[ProtegeManiac]

Headphones are actually more mainstream than speakers. Back in College, I was the only one with a speaker set-up both in the car and at home, barring the boys who had dads who had an audio room at home. Just a handful of other buys had their cars set-up, and most of them had the car audio equivalent of Beats. As in, you can hear the beat and not much else from two blocks down the street. But nearly everyone who didn't blow his money on guitars or drums or violins had a decent entry-level Sennheiser or AKG. And by now, when I take the metro trains here in my city, I see college kids with M50s, UE's, etc etc. Although the thing is most of the popular head/earphones/IEMs I see on people on the street are the same ones you can get off the  local Mac distributor's retail outlets. Yes, they have the M50; and the local pro audio chain, for some bizarre reason hasn't re-stocked because no one buying them (not from them, anyway.)

 

[Maverickmonk]

I think they are slowly getting there. It used to be that everyone used whatever buds they could get at the dollar store. Now everyone is walking around with skullcandy headphones and IEMs which honestly, despite the flack we give them here, are head and shoulders better than the ibuds. Now if you walk into a bestbuy you can buy not only bose and beats, but also Sony MDR-v150's, xb500's, xb700's, portapros, senn 201's, senn 250's and others. People are becomming more aware, more awareness leads to more informed marketing decisions, which leads to smarter purchases.
 
As far as looks, companies are going to have to start adding at least a little emphasis on looks if they want marketability to a larger audience. For instance, looking at a set of portable headphones, I'm leaning towards the es7's in part partially because the a700's make me look like i'm stuck in some sort of evil claw machine, and chicks on campus generally don't go for guys that look like alien-bait.

 

[Sccrfreak342]

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I think they are slowly getting there. It used to be that everyone used whatever buds they could get at the dollar store. Now everyone is walking around with skullcandy headphones and IEMs which honestly, despite the flack we give them here, are head and shoulders better than the ibuds. Now if you walk into a bestbuy you can buy not only bose and beats, but also Sony MDR-v150's, xb500's, xb700's, portapros, senn 201's, senn 250's and others. People are becomming more aware, more awareness leads to more informed marketing decisions, which leads to smarter purchases.
 
As far as looks, companies are going to have to start adding at least a little emphasis on looks if they want marketability to a larger audience. For instance, looking at a set of portable headphones, I'm leaning towards the es7's in part partially because the a700's make me look like i'm stuck in some sort of evil claw machine, and chicks on campus generally don't go for guys that look like alien-bait.

 
That's partially the reason I made the jump for the Phiaton MS 400's.  They look good, sound good, are easily driven, and are quite portable.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

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Hey all,
 
I know some people scoff at the prices we pay to - in the eyes of others - merely spoil our ears or sense of uniqueness; however I think most of us know that headphones are actually the cheapest way to audio-nirvana.  My HD 650s are only 'Mid-Fi'.  Nonetheless, music that I know well is now nearly bringing me to tears with its passion and power.  That's well worth the price of admission, and although I may be a freak of sorts, it's not necessarily for this desire.
 
Why have headphones not broken consumer consciousness yet?  I speak only for the West, of course - they may be huge in Asia for all I know, but I'm not moving to a land without an alphabet....even if the girls are petite and adorable.
 
We hate Beats - but Beats have driven droves of the hitherto suckered to Head-Fi to get schooled on better values and better sound-quality cans.  In a way, we may end up owing them for a surge in headphone popularity.
 
The question is this:  Will this popularity surge to the mainstream?  Like wine did in the 80s and microbrews in the 90s, is a wave of head-contained audiophilia nearly upon us?

Wait, this is news to me!  Headphones are the cheapest way to audio nirvana?  I wholeheartedly disagree.
 
Used speakers and amps are, without a doubt.  Perhaps not the easiest way, but definitely superior given patience to find them.  Read my post here.
 
