I auditioned a lot of headphones when I was searching for a birthday present for a hard to please guy- Me. I was not looking for wireless phones as everything I read said that they were A)heavy B)not capable of the sound reproduction I wanted, and C)susceptible to interference from RF emitters. At any rate, I narrowed my search down to two companies (Sennheiser, Grado) purely based on reviews, and then went looking through their lineup for the right phones. I picked the Grado SR-80s based on their bang for their buck and they are amazing phones. However, if I was shopping for someone else (or my next birthday) I would choose the Sennheiser HD-580s.
They are more comfortable than the Grados and their sound is much easier to take. The Grados are constantly being described as "incredibly accurate" or "revealing" (sound familiar?). I find that they overemphasize the high end and take a fair amount of getting used to. Over time I have come to the conclusion that there is a difference between accuracy and high end coloration and I feel that the Grados cross that line. The Sennheisers are simply more comfortable to wear, and more comfortable to listen to. I'm sure that your dad would let you listen every now and then.
