[eiekal]

I use to read some great reviews by tuberoller and a couple others I don't see anymore. Did they all go to speaker listening?

Do some of you with high end speakers prefer to listen to your phones even when you can listen to your speakers?

 

[bozebuttons]

I have been a Speaker guy for quite some time & do have a good speaker system.Piega C8LTDS,CJ Peimier 12 tube monoblocks,Hovland HP100 preamp.EMM labs Dac6e/Sacd1000 combo(Does double duty with my headphones for source) VPI scout.
I find I listen to my headphone setup 80% of the time even when I can listen to speakers instead.

 

[eiekal]

That is amazing that you still prefer headphones with your system. I've followed threads where you built your system... well I specifically remember reading when you got your EMM.

I'm glad some old timers, like yourself Bozebuttons, are still around. Don't ever leave so you can continue sharing with your posts =)

 

[Squeek]

I love speaker listening. If I could have a speaker rig of comparable quality to my headphone rig I'd be in ecstacy! However, it would cost me many thousands of dollars.

For speakers (for 2 channel listening) I use Infinity Alpha 40's and a Velodyne CHT8 sub powered from a Harman Kardon receiver. It sounds excellent, but it's not exactly audiophile gear. I use my speakers mainly for home theatre and when I have parties. It's also great for when doing chores or the like.

The beauty part about headphones is that you can achieve amazing results from far less dollars. That and the intimacy that headphones allow.

 

[Max Minimum]

If I had a house instead of a condo, I'd probably listen to my speakers more than my headphones, but I'm a bit of a night owl and bass really travels. An angry neighbor can negatively affect the listening experience.

That said, there are still times when I actually prefer headphones instead of just settling for them. The main reasons for me are that when I turn my head, the music turns with me, and, as already mentioned, they can provide a more intimate experience.

 

[milkpowder]

I don't own them yet, but I have been going speaker auditioning with my parents lately and they have pretty much narrowed down to the B&W 803D/802D, Sonus Faber Cremona, Pro-Ac D38, Magnepan 20.1, etc... When set-up properly, speakers beat headphones (ignoring the massive price difference). It's that simple. If I had the money, I'd go speakers. A top headphone system won't break $10,000. In the hifi speaker world, $10,000 will only buy a mid/hi-end pair of speakers.

 

[depaulhifi]

I much prefer listening to speakers than headphones. The experience is just so much more visceral and dynamic. Especially when you have large, adequately powered speakers... (with a powered boom-boom section....)

 

[smeggy]

With a good speaker setup it can be a much more involving experience, however, my wife's musical tastes and mine are very different, plus she like to watch the telly so headphones it is for most of the time.

 

[Jahn]

when it is movie time, i listen to the speakers and subwoofer. otherwise, it's headphones for me due to the space (small) and time (late) restrictions where i live.

 

[Albatross05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eiekal That is amazing that you still prefer headphones with your system. I've followed threads where you built your system... well I specifically remember reading when you got your EMM. I'm glad some old timers, like yourself Bozebuttons, are still around. Don't ever leave so you can continue sharing with your posts =)

It would be great to have a nice speaker setup but I think I'd still prefer headphones. The experience is just so much more intimate and you don't have to worry about being in the sweet spot or having all the settings just right. Even a modest headphone setup easily reveals details that even a relatively good speaker system doesn't (or at least, not as readily).

My speakers aren't great but they're halfway decent (Athena AS-F2). I don't find them nearly as satisfying as listening to my Senn HD-497s, however.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albatross05 It would be great to have a nice speaker setup but I think I'd still prefer headphones. The experience is just so much more intimate and you don't have to worry about being in the sweet spot or having all the settings just right. Even a modest headphone setup easily reveals details that even a relatively good speaker system doesn't (or at least, not as readily).

Very true! My recent experiences at various hifi shops have demonstrated the hastle that goes into setting up speakers. Apparently it takes a hifi shop three hours to set up a pair of speakers to the point where the locations of the speakers would be sonically unknown provided you're sitting in the one and only sweet spot.

 

[mattigol]

I have a WAF problem when I play my music through speakers. She constantly turned down the volume either to collect her thoughts or to talk to me. Kind of aggravating and the reason I got into headphones 3 years ago. Surprisingly from an audiophile's perspective, we are still a couple and will get married this year.

 

[VicAjax]

if i had a listening room and a mid-to-high end speaker set up, i would listen to my headphones far less.

 

[bongomon]

I love listening to both headphones and speakers. Speakers generally give me a feeling of being in the room with the musicians, more than headphones do. Perhaps this is because there is more air moving and more wave reflections off the walls. Phones give me more intimacy with the details of the music and usually let me pay more attention to the music as I become less distracted by the environment. I use phones fairly heavily now because I have a small house with hard floors and poor acoustics. I also have a wife and small children who either don't want to hear my music as loudly as I'd like or want to sleep when I'm listening. Finally, I enjoy the headphone experience more because I can afford to try out new gear more easily than with my speaker setup.

 

[fureshi]

i would prefer to go with speakers for the imaging and spatial effects as they will ultimately provide more of a sense of being in the same room with the musician with well recorded music that stay true to instrument placement. unfortunately i've been spending too much on headphones lately to seriously consider speakers.