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Headphones or Speakers?

Does you prefer to listen via headphones or speakers?

  • Total voters
    49
Ron Brown

Ron Brown

Cultosaurus Erectus
Just what it says on the tin. I'm not trying to spark some monumental debate, just curious how you prefer to listen and why. I won't even get into vintage vs. modern, but you can.

I prefer speakers because of space, air, eardrums, and such.
 
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Need both are equal but different as an option :thumbsup:

I traveled an avg of 6 months a year for the last 16 yrs for work, HP's where probably 40% of my yearly listening. They are just as good, just different :rockon:
 
Speakers are my choice. Headphones lack the visceral bass that speakers can have. Plus, I'm not all that comfortable with music coming from inside my head which is what headphones do. Besides, I'm big on sound staging. That's something that headphones just can't do.

FWIW: I have numerous pairs of headphones from Stax (ESL), HiFi Man (planar magnetic), Grado and Koss. I even have a pair of planar IEM's. I realize what headphones can and can't do. So, I accept that and use them when I can't use speakers.

While I'm out and about my planar IEM's driven by an AGPtEK Rocker 2 playing FLAC files is more than adaquate.
 
IMO - one can get good+ music from a traditional speaker system on the cheap... say >$2K
To get the same good+ music from a HP setup... may need to spend double

However :D Considering the $$$ I've spent over the last 10-15yrs on traditional speaker systems I could have spent a fraction and have an A+ HP setup
 
Speakers 99%. Like to feel the bass and be able to move around or lie comfortably. Headphones if it's noisy around or needs to be quiet.
 
I've always been a speakers guy, mainly because I never liked isolating myself from other people that are around. I guess I hope that others will get into what I'm listening to. That seems increasingly rare around here. Being "chained" by wires to the equipment didn't appeal to me either. Wireless phones obviously can fix the second concern. I've found myself doing the headphone thing more lately.

I've reacquainted myself with what a different experience headphones are. Specific elements of the mix are much more emphasized. It seems like the natural blend of music floating around in the air is replaced by very specific directional cues enveloping your head. This effect can be quite seductive with the right material and is an art in itself. I understand why people get so heavily into the experience.

Given that my musical consumption seems to be becoming increasingly solitary, I guess I will be diving more into the headphones end of the pool. The difference is really quite exciting. I have some decent wired cans. I just need to find something wireless that will be solid performers but earbuds are out. I'm not comfortable with jamming something in my earholes.

Prefer speakers but circumstances seem to be pointing me increasingly toward headphones.
 
I can't listen at work, 400VDC is something you want to pay attention to. And I've been hit with 625VAC off of a 3-phase system. Not a lot of current in this patticular application, but it ain't fun, and I don't really want to do it again. Wifey works from home most days, and doesn't like to hear my music, most especially at the levels that please me. So, I only get to listen when she's not here. I, therefor, REALLY want to ENJOY my time with the system. I just got new speakers in October, and a new amp is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. So....

That being said, I'm also waiting on the next DROP of the HD-6xx headphones, sometime in February. If she's working in the home office on a Saturday morning, taking a nap, or whatever, I'll have another option. But, as has been mentioned, you can't feel the bass through 'phones.
 
Really what Joe already articulated. It helps that main speakers are full range stats like many headphones.

IEMs definitely, however, have their place in my world. I enjoy custom sleeved Shure se535s and AirPods Pro for a number of situations.
 
Depends on:

genre- some types of music require different sources

environment- outside/inside/travel, etc.

privacy- how it might affect others

focus-background/reading/driving/projects, etc.

arrangement- some music presents differently

Instruments- some do better with distance/detail/bass

Calibre- of gear played

Depends.


Q
 
For me, speakers are more enjoyable, so I tend toward them for regular listening. Along with the times when quiet is needed, I tend to use headphones for critical listening, as I have several 'phones that are capable of very high resolution, much more than any of the speakers I own.
 
I listen to headphones and enjoy them. I used to prefer speakers, but my wife and I are both retired and home together a lot, so headphones were the way to go.
 
Tough call. I'm at the point where the speakers have better low end than the headphones, but I mostly use the headphones.
 
Gee! How old are my STAX Lambdas and Signet electro static headphones. My Sennheisers are three years old after my Koss Pro 4 aaa quit. I replaced them first with the early Momentums, but I did n't like them, so I now have the discontinued 598 SE. How often do I use the head phones. Every time I dub a LP to CD or I back up something I have streamed to CD. Especially if I am using my 3BX, 119, or SAE program EQ. If I am playing with high frequencies it the Lambdas all the way. They are much more detailed than the 800 series Sennheisers and they are not as irritating. If I were rich I would have the latest top of the line STAX, but unless I win the lottery I will have to pass,
 
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