Well Amplifying an Ipod through a good resolution system will never sound as good as it going through headphones #1, To much exposure to the lower quality source in most cases...
I thought I would never beat headphones myself, mainly they are just easier and you can get good quality cheaper, and main thing is you are not fighting the acoustics of a large room and airspace, they are 1" from your ear drum, huge difference.
However after many battles, I have found the solution that stomps my Grado's, and thats Excellent room treatments with very efficient speakers and tube amps... Now I feel like I have more pressure and smooth controlled sound than even with headphones, and yes it even sounds better like a live venue in the house.. I have people tell me all the time they can't believe how clear and balanced even compared to headphones my system is now.
So room treatments will be like the earmuffs sealing to your ear if your willing to truly solve the issues with an audio system, its 9 times out of 10 the room environment not the speakers, and thats where the headphones have one up in the first place, cause they don't compete with a crappy room!
I thought I would never beat headphones myself, mainly they are just easier and you can get good quality cheaper, and main thing is you are not fighting the acoustics of a large room and airspace, they are 1" from your ear drum, huge difference.
However after many battles, I have found the solution that stomps my Grado's, and thats Excellent room treatments with very efficient speakers and tube amps... Now I feel like I have more pressure and smooth controlled sound than even with headphones, and yes it even sounds better like a live venue in the house.. I have people tell me all the time they can't believe how clear and balanced even compared to headphones my system is now.
So room treatments will be like the earmuffs sealing to your ear if your willing to truly solve the issues with an audio system, its 9 times out of 10 the room environment not the speakers, and thats where the headphones have one up in the first place, cause they don't compete with a crappy room!