please help the audionoob find headphones??

THE place you want to ask or read about headphones is "headFi.org
http://www.head-fi.org/

Sennheiser. Very smooth...yes, expennsive. but well made, super comfortable, uniformly reliable. i find the sony mdr6 uneven for some reason, or not smooth...something.

Elizabeth's suggestion is very good. In addition, I also recommend Sennheiser. Comfortable, smooth sound, and many models come with a 1/8 plug and 1/4 adapter.

I have the Sony MDR-V6's on your list and I have enjoyed them with the headphone jack from my Outlaw Model 990 and from the headphone jack of my Dell laptop at work. They are a very neutral sounding headphone. Bass and treble were just right to me.

Here is an old review from an A'gon member about the pro version of the MDR-V6. The Sony MDR 7506. They are practically the same.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?raccs&1072737177&openfrom&1&4#1

Now regarding comfort I say swap out the stock pads from the MDR-V6 for the velour padded Earcushions for the BeyerDynamic DT250/DT280. When I wear the V6's with the stock earpads my ears perspire even after only an hour of listening to music. Also I wouldn't get the Pearpad ear cushions for the V6s. In my case they changed the MDR-V6 from an over the ear to an on-ear headphone which was not comfortable for me.

Also check youtube for reviews on the MDR V6.

Best of luck with your search.

I used to also own original Sony V6 earphones. They were OK for Rock, but I much preferred Beyerdynamic 990 for most music. (I still own the 990's, I gave away the Sony.
My primary earphones now are Sennheiser HD800 via Rudistor RPX33 mk2. So i have move upscale in the phones' area.