Do you really enjoy headphones?

24

Comments

  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
    headphones are awesome for air travel, and late night action TV watching when even at low volumes the HT surround is a bit too full and disturbs others. I like them for music when the house is too noisy to critically listen to speakers.

    2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2
  • mrbiron
    mrbiron Posts: 5,711
    To answer the OP, i don't know yet.

    I am slowly investing the money. If i like it, i will keep doing it. If i don't, i sell everything and move on. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

    Where’s the KABOOM?!?! There’s supposed to be an Earth shattering KABOOM!!!
  • I have a pair of STAX SR34 Electrostatic headphones that I purchased 30 years ago that I still use when I cannot use my SDA speakers. They sound amazing. I haven't seen anyone mention electrostatic headphones, but they should be experienced.

    ux5ivyykojfg.jpg
    HT
    Adcom GFP-565 Pre-amp, Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block Amps (Front), Adcom GFA-585 Amp (Side), Adcom GFA-555 Amp (Rear), Adcom ACE-515, Pioneer CLD-3070 Laserdisc, Sony CDP-605esD, Sony BluRay BDP BX59, Samsung 50" Plasma, Polk Audio SDA SRS 1.2TL Front (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS Side (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS Rear (Walnut).
    2 Channel (Living Room)
    Adcom GFP-565 Pre-amp (w/Big Sky Audio Upgrades), Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block Amps (w/Big Sky Audio Upgrades), Adcom ACE-515, Sony CDP-705esD, Magnum Dynalab FT-101A Etude, Polk Audio SDA SRS 2.3TL (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS 2 (Walnut), STAX SR34 Electret Earspeaker System.
    2 Channel (Office)
    Adcom GFP-555 Pre-amp, Adcom GFA-555 Amp, Sony CDP-605esD, Adcom GFT-555 Tuner, Polk Audio SDA 1C (Walnut).
    2 Channel (Garage)
    Hafler DH-110 Pre-amp, Hafler DH-220 Amp, Sony CDP-505esD, Hafler DH-330 Tuner, Polk Audio SDA 2B (Walnut).
  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,556
    I used to do 30% headphones. I would do speakers for a month, or two, then headphones.
    It was a combo of do not disturb and just plain changing things up. I had multiple
    pairs of decent headphones. After moving to Memphis, I haven't had a 2 channel
    system set up for almost 2 years. I moved back into a house and haven't had a chance to
    get back to my son's house back in Dallas to pick up my Proacs. I mostly use my Stax
    sr-202's either with my homebrew energizer/amp or my Sansui au-717 and a srd-7
    transformer box. I've also got sr-30's and 80's, as well as Grado ps500's and AKG Q701's.
    The Stax setup soundwise gives up nothing to speakers, other than some comfort.
    They are a bit clunky to wear. The 202's were updated with leather earpads.
    The good thing about headphones is you can have several different rigs stashed
    away without filling up the house with gear.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    250GTLusso wrote: »
    I have a pair of STAX SR34 Electrostatic headphones that I purchased 30 years ago that I still use when I cannot use my SDA speakers. They sound amazing. I haven't seen anyone mention electrostatic headphones, but they should be experienced.

    ux5ivyykojfg.jpg

    Not to be a kvetch, but those particular Stax are, as the box says, electrets (like an electret microphone)-- not electrostatic. :|

    The are darned fine headphones, though.

    EDIT: I looked for a really clear & succinct differentiation of the two via Google, and found -- a lot of crud.
    This is the best I could do on short notice :p

    https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=general&m=52930

    Mechanistically, they work like electrostatics, but don't need the HV polarizing voltage. They do still need an interface box, though (as you know). There are also self-energized electrostatic headphones (I think Koss once made one), so it gets kind of -- complicated. ;)
  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Not to be a kvetch, but those particular Stax are, as the box says, electrets (like an electret microphone)-- not electrostatic. :|

    The are darned fine headphones, though.
    I am glad you kvaught that. Good eye!
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    I think STAX has also made some electrostatic earspeakers*, but most of their products (at least the even semi-affordable ones) have been electrets.

