Good question. Never really thought about headphones too much until I had kids. Have a Pair of AKG K340s that I have owned for 25yrs or so...they are great for Classical Music listening...big time. Then I purchased an Ipod...loved it..but when it died I got a Pono Player....Wow. That thing is awesome but its pretty beat up now since I used it constantly in the car and everywhere else. Then I purchased an Astell and Kern AK320 ...wow. I was using my awesome (IMO) Grado PS500 headphones solely at that time. Then the wife decided she could hear my open back headphones while the babies were sleeping....I would love those ears...LOL. This led me to get my Audeze LCD-XC headphones (new version but still Maple) Phew..I guess by all of this info you could say I am a big headphone lover...Nope. 1- I never listen to vinyl records with headphones. I save that experience for the stereo system when I can totally enjoy it. 2- I only listen to digital with headphones and usually late at night when I have to be quiet. 3- Even my best headphones cannot compete with my system. But...they do allow you to hear EVERYTHING in the mix especially with hi res files. 4- Headphones are enjoyable but not the same and there is a certain amount of "fun" that goes away when listening. 5- Since I got my Totem Signature 1 Bookshelves I have not listened to my headphones very much. Unless late at night. Not Uber expensive but really nice IMO. Well...there you go. LOL.. good topic.
Headphones can't compete with things that speakers can do like the physical feeling of music or the sense of scale that a good speaker system can do. So to appreciate headphone listening you need to find things that headphones can do very well that would be expensive or impractical to achieve with speakers. Find a special headphone sound that lets the headphones show off and be different. For example, if your speaker system is solid state then get a good tube amp for the headphones so you can hear the glory of tubes. Headphones are also a single driver full range speaker with no crossover. Some speaker listeners go to great lengths and compromise to get a full range coaxial speaker system. While that just comes naturally for headphones. Take advantage of that to make your headphone sound something special. I have found that planar drivers (planar magnetic or electrostatic) are especially good for doing that special sonic magic of a single full range driver that maintains phase coherency throughout the full frequency range. Combine those headphones with a good amp that allows the headphones to show off that sound and you've got something special. The trick is that to get that you need to pair the headphones with the right amp and right source to get that to really happen. You can't just plug a $200 Sennheiser in a $200 headphone amp and expect to experience this. You need to up the game to the good stuff. The good gear.
Many years ago, I decided that I would never be able to afford the very expensive speakers and amplifiers needed for speaker listening at the quality I desired, let alone being able to play my music loudly without annoying anybody else in the house. Solved that all with high quality headphone systems and moderate quality speakers for the TV/home stereo.
Mostly headphones, by necessity. I have decent (modest) speakers and amplification, but no dedicated space for them. Diana turns in early, so listening through speakers at sufficient level is not possible at night, which is when I prefer to listen.
Diana said she could hear my HD600 from another room (small house,) and I don't listen at high levels by any means.
Headphones have significant advantages - the elimination of room acoustics issues for one. They can also help you in your room set-up for your speaker system. The other significant advantage (well it was but not so much anymore) is that it costs less to make a high-end headphone system than it does a home stereo. My first tube amp was a headphone amp (Antique Sound Labs MG Head DT - bought in 2000) and was a cheaper way to get into tubes and into headphone amplifiers. I had the HD 600 back then and considered a high-end headphone (now it seems almost entry-level - well on price anyway). Why does it help set up the stereo? Well, I sat in my listening chair with the headphones. I then took the headphones off and listened to the same music in the same spot and worked to get the sound to the same "clarity" as the headphones. Can you make everything out to the same degree as the Headphones. Work to reduce room boom, clap echo, etc. Then once that is taken care of the stereo advantages come back in - soundstage/imaging/dynamic ease. I attended the Hong Kong Audio Show yesterday and the best sound, by a lot, was the Steinway and Sons Piano presentation connected to a system where you can select the pianist you want to hear and the piano is in exact time recreating the performance - they asked for permission from the world's piano greats and artists like Lang Lang said it was exactly the same as his playing. He was amazed - so was I. Headphones can't replicate the ambiance of this - neither can a stereo system but they can do it better than headphones. That sense of space. Some speakers and systems did it very well at the show - and as good as the Steinway demonstration was you are limited to just piano music. I have at times been tempted to get a better headphone system going but I suspect the money I need to spend to make me happy will be money I'd probably be better off pitting someplace else. Living in Hong Kong has taught me that the earcups from Senheiser (that plushy material Velvet??) is by far the best material - that faux leather crap on my AKG and ATH headphones that start peeling off after 4 months is total crapola and you'll be constantly buying earcups - my Sense are 22 years old and look brand new. So the aforementioned Neumann and the Shure 1540 and the Beyerdynamics appear to have longer-lasting earcups that can ghandle sweat and humidity better.
thanks Richard, I never thought this type of headphones using I understand ... "Artificial" that is another description of my "feeling" listening with headphones.
I'll throw a stranger scenario out there....it depends on the album you're listening to. Last night I played Yo La Tengo's "I can Hear the Heart Beating As One" via my Focal Clear headphones and enjoyed it more then I ever remember hearing it via speakers. Some albums just seem to suit headphones more. I'll throw in Brian Eno's "Before and After Science" as another great "headphone" album.
I've always been more of a headphone guy. I actually just got my first real speaker/turntable setup to start collecting vinyl. Just some JBL Stage A130's, nothing too crazy, but boy do they sound good. I really don't know if I can compare the sound quality between headphones (I use Focal Clears) and speakers because they both present sounds so differently. Not having to wear anything on my head is definitely an advantage or speakers. However, I think details might be easier to pick out on headphones because they're more intimate. The problem is, I live in a building so I'm always a little afraid to turn the speakers up too loudly and because of that I feel like I'm not always getting the most out of them. When I turn the speakers up they sound so much better, but then I worry about the music being too loud and bothering the neighbors. Meh, the lady next door screams on the phone all the time so I could probably care less anyway...maybe I'll tell her how I feel by obeying the instruction on the back of my copy of "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars"
As a 65 year old, I can't explain my amazement of walking through my college kids' dorms and hearing ZERO music, because everyone that age was using earbuds. When I lived in the city during and right after college, I did a lot of headphone listening, but I do none now as I realize how precious my hearing is, and it is so easy to play headphones too loud. Right now I am home alone and listening to Abraxas at 55 dB peaks cat my listening position.
I think if I had to go the HP-only route, I'd quit listening to music. Do have a pair of el-cheapo Behringers for late-night TV watching.
Bought a pair of Grado SR 80's, (I think that what they are called) from a friend, only used them 4 times in 3 years, and twice for monitoring 2 recording in large cathedrals
I definitely prefer speakers. But I lived in NYC for 23 years and had to use headphones a lot of the time, so as not to disturb apartment-mates and/or neighbors. Also on the subway. Now that I'm back in Texas in a house...I almost always listen on speakers.
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