are headphones the musical heaven?

[admin_exported]

Where do you spend most of your listening time? With a set of headphones on your ears or sat on the sofa in front of your speakers? I spend most of my music listening time with a set of sennheisers on my head and not sat in front of my hifi. So headphone amps, portable dacs and decent headphones are important to me. I'm in raptures with my new iBasso D10.

I think a headphone amp, laptop, DAC and headphones are the best value music experience, better than amp and speakers.

Given the choice I'd take headphones over speakers, but it is a close call

you?

 

[Anonymous]

I have some decent enough headphones and use them to listen to music when the missus is watching TV.

But I asbolutely hate wearing headphones. Itchy and uncomfortable. And just doesn't feel right.

Its speakers every time for me.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with Heystak but I will also add that I would love my system to sound as good as the phone setup. At the moment there is a huge difference between the two.

 

[Anonymous]

I guess it is the office environment, I listen to music 4/5 hours a day with headphones on, though my pxc450s are comfortable for that long, 6/8 gets a bit tiring

 

[Anonymous]

raym87:I'm with Heystak but I will also add that I would love my system to sound as good as the phone setup. At the moment there is a huge difference between the two.

That is what I mean, my 500 quid amp and speaker setup is good for the money, but my 300, but bought for 160 headphones outclass them. Buying the headphone amp has lifted the cost to a similar level, but raised the quality for both, as I can use the D10 as a dac for my amp too.

 

[idc]

Absolutely headphones are musical heaven. More than that, a headphone setup is paradise

.

- The sound quality of a headphone set up has a far greater value sound to £ than any other setup. The last What Hifi headphone review stated that headphones punch well above their cost and that is my experience. Add to that, headphone amps start at £30 for portable ones, and pretty much top out below £1000, with really good ones available for about £200.

- They are so convenient. There is no issue about speaker placement, fewer cable runs to contend with, the kit is smaller and less intrusive.

- They have a great family/music balance. I can listen to my music whilst others are in the same room doing other stuff. My family are not bothered by the sound leakage. If they were closed back, in ear and sound cancelling cans all offer alternatives. I can