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Speakers vs. headphones

I’ve spent many, many years building a stereo system that I finally can say I’m satisfied with, but recently had to make a change due to a complaint of “too much noise” in the house.  So, headphones were the answer.  
After just a few days of listening with a middling headphone (HIFIMAN Ananda) and inexpensive DAT (Firefly Cobalt,) I find myself enjoying (and getting into) the music  more.  Of course my system objectively is much better and cost light years more.  However, I find there is a certain intimacy, seemingly being closer to the music, and of course no distracting audible room effects to deal with. 
I’m not giving up speaker listening but what a pleasant surprise.
 

Who knew?

128x128rvpiano
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
2,415 posts
 

I, too, find that things that don’t sound so great on my speakers sound just fine on the headphones.

larsman's avatar
larsman
1,740 posts
 

I have a great 2-channel system, and I have a great headphone system, and I listen to them about 50/50 - variety is the spice! 

big_greg
6,554 posts
 

Some great points about how even lower cost headphones can sound really good.  I bought a pair of wireless bluetooth headphones to wear while mowing the lawn.  They are not "accurate" at all, lots of treble emphasis and the noise cancelling (which really works!) does some weird things, but all the same, I found myself really enjoying the music and hearing things I hadn't noticed before while listening at very moderate volume.

ghdprentice
6,362 posts
 

I love my Bose Quiet Comfort for airplanes and noisy environments. Definitely not accurate or in any way audiophile, but sound great… as in punchy and enjoyable in noisy environments. Using “audiophile headphones in noisy environments does not work, all the subtitles are lost to the noise floor and you are left with unbalanced sound. While the Bose are a bit cartoonish, they sound great and  balanced in noisy environments.

‘’I spent years on planes trying to recreate the audiophile experience, and quit when I heard Bose an realized for this environment they got it right. Any other environment not so much.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,536 posts
 

My experience is the opposite...

After finishing my room treatment and control, i put my headphones in the closet..

I dont want them anymore... 7 pairs covering, electrostatc, magnepan, electroacoustic and hybrid.... 😁😊

the reason and the difference in opinions come only from a simple fact:

acoustic controls...

I can modify all the perameter of acoustic in the room...

The intimacy i had with headphones i created it with a diffusive screen 2 angular panets with diffusive tubular structures and many other acoustic devices...

The only reason i see for headphones is to protect others for the sound... And i dont need that...

If your headphone are better than your speakers it is because the room acoustic is not  at his optimal settings...

 

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