Best value cans for mastering/mixing electronica + listening to rock?

[ImAlive]

Hi there

So, I want to enter the world of good headphones. What I want is phones in the price range up to 150Eur (~190$) that are good for electronic (trance) reference and producing use and also nice for listening to (symphonic, power) heavy metal. For now, I do not intend to buy an extra amp. Circumaural, (semi)open headphones seem to be suited best.
I would like to have linear frequency response and good detail resolution for using the cans in the home studio as sort of a 'sonic magnifying glass' and reference. Clear, punchy bass and extended treble would be fine. Of course I also want to listen for enjoyment, so the sound should not be tiring or the comfort bad.

I so far have pre-selected the following models:

1. AKG K240 Studio
2. AKG K501

Dunno why it's all AKG, they seem to have good value for what they provide. Grado would also come into mind, but here in germany, they are hardly available and rather overpriced compared to US prices.

K240 S: From the graph at headroom, they seem to have rather over-emphasized bass and a quirky treble region. Advantage: low impedance, supposedly no need to be specifically amped. AKG lists them as studio equipment, but from reading a lot of threads here, I see that the 240s is not as good a reference as the old 600Ohm k240m. Marketing speech says that they are in a way improved above the 240m, but who should one believe? I can get these for about 100 Euros.

K501: Their frequency response looks way better than the 240's, however, they are mostly recommended for classical/jazz, which I hardly listen to. Overall, they have a more "Hi-Fi" than a "Studio" look, but what about the sound? I read a lot of comments about these lacking bass, which I think might not be so good for power metal and trance. I don't need loud, boomy low-precision bass (that's something my speakers do), but rather precise, sharp kicks and good resolution to be able to engineer low frequencies well.
For an amp, I do not want to buy a dedicated one right now, but there is an amp built into my DJ mixer which has 'Excellent' (RMAA rating) sound and can be pretty (up to mechanical distortion) loud with my rather crappy but efficient 64Ohm HPS3000. Maybe this amp could be good enough for a start, and with me studying electronics, DIY sounds not too far-fetched. K501 are available for around 130 Euros.

Could somebody please give me some hints on which phone to decide, or point me in another direction?

Looking forward to read your replies

ImAlive

 

[Esidarap]

Have you looked at the Sony MDR-V6? Classics, always highly recommended for studio use.

EDIT:

Frequency Graph

 

[ImAlive]

Looks nice, yeah, but it seems they are not available here in Germany, only as US imports ($45 shipping - you get the point).

Just stumbled upon some other nice headphones, the beyerdynamic DT 880. Looks really good in the spectrum (amazingly similar to the 501 in the low mids):

HeadRoom graphical comparison

I could get it for about 180 Euros, which would stretch my budget a bit, but from what I've read, these should be really great. The bass does not slack off as much as the AKG 501s, but they, too, are not recommended for trance/rock - just because they have a rather flat response, which is what I want, or for other reasons? Another problem here would be the impedance of about 300 Ohm (waiting for a reply from Beringer about the impedance range of my mixer) - will they work with the 'usual phones plug'?. Then, I am a bit confused - one shop here has them as DT 880 PRO, and the others as DT 880 (for the same price). The beyerdynamic website puts the PRO besides studio gear, the 880 '2005' seems to be for the Hi-Fi market. Does anybody know the differences? This PRO thing seems to be rather new.

 

[Esidarap]

IIRC the Pro models have a different headband that clamps harder.

 

[MaZa]

DT880 is extremely flat, if bit lean in bass. Probaply good for mixing, if it responses to EQ:ing well enough. However, its requires a decent amplifier for sure.