[dngl]

Headphones only. I can't bring speakers to college with me.

 

[Tim D]

I had a feeling that even though this is a headphone site with headphone enthusiasts, that there were going to be very strong sidings with speakers.

I also dislike the common headphone/speaker money comparisons. They only hold true for a few things such as, accuracy, transparency, speed, and imaging. It is true you can get these things incredibly cheaper in headphones such as Ety's. But even my old speakers can do a few things better. Loud and dynamic presentation without destroying your ears (a common reason headphone listening is dangerous is people try to match speaker listening volumes!). And of course body-felt visceral bass. And just better soundstaging(I seperate imaging from soundstage).

This is my personal reason I like Ety's so much...they excel at what headphones should excel at...and I couldn't care less about visceral bass, or "wide" soundstage, when in the end it is a mere shadow of what speakers do. Likewise my speakers probably aren't that great, but I don't really care about speed, transparency, accuracy on my speakers as much. Of course the more the better, and they still sound incredibly better than the cheezy home theater setups I've heard, but its the things speakers can provide that headphones don't that I like listening to them for.

I voted in the middle of the poll like most. Put this poll in other hi-fi forums that aren't headphone related, I'd bet that the majority of votes will be in the upper two selections!

 

[pigmode]

I agree. While reading or at the computer, the headphone sound is perfect for me.

When I listen to music, with a more focused intent, the speaker experience really comes through.

 

[JMT]

I like my speakers, although they are not near the quality of the speakers that some of you have. I mainly listen to them for home theatre, and to listen to music while I cook

(Yes, I love to cook. Don't laugh). But for serious music listening, it's the headphones. I probably listen to my headphones 90% of the time.

 

[dhwilkin]

Quote:

JMT said... (Yes, I love to cook. Don't laugh).

Hmm, I wonder if there's a correlation here. On one hand, we have JMT: DIY guru, and loves to cook (food equivalent of DIY). OTOH, we have me: Knows what DIY stands for, and couldn't survive w/o a microwave. Coincidence?

 

[BenG]

Both for obvious reasons. I use speakers w/ headphones at the same time sometimes as well. A subwoofer/headphone combo is really nice.

 

[Xander]

hehehehe..

Actually, I'd love to get a good audio system later down the line. Headphones were a breaking point for me, since my room is shaped funny, and most of my listening is done on relaxation, I just couldent afford good sound, either. Laying on my bed and listening is impossible, since my head is near the corner of the room, off axis with the speakers, not to mention this is where all of the low-frequency refraction is happening... Sounds like a pair of V700DJ's....

Speakers are superior in many ways, as they can produce a more natural sound stage, impact and so on... The down side, a good speaker costs a LOT of money, and headphones are generally the aphex of accuracy / price ratio, since theres such a tiny diapraghm that needs to be moved. You dont have to sit in one spot to get decent imaging, less refraction, etc. With speakers you also have crosstalk, which reduces the stereo effects quality as well.. With headphones, stereo dimension is very dramatic, as with speakers it's just not so, since your always hearing both speakers trough both ears. Because of this, headphones create a more ambient enveloping sound (well, my AKG's do

), which in some cases can make music more envolving.

Even when I get a great system, I'll still listen to headphones, especially for relaxation.. Since it's impossible to fall asleep listening to speakers unless you place your bed perfectly.. Which aint happenin in a bedroom shaped like an L.

 

[pigmode]

Here's another advantage for HPs. With speakers you need to optimize the listening environment. I live near the University so there are kids, big and small, all over the place. It's hard to listen to classical till later in the evening. The quiet passages barely come through otherwise.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

With speakers you also have crosstalk, which reduces the stereo effects quality as well.. With headphones, stereo dimension is very dramatic, as with speakers it's just not so, since your always hearing both speakers trough both ears. Because of this, headphones create a more ambient enveloping sound (well, my AKG's do ), which in some cases can make music more envolving.

Actually, "crosstalk" is one of the things that make loudspeakers more realistic and lifelike. When you hear real instruments, you don't hear them out of one ear -- you hear them out of both ears.

Crossfeed circuits attempt to recreate this phenomenon in headphones. Personally, I can't even listen to headphones without crossfeed anymore.

 

[raymondlin]

crosstalk? What the heck is that? do you mean crossover? I never heard of something call crosstalk. Where is it? in the speaker or the amp?

