In my view you can’t better the Sennheiser HD800S and it’s even better when balanced. I have compared it with Elear; Beyerdynamic T5P; Mr Speakers Aeon Flow ; and Oppo PM2 and PM3 and it always sounds better and is far more comfortable.
Your other gear sounds interesting. Can you tell us more?
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MacBook Pro/Roon/iPad Pro/Roon Remote > iFi iPurifier 2 > Burson Conductor > Audeze LCD-2 w/Fazor
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Lenovo Laptop/Audirvava Plus 3 > iFi Micro IDSD Black Label > HiFiman HE-500
Tidal is used in both configurations.
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Months back I took a break from the hobby and sold off all of my gear. I’m currently rebuilding the collection.
Daily drivers: HD600, ATH-A900x
On the go: Mee PX
DAC: Modi 2 Uber
AMPs: Magni 2 Uber, Yulong u100 (broken -__-)
I also have a bottlehead crack on the way 
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It’s actually HD800 w/ SDR mod to bring it close to the 800S. And yeah I’m running it balanced to get the most out of it. I also came from the Elear (which I love, despite its shortfalls), and I agree it’s just better overall and far more comfortable. I do miss the punchiness of the Elear from time to time though.
Are you referring to the Gungnir/Mjolnir combo? The main reason I actually got this combo was because I wanted a balanced tube setup that could also function as a pre-amp for speakers. Previously I was using the Cavalli Liquid Carbon, which I also really recommend, but the Gumby/MJ2 stack pairs better with the HD800 IMO. The MJ2 manages to be much more dynamic than the LC, and still smooths out the treble of the HD800 without sacrificing as much detail. It also exploits the massive soundstage of the HD800 much better than the LC.
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That’s interesting about the modified HD800. I watched Tyll’s video and bought all the recommended materials but in the end lost my nerve and traded the 800 in against the 800S.
I never had a chance to compare them directly but have an impression that the bass in the S may have lost some transparency .
Frankly I spent several happy years using the 800 with a Ray Samuels Black Bird out of an iPod and never heard it as having a treble peak. But then the insidious suggestions from ‘experts’ made me discontented!
For what it’s worth I prefer the look of the 800. The black finish on the S with white lettering looks cheaper in my view.
Thank you for info about the other gear which I would love to try for a mains powered solution.
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My current setup is as follows:
Home headphones: Sennheiser HD800 and HD650. AKG 550mk2.
Iem’s: Campfire Andromeda, Shure SE425 and SE846. Massdrop Plus.
Amp/Dac’s: Matrix HPA-3u. Chord Mojo, Dragonfly Red, Jdl O2 amp, FiiO e12a Montblanc.
Source: XDP-300r Dap. FiiO x5mk2 and iPod touch 64mb gen6.
I have bought and sold lots of other iem’s too. The above lists are what I currently own.
-Paul-
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The photo shows most of my headphone collection. Sources are vinyl, tape, and digital files. Amps are old Yamaha RX-V1000 and RX-V1600 receivers both with Burr Brown DAC’s and very good phono preamps. Some of the other various odd bits are a Music Fidelity V-DAC II, ASUS Xonar DSX PCIe cards for 24-192 SPDIF sent to the Yamaha’s from HP xw6600 and xw8600 file servers.
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Sources: MacMini with Audirvana - Pioneer N30 - MSB Link3 - Yamaha CDS-2000 - Yamaha FM T-1
Amps: AudioValve RKV2 Ivory - Ergo Tube Amplifier for Electrostatic Phones
Cans: AKG K1000 - Ergo AMT - Jecklin Float electrostatic - Kennerton Odin - HD800SD (etc.) 
Headphones: HE-400i, Aeon flow closed, L300LE, SR325e, CA Orion, Shozy BK
Amps: Jotunheim, Black Widow, G1217 Polaris, 353XBK
DAC: NuForce DAC80
Portable player: Aune M1s
Pictures speak a thousand words, that being said HD800(super dupont mod), Fostex PH x00(removable cable mod) and Focal Elex. I’m also rocking M1060(honeycomb backs, and fuzzor mod) M1060C (custom open backs), and my sleeper favorite HD 700.
