The Absolute Sound as compared to just sound? re: Headphones.

You are the best one. Make a short list from reviews and recommendations, then find places to try them. Tedious,  but far more reliable than trusting someone else 's ears. 

To my dismay some of the "professional" reviews are using their phone or some low-fi device to evaluate a set of headphone's performance.

I feel your pain brother and couldn’t agree with you more.  A little while back I did some research looking for some decent ‘phones for a friend and found it extremely difficult to weed through all the crap out there to find anything halfway credible.  In fact, as a result I’m now starting my own head-fi review site to try to provide useful reviews coming more from an experienced audiophile perspective rather than from a headphone “hobbyist” turned blogger who struggles to convey what they’re hearing because they have little to no foundation in what good sound truly is.  Sorry if that sounds arrogant or condescending, but that’s how most headphone reviews out there come across to me.  (BTW, big Car & Driver fan here and point well taken on R&T — good analogy). 

Anyway, I think posting what type of sound/performance characteristics you’re looking for here along with your budget might be more helpful than trying to parse through all the detritus that exists out there.  FWIW. 

soix, Thanks for you thoughtful post.  My listening is mainly classic Jazz from the 40s through the 70s and  well recorded female vocals doing standards and Jazz vocals.  I prefer acoustic instruments with an allowance for well recorded electric guitar and bass.  Being esoteric should never be taken as arrogant.  Knowledge and/or experience that is shared is a gift that the reader/listener can accept, reject or modify based on personal experience.  It is done with film and restaurant reviews world wide, and should be no different with most consumer goods.   Having driven race cars at Road America, I understand that is a non-standard experience and perspective on handling and how to drive.....For many "going out to eat" means a place with a drive-up window, but that is not what I consider a dining experience. .......however, there are always Twinkies and Ding-Dongs....for real gourmet foods.