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I often hear people here say that they prefer to just have one headphone as their ultimate choice. I just could never relate to this idea.
That depends - others might, or might not, have other needs. Number one issue - financial/economic. If you can blow only a certain amount on headphones, buying one technically and/or subjectively superior headphone is better than buying several headphones that can't do the job. I had $250 for headphones, and I got a used HD600 (and new earpads) instead of buying an SR125 along with an M50 or Shure SCL2. I have another $300 now, but I'm not blowing it on an HE300, or adding to that for an HE500 - I'm getting the K550 (and a cable loop) for portable use because it's sealed. If my ears didn't itch with IEM tips I'd get a UM3X.
Our apologies, of course, if our poverty confounds you
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All phones bring different things to the table sonically (and even comfort-wise).
All phones have their strengths and weaknesses, and the flagship phones all have unique personalities and are just great in different ways.
If you have one headphone for each music genre, you're not listening to the music in terms of the meaning of "Hi-Fi." Just because it's hard to pin down what sounds exactly as the artist intended it to, short of getting the exact same equipment they used to master as well as the consumer speakers they tested, the idea behind several headphones is that the user picks one for a particular coloration based on what s/he is listening to, instead of what by a mix of technical specs as well as one's own reckoning of what the instruments sound like (more helpful if you actually listen to said instruments live at an acoustically acceptable venue) one headphone or speaker does the best with what one listens to. Not everyone has everything from Justin Bieber, Behemoth, Mozart, and Coltrane in his playlist, so what's the point in getting a different headphone for each genre?
To me, given the right amp, the HD600 and K701 on similarly new or worn ear pads aren't that far apart tonally, the K701 just has better spatial cues, but I picked the HD600 because of other reasons : cheaper pads that aren't too dependent on their shape and chances are it won't be as picky with amps. As with the flagships, as best I've noticed, the higher up one goes, the tendency is the differences to get more subtle as they get closer to being more transparent, although there are exceptions (like Stax) or some other equipment may not work as well with some of them, as with lower price points.
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This is part of the joy of headphoning, to be able to hear your favorite music from other valid perspectives.
Ever consider that people who want an "all-rounder" for what music they listen to as a their "valid perspective"?
Heck to begin with one can hear the same instrument in one venue and another person hears it elsewhere, and they'd end up picking two different headphones or speakers as more accurate. Not everyone loves one headphone then scoffs at the rest, and even then, usually it's probably because of the price (the savers who can't justify spending more, or the elitists who think anything cheaper is trash).
