[rgoodnight]

I have a studio/listening room that looks great but has maddening acoustics. The only way to make it sound good is to put 4 large bass traps and AT LEAST 4 2'x4' absorption panels - which make the smallish (11x14x9) room look really ugly and uninviting. Without the acoustic treatments, on the other hand, the room is the favorite in my house for reading, relaxing, etc.

Up until now, headphones (HD580, K1000) have been my alternative mode of listening (e.g. when the family is asleep), but now I am giving serious thought to turning things around: make headphones as my primary sound source and use speakers as secondary.

I will report back on my experience after a couple of weeks, but I was curious and interested in other people who went the headphone route for the same problem with room acoustics.

Thanks,

RG

 

[iareConfusE]

That happened to me, but the main reason wasn't horrible room acoustics. It was at first; my sub for some reason sounded pretty light from right in front of it, but you could feel it and hear the vibrations down the hall even stronger, so my housemate complained. I started using headphones more often because of his complaint and now they're my primary source of audio. I actually don't regret it, because it does sound a lot different and I just feel more immersed in my music.

 

[krmathis]

Not for me.
My main reasons for going headphones instead of speakers were (and still are):
* Space limitations.
* Sound quality to price ratio.
* Neighbors.
* Flexibility.

 

[csroc]

Not for my, headphones for me are just an occasional break from speakers. Sometimes I want a different sound, or I want to listen louder than my neighbors would appreciate at night. If I didn't live in apartment that wouldn't be much of a concern, but if you don't live alone it still is.

 

[peanuthead]

I initially got interested in headphones when I found out we were having a baby, which meant I could not get full enjoyment out of my speaker system for most of the day. I'm very glad I was forced to look into headphones, because I'm really enjoying my Denon D2000 and Head-Direct EF1 combo.

 

[robm321]

I can see how it would drive people to headphones, but I got into them for more practical reason which have been listed by others.

I virtually became an acoustics expert trying to get my speakers to work in a small sqauare room. I ended up buying CARA which is a great program. It takes a lot of input and work, but it really takes the guess work out of it by doing all the complex math and showing you the best speaker placement and where to place the room treatment for the best frequency response.

 

[lucky]

Nah. It's always been about the portability for me. I have no desire to own several large boxes that I couldn't carry out with me at a moment's notice.

 

[tintin47]

I just came into an old hi-fi set up and the acoustics of it are maddening. For that reason I know that my intense listening will always be with phones. I know I'll have a decent rig just for enjoyment with others and the such, but I will stick with phones for when I truly care about SQ.

 

[theBigD]

This is exactly why I gravitated to headphones and stick with them. My listening room is bedroom, I built a bassreflex and deadened the corners of the room and achieved a pretty nice sound with my b&w speakers but I lost all my space to live. So I got into Headphones and removed alot of the room acoustic treatment. Also growing up headphones were my safe haven, my parents had religious beliefs against rock and roll and forbade me to listen to it. So headphones were my refuge. They still are my refuge.

 

[KevM2]

I don't have much room, plus I've heard you can get 'more bang for the buck' with headphones. May or may not be true, but it's also helpful that I can play my music louder at night without disturbing people.

 

[PortaDiFerro]

For me it really started from portable needs, and from there on I realized the SQ can compete with my speakers without disturbing my family or neighbors. Meanwhile costing just fraction what real hi-fi system would.

 

[tintin47]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevM2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't have much room, plus I've heard you can get 'more bang for the buck' with headphones. May or may not be true,

It is definitely true. There are no acoustic treatments to worry about, you need an amp that puts out 1W instead of 100+, no preamp, and the phones themselves cost about a tenth of the cost of nice speakers in the same range of SQ.

 

[intoart]

Noise complaints from the neighbors drove me to try headphones. Now that I have tried them, I love them and prefer them to speakers when listening alone (the speakers are still set up for when I have company.)
A big part of that preference is blocking out background sounds, I find open phones much less satisfying than closed.

 

[Sherwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tintin47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is definitely true. There are no acoustic treatments to worry about, you need an amp that puts out 1W instead of 100+, no preamp, and the phones themselves cost about a tenth of the cost of nice speakers in the same range of SQ.

I cannot support any of this. All the bits that aren't opinion are flat out wrong.

1) I just sold a very nice speaker amp for $150. I can hardly buy an equally well-designed headphone amp for the same cash. More watts does not always equal more money. A good headphone amp shares a great deal of components with a good speaker amp.

2) You still need a preamp, of course. Any headphone amp with a volume control also contains a preamp.

3) Speakers or headphones, the source costs the same amount. I contend that the amps cost similar amounts (though speaker amps go into much higher figures), so the actual transducer is the only volume difference here. To state that headphones give you ten times the sound quality of speakers at a given price is patently ridiculous. I can get better bass and imaging out of a $500 pair of speakers than I can out of any $5000 pair of headphones. your perception of value depends greatly on your perception of sound quality.

 

[Uncle Erik]

What kind of speakers were you using? They all behave differently, so another pair might work for you without the extensive treatments. It's worth looking into.

I use both headphones and speakers. Depends on my mood, but I like headphones because they're more intimate and you can switch up sound signatures by plugging in a different pair. Still, I've been running the AMT-1 speakers more and more because they just sound so right.

Also, the cost difference between headphones and speakers isn't great. Headphone amps are more expensive and involved because having the transducer 1cm off your ear shows up flaws very quickly. Speaker amps can get away with more and there are plenty of inexpensive used ones. Speakers themselves are inexpensive if you DIY (something not that easy with headphones) or buy used. The ESS AMT-1 speakers were $300 and I'll have about $700 into them when I finish the upgrades and refinish them. The DIY ribbons were about $200 and I put about $1k into the ProAc Response 2.5 clones. Not that out of line with high-end headphones and they all perform extremely well. Also, I can run them from an older 100W Denon receiver my cousins gave me. Not the best, but they still sound awfully good.