Absolutely! If I’m having an off day, and the fingers aren’t going where I want them to, or I’m doing some preset design, I may be wearing those cans for hours. If that’s torture, then those are a bad set of phones for me.
I got some velour pads for my BD 990s (right from the start) and they are supremely comfortable. I can go hours on end with them on without the slightest bother.
have you tried any open back headphones? They would do this less. I have some cheap Grados I can wear forever.
I’ve just ordered the Austrian Audio Hi-X55’s I need closed back with a fairly good soundstage for a closed back and balanced response.
They also have a very low impedance of 22ohm so can be driven from anything, which is great for field recording, or just listening to a mix on different devices.
In the end choosing a headphone is very personal. I don’t think there will ever be a one size fits all or best solution. There will always be a compromise of some sort,
I just went with a gut feeling in the end after watching endless reviews of different brands that fell within my budget.
I’ve been using the ATH-M40x’s for years, they really are very neutral but not the most comfortable to wear over long periods. If the comfort was there I would have stuck with them.