[Deolum]

Question is above. Which headphone is the closest to speakers?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Probably HD 600. But I still prefer speakers.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Raal SR1, Sennheiser 800S, MySphere, Hifiman Arya, ZMF Verite, HEDDphone

 

[chillysalsa]

Also HD800 for me, it creates such a huge soundstage, and yet such extreme detail you forget about speakers.

 

[Mink]

Speakers in what price range? I am actually more interested in the question the other way around, because every pair of speakers I have owned or listened to didn't come close to the sound I get with a decent pair of headphones.
The texture and details in the mids, the excellent instrument separation are qualities you're not going to get with a pair of speakers under 1500 USD or so. Headphones around 200 bucks are likely to outshine a pair of speakers that cost around 1500 bucks, in detail, texture and tonality.. Bass, treble and a sense of space speakers can do better, but that is very dependent on the room acoustics. Boomy bass and peaky treble are very common when the room isn't properly damped.

That said, I think Denon D5000s did come the closest to a speaker-like presentation as I know it.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I can only think of one and that is the K1000. Everything else is just headphones with unusual big cups. The AKG can be unfolded into something in the vicinity of speaker-country...but you will be DJ’ing the rest of the house like that.

 

[ADUHF]

Interesting question. Generally speaking, I think a good pair of open headphones are a little better at fooling your ears into believing that you're listening to either a live performance or a pair of speakers in a room. Closed headphones with well-balanced drivers are better at simulating the low-frequency response of speakers in a room though.

I also agree with Mink that a decent pair of headphones can produce better sound-quality in most respects than the loudspeakers I've heard, with lower distortion, and better detail, clarity, imaging, and extension in the bass and treble. The only areas where speakers have a slight edge is in the sound stage, and visceral impact at lower frequencies.

I'm sorry I can't get more specific than this. Fwiw, the AudioTechnica M50x might be one of the closed back headphones I've listened to recently in the sub-$200 range that gets closest to a speaker-like presentation out of the box.

 

[MayaTlab]

I abandoned my search for the ideal high end headphones after having purchased a pair of PSI A17 and setting them up for near field listening. I felt that I was basically having the cake and eating it.
I believe that it's fundamentally difficult for headphones to provide the illusion of a pair of speakers without the introduction of sound effects such as crossovers at the least... but all the ones I tried weren't that convincing IMO.
Improvements to real-time, sophisticated DSPs may more convincingly bridge the gap in the future.

 

[340519]

All of mine. I don't miss speakers at all.
Edit:
And now the 1266 tcs especially.

 

[Jon L]

The texture and details in the mids, the excellent instrument separation are qualities you're not going to get with a pair of speakers under 1500 USD or so. Headphones around 200 bucks are likely to outshine a pair of speakers that cost around 1500 bucks, in detail, texture and tonality.. Bass, treble and a sense of space speakers can do better, but that is very dependent on the room acoustics. Boomy bass and peaky treble are very common when the room isn't properly damped.

Headphones and speakers definitely have different strengths, but there seem to be people who are particularly averse to the compromises of either platform. For example, I know plenty of audiophiles who simply don't enjoy headphone listening, no matter how good the 'phone.
On the other hand, most headphone users seem to also enjoy speakers if space/situation allows and if speakers are of high quality. Unfortunately, setting up a high quality speaker system and the Room acoustics(!) usually costs way more money.

 

[bagwell359]

used headphones like hfm he-500 and hekse at their price are daunting competition vs speakers at that price point. Otoh Floyds "wish you were here" sounds puny on any headphone vs a good 3 way 30-20k speaker

 

[Redcarmoose]

Neither are correct as a reproduction of live music. Even the producers art project in the studio is a form of expression and wonderful for what it is. Still all this is purely mental. And the mental influence maybe goes deeper than we can guess? Maybe it’s a progression over years and years that someone starts to really prefer headphones?

It’s like this map of the world. The upside down map could be the correct one. Space has no up and down. These are arbitrary ideas which have been introduced upon us at such a young age that our version of reality is fully formed and complete before we have a chance to choose. I guess speakers would be closer to real if you were listening to the ultimate system with $6000 worth of room treatments in a room and choose a few Jazz records whIch when played back in such an environment would emulate live jazz musicians. But other than that a recording room producer is making an imaginary sound that we take as human musicians playing. It doesn’t exist in life so there is also no realistic way to have a playback. The playback is an illusion as close to an animated movie is to real life. So it doesn’t matter. What was the OPs question again?

I don’t miss any speakers? Using IEMs gets a different perspective which becomes both smaller (in soundstage, than speakers) yet the imaging is inside your head. No room treatment needed, in fact some headphones now have the included room response bump as color, replicating a room with speakers. Speakers are our evolutionary remnants from the age in our lives before headphones took over?

 

[EQlizer]

Up next ..

Sivga Phoenix



https://majorhifi.com/sivga-phoenix-headphone-review/

 

[bagwell359]

Headphones and speakers definitely have different strengths, but there seem to be people who are particularly averse to the compromises of either platform. For example, I know plenty of audiophiles who simply don't enjoy headphone listening, no matter how good the 'phone.
On the other hand, most headphone users seem to also enjoy speakers if space/situation allows and if speakers are of high quality. Unfortunately, setting up a high quality speaker system and the Room acoustics(!) usually costs way more money.

Yup a special room designed from scratch could be $35k. Modding shape (replace wall to wall, fasten dry wall better, add tile, etc. gets expensive too. Then treatments like tube traps easily $15k if room is big enough. Then furniture has to fit the design (no huge over stuffed high backed listening chair NO listening couch. No glass covering art, etc. Throw in audio nervosa around vinyl playback and it's a scene man.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Meze Empyrean

Full sound that doesn't lack bottom end unlike most other TOTLs.
Very musical and non fatiguing, also the most comfortable headphones ever created.