I also used to think that Headphones couldn't be beat as well, especially after I bought a pair of Audeze LCD-2 (rev2) in january this year.
It made it woefully clear that my speaker setup just couldn't even remotely come close to the LCD-2.
I did find the LCD-2 quite restricting though as I do like to move around the flat a bit while listening to music.
From the outset I reckoned I'd be spending around 5000$+ for something that couldn't possibly match the LCD-2 but would at least be a significant upgrade over my current setup.
After auditioning a considerable amount of speakers (including some more exotic setups such as Rowen (omni directional) and a pair of 10k a pair Martin Logans Electrostats) I came away very disapointed, Not only had I auditioned speakers far outside my financial comfort zone, but none of them felt like a significant upgrade over my much cheaper existing setup.
As none of the high-end shops around here had shown me anything I was willing to spend money on I decided to give monitors another shot and headed out to a pro-audio gear shop.
Now, anyone will tell you monitors aren't exactly tailored for living room setups (I do own a pair of Genelec 6010 + 5040Sub as a Desktop setup and while they sound fantastic at close range (i.e. across a Desk, which is what they were designed for) they simply can't fill a room with sound and even at 2m distance they very quickly start sounding "off")
So I also went into this with a fair bit of apprehension and a knowledge that I'd have to pay attention to the size of the audition room and my distance to the speakers or I'd end up with something that sounded great at the dealer and awful at home.
I think it really helped that I already knew what the main problem with my Genelecs was, and what I was looking for in terms of improvement that helped us to narrow it down fairly quickly (also a big thumbs up to the sales rep - he did a brilliant job at helping me without introducing any of his own bias).
And while a lot of the monitors sounded very good (better than any of the so called high-end speakers I auditioned previously), I still recognized enough similarities to my Genelecs to realize that these wouldn't be a big upgrade - I told the rep just that, also saying that I was looking for highs that were maybe just a tad less aggressive, even if that meant sacrificing a little bit of accuracy in the process.
He then suggested trying out a pair of odd looking speakers (I'd never even heard of that brand before), to put it lightly the first song already knocked it out of the ballpark - amazing detail, without the overt aggressiveness as well as beautiful mids and the tightest bass I'd heard to date (easily providing more punch and definition than even the Grado PS500 (which I also own)).
I put them through through the paces with a large selection of my own music collection - they excelled at it all, in short I was sold.
To my very pleasant surprise they also turned out to be much cheaper than I'd even dared hope for - 2650$.
Now that I have these at home I love these speakers to death and the LCD-2 have been gathering dust ever since.
There's still something that I really like about the LCD-2, but I'd say that I'm currently at around 95% speaker usage vs 5% LCD-2.
So what to take away from this:
1) finding good speakers isn't easy, but auditioning unconventional solutions may pay off - the point is not to settle really listen and be patient until you find the speaker that really nails it for you.
2) if you like balanced sound, monitors may be worth a listen (bassheads probably won't find what they like here) - but you have to carefully keep in mind what they were designed for and carefully take into account the setup you audition them in - most are nearfield (i.e. 1-2meters listening distance), the ones I got are midfield and provide full room filling sound even at 6-7meters.
3) a good sales rep can make a world of difference (one that actually tries to help you instead of just getting you to buy the most expensive stuff)
4) A brilliant setup doesn't need to be obscenely pricey - my current setup of a pair of KS Digital C55's with a Peachtree Nova (+ 80$ worth of cinch cables + XLR>Cinch Adapters) comes in at under 4000$. If the Audio MDAC had been available when I got the Peachtree I probably would've gone for that easily shaving another 500$ off of that total
Some other notes:
- I do listen to a fairly wide selection of Music. For Auditioning I always try to touch all genres I enjoy. In my case this ranges from Metal (Between the Buried and Me, Nevermore, Devin Townsend), Prog(Metal) (Animals as Leaders, Yes, Cynic) to Jazz (Hiromi, Microscopic Septet) to Classical (Mussorgsky, Sibelius) to Postrock (Godspeed You, Black Emperor, Mastodon, Made out of Babies, Julie Christmas) and beyond...
- My living room is very far from acoustically optimal - my living room is not accoustically treated, I have hardwood floors with no carpet and my living room is rather asymmetrical (8mx4m, 3m ceiling), windows on one side, as well as an open kitchen on the far end and large open hallway on the other side in the middle
- As a reference I consider KS Digital C55>LCD2>Genelec 6010 (@ 1meter max dist)==Grado PS500
- I consider myself just a regular music listener, I don't have "golden ears" or anything close to it, nor do I do any professional audio work
- Right now I couldn't be happier with my current setup...the Audiolabs MDAC is tempting me but I really don't think it'd be noticeable upgrade for me...tbh I think it's more a case of too much spare cash, a love for new gadgets and none of my many other hobbies eating it up my cash atm
- I do not believe in expensive cables or any of that other esoteric stuff - imo >90% of the sound is due to the speakers/headphones and the rest ist the amp/dac, if I can't hear a difference in a blind test I do not consider it an upgrade.
Sorry if this is a bit of a longwinded post, but I think context is very important as well as acoustic preferences and the type of music (I personally find it next to impossible to judge speakers/headphones with electronic music, while (well recorded) Metal in particular makes flaws stand out immediately, while Jazz & Classical allows for judging of nuances and natural representation)