Powered through JDS labs the Element and El DAC
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I think I’m in a good spot right now, HD800 and RME ADI-2 DAC as my primary gear. I do have a Gungnir sitting around doing nothing that I have been looking to sell for the past few months. Such an eyesore really. Also I do have an Eikon and Auteur on loan that I absolutely adore. Might try to pry it off the owner’s hands but I doubt he would be willing to 
My Main Headphone Source - LG V20
My Main Speaker/Home Audio Source - Roon driving various Hifiberries plus Schiit Magni 3 as preamp (I still occasionally plug some headphones in it, but not often).
Main Headphones - Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (with a healthy dose of EQ)
Main IEMs - KZ ZST (no EQ) for daily use, Etymotic HF5 for air travel
Unused Sources - Topping NX4, Fiio X1
Unused Headphones - Audeze LCD2C, Sennheiser HD 600
Main System
Benchmark DAC3 with MacBook connected via USB driving the HD650s. For mixing and working on my keyboards I monitor with the DT 880s. Keyboards connected to the Benchmark analog inputs.
Late night System
IPAD Pro with Dragonfly Red and Sennheiser HD1.
Up for sale on Amazon
Beyerdynamic T90.
Current setup:
Headphones:
HD800, HD700, HD650 & HD6XX (there are slight differences between them), SRH-1840, TH-600 (modded), LCD-2f, SRD-34 (modded), DT-990 premium (modded), K7XX, MDR-1A (modded), HE400i (modded), HE400 (modded), HE560, EL-8 open, RS2e (modded), SR225e (modded), K553 (modded), M50x, MDR-7506, Momentum on-ear & over-ear, V-Moda XS, SR60 (modded), Fedelio L-1, custom built Ypsilon R1, S1, and Nhoord Red V2.
DACs:
Bifrost Uber, Bifrost MB, Modi2uber, UD-301, AH-01
Amps:
Asgard2, Lyr2, Ember, BH Crack, UD-301, AH-01
DAPs:
Fiio X3, X3ii, X1, ipod touch, phones (galaxy S8 and S5)
That’s a list of some very fine gear. You must have some great listening sessions.
-Paul-
It’s not so often I use headphones for general listening these days, however I still do use them when recording and mixing, and so the issue was finding ones (at the time) which gave a good representation of a mix, that also sounded satisfying when listening on loudspeakers.
To that end I have HD650s for critical detail listening and general tonal balance, HD380 Pro for good isolation but with clear detail (and warm bass), DT100 purely for good isolation in testing recording situations.
I also found the cheapo Sony MDR-ZX110NA noise cancelling headphones quite good during flights, but of course nowhere near the quality of the Bose units most frequent travelers seem to enjoy these days.
These days a great listen session is anytime I spend with my GF and her friends, some good wines and food, to me this is what life is about.
Yes I agree. Life’s about those little extras. It’s a real bonus if you can share your passion/hobby with loved ones. Sadly my wife doesn’t care for audio like I do. And she certainly can’t see why I am so passionate about headphones and it assorted gear. She’d prefer to read her kindle. Haha. Each to their own I suppose.
-Paul-
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I downloaded a little program(free) called Fidelizer. It shuts down the parts of your computer not used for sound reproduction and it tunes the cores to just music.
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Current (convenience with reasonable quality) daily setup:
iPod Touch 6 or iPhone or notebook with a bunch of compressed audio sources
FiiO Q5 Bluetooth Balanced DAC/AMP (portable, wires optional, and solid performance)
[optional] Massdrop CTH
Focal Elex, Sennheiser HD600, and (for bright content or noisy rooms) NightHawk Carbons
Mobile setup (mandatory convenience; just okay quality):
iPod Touch 6
Sony WH1000XM2 (noisy rooms, trains, airplanes)
Apple BeatsX IEMs (gym sweat or under hat/cap)