Nice to see all of the 95% solutions. In particular IEM ones, because I don’t go there.
The point of knowing about the 95% solution, is that it’s the last safety net in the rabbit hole. It’s good to be able to point them out to those on a budget and newer enthusiasts that are still learning what to listen for.
I liked the thought about the Massdrop Senn HD-58x. I’ve enjoyed my HD-580s for many years, and they can be directly driven by the iFi xDSD (and most likely by the Nano Black as well). One would think that the HD-650s are fine there, and I did too, but a year of listening to @Torq’s “just my opinions”, and the unfortunate demise of my go-to Headroom Standard solid state amp gave me the opportunity to pair it with the Schiit Lyr 3 (mid price tube hybrid amp).
And that led me to understand what @Torq was talking about. The HD-650 really doesn’t show its full capabilities until it has more power behind it than Sennheiser likes to admit. The HD-580 (and I presume the HD-600) do come out to play with a little less electron flow.
So you still get a darn good 95% solution at about $500 less with the HD-580 and DAC/AMP package. And that’s sort of the point of 95% solutions. You need to find a price/performance that is in itself pleasing.