[Okigire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 Hmmmmmmm....... ...snip... My rooms' poor acoustics have destroyed my beautifull sound system!! ...snip...

That is so true. EQ'ing the room is critical... you could have a best pair of speakers and if they're not driven properly for the room acoustics then they'll sound bad. Headphones are awesome for intimacy with...yourself, but a good pair of speakers you can share that feeling with others.

I'll vote for speakers!

 

[Tachikoma]

To be absolutely honest... while my headphones are technically superior to my speaker setup in just about every way, (other than impact) when it comes to pure music enjoyment... the speakers (aego 2) are so much more natural and unobstructive. I haven't tried my headphones with the diffuse field equaliser, however xD

 

[fierce_freak]

Headphones for the same reason many have said...intimacy. Speakers are alright for casual/background listening, for me. Also, soundstage means almost nothing to me, so I have no problems with cans in regards to that.

 

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

I like both. If I'm cruising around the house then speakers are fine. But if I'm going to do some real listening then I need headphones, mostly because I don't want to bother anyone else and because of their intimacy as everyone else has said.

 

[mikeg]

Over the years, I've had AR1's with AR1st tweeters, and AR3's, and KLH4's, and a couple of kinds of fine floor standing speaker systems. These were in mono, stereo, and quadraphonic system installations. But, I get more satisfaction, and I'm able to concentrate on great classical music far better, when listening to my R10 and HE90 headphone systems. So, at least for me, listening to great headphones is more satisfying than hearing fine speakers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelongwood Actually, they are not that high off the ground. It seems that way because the ceiling height is only a tad over 7 feet, as it's a basement. There's only a few smaller ones up pretty high, and they are for non-critical listening such as xm radio and FM. The AR3as and the Fraziers (iPod look-a-likes) are just a little above ear level when I'm seated. I just put more speakers on another wall (no pic yet)......stacked Rectilinear IIIs. The sound is awesome. No headphone I've heard can duplicate that sonic experience.

 

[djbnh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeg So, does a top notch speaker system, when played at low volume, beat a top notch headphone system, when played loud enough to yield a rich and full bodied sound? I think not.

I disagree. Interestingly, Srajan of 6moons has a recent review that adds some flavor to this "question": Quote:

Originally Posted by Srajan Ebaen, 6moons Both speakers excel at low-level listening. This may initially require a few minutes of adjustment. As you throttle back your levels, the mind begins to wander off. You've conditioned it to equate such levels with uninvolving and partially unintelligible. In short, boring. Soon enough, the speakers will break through your mental barrier. The moment they do, the sound suddenly becomes a lot louder. As you allow yourself to notice the fullness and wealth of microdynamic detail at levels well below your customary attentive threshold, the simultaneous increase in perception equates to what usually happens when you kick up the SPLs.

 

[sejarzo]

Which do you prefer, your headphones or your (speakers and room)?

As several others have posted, one cannot separate the speakers from the interaction with the room. I had the same experience as F107plus5.......years ago, when moving between apartments, even with very similar room dimensions, I went from a "lean bass" sound to a boomy nightmare.

I now have a dedicated HT/music room, but it did require a lot of treatment to get rid of slap echo; I still am thinking about the best way to EQ the sub to even out its response (after putting in bass traps in the corners, etc.)

IMHO, my HD600's are definitely more revealing than my Paradigm Studio 40v3's/Hsu VTF-3, but I don't think just hearing the bass more clearly (without any room humps) makes up for not feeling it, too.

If I wanted to do a very strict comparison of sources, I'd use the phones without hesitation.

 

[Asr]

Speakers for teh win!!

I like headphones too, but my speakers get more listening time than any of my headphones when I'm at home. It's easier to multi-task with them (you don't even have to be in the same room, heh), easier to rock out to, and the BASS, oh the bass! I crank up my speakers every Sunday to wake up my neighbors!