    * I remember that, at least, "back in the day" (when I had hair, e.g.), STAX very fastidiously, and assiduously referred to their (extremely fine) products were not headphones but rather earspeakers.
  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,179
    edited January 2018
    I've owned various sets of headphones over the years from expensive audiophile to el cheapos and everything in between. I would say in general I dislike headphones, they close me out to the outside world and every single one I have owned gets uncomfortable after an hour or two. I currently own a set of V Moda crossfade M100's which are a riot. I like the energetic sound and I use them from time to time, but I much prefer my speakers
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
  • @mhardy6647 , thank you for that link! It reminded me why I chose to buy those STAX SR34s some 30 years ago. STAX had several other models costing two, three, and 4 times as much (I think $1000?), that were really comfortable, and were "open-air" phones that sounded amazing. The SR34 was the best bang for the buck at the time for me. I thought everybody has to have a set of phones, right?
    HT
    Adcom GFP-565 Pre-amp, Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block Amps (Front), Adcom GFA-585 Amp (Side), Adcom GFA-555 Amp (Rear), Adcom ACE-515, Pioneer CLD-3070 Laserdisc, Sony CDP-605esD, Sony BluRay BDP BX59, Samsung 50" Plasma, Polk Audio SDA SRS 1.2TL Front (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS Side (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS Rear (Walnut).
    2 Channel (Living Room)
    Adcom GFP-565 Pre-amp (w/Big Sky Audio Upgrades), Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block Amps (w/Big Sky Audio Upgrades), Adcom ACE-515, Sony CDP-705esD, Magnum Dynalab FT-101A Etude, Polk Audio SDA SRS 2.3TL (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS 2 (Walnut), STAX SR34 Electret Earspeaker System.
    2 Channel (Office)
    Adcom GFP-555 Pre-amp, Adcom GFA-555 Amp, Sony CDP-605esD, Adcom GFT-555 Tuner, Polk Audio SDA 1C (Walnut).
    2 Channel (Garage)
    Hafler DH-110 Pre-amp, Hafler DH-220 Amp, Sony CDP-505esD, Hafler DH-330 Tuner, Polk Audio SDA 2B (Walnut).
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,559
    The KOSS variants are still available and get a ton of positive feedback: https://www.koss.com/headphones/over-ear-headphones/esp950
  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    Not a big fan of them now but back in the day after many "turn it down" from mom & dad, I do remember using them much more.
  • dr1978
    dr1978 Posts: 424
    Now that I have some decent speakers I use headphones less often, but I never let a new release from one of my favorites (Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, Tool, Modest Mouse, etc) go by without giving it a spin or two on my headphones. I'm sure if I'm able to upgrade my rig over the years things will change, but for now using my Sennheiser Momentum 2's is still the ultimate listening experience. Being fully enveloped in the sound lets me drift away a little easier.
    Pro-ject 2 Experience SB, OPPO BDP-103, Marantz SR5011, Lounge LCR MKIII, McCormack DNA-HT5, Polk LSiM705, Polk LSiM706C, Polk LSiM702, SVS SB16-Ultra
  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    I use mine mainly for air travel, of which I do a lot for my job. Bose QC15 has pretty decent noise cancellation. I just picked up a set of B&O Beoplay H9's which are wireless. At home I hardly use them. Much rather rock out with my 2B's and soon to be completed 1C's!!!
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • Jaybeez
    Jaybeez Posts: 737
    I'm retired now, but used Shure in-ears when traveling on business. Took up less room than the Bose noise-cancelling unit which is quite good (and I'm not a Bose lover) but bulky.
    If I want to watch / listen to something while surfing after my wife goes to sleep I use a set of Sony MDR 7506's.
    If I were serious about a set of cans for critical listening I'd pick up some Blue Ellas.
    But no, not a big headphone fan. Give me a good set of speakers any day!
  • K_M
    K_M Posts: 1,627
    edited March 2018
    Yes...
    Can hear things that are not apparent easily on speakers.
    Downside, you can hear problems that are not (always) apparent on speakers.....
  • BC6
    BC6 Posts: 109
    We have a small house and my wife doesn't always approve of my choice of music, or more specifically the volume, so I bought Audeze LCD-XC headphones. At first I tried the open back version, which sounded great, but she could still hear the music, so I switched to the closed back. They didn't sound as great. It's taken about 2 months of tweaking and playing with Roon settings, but I finally have them locked in really well. I love listening to them. I especially enjoy digging up the old cd's from the 80's and hearing things I didn't hear back then. However, as much as I enjoy them, whenever I hear something really good, all I want to do is fire up the new 2.3tl's and crank it up. I love the headphones, but for me, nothing beats the physical experience of sitting in a room filled with sound.
    2 Channel: Atohm GT-1 speakers, Atoll IN400 integrated amp, PS Audio DirectStream DAC, PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter, Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB with Ortofon Bronze cartridge, SotM sMS-200 ultra streamer, SotM sPS-500 power supply, and homemade infinite baffle subwoofer with two Fi Audio IB318 drivers.