At, say, $200 and less you've got your work cut out for you, but it's not impossible to find used speakers and an amp that will outdo any similarly priced headphones even for that little.  But perhaps it is hard enough that headphones are the better option.
 
From $300 on up though, I bet that given a month's time on Craigslist I could find something superior to any headphones at a given price point (used or new).  Less than that would likely take more time.
 
There are, of course, other reasons to want headphones.  Like how I can't carry the aforementioned speaker rig with me to Europe.

 

[jtstellar]

well one obvious fact is that when the more tech-savvy generation grow up and gain more financial prowess, many industries will change.. headphones might not even be as we know it in the future.. perhaps it will be wireless technology that finally gives it the boost, who knows, once they overcome the bandwidth problem.
 
i'm more concerned however, with existing audio gear already purchased or whatever i am about to purchase to have a plunge in value due to the recession/depression which is bound to last for years to come.  it really depends on how dependent the high end audio market is right now on the size of its consumer base.  one possibility is just for many audio companies to go out of business and the price will be raised for the rest who can still afford high end audio gear.  alternatively, the price may plunge, depending on whether there was a price bubble existing in the audio/headphone market prior to the economic crisis.  i suspect there might have been a bubble.. over-bloated R&D cost and labor fees, etc.

 

[disastermouse]

Wait, this is news to me!  Headphones are the cheapest way to audio nirvana?  I wholeheartedly disagree.
 
Used speakers and amps are, without a doubt.  Perhaps not the easiest way, but definitely superior given patience to find them.  Read my post here.
 
At, say, $200 and less you've got your work cut out for you, but it's not impossible to find used speakers and an amp that will outdo any similarly priced headphones even for that little.  But perhaps it is hard enough that headphones are the better option.
 
From $300 on up though, I bet that given a month's time on Craigslist I could find something superior to any headphones at a given price point (used or new).  Less than that would likely take more time.
 
There are, of course, other reasons to want headphones.  Like how I can't carry the aforementioned speaker rig with me to Europe.

 
Correction: Cheapest reliably and immediately attainable (I.e. Not months scrounging C-lists) road to audio nirvana.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

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Correction: Cheapest reliably and immediately attainable (I.e. Not months scrounging C-lists) road to audio nirvana.

 
I guess it depends on your definition of "audio nirvana", too...
 
There's a pair of Carver AL-III speakers for $400 within an hour's drive of me right now (here, I would've gotten them myself if I had room for them).  There was also a pair of Infinity RS 2.5 speakers on Audiogon near Chicago that sold for $500 just a few days ago.  Pair either one with the $225 Adcom GFA-555 on AG right now, and you've got a system that essentially no headphones can touch.
 
There's some other excellent speakers available around here too, and plenty in big metro areas.
 
Crazedlist.org is your friend.

 

[WhiteCrow]

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M50s seem to be the gateway drug of the week, don't they?

lol Mine were the XB-700, then senn HD448 not im all the way in...and my wallet crys every time I go into 32 ohm audio.

 

[Xymordos]

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M50s seem to be the gateway drug of the week, don't they?

lol Mine were the XB-700, then senn HD448 not im all the way in...and my wallet crys every time I go into 32 ohm audio.

X2 - the XB700s ftw!

 

[bcasey25raptor]

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M50s seem to be the gateway drug of the week, don't they?

lol Mine were the XB-700, then senn HD448 not im all the way in...and my wallet crys every time I go into 32 ohm audio.

mine were actually the pioneer se m390 headphones. for the $70 range they sound incredible.

 

[ukkisavosta]

My gateway drug was the Beyer DT-311 which I saved for and bought during high school IIRC. They are a nice set of cans really, and I still have them. The sound is not very airy and they have too much bass, but they were an eye-opener for me at the time.
 
I think headphones have been more or less mainstream for decades even. I remember listening to my dad's pair of Koss headphones as a kid in the early eighties. But this might be an age/image thing as well. I think anyone that's into hi-fi and music is also aware of the fact that nice headphones can provide a very engaging listening experience.