[brhfl]

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I don't want to sound patronizing but I am guessing that many of you have never heard an upscale speaker and subwoofer system. There is no way headphones can touch a good speaker system, it is just physically impossible.

I'd like to sound patronizing and say - you are talking about a $700 system, right? When many of us have in fact owned and/or listened to Maggies, Klipschorns, Lowthers, McIntosh, and so on. There are reasons and places for most things.

 

[3X0]

I have a mid-range speaker system totaling ~$4,000 and my ~$1,000 headphones do just fine against them in terms of pure enjoyment.

 

[barid]

Apartment living.  Not worth investing in a high end system for me at the moment.  Most of my time is spent at my desk/computer anyway, headphones are just more manageable in my situation.
 
Privacy is nice too.  don't always want to blast sound to someone who wants to be asleep by 10pm while I'm up all night.

 

[Hellbishop]

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I myself enjoy listening to both headphones and speakers.

Speakers offer way more freedom of movement and are a lot less intimate.
If I has to choose which was better I'd say for the price then hands down headphones rule.
You can't replicate the intimate sound and sheer precision for the same price on a speaker setup.

Headphones are a much cheaper way of enjoying top quality audio.

Same here. The cost for quality sound in headphones is miraculously low compared to speakers and the gear needed to make them sound at their best. Its also easier on space and lends itself to the spice of variety where I can enjoy different setups without the space crowding of a speaker set up.
 
 
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The distortion on speakers is much more serious than that on the headphones due to driver structures. A $5000 pair usually have 1% distortion, but even headphones like the hd600 can achieve 0.2%. Also there is no way to correctly playback binaural recordings on speaker systems, the soundstage and positioning are just ruined.
 
BTW I owned the 598s myself and imo it cannot represent the performance of high end headphones, when both well amped even the 650 completely destroys the 598. Not to mention the lcd2 or hd800.

 
I've been noticing this a lot lately after picking up some Ultrasone HFI-780 headphones. Using them for a week they do everything so well and balanced when it comes to treble, bass and soundstage my speakers just give me an inferior experience. A still good one but nothing as beautiful and immersive as my headphones.
 
 
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Apartment living.  Not worth investing in a high end system for me at the moment.  Most of my time is spent at my desk/computer anyway, headphones are just more manageable in my situation.
 
Privacy is nice too.  don't always want to blast sound to someone who wants to be asleep by 10pm while I'm up all night.

 
Same here. I live in a very old building where sound travels like a waterfall through air. Now that my old neighbor who used to find every reason to complain about anything and everything is gone I no longer feel COMPELLED to use my speakers all the time as a way to stand up for myself because my headphones satisfy so much and my other neighbors who never complained are probably thinking this guy needs to start chilling now that the troublesome neighbor is gone.
 
Headphones definitely can keep the positive vibes going or have them return when it comes to good neighbors. Shoo my new neighbor blasts their music so loud the bass is horribly distorted yet am not bothered one bit because its just someone having fun compared to someone who is a hate filled complainer. It does take awhile though for the mind to lose the habit of defense and acttack in such situations.