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Why headphones rule

JTC said:
(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.
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This will almost certainly be the contribution of the room/speaker, limited extension speakers such as the Quads don’t upset the room nearly as much as those with greater extension.
Really good bass in a domestic sized room takes a bit of work.
Keith
 
JTC said:
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.
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Having had large speakers all my audio life from '64 I ended up with ProAc Response Fours; all 133 kg each of them. Okay, not bass boomers but impactful nonetheless. After the briefest fling with 57s, I went for the biggest Quad, the 2905. I really thought I'd miss the (bass) impact of the ProAc. After 6 months with 2905s, I reinstalled the ProAcs (too cautious to throw the baby out with...etc.) They lasted about a week or so. I had become fully accustomed to the speed, transparency and (dare I say it) superior room-filling sound-staging.

My golden-eared wife and valvey/ESL-minded friends were convinced very soon, but I found it difficult at first to accept the limitations of my 50 year old love affair with moving coil behemoths.
 
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Most good points have been mentioned. Some like headphones, some like speakers and some prefer both on equal terms. Personally loudspeakers are way ahead for me although I tried to like headphones. I don't know why but i just can't seem to enjoy headphones as much as I wanted as I dislike the feeling of the thing on top of my head. It is not so much on sound quality as most of the headphones I tried sounded great. It is just that I somehow hate the feeling of headphones on my head although I now own one of the most comfortable headphones around. 99.9% of my listening is on the speakers.

*I have owned the Beyerdynamic T1 with proper amp setup and sold the whole rig after a while when I figured out they are not getting much use. I attempted to get back to headphones by buying a pair of more comfortable and light headphones (great sound too) but alas... I realised it is not so much about sound quality or comfort (the added comfort does help though but I still turned to speakers after a while with the headphones left untouched for months now). It is me who didn't like listening to headphones too much.

In the event I don't have access to the hifi, i still won't bring my headphones along with me for unknown reasons. I just won't be listening to any music, or I'll listen from the crappy speakers of my smartphone.

I find the bass quality from the loudspeakers in my system to be satisfying although the room imparts some colourations to the bass. Much better and realistic live sound from the speakers than a pair of headphones. Coloured sound is not always a bad thing as most systems are coloured in one way or another.
 
With modern DSP it might be possible to make the sound image rotate as you move your head. We move our heads almost unknowingly to localise sounds and headphones mess this up.
 
I think it's possible to experience joyful musical moments regardless of what you listen through.

Each class has advantages so I don't see speakers or headphones as better or worse, just different.
 
At the moment headphones definitely rule for now with me, purely as I haven't yet set up the speaker system since moving.
:rolleyes:
 
I 'like' the bass output from my harbeths. It's a tad gentle, but in my room, well controlled, portrays a range of notes and instruments very well and sits in a proper place according to the recording. The phones do have a slight bass emphasis...I'd say they prioritise bass output slightly and the Harbs diminsh it by about the same amount, so in neither case am I listening to the exact blance as recorded (Im guessing but think this must be so). However, if I want to follow a bass line, the phones ability to seperate this out and present it cleanly, whilst still allowing the rest to flow around it ius superior by a way.
I do agree with the points about the in head experience...it's odd and I don't like it at all, but for an hour or so I live with it to just catch some detail, some snatch of underlying tune that is otherwise obscured.

Im sure there are people who have systems that outperform headphones, esp if those are judged by image and scale. I've never heard any system that does both scale, image, dynamics, clarity, and still stays 'musical' and enjoyable.
Yet. Oh and some of us have budget restraints :)
 
koi said:
Best headphones I have had for bass were Fostex TH 900s used them with a Burson headphone amplifier rather special combination.
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I’d agree. I’m listening to a pair now, though through a Hugo 2 as opposed to my Burson ( must do a critical comparison). I’m going to stick on some Kraftwerk live...
An idea I floated on another thread was listening to cans with a subwoofer on in the room. I can do that easily in one room by switching the power amp off.
 
When the Smyth Realiser finally gets released (!) it will be headphones all the way, and turn hifi upside down.
 
Reading this thread, it reminds me of the troubles I had getting speakers to work in my living room, which has a node at around 40htz. I ended up spending a fair while getting the distances right from rear and side walls.

If I had my time again, I’d definitely look at some kind of room correction.

Headphones - I use Ultimate Ears, the ones where they are bespoke fit to your ear canals etc. They certainly are impactive, and you don’t have to play them loud due to the way they cut out outside noises. I’ve used them in a variety of ways, including gigging, personal stereo and also whilst on plane journeys. If they packed up, I’d replace them instantly.
 
Mike Reed said:
Big ESLs ?
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Thjey should do it...last ones I heard properly were the 57's (is that right...gold radiator design). In many ways astonishing, never quite right in the bass.The hugest of Tannoys neither...lots of flappy trousers but rather loose flapping. Maybe this is anew thread, but I won't since as I said in the OP, it's just down to the space you put them in.
 
I put the speaker before the space, Rocky. If I knock any more walls out in my place I'd be living in a shell. :D
 
well me too...the harbeths have to live in a rubbish room really but room correction? nah. This is just fun, and I can always put the headphones on :)
 
I don't think ordinary multi-miked stereo recordings work very well over headphones. Years ago the BBC transmitted some dummy-head/Blumlein recordings specially for stereo headphone listening. I seem to remember these were vastly superior. Any one else remember them?

I rarely listen over headphones now as they send me to sleep.
 
Binaural recordings sound superb on headphones. You should check out Mike Valentine's 'Chasing The Dragon' label, his recordings are amongst the finest I've heard, he really knows how to capture the acoustics/ambience of the venues in which he records.
 
Even with STAX, Grado RS1’s rocking out, Sony MDR-V6 etc. I always end up back listening to my speakers quietly instead. I do use headphones a lot, but portable, which for me means Koss Porta Pro. Some people prefer headphones though, just go onto HeadFi...
 
A lot depends on what you’re doing whilst listening. I find headphones often better for intense, active listening, whereas speakers suit background purposes, and of course moving around. Though there’s definitely overlap...
 
MikeMA said:
I don't think ordinary multi-miked stereo recordings work very well over headphones. Years ago the BBC transmitted some dummy-head/Blumlein recordings specially for stereo headphone listening. I seem to remember these were vastly superior. Any one else remember them?

I rarely listen over headphones now as they send me to sleep.
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Not sure if this is what you have in mind but the beeb has been doing binaural proms recordings for the last couple of years . see here for last year's
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2913JxRtQl3ZTvw0wz5C4D1/bbc-proms-in-binaural-sound
this year's are here I think
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06drb3s
 
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