Headphones or speakers...what's your preference?

steveinaz

Which do you prefer and why?

Me, I never liked headphones---sure they sound great, but there's just something missing....

Spawndn72

You can't feel the music with headphones.

BrentMcGhee

While you will never get that perfect imaging and the in your head kind of feel from anything but a pair of headphones but i would still 100% prefer to listen to speakers.

To me you feel more like you are at a show with people performing in front of you and like what steveinaz said you just cant feel the music with headphones

danger boy

headphones and speakers are like comparing apples and oranges as they say. two different beasts altogether.

landry_p2000

Spawndn72 wrote:

You can't feel the music with headphones.

Took the words right out of my mouth. :cool:

VR3

When I put a headphone system together...

I'm getting dual bass shakers and putting one in each rear pants pocket. That'll be feeling the music alright...

But I think nothing can replace larger radiating surfaces... 1" and smaller drivers are far from large radiating surfaces...

Give me height, width and depth - not someone talking inside my head. headphones actually annoy me, because the singer is my thinker... no thanks.

dorokusai

I love headphones.

Burnzy

To me speakers are better. You just can't feel the bass with headphones.

Joey_V

While headphones and speakers are two different experiences, I am very satisfied with both.

My speaker rig:
Emu1212/AV710 -> CI Dac (soon) -> Headamp GS1 (preamp) -> Rotel RB1070 -> Polk LSi9

My headphone rig, on the other hand:
Emu1212/AV710 -> CI Dac (soon) -> Headamp GS1 (headphone amplifier) -> Sennheiser HD650 headphones

My headphone rig costs about $1500 and I like it for late night sessions or gaming. My speaker rig has the visceral impact, but my headphone rig has the intimate side of audio listening covered.

It's a tossup, but I must say, if I could only keep one, I'll still choose my speakers.

Airplay355

Speakers, so you can share the experience with others. Not so fun to share headphones.

sucks2beme

I prefer speakers, but am using headphones for family harmony. Plus a great set of cans cost less than an ok set of speakers. Some music does sound better on headphones! I've got a pair of Senn hd650's with a Cardas cable coming my way this week.

dragon1952

Headphones give me a headache after awhile.

Joey_V

S2bme,

Make sure to amp those 650s.

George Grand

It is kind of lame saying "Hey, want to see my headphones?"

Joey_V

^^^
That may be, but speakers dont exactly attract the chicks either.

George Grand

Dude, try getting new speakers.

dorokusai

Headphones are perfect, because when they go on....I can sneak up and knock 'em over the head with a baseball bat.

organ

Joey_V wrote:

^^^
That may be, but speakers dont exactly attract the chicks either.

B O S E

Joey_V

George Grand wrote:

Dude, try getting new speakers.

Sonus Faber Concerto count?

LOL

dorokusai

I am guessing some of you folks haven't heard a decent headphone rig lately, beings I'm the ONLY one that polled headphones. I've gone thru 40 pairs of speakers, and 2 pairs of headphones in 2 years. I LOVE my Magnepan, but enjoy my headphones every bit as much, and much more frequently.

I find them much more intimate and personal than a speaker.

Oh well, happy listening!

Joey_V

^^^

I am elated by my headphone rig's performance. I may not prefer it as much as my speakers, but most of those here havent heard what a real headphone rig can do.

George Grand

Don't buy into the Godzilla ads dude. Size matters.

aaharvel

I have 'Koss K/6X Plus' headphones. Enough said. :rolleyes:

Shizelbs

To second Danger, cans and speakers are two totally different beasts. I don't find it fair to compare them.

If I can get a rig going with good cans with more bass than I am getting now, and find a better source than my loud and hot as hell computer, its cans for days for me.

audiobliss

Hmm. For reference? I don't do 'reference', yet. LOL Anyways, I think I'd prefer listening to a good headphone set-up. Now, take this into consideration: The only headphones I've used have been some *decent* Sony headphones, my Bose TriPort whatevers, and my dad's Bose QuietComfort headphones. I just seems to me that it's sooo much easier for a headphone effortlessly recreate the entire frequency range with much less chance of distortion. Plus, the Bose stuff is incredibly comfortable, so that really adds to the experience.

Yeah, I guess speakers contribute to some 'force', but I think that headphones create at least as strong a force. It's almost like the music is 'closer' to you. I wouldn't mind having a pair of some 'high-end' headphones.

Mjr7531

I also find it difficult to compare the two. I've got my AKG cans, and golly, they have opened up anything I've listened to, the transperancy is incredible. But alas, you're missing the true feel of the orchestra.
However, with my cans, I thought it neat being able to hear performers turn pages, set down pencils, shift in chairs, etc, all while at full blast.

A sidenote: Those noise cancelling headphones bug me, it feels like my brains are getting sucked through my ears...

Joey_V

I'm surprised by how similar the 650s and the ML Mosaics sound... truly a reference system.

But the ML beat the 650s in the complete feel of the music. You just cant get that "emotion" from headphones I dont think. I mean, you can get the intimacy of the music and you get resolution.... but not emotion IMO.

YMMV.

audiobliss

Mjr7531 wrote:

A sidenote: Those noise cancelling headphones bug me, it feels like my brains are getting sucked through my ears...

Mjr - I used to think the exact same thing; it just felt way too wierd. However, my TriPorts broke (now I have an excuse to get some real headphones...if I just had some money...), and we were leaving to go on vacation for a few days last week. We were going to be in the car a lot, and I sure wasn't going to use some ol' Sony headphones, so I used Dad's old QuietComfort headphones. I'll hafta tell ya, I got used to them awful quick. Very comfortable, sounded good, kinda enjoyed the noise cancellation. I almost grew to like the noise cancellation. However, as I think about it now, that might have been because we were in the car. If I had been at home in a quite environment, I probably still wouldn't have liked the noise cancellation.