Clarkmc2
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2007
- Posts
- 443
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- 29
I posted this on the Lansing Heritage site, a JBL/Altec speaker site basically, to try to educate. How do you think I did? Please feel free to move this to an appropriate already existing thread.
So far, in the speaker world in general and in this forum as well, any mention of how good headphones are is quickly followed by a “yeah but” rejoinder. I would like to write a few words about what is better about headphones.
The negative points I hear often are about how you have to stay in one place, how unsociable they are, how the bass lacks extension, authority and visceral impact, and how the best headphones cost so much. All of these points are countered by similar inconveniences in the speaker world, or are simply not true, or both.
Like speakers, headphones have been advancing in clarity and capability over the years. Let’s take a look at the current state of headphone affairs.
Their price/performance ratio, even in the most expensive designs, is still able to trump speakers by an order of magnitude or better. And their absolute, as opposed to relative, quality has definitely surpassed speakers, period. I know, “What about bass?” The top electrostatic models will make a believer out of you. The bass is not a smaller, lighter version of great speaker bass. It is, in the Stax Omega for instance, better than speakers. It is deeper, higher fidelity, less colored, less distorted and better balanced with the rest of the audio band. It can’t thump you in the chest but it thumps your brain to the point of utter disbelief. Demanding listeners are finally achieving unmatched experiences with all styles of music, including heavy metal, electronica, dance and trance. You are out of date if you think electrostatic phones are only good for listening to old people playing recorders. Remember, these are single driver “speakers” possessing complete coherence and the most transparent, least colored re creation of music yet achieved. And effortless, realistic, world class dynamics
Not only is the high end of the headphone world higher than the high end of the speaker world, it is actually affordable by less than wealthy listeners.
The price/performance ratio of headphones tempts many to compare how expensive the top models are with how little bargain headphones cost. It is actually correct, given their performance, to compare them with the best speakers. $3500 US ($4200 full retail) gets you Stax’s best headphones and amplifier. How does that compare to a pair of Everest II speakers and the best amp(s) you can think of to drive them. To a pair of Wilson Alexandria X-2s? Obviously, the price/performance ratio holds for even the most expensive headphones.
A set of limitations that speakers have is related to the space in which they are played. We all know that those custom designed $60,000 room treatments will bring out more from a speaker than lesser endowed rooms can. This is a problem and a cost that is absent in the headphone world. The “room” is designed by the headphone engineers and they have complete control and freedom to make it as perfect as they can, and at almost no cost. That small cost is amortized over the entire production of the headphone model, not paid for in full by each owner/user. The same situation holds for the problem of speaker placement within the room. No need to mess with subwoofer placement either. The “speaker” is single driver, its coherence is perfect and its relation to your listening position never deviates from what the design engineers intended. You are always in the sweet spot, and that spot is as sweet as expert audio engineers can make it. The sweet spot matters very much with speakers because if you are making the effort to listen intently to music, it does not make any sense to sit anywhere else.
With headphones, sit wherever you want. The sweet spot is, rather than confining, both perfect and portable. Simply place your rig, which after all is smaller than a speaker based rig, wherever you want it to be. Its placement has no acoustic considerations to attend to. Think about that for a minute, it is an alien and previously unimagined concept. A decent extension cable will allow you to sit, sprawl, do yoga, go outside, or all of the above. I can listen to my Stax sitting inside or out, contemplating the forest beyond the patio. That would be a pain it the ass or impossible with my big speakers, sweet spot or no.
So what about the element of unsociability? I don’t know about your friends, but when I get together to listen to music with even the most dedicated serious listeners I know, a lot of talking goes on over the music. The commentary and verbal camaraderie are a social pleasure all right, but add nothing to the musical (as opposed to social) experience and detract much from it. Music is never going to be the centerpiece of a party, but rather a social lubricant like alcohol is. Since music is not the center of the experience, high fidelity is neither required or important. Nor is attention. The late Ferrari racing team driver Phil Hill was considered odd because when he had friends over to listen to music on his hifi rig, he insisted they actually listen, in silence. Most of us are not so inclined and limit our real listening to private sessions, but I do admire Hill’s recognition of what listening to music seriously is really about. My friends who are real music lovers enjoy also the times when we all fall silent and collectively listen. It happens spontaneously and it forges a bond easily as strong as conversation does amongst us. We are sharing something we all love and recognize without being reminded that anything we say about it at the time would be parenthetical.
Ah, you say, but what about the special moments when you and your lover, or your best friend, bond over the intimacy of listening to music in verbal silence, together? The very best headphone amplifiers, Stax included, have always had two sets of jacks, and for just such times. When I was not yet married I considered double headphone jacks akin to silk sheets on the bed and a fire in the fireplace.
