[ical]

For me, headphone is for late nite listening without disturbing my family and when I'm in the mood for the live like experience, I'll go for speakers. I enjoy both like beer and wine.

 

[Duncan_McCloud]

Man, if you can afford a GOOD set of speakers, and if you can listen to them with no restriction (living in apartement like i do) go for speakers. I was in an HI-FI store yesterday and this set of speakers was on :

SONUS FABER STRADIVARI

VOlume was really low, but the room was so full of the music, soundstage was so amazing. Never heard something sounds better. Ok, this is a 40'000$ set of speakers, but i am pretty sure that no headphone satisfy you in this way.

 

[greggf]

Gorgeous speakers!!!

But you gotta have both, both speakers and headphones, if you can. Different experiences, but IMO neither is superior. (Headphones sure can be less expensive for the same level of quality!)

 

[Uncle Erik]

I love both headphones and speakers.

However, it seems that you're also realizing that the price of speakers is competetive with headphones at a certain level. At your point, I would recommend taking a longer look at the speaker world.

I have the O2, and while they are wonderful, they do not compete with the Quad ESL-63s. The Quads were roughly half the price of the O2, as well. Add the price of the Conrad-Johnson MV52 I use to power the Quads, and the price is still less than the O2 by itself.

If you can run speakers, you should. You can actually save money, especially if you buy used. Though keep your headphones - they are good ones. You'll probably still find yourself using them even if you buy speakers.

Finally, don't buy the Martin Logans until you've auditioned Quads. Inmuch preferred the Quads.

 

[KevM2]

Pretty much my experience. I've sold all of my headphones and related equipment and went strictly speaker. Not having anything attached to your head is a big plus. Headphones can provide more details and a realistic timbre per dollar spent at the lower price range, but the soundstage and impact of speakers more than makes up for it for me.

 

[Clarkmc2]

OK, so am I the only member of this huge site that wholeheartedly prefers, given the choice, great headphones over great speakers?

If so, that is frankly pathetic. This may be the premier headphone site in existence. Not much of an endorsement for the headphone experience. How about starting a bicycle enthusiast site where everyone keeps going on about how much better autos are?

 

[n3rdling]

Do you want people to lie to you or something? In that case, ya dood headphones are untouchable!!!! If people like speakers more than headphones from an enjoyment standpoint, that doesn't mean they don't like headphones too. I love many of my headphones - I just love my speakers more. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Clarkmc2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n3rdling /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you want people to lie to you or something?

Of course not. But I would never expect such a volume of off topic cheer leading. This is a headphone site and phones, amps, associated equipment used to play headphones, music, philosophical musings about headphone use - all are worthy topics. Speakers are distinctly off topic. As I said, like autos on a bicycle site. We have an off topic area and that is where speakers belong.

Clark

 

[n3rdling]

Okay that's completely different from what I thought you were complaining about. In that case, yes this is primarily a headphone site, but there are also sub forums for sources, computers, cables, and speakers. I agree that this thread could be in the speakers sub forum, but reading the OP makes me hesitant to suggest it outright must be there. He actually is talking about high end audio (note it isn't called the High End Headphone sub forum, which is why you'll find threads on high end CD players and turntables in this subforum, even though there is a specific Sources subforum) and half his dilemma actually has to do with headphones. Regardless, I think PMing a mod about it for clarification would do you more good than whining in public about it.

 

[Clarkmc2]

Well, I am reacting to the high level of dialogue about speaker lust on the site, not this particular topic. It has popped up a number of times just since I became active here only a few months ago.

Think, for example, of a baseball site where almost everyone mentioned, when prompted by a post, their preference for the football experience over the baseball experience. The site would be viewed by outsiders as as a site of no real enthusiasm for baseball. It would be a target of mockery by other communities that express admiration for their areas of interest. Basically a waste of time.

