romaz
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2013
- Posts
- 1,182
- Likes
- 1,265
though I am not into orchestral music very much ( Indian music ) but I have few albums. imho the placement of drivers both in case of headphones and speakers relative to ears is the key to the difference of imaging produced by both. in case of headphones you can't adjust the position and sadly in case of speakers , most listeners place the speakers straight firing. over the years I have found that correct toe in of speakers plays a very major role for imaging of speakers. it is so much so that when my speakers are disturbed by even few mm( or even less ) I know that there is something wrong. and believe me this toe in is required for every speaker and room combinations. there is only one toe in for correct imaging which depends upon speaker type and room conditions. ( correct toe in is independent of listening position ) in that way headphone have the disadvantage that you can't adjust the position of drivers relative to ears.
What you say about speakers is very true and this is why a properly set up speaker system can image so well but it sounds like you haven't heard a pair of really good headphones. The better headphones have angled drivers that were toed in by the manufacturer to achieve a certain degree of imaging. There are also headphones that have angled pads that can be adjusted for personal preference (Abyss). Moreover, you can also buy aftermarket pads with varying degrees of toe in. In fact, there are numerous threads on Head-Fi that talk about this.
No one disputes the advantages that speakers have but don't make it sound like headphones can't image at all.