 

[Snake]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelongwood A few months ago a friend helped me (well, he did most of the work) finish my basement which had been nothing more than junk storage for the past 25 years. Since that time, I have basically stopped listening to full-sized cans, except for the K1000s. As many of you are aware, I'm kind of a collector of headphones..........and speakers have now joined the fold. As with the different headphones I have, the speakers I've acquired over the years exhibit varied sonic signatures. To me, it's fascinating to hear how each manufacturer has voiced their speakers. I think I may have gone a bit overboard recently, though. Right now, I'm listening to some crooners from the 1930s on a vintage Electro-Voice Baronet speaker. It's a small folded horn in a mahogany enclosure, and it is stamped, "Under License From Klipsch." It is a pre-1959, pre-stereo speaker. It's the way that this type of music was designed to be heard..........and, to my ears, it sounds absolutely wonderful. For other music I use my stereo gear. The only time I use 'phones these days is when I'm taking a walk, working in the yard, etc., and the 'phones are IEMs. I enjoy it all. Here's some pics of my headphones, gear, and speakers in the basement. A lot more has entered since these pics were taken..... I need a bigger basement.

Wow. It's the software that's impressive - hardware can come and go. Software is tough to come by! What a collection!

As for the IP, it's cans for sure. Yes, I love speakers but I can get (too) picky with them, and once you add their interactions with the room's environment into the equation (and I have never had good rooms) it is far too much 'miss', rather than 'hit'.

Also, there is nothing in the world like sitting comfortably, anywhere, or doing something else, yet have the soundstage follow you precisely. I live in a large studio and previously, until I moved things, my cans w/extension were long enough to touch every single corner of my living space.

I could cook, do dishes, read books in my lounge chair, rest in bed...anything (yes, it reached into the bathroom also!

) and have a absolutely perfect soundstage follow me.

Sorry, speakers just don't cut it [that way].

It all reminds me of a good 'customer' (actually, friend of a co-worker) who had Martin-Logan Monoliths. Too-much speaker for too-little room (and the room wasn't tiny, for sure, with 14ft ceilings) meant that the 'sweet spot'...was a single pair of shoeprints traced out on the floor in tape in front of the sofa!

You sat in that position, only and precisely, to get a soundstage. No other place managed it.

Other speaker setups aren't that bad, but it's still relative compared to can's "auto tracking".

 

[nabwong]

I like both but if hard pressed for a choice, i'd pick speakers anytime. Reason: Soundstage and Slam.

 

[arielext]

Always liked speakers more but since I got into IEM's and later the full sized cans my speakers are eating quite a bit of dust. Sue I play music on them while I'm in the house doing stuff, not requiring a certain kind of music al long as there is music, but for a good listening session the only choice I have to make now if it is going to be the DT880's or the HD580 jubilee.

 

[Senn20]

My speakers/amp are all treble and bass. They're fine for movies and tv, but for music, not even close to my headphone rig. The soundstaging is cool, but even with the treble set to high noon (neutral position), my speaker rig still sounds tinny. The midrange yummyness of the Sennheisers just isn't there. If I were going to listen to music on them, I'd really need an eq.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I like my headphones better than my speakers.

 

[Leoml88]

i'm gonna have to go with speakers. my cousin has set up a $50,000 system in his house. (All speakers, tube amps and turntable custom made)

it was the best sound i have ever heard. i've never heard anything so clear from any type of sound system, speakers or phones, in my entire life.

also, aren't headphones just speakers that are close to ur ears?

 

[James63]

Speakers are better simple as that. If nothing else they have better sound-stage, and bass. I don’t think headphones have anything on speakers (other than they are quiet of course).

When you headphone guys go and listen to speakers keep in mind that you have gotten very accustom to the way your headphones sound, which is different from any speaker. So at first listen because you are accustom to the sound of the headphones speakers may not sound as good to you. My point is you need to give speakers a long listen before you judge them. On a hole I think most people will find speakers to sound better and be more enjoyable.

Anyway if you just have cans enjoy them and do not worry about if speakers are better..... ignorance is bliss

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by James63 Speakers are better simple as that.

Actually, it's not as simple as that, since the word "better" is a matter of opinion when it comes to debates such as this. I would say that the listening experience is "different," and which one a person favors is a matter of opinion........as is most of this audio hobby.