Other than (literally) chest thumping bass, headphones win on all counts.
Clark
So far, in the speaker world in general and in this forum as well, any mention of how good headphones are is quickly followed by a “yeah but” rejoinder. I would like to write a few words about what is better about headphones.
The negative points I hear often are about how you have to stay in one place, how unsociable they are, how the bass lacks extension, authority and visceral impact, and how the best headphones cost so much. All of these points are countered by similar inconveniences in the speaker world, or are simply not true, or both.
Like speakers, headphones have been advancing in clarity and capability over the years. Let’s take a look at the current state of headphone affairs.
Their price/performance ratio, even in the most expensive designs, is still able to trump speakers by an order of magnitude or better. And their absolute, as opposed to relative, quality has definitely surpassed speakers, period. I know, “What about bass?” The top electrostatic models will make a believer out of you. The bass is not a smaller, lighter version of great speaker bass. It is, in the Stax Omega for instance, better than speakers. It is deeper, higher fidelity, less colored, less distorted and better balanced with the rest of the audio band. It can’t thump you in the chest but it thumps your brain to the point of utter disbelief. Demanding listeners are finally achieving unmatched experiences with all styles of music, including heavy metal, electronica, dance and trance. You are out of date if you think electrostatic phones are only good for listening to old people playing recorders. Remember, these are single driver “speakers” possessing complete coherence and the most transparent, least colored re creation of music yet achieved. And effortless, realistic, world class dynamics
Not only is the high end of the headphone world higher than the high end of the speaker world, it is actually affordable by less than wealthy listeners.
The price/performance ratio of headphones tempts many to compare how expensive the top models are with how little bargain headphones cost. It is actually correct, given their performance, to compare them with the best speakers. $3500 US ($4200 full retail) gets you Stax’s best headphones and amplifier. How does that compare to a pair of Everest II speakers and the best amp(s) you can think of to drive them. To a pair of Wilson Alexandria X-2s? Obviously, the price/performance ratio holds for even the most expensive headphones.
A set of limitations that speakers have is related to the space in which they are played. We all know that those custom designed $60,000 room treatments will bring out more from a speaker than lesser endowed rooms can. This is a problem and a cost that is absent in the headphone world. The “room” is designed by the headphone engineers and they have complete control and freedom to make it as perfect as they can, and at almost no cost. That small cost is amortized over the entire production of the headphone model, not paid for in full by each owner/user. The same situation holds for the problem of speaker placement within the room. No need to mess with subwoofer placement either. The “speaker” is single driver, its coherence is perfect and its relation to your listening position never deviates from what the design engineers intended. You are always in the sweet spot, and that spot is as sweet as expert audio engineers can make it. The sweet spot matters very much with speakers because if you are making the effort to listen intently to music, it does not make any sense to sit anywhere else.
With headphones, sit wherever you want. The sweet spot is, rather than confining, both perfect and portable. Simply place your rig, which after all is smaller than a speaker based rig, wherever you want it to be. Its placement has no acoustic considerations to attend to. Think about that for a minute, it is an alien and previously unimagined concept. A decent extension cable will allow you to sit, sprawl, do yoga, go outside, or all of the above. I can listen to my Stax sitting inside or out, contemplating the forest beyond the patio. That would be a pain it the ass or impossible with my big speakers, sweet spot or no.
So what about the element of unsociability? I don’t know about your friends, but when I get together to listen to music with even the most dedicated serious listeners I know, a lot of talking goes on over the music. The commentary and verbal camaraderie are a social pleasure all right, but add nothing to the musical (as opposed to social) experience and detract much from it. Music is never going to be the centerpiece of a party, but rather a social lubricant like alcohol is. Since music is not the center of the experience, high fidelity is neither required or important. Nor is attention. The late Ferrari racing team driver Phil Hill was considered odd because when he had friends over to listen to music on his hifi rig, he insisted they actually listen, in silence. Most of us are not so inclined and limit our real listening to private sessions, but I do admire Hill’s recognition of what listening to music seriously is really about. My friends who are real music lovers enjoy also the times when we all fall silent and collectively listen. It happens spontaneously and it forges a bond easily as strong as conversation does amongst us. We are sharing something we all love and recognize without being reminded that anything we say about it at the time would be parenthetical.
Ah, you say, but what about the special moments when you and your lover, or your best friend, bond over the intimacy of listening to music in verbal silence, together? The very best headphone amplifiers, Stax included, have always had two sets of jacks, and for just such times. When I was not yet married I considered double headphone jacks akin to silk sheets on the bed and a fire in the fireplace.
Other than (literally) chest thumping bass, headphones win on all counts.
Clark
