Man, I'm overthinking things......I'm leaning towards the Ether, but damn, I see a few 'Like new and under warranty' HD800 (or two) for sale at about 860USD. The Ether has been described as analytical and clinical sounding like the HD800 but with a better bass thump, but loses to the HD800's soundstage. Pretty confused, gonna have to sleep on this for the next few nights and see if I can decide (and guys, no 'great' suggestion like, "Hey, why not get both?!") I traded my HD800 for the Grado PS1k, I honestly don't mind getting it again, though the Ether is so much sexier.
Hmm... obviously the Ether and Ether C are two different things, but I tried out the Ether C at the Schiit show, and while it was indeed impressive, I just thought the HD-800 overall was a better headphone. The Ether C definitely had that forward, more "fun" sound signature, compared to the HD-800, but there were times when the treble got kind of wonky. It was as if the headphones couldn't handle delivering the treble properly, so it would just kind of "splurt" it out.
Someone else who was at the Schiit show apparently experienced something similar with the Ether C:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/777730/schiitshow-2015-impressions/105#post_11840524The guy says he thought some of the piano parts got kind of peaky, with some of the Ether C setups.
Now, of course, both the Ether C and Ether are two different headphones, and it seems most people (including the guy who wrote the impressions above) actually do prefer the regular Ether to the Ether C, but... I don't know. For me personally, after comparing the Ether C and the HD-800, and hearing the issues with the Ether C, I would have no problem just picking up the HD-800 without even auditioning the open-back Ether. I know that sounds kind of jerkish, but then again... you are kind of betting your hard earned money (800+ of it), especially when you haven't auditioned one of the headphones at all. And I would bet my money with a more established/reputable manufacturer.
But, of course... that's just me, personally. You say you are leaning towards the Ether, so just go with the Ether and try it out! It doesn't hurt to know for sure which one you prefer.