I read you were listening to Nora Jones and I believe that style of music which Nora is the main focal point a balance earphone is ideal. My thoughts are what if I use these to listen to music that each musician in the track will become the focal point in that song. What I mean is the drummer will have a solo or an opening and later the guitar will start becomeing the focal point and all along the track the bass guitar is always present. Along these sounds the singer will be singing throughout the track so how will a balanced earphone be? Classical, Easy Listening music I believe will require balance but there are other styles out there that pushes one area harder then others in the song. Say Bad Company or Led Zeppelin both have hard drumming and at times the drumming is the main focus but both also have strong lead singers and both have a strong Bass guitar. At times in concert you can feel the bass guitar but if a earphone is unable to produce that feel then something will be missing. A group called Styx has a song called "renegade" in the intro you will not only hear but you will feel the bass and it will move the floor when it is on. Most earphones or headphones will not be able to produce this sound. So if one mostly listens to Easy Listening music or Classical how can I know that earphone can be as good for other styles of music out there?
I don't just listen to Nora Jones or easy listening / classical. Yes, I do listen to that, but what I mainly listen to is classic rock and indie / pop. I'm not really a fan of electronica, although I have listened to it on the K10 to see how it sounds. It sounds really darn good, but it's just not my style of music. The K10 handles it technically very well.
The layering phenomenon that you've described is handled supremely well with the K10. I'd say that it's the headphone's greatest strength. Everything is where it should be, and it's there for you to focus on if you so desire. Each part of the song comes together to form a perfect whole. The bass guitar doesn't get in the way of the vocals. The drums and electric guitar sit on their own plane in the music. No one part muddies the other parts, letting each individual part shine. You can choose to listen for the finer details that are revealed in a specific instrument, you can pick out background nuances if you so choose (and you'll find plenty of them). But you can also just relax and let the music come to you.
To give you an example, I've been re-listening to all of the Eagles hi-res albums from hdtracks. Listening to Desperado, you can hear the accompanying pieces, and the whole build-up just gives me chills. Hotel California never fails to make me shudder. Each time I listen in, I hear more and more details, and little things that I've missed. And I've listened to these songs for years. In Doolin-Dalton, you can pick out every part of the dueling banjos, but you can also hear this wonderful background melody, and the drums, which have a cool little counter melody.
If you read reviews from others in the thread, you'll see them describe the other genres of music and how the K10 handles them. Don't take my lack of listening to certain categories of music as an admission the K10 won't handle them. It will really handle anything you throw at it, and it'll do even better if you have a proper source and drive them well.
However, it really is up to you. My opinions are my own, and I encourage you to get some more opinions before you spend the real money on the K10s. From my experience, however, I can't recommend the K10s enough.
