Headphones or Speakers?

[Meliboeus]

I do not have an hi-fi set of speakers...so i may be mistaken,but i'd take headpones no doubt over anything...i'm a reserved person, privacy is all for me...i'd listen through speakers only music played live... probably

[johnsonad]

I started with cans and converted to speakers. I'll probably end up with a good set of cans again but there is a certain magic in speakers that I never found in headphones.

[Spareribs]

Speakers are best but headphones can be excellent too and in some cases, more realistic in a surround sound kind of way.

With speakers though, your whole body is bathing in the wonderful sound, not just your head. It's your entire body. Just feel the music and let go brotha!

[spacemanspliff]

I love both. In fact, in my new house, I should have two rooms in the basement. One for speakers and HT and another for headphones.

Now, I just need to figure out how to get around the irritation that stax causes with my right ear lol. Sucks b/c I do not like dynamics as much as I like stax.

[MatsudaMan]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! It's so interesting to see all the different opinions around here. For those who bring up the point that speakers are too expensive and you can get much better sound with a cheaper headphone setup, I don't think it's that simple. People around here are spending ridiculous amounts of money on headphones, amps, and sources - thousands of dollars. You can get a great hi-fi rig for that.

[virometal]

mmmm...speakers. They would win exclusive variables for all the reasons MatsudaMan mentioned.

Headphones get the most mileage however. These little PX100's on head, have seen countless good time hours in many different situations - pretty darn sweet bang for the buck.

[srserl]

I prefer speakers for their imaging, but in order to get great sound with good bass, I have not heard any under about $2000 that I could live with. Actually, I spent several years auditioning speakers in the $5000-$10000 range, but couldn't find any I liked well enough to spend that kind of money on.

With headphones, I get great sound with bass anywhere I go...and for <$500 total for cans + portable dac/amp.

Scott

[jrosenth]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Headphones are convenient, inexpensive and private. Speakers give a fuller and more natural presentation for music. They both have their purposes.

Speakers- whenever I can
Headphones- when I have to

See ya
Steve

I'm in the same boat with a couple of qualifications:

1) there are some times where I simply prefer headphones

2) on one hand speakers by their nature are just more natural, but on the other hand, and in my case, my headphones are just of a much high quality, creating a much more natural presentation than my speakers, in a certain sense (how's that for an unclear explanation )

[mercbuggy]

I use Headphones to fill my head and Speakers to fill my heart. With Headphones I can be intimate with the music makers, with Speakers I can share that with my intimate other.

[jma790]

The thing I love most from headphones, is that it's a superb sound you can take wherever you go! And almost always, it comes really handy.