Yea, I generally agree that when the equipment is really nice I have to control myself not to turn it up... it just sounds so nice when you do (unlike with low-grade stuff).   I'm pretty convinced from all I've read now that with headphones a person might be more prone to damaging their ears...

Yea, I think one point is definitely to do with perceived loudness, although where that perception comes from is interesting too.   But then I was also thinking:   Let's say you have 80dB hitting you and it's all under 100Hz, versus 80dB hitting you and it's all between 5kHz and 8kHz. Do you...

No the HF is not there as much with speakers as with headphones.   See above re the Ultrasone headhphones. From what I can tell this is a legitimate concern - headphones giving a loudness perception lower than true loudness and therefore increasing chance of hearing damage..

Interesting replies.   I still think that there may be something to the first point in my original post. I was thinking how with speakers you can perceive it to be louder when it's actually not - because of feeling the bass in a more physical way, and therefore you get fewer of those high...

Hi everyone,   I'm interested in why headphones are more damaging to our ears than speakers. I see a lot of people say so but without explanation. (I'm not talking about those people who use iphone earbuds on the subway - or in fact any earphones - only headphones).  So let's say you listen...