I think this site is a valuable place for information, but the relativity of the enthusiasm for the core reason the site exists puts the entire endeavor into question. It makes it difficult to take it seriously. As in, "We are proud to be Scots but we would all rather be Englishmen."

My real alarm at this issue is not whether it is a concern for moderators but rather what it reveals about how the members at large feel about headphones. Talking down the topic of a forum is an odd approach to a hobby. And to a forum.

Clark

 

[Scooterboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarkmc2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...............................................I think this site is a valuable place for information, but the relativity of the enthusiasm for the core reason the site exists puts the entire endeavor into question. It makes it difficult to take it seriously. As in, "We are proud to be Scots but we would all rather be Englishmen." My real alarm at this issue is not whether it is a concern for moderators but rather what it reveals about how the members at large feel about headphones. Talking down the topic of a forum is an odd approach to a hobby. And to a forum. Clark

I too am with Clark on this. It seems that from most of the responses here that most of the posters are in the following categories:

1. Use headphones as only a stop gap towards the so called higher goal. A "Speaker" setup of some kind.

2. .......And this is sad,those who probably have little or no idea as to what " High End" audio is all about. This is sad because this section is supposed to be about "High End" audio.

An analogy would be those on a Bicycle forum harping about wanting to be in an air conditioned performance BMW. That would be nice on a hot humid day. But it does not take away form the joy of riding and appreciating a nice Colnago.......

 

[donunus]

Speakers are better sounding and more fun overall IMO but headphones are great if you always travel. If I didn't like speakers more than headphones, I might already have some hd800s and a system to mate with them. I never really got to it because I feel i would get a much better price/performance ratio if I get some magnepan 1.6QRs with a nice matching system

For headphones, I'm sticking with my senn hd580s since I feel there is no better value out there today... The only thing I keep obsessing on is getting a great matching budget amp for them to replace my little dot mk2 and good sources that I may also use with my speakers.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Hey, if you didn't like headphones, you wouldn't be here. End of story really.

 

[Mister Crash]

I've got some decent headphone systems (Audio-Technica W5000/HA5000, Stax O2 Mk I/727II) and I've got some decent speakers (MBL 111E). When it comes right down to it, I prefer the speakers. Why?

1. Cords. I have a tendency to get up and move a lot, which is not conducive to headphone listening. I might be doing something at one end of the room, then have to move to the other end of the room to do something else. Or I might need to go downstairs to get something. With a headphone cord, my movement is limited, and I don't like constantly taking off my headphones and putting them on again. With speakers, I don't have to worry about this.

2. Comfort. Let's face it: with headphones, you are always putting something over or in your ears. No matter how comfortable your headphones are, they will not be as comfortable as wearing nothing. Many headphones require some adjustment to fit my head just right, and even when I perfect the fit, I can't keep them on for more than a couple hours at a time. When I take them off, I get a sense of relief. I don't suffer the same problems after a couple hours with the speakers.

3. Sound quality. Overall, I feel that my speakers sound better than my headphones. The treble is extended, the bass is solid, and everything just sounds perfectly balanced. My headphones don't quite reach the same level as my speakers. Then again, I spent 5 times as much money on the speakers as I did on my Stax system. I think my headphones perform very well for the money, but I'd rather have the speakers.


So if I prefer speakers so much, why do I still have headphones? There are three main reasons:

1. Portability. Obviously, I can't bring my speakers with me on the bus, but my JH13s travel very well.

2. Atmosphere. While I generally prefer the presentation that the speakers provide, there are times when I want to have a more intimate atmosphere. When I have my headphones on, the musical experience is more direct. It forces me to pay attention to the music, and there are times that I seek that out.

3. Domestic harmony. There are times when I want to listen to some music that my girlfriend despises, and the headphones come in very handy in those situations. In addition, the speakers are hooked up to the TV, so when she is watching a TV program that I dislike, I can use my headphones on a second system.

 

[LingLing1337]

If you have the $$$, absolutely go for speakers.