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Why headphones rule

Mike Reed said:
Two aspects which I can pick out when listening through cans rather than speakers is clarity and immediacy; rather important at my age. Not that I don't get that from my 2905s but the latter is dominant in the cans
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The new QUAD headphones should be interesting, I hope that deep bass is not a particular priority though, more of an ESL sound and I will bite.:)
 
Interesting, I had no idea there was such a thing! Not listed on their site, but some dealers are advertising them at £599.
 
QUAD ERA-1 tested in August hi-fi news. Not up to '57 standard but close apparently....Planar
 
Stax 007 mk1 electrostatic headphones driven by Mjolnir amps. All the bass I could ever want, and tighter than any speaker (my ESL57s included). I enjoy having the best of both worlds
 
Mark,

Not to mention, "Have you noticed that no one complains about your shite music now that you have headphones."

Joe
 
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Define ‘good’. My Stax rig outperforms all speakers I have owned/heard, but as others have noticed bass from headphones does sound different than that from speakers+room. I think ESL57s have the best* bass of any speakers I have owned, but still the Stax wins it.

* not the deepest or loudest, but the most accurate and tightest, with the right ‘proportions’ relative to other frequencies...
 
You need to own some better speakers then.

My definition of good regards quality primary to quantity - if that helps.
 
Poor bass is not ‘usually’ the fault of the speakers but of the speakers and their interaction with the room.
If you want really good bass, you need a good full range speaker and then acoustically measure the room and fix any issues.
Keith
 
(FWIW the best dynamic speakers for bass quality I have owned were active ATC100s. Much greater extension and headroom than the ESLs, but I think the ESLs pip them in speed and accuracy. Active ADAMs also good, but trail the ATCs somewhat. Most box speakers’ bass is too loose and/or coloured for my liking these days.
 
Purité Audio said:
Poor bass is not ‘usually’ the fault of the speakers but of the speakers and their interaction with the room.
If you want really good bass, you need a good full range speaker and then acoustically measure the room and fix any issues.
Keith
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Agree. But still trails ESL bass IMHO.
 
I used to listen to headphones a lot when I lived in a flat. Nowadays I don't need to, and I absolutely don't miss it, even though I had some very decent headphones (including Stax Lambda Nova Signatures with valve energiser). Headphone listening missed out too much of the physicality of music.
 
Ian,

Headphone listening missed out too much of the physicality of music.
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I agree but that's exactly why I got headphones in the first place. I was listening to music late at night, which woke up (and pissed off) my wife and daughter.

Joe
 
Best headphones I have had for bass were Fostex TH 900s used them with a Burson headphone amplifier rather special combination.
 
All this being said, it’s rather like saying beef is better than fish. They’re both great, but different, and sometimes comparisons rather miss the point. Best thing I can say about any hifi system is if I can lose myself in the music, and in many ways (for me) this is easier/more likely with headphone listening... maybe because it also places a barrier on the outside world....
 
The best modern headphones are really a lot of fun. However, their existence is only due to the number of people now living in expensive flats. In the context of the greater audio market the focus is still on speakers (and likely always will be). To compare Esl57s to ARC100s is a comedy comparison worthy of only internet bots - one extreme to the other.
 
Why? Just because one is a ‘stat and the other an active dynamic speaker? For sure, the ATCs go louder and hit harder, but for sheer musical insight and realism the ESLs are where it’s at. Both are speakers, so no reason for the comparison to be any more ‘ridiculous’ than comparing Stax to, say, Sennheisers. Both are headphones after all...
 
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