make a cheap headphone sound like a good expensive one other than overall tonality (mids and upper bass). It’s like the ghost of the headphone is still there, even after EQ.
Hope this helps instead of adds to the confusion.
TL;DR If you don’t enjoy weighing your options and just want one great headphone system, buy the Bravura, stop reading headphone forums, and be happy.