Thanks Larry - I'm leaning to the ATH-M50x since it has a Sonarworks profile. The Akias look like a good deal but it doesn't have the Sonarworks support...

Thanks Bit. 
 
These two statements seemed contradictory:
 
"The lower their impedance, the greater the current required of the amplifier."
 
and

 "The downside is that if you ever want to use those hi-z headphones with your portable music player or smartphone, they might not perform as well because portable devices operate at lower voltages."
 
What did I miss?
 

dupe dupe

Power = current * voltage, meaning N watts can be achieved by high current and low voltage or vice versa. 1 watt can be 1 ampere at 1 volt, or it can be 1 milliamp at 1,000 volts. Either way, it's one Watt, the difference being the load impedance. 
 
Hi-z = low current, high voltage
Lo-z = high current, low voltage
 
These are generalizations. There are certainly high-voltage, low-impedance loads (e.g. electric motors) and there are low-voltage high-impedance loads (guitar pickups). But think of impedance as the amount of resistance to current flow (using the word "resistance" by its dictionary definition, not as an electronics term). The higher the impedance, the more voltage is needed to push a given amount of current through it. 

any way you can test the possible candidates against the material you think isn't being correctly/accurately/usefully being reproduced before committing?

Thanks again bit! I'm wondering if waiting until I can afford a nice set like those DT880s is the way to go, rather than add another mid-line headphone to the group.
 
pwalpwal - now THAT would be awesome. :)

      I have a pair of Sony MDR-7509 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohms headphones. I now almost never use the Sony. Both are enclosed type. I use these in conjunction with Mackie HR624 speakers. I prefer the 770 because of their wide frequency response, especially for monitoring the low frequencies. Also, the isolation of the 770 is better than the Sony. These Mackie models  are a bit light on lows but the mid range is better than the HR824 (which have betters lows). The speakers are a also a bit dull sounding compared to some but this seems to translate well to other systems e.g. car audio and Hi-Fi. This compromise between speakers and headphones works for me.
      I record vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, BFD 3 drums, various plug-ins including Omnisphere 2 and the Sonar plug-ins for stings, pads etc..
      My audio interface is the Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and the headphones are fine using the headphone outputs on this.
 
      You don't mention what other headphones you have but I hope this may be of some help. Happy hunting.
 
     

smallstonefan
Thanks Larry - I'm leaning to the ATH-M50x since it has a Sonarworks profile. The Akias look like a good deal but it doesn't have the Sonarworks support...

The Akai ARE low impedence...and can be used with devices Small...
and they won't require Sonarworks...they are pretty flat right out of the box.

I bought them to compliment my ATH-M50's...

I really like them...but they are not High Impedence, as bit said...

Now...Newegg has Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro's for $110 right now...
http://www.newegg.com/Pro...F-00D2-00002-_-Product

Thanks everyone! JCB - that was helpful, and Larry that sale is too good to pass up! :)

cclarry

smallstonefan
Thanks Larry - I'm leaning to the ATH-M50x since it has a Sonarworks profile. The Akias look like a good deal but it doesn't have the Sonarworks support...

The Akai ARE low impedence...and can be used with devices Small...
and they won't require Sonarworks...they are pretty flat right out of the box.

I bought them to compliment my ATH-M50's...

I really like them...but they are not High Impedence, as bit said...

Now...Newegg has Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro's for $110 right now...
http://www.newegg.com/Pro...F-00D2-00002-_-Product

The KRK's are suppose to be extremely flat also but I noticed a huge change in the sound and improvement in my final mixes...   ears... mine and others said it all to me.