Does compromise have to happen?

First of all, thanks for the amazing information on this forum: the debates definitely help me make an informed decision. Before I forget: To the person who posted the 98-headphone review... that was beyond awesome. You should be awarded an honorary Ph.D for that work.

I am searching for a new set of closed-design cans. They will be for home use, but I would like a set that would be portable within the house. I'll be driving them exclusively with an iPod Nano 6th Generation (involuntarily hooked on iTunes... but that's another story), so I will likely need something that is easy to drive.

Now for the part that I need some advice: I listen to an odd mix of music. In a typical evening, I will listen to some house/ambient/trance music, go straight into some cello/orchestral, and finish up with some jazz. Considering the DAP (iPod Nano), are there a set of headphones that can handle all of those musical genres very well WITHOUT compromising on any particular measure of sound quality (soundstaging, frequency response, etc). I realize that with a great AMP, a better source, and some screaming hot headphones you have to compromise less... but I'm not going down that road (just yet!).

I have some idea of what headphones might be good "all-round" cans for the purpose: Audio Technica ATH-M50, Denon HP700 DJ 'phones, and the Sony MDR-ZX700. I selected these because of their low impedence level, general price-point, and the impressions of those in this forum. Of these three, is there a clear winner, or have I overlooked something?

In an ideal world, I would simply audition them all and pick the winner... but we all know that won't be happening. I might be leaning towards the Denon HP700, but I am wondering whether or not a headphone made for DJs would destroy the classical music?

Thanks for the opinions...

Thanks for the recommendations... I'm going to follow up on those models for sure.

To be honest, I would think that I would spend anywhere from 100-250 on a set of cans, depending on how well they can play a broad spectrum of music. I suppose my only concern about getting really nice audiophile grade headphones is that I have no idea whether or not they would sound good with an iPod driving them. I suppose that's why I had narrowed down the selection to the M50s, Sony, and Denon 700 DJ phones... no doubt they would perform near optimal with a low-quality player (without an amp).

I think that if I were to go truly high-end, I would get a set of 'phones that I could pair with my Creek Audio separates system, which could probably drive a rhinoceros if it came to such a thing!

Hope all is well... and thanks again for the advice.

Sorry for the multiple posts...

I just checked into the A900x and Denon 2000 series... They both have incredibly low impedance levels for their quality! For some reason I had formed the impression that higher end 'phones would be tougher to drive; I guess you learn something new everyday.

I could also be way off-base with this assessment!