    HT: All Polk: SDA 2.3tl fronts, CSiA6 center, 500-LS ceiling, RT/FX, RTi8, Monitor 4 rears, plus Yamaha CX-a5100 AV Preamplifier/Processor, Yamaha MX-a5000 11.1 channel amplifier, and Sony XBR55-AE1 OLED TV.
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,521
    Never was much of a headphone listener.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    Roger Sanders of Sanders Sound Systems: At 1:49, he discusses headphones.

    https://youtu.be/Vdf3VA06iSA
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,124
    But I also like a speaker that produces a good sound stage, and the nuances a "good" room produces. Gives you that live feeling
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • ab0tj
    ab0tj Posts: 40
    My story is similar to others here. I have a pair for work, I have a pair for travel, I have a pair for when out walking or biking. Those are mostly out of necessity. At home I definitely prefer listening on speakers, but I do really love my HiFiMan planars+Schiit stack for a change of pace every once in a while.
    Marantz SR6012, Parasound HCA-2200II, LSiM705 L/R, S35 center (yeah, I know...), 2x PSW505
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,862
    I use mine at work almost every day. It started with the in-ear that came with my phones. Now I'm using Neutron - 90% of my tunes are FLAC. Sent through my FiiO Kunlun into my Grado SR125e. What I like is that I can get great sound and still hear if someone is talking to me. They save me from going crazy many times over many hours of hacking away at my PC.
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    Rocking out on my headphones as we speak. 7 hours straight, loud volumes, no ringing in ears and cant hear anyone else so I can zone in.

    Spotify on iPhone 6 Plus -> 3.5mm to RCA ->Sherwood S7125B stereo receiver -> Behringer DT-770 32 ohm

    ^You ask why the AVR in the mix? Two words: Tone Controls

    Also can get it louder than my iPhone alone.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,559
    @msg you need to buy a Schiit Asgard 2.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    Maybe one day! when I really lose my grip on the roots sticking out at the top of the Headphones Branch of the deep dark Rabbit Hole.
    I disabled signatures.
  • For me, it's no problem at all. I always wear the headphone on the way to work.
  • laelle
    laelle Posts: 100
    Clipdat wrote: »
    The KOSS variants are still available and get a ton of positive feedback: https://www.koss.com/headphones/over-ear-headphones/esp950

    I had them... they sound really good but all the electrostatic praise is a bit strange; there is not much more than the dynamic transducers BUT clarity, if you like bass, don’t buy them, really...

    And to “clarify”, they are clear sounding headphones, but other dynamic headphones with less emphasis on bass will sound exactly the same, seriously
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    edited September 2018
    Like mine so much I upgraded em lol...

    Added a HK preamp and a Little Dot tube headphone amp w vintage tubes!

    Source is still iPhone (for now) or tablet.

    Looking at Tidal or using a mini computer as a source

    k3wdd380dxhw.jpeg

    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,420
    I have Monsters i use for air travel and when in my diesel truck because they block out most exterior noise and they have a very good noise cancelling mic for phone calls
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    I have the Massdrop Sennheiser HD6XX paired to my MAC. The MAC connects to a USB DAC to a Massdrop O2 headphone amp to the HD6XX. That’s the best sounding setup I have for headphones but I really like my V-Moda Crossfade 2 Bluetooth headphones with aptX for late night listening to Netflix and YouTube so I don’t disturb my wife. They work very well for my commute on public transportation and I’m never worried that they’ll be damaged since they’re so rugged.
    dp8xvll1ftcp.jpeg
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,521
    Never been a headphone guy. I mean, they sound GREAT, but I just prefer speaker listening.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2