Best high-ish end headphones for Bottlehead setups?

[oguinn]

I'm getting myself a gift for getting a new job, and I figured I'd get some new headphones since it's unclear if I'll have a lot of room for my full setup in our next (temporary) house. Ideally whatever I bought would match well with both the Crack and Mainline.

Massdrop (Drop) is doing a run of Sennheiser 8XX, and that's where my mind went first. I'd also heard good things about ZMFs and Focals, but I haven't tried any from them and don't know whether they pair well with the gear I have.

Additional question - how do you all audition expensive headphones? Is it mostly just hoping for lax return periods and policies?

[johnsonad]

You could make a post here looking for of BH's in your area with headphones to try.  It's always nice to meet other fans.  You may also want to look up local headphone meets in your area.  The big headphone sites have sub forums for meet ups.  If you have a dealer local, and if you already have an amp, you could bring it in and try it on site. Lastly, you could order a pair with a return policy and if you don't like them, send them back.

I rolled a lot of headphones before settling on what worked best for me.  Headphones are very subjective IMO and if possible, you should try them in your system before committing.  Just my two cents.