Do you prefer headphones or speakers?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Harvest Your Thoughts, Nov 25, 2014.

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  1. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Speakers by a long long way.
     
  2. Mulroydave

    Mulroydave Forum Resident

    Speakers for me
     
  3. Variable

    Variable Forum Resident

    These days it is mostly headphones for me. I tend to listen mostly late at night, while the family sleeps.
     
  4. RollinHard843

    RollinHard843 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    I prefer headphones because I think it's easier for me to pick apart details and crank the music as loud as I want. A lot of my music gets listened to when I'm painting, and that means I'm probably not facing the speakers in an ideal way. Also, my 2 and a half year old daughter is usually sleeping when I'm listening. I'll play music throughout the day on the speakers on days off from work, but I'm not often in the room when that's the case.

    Headphones mean I can keep my doors open and not have to feel I'm "subjecting" people to my musical taste. I've always liked headphones, and now I've grown to prefer them. Got an extension cord so I can walk around while painting and still use headphones.
     
    richie60 likes this.
  5. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I've always owned a few decent sets of headphones, my favorite are my Koss ESP 950 electrostatics. I really like the micro detail that can be heard, but my first choice is to listen with speakers.
     
  6. uofmtiger

    uofmtiger Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I said speakers, but I love headphones, too.
     
    johnnypaddock likes this.
  7. The Entertainer

    The Entertainer Forum Resident

    Speakers, because it's more comfortable and less restricting than being basically attached to my system. I do prefer headphones for critical listening and working on music however.
     
  8. JimD

    JimD Forum Resident

    Location:
    at home
    Speakers. I like moving a lot of air.
     
  9. kcblair

    kcblair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Mass.
    Speakers , but when I'm mobile or listening in bed at night, headphones.
     
  10. 56GoldTop

    56GoldTop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhere, Ok
    Speakers.

    Though planar cans have been a revelation for me. I fear I may wind up with maggies after all.

    Either way, I find a quiet environment, essential. I'd rather, first, turn the world down, than the volume up.
     
  11. ponkine

    ponkine Senior Member

    Location:
    Villarrica, Chile
    In the ideal environment, speakers

    In day-by-day situations, I use both speakers and headphones
     
  12. Diamond Dog

    Diamond Dog Cautionary Example

    Speakers. I have a pretty decent headphone rig but the sound depresses me compared to my speakers. Not even close.

    D.D.
     
  13. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    Higher-end headphone sound needn't be depressing. Though I understand that headphones are a very very different experience than speakers.

    Have you tried the Sennheiser HD800 headphones with your Manley? The HD800 has a high enough impedance that they could be a favorable match with the amp. The HD800 has a soundstage presentation that is quite different from other headphones. It doesn't do the typical style of headphone sound that's trapped in your head. It's sort of like a cross between nearfield speakers and headphones. It's the sort of headphone sound that might get some speaker listeners to try headphones.
     
    Diamond Dog likes this.
  14. flac

    flac Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Speakers, without a doubt.
    With that being said, I love my Sony MDR-V6 headphones. They're low impedance, so I can plug them into an iPod un-amped and enjoy a decent portable setup.
     
    2xUeL likes this.
  15. bcaulf

    bcaulf Forum Resident

    Headphones for me. Even at home. I like sitting at home with just the music going directly into my ear canals. I also feel like I can hear more details through headphones (or earphones) than speakers since the sound is closer to me.
     
  16. RMB77

    RMB77 Well-Known Member

    Speakers, by a wide margin. I do much of my listening after everyone else has gone to bed. At my previous home, with my stereo next door to the bedrooms, I always used headphones.
    New home. Well insulated and dedicated listening room at one end of the house and bedrooms at the other. I have not bothered to hook up my phono pre or listen to my HD650's since the move.
     
  17. ROLO46

    ROLO46 Forum Resident

    I like both
    HD 800 really are brilliant cans, more revealing than any LS
    However I love small active monitors for stereo field / depth and large active LS for musical scale
     
  18. wgb113

    wgb113 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    As some have already said, a good set of cans get you so close to the music and I find myself listening that way more and more these days due to our lil' man going to bed so early. That said, I prefer speakers. My room is treated fairly well and no headphone can compete from an imaging and soundstage perspective like a properly set up pair of speakers. In addition to that aspect I like the visceral impact of low frequency - much more realistic - and something that can't be relayed via a pair of cans.

    Bill
     
    gd0 likes this.
  19. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Used to listen to everything primarily via Stax electrostatic earspeakers. Wore them out, in fact. But I'd never go back. As of now, I hardly ever use my portable music providers. I dislike the isolation that headphones provide, not to mention having over-exposure of errors in production, the glaring obviousness of a lot of edits, punch-ins and so forth.
     
  20. DR.J

    DR.J Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago Suburb
    Big ass speakers; however, when the day comes that I don't live in a detached house, I'll move to headphones.
     
  21. sami

    sami Mono still rules

    Location:
    Down The Shore
    Speakers.

    The only time I use headphones at home is when doing needledrops.
     
  22. gd0

    gd0 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

    Location:
    Golden Gate
    That's about as eloquently as I would ever care to put it. :laugh:

    Well described.

    Up until recently I would've been tempted to post something snarky about cans. But a couple months ago I had the opportunity to listen to them (cheap Sennheisers) for extended periods, and found the alternative experience very enjoyable.

    But... speakers all the way.
     
  23. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I don't have much choice. Headphones at work because it's at work and speakers would annoy everyone else. Headphones at home because my wife is hard of hearing and doesn't like a lot of noise. The only speakers I have are a 5.1 system that a neighbor gave to me when he upgraded and computer speakers.
     
  24. reeler

    reeler Forum Resident

    I've found the only headphone that works well for commute rides is Bose Quiet comfort 25. I find even standard closed back have to be turned up too much to overcome the external noise. You give up some in sound quality with the noise reduction but I was really amazed at how well they work to play some tunes on a noisy bus ride. The quiet comfort is good at shutting noise out, but as far as keeping sounds in its actually not as good as Sennheiser HD 280 pros. For home listening I use different kinds that can give a better sound than Bose, and rarely take those outside. My walk around outside ones are usually Yamaha RH5ma or sometimes audio technica ATH-ESW9A. The Bose picks up too much wind/air noise- even the air things above you on planes need to be turned down.
     
  25. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Speakers. Headphones are for the train.
     
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