Speakers basically are the same as Headphones, signal comes in and the crossover seperates the treble and the bass and sent the high frequency to the tweeter and the bass to the main cone/woofer. That's why a good quailty crossover is important. And also why people bi-wire their speakers, it's by-pass the crossover and sent the signal sttraight to cone. Since there's always 1 cone in headphones, there's no crossovers. we all know the cone is basically a magnet that moves the diapham that moves the air. So where is this crosstalk? I am very confused

I am more into Speakers HiFi then Headphones and have never heard of read about such a thing. I am very confused here.

Quote:

which reduces the stereo effects quality as well..

if there is such a thing, why would they put it in if it make the speakers worst? Crossovers a essential to a speaker and if a speaker is bad at stereo imaging, it has a much to do as the rest of the set up as the speaker itself.

 

[Xander]

Ray,

As MacDEF said, it really doesnt make the speakers worse. It actually does provide a more natural listening experience. Crosstalk is when sound from one speaker, say the left, is heard in the right ear, and vice versa. Since headphones are placed directly on your ears, each ear seldomly hears the other headphone, so most of the crosstalk is eliminated. This is what the crossfeed circuitry in Headroom's amps attempt to recreate.

The thing is, however, without crosstalk you get a faker weirder stereo effect, but it sounds really cool. In a studio, if you mike a guitar at the neck, and at the sound hole, then mix both mics trough the left / right chanel with the proper leveling, you can get a really cool stereo affect. It's all coloration, really.. And bad recording habit. Things should be placed singularly in space, rather then have fancy stereo effects done with them. You dont hear a single acoustic guitar in two places at a live performance..... Well, unless theres some silly monitoring setup going on.

 

[Xander]

It all boils down to preference here fellahs..

A VERY good Audiophile recording, on an excellent system, using percussions and so forth, can sound very lifelike. Pianos and Brass instruments just dont sound natrual, no matter WHAT you play them trough. Nothing is going to sound like a live performance, so you had better just find something you enjoy the most, and stick with it.

With the lack of crossfeed, the stereo affect IS more dramatic, and imaging is "false", though very precise and very solid. With speakers, theres a bit of fuzzyness in the imaging, especially to the far left and right, since crossfeed is happening.

It helps it sound more natural.. But two speakers really cant covey the music perfectly without messing it up.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

The thing is, however, without crosstalk you get a faker weirder stereo effect, but it sounds really cool. In a studio, if you mike a guitar at the neck, and at the sound hole, then mix both mics trough the left / right chanel with the proper leveling, you can get a really cool stereo affect. It's all coloration, really.. And bad recording habit. Things should be placed singularly in space, rather then have fancy stereo effects done with them. You dont hear a single acoustic guitar in two places at a live performance..... Well, unless theres some silly monitoring setup going on.

Xander, what you're saying is actually the opposite of a good recording.

Hearing something in both ears does not mean you're hearing it in "two places" -- you're hearing the SAME acoustic guitar, for example, in both ears. This is how the human hearing system works. What's more, it's also how the human hearing system places things in space. If someone is playing a guitar in front of you, the audio waves come from a particular place. However, your brain cannot figure out *where* in space the sound is coming from unless you hear the sound waves in both ears, so the brain can compare the differences in timing and amplitude between the two signals.

Thus, a GOOD recording would try, as closely as possible, to recreate the interaural time difference and interaural amplitude difference that a person listening to the actual performance would experience. One approach is to make binaural recordings. Another is to emulate the ITD and IAD during the mixing process. The *worst* type of recording is one where the instrument is only mixed in one channel.

 

[Xander]

MacDEF, that was my point exactly. I think you misunderstood me. What I meant was, most recordings double mike instruments to try and add stereo pazaazz to it, rather then just trying to place the instrument singularly in space somewhere, using both channels. In other words, a good recording would play the same sound trough both speakers, but attempt to place the instrument accordingly in space to give it a natural lifelike sound via the channel mixing. The other, would play two different sounds trough both speakers, and attempt to make it sound more dramatic. But the instrument wouldent come from the image, it'd just come from both speakers and sound cool, but far from natural.

 

[source direct]

I must say, that although I am a fiend for the headphones, I would be a fiend for the speakers as well, but I cannot afford to.