this was years ago, but my first "high-end" headphone was an HD800, which I bought blind because I just got a job and it looked cool and audio reviewers were raving about it... and I hated it. These days I'm more cognizant of just how subjective head-fi is, so I don't spend money I'm not comfortable wasting without listening to something with my own ears or the recommendation of someone whose opinions I trust completely. Though of course, sometimes you buy something and it turns out to be unreliable or uncomfortable for long stretches and so on.