So how much do you think the placebo effect impacts our listening preferences?

One of the biggest benefits of headphones is their immediacy in terms of sonic presentation. With headphones, you only need a fairly quite room. Each headphone will provide something unique in terms of build quality, styling, and sound signature. With headphones, you get a lot of choices.

I’m not bashing speakers or saying anything negative about them. With speakers, you have many other variables to consider (room treatments, having a good room, amps, DACs, CD players, cables, etc.

You are right saying that....



I know that a speakers/room system, and not necessarily a costly one, when rightfully embed will beat most heaphones i know of...

But it is way more easy and less costly in money and time sometimes for some to create an headphone system...

It takes me almost no money but hundred of listenings experiments to make my room/speakers relation right...

This tuning take me a couple of years all in all and few months of intense experiments listenings with Helmholtz method of resonators and diffusers...And it is impossible to fully implement it in a living room...

Someone, unlike me, could buy a very costly system and install it in a larger less difficult room than my small square room... And he will probably get good resuts with only usual acoustical materials treatments....Without using a grid of 40 Helmholtz resonators and diffusers...And others unorthodox devices...

Anyway yes, it is relative to anybody taste and choice and capital disponibility , but in the absolute if my small low cost speakers system can beat my 7 headphones of all types, a costly refine speakers system will be superior and will be no match for any headphone, ESPECIALLY if vibration, electrical noise floor and acoustic are controlled....At this point it is no more taste but an acoustical fact....Soix is right about that...

Between the taste and favorite choice and the ultimate fact and truth of speakers or headphones advantages there is the scale of S.Q. /price ratio and the underestimate working domensions of the audio system embeddings triple controls....It take these 3 embeddings factors together and a relatively refine system to reach the speakers/ room ideal and optimal possibilities....And for me it take a goddam period of time to tune them right...

My best to all and deepest respect....

I think it's a great question. I think the best answer here, from my own experiences, is that yes indeed our subjective assessment of sound quality, especially with something we can't "blind" test like headphones, is highly affected by the appearance, feel and knowledge of the brand and price - at first - both in the short and long terms. In the short term we are impressed, or have our expectations confirmed, only to have that experience change with more listening to a specific model. Long term, with experience listening to many different things, we become better listeners and more quickly hear the things that took a long time to recognize when we first began. I'm really just repeating what others have said, but these two factors summarize what seems important  to me from all of these replies: placebo effect is real but it fades, and the better you get at listening, the less you are affected by it in the first place.

 placebo effect is real but it fades, and the better you get at listening, the less you are affected by it in the first place.

Thanks for saying better than me what i tried to comnmunicate in a less short and clear way or style...

My deepest respect....

@mahgister

More power to you. It's good that you're able to appreciate your speakers over headphones. I remember at my old house I had carpet in my office which was ideal for speakers. 

Nobody should say headphones are better or worse than speakers. Everyone has their preferences. However, if tracking mixing/laying down a final edit are your priority, then headphones will provide great insight into a track and what needs to be fixed.

If it sounds good on an accurate headphone, it will translate even better onto speakers. 

If we get tight bass, clear midrange, and smooth treble on a track with headphones, on speakers the result will be refined again.

Have you tried listening to your speakers without the bricks on top? Does it reduce the sound quality?

Nobody should say headphones are better or worse than speakers

Average non modified headphones right out of the box and average audio systems uncontrolled and right out of the box are generally a TASTE matter...

But mechanical, electrical and acoustical controls of a speakers system are not a matter of taste....This is the ONLY way to give to your audio speakers/room system superiority over most headphones if not all...I dont have soix experience about that... But based on my experiments this was the case...

For sure when someone mix it is useful to listen to sound under a microscope sometimes headphones or monitor studio box...

I am not an engineer who work , i am in my audio room amd i want music not perfect sounds...

Have you tried listening to your speakers without the bricks on top? Does it reduce the sound quality?

For sure the concrete slabs are not sold with the speakers.... 😊

The slabs and bricks are there to damp the speakers but not only that to compress the springs i use to controls vibrations/resonance problem... The 2 sets of 4 springs boxes under and on top of each speaker are asymmetrically compressed...One set by the load of concrete and speaker weight and the other set on top of the speaker by the weight of the concrete slabs only... the difference in compressing force between the 2 sets of 4 boxes springs  work well to decrease resonant  too powerful mode in the speaker...

It is my own idea about how to use cheap springs to achieve the near same results than costly designed springs...Cost: peanuts... Results: amazingly good....

Thanks for your kind appreciation and posts....

My best to you from the heart.....