Selecting headphones and a headphone amp

There are a few headphone forums where you'll find a whole lot more bandwidth noise than here and even more conflicting opinions. But the subject matter is very specific to what you are looking for, obviously. If you plan on doing a whole lot of listening I'd agree about comfort, but that said, the level of comfort for any headphones are relative to the user head. I tend to put a higher emphasis on sound quality, but if you are uncomfortable you'll have a difficult time enjoying anything. I also don't find Grados comfortable at all. By far the most comfortable cans I've owned have been HD800's - you barely know they are on. The sound quality is excellent, BUT they seemed to be far better suited to acoustic and classical to my ears, and not as much to vocals. Since I listen to a whole lot of vocal material I ended up going elsewhere and now use Audeze LCD2 (rev. 2). These, and that companies LCD3 are superb all around performers and serve all genres of music very well indeed. Do some research on them - any search will turn up a whole lot of input and many reviews, especially for the LCD2 (the 3 just came recently but is also garnering tremendous praise). They are certainly not in the top of the comfort range and some folks don't find them comfortable at all, but not many sell them for that reason since the performance is so good. Nothing short of the upper end of the current Stax line (both of which are excellent choices but very expensive), at more than double the price between amp and cans, does so much so well. If you are a soundstage fanatic your choice would be more pointed to the new LCD3 at twice the price of the 2. If you prefer more tonal weight the LCD2 might be a better choice, at some minor expense of soundstage and speed/resolution. Just knee-jerk an not from direct experience, but I'd choose the 2 over the 3 for vinyl in that the 3's slightly better upper end openness will be less forgiving on vinyls flaws. You would not kick either out of bed unless the comfort becomes a serious issue. Soundstage champions are HD800 and Stax, but as I said, the HD800 is a more pointed sword, and Stax are a high price of admission. I believe Audeze is currently offering a 30-day trial period (check the details of that on their site). The only other cans I'd remotely consider that have been mentioned thus far are Grado PS1000 (nothing else in the Grado line sounds quite like these), and Stax 007 or 009. A nod to HD800 and Beyer T1 for comfort and a qualified runner-up status, but both are not without flys in their ointment and may or may not run with your own specific taste. If you are seeking "warmth" I'd eliminate the HD800. The matching amp is certainly important, and will really depend on which cans you choose and how much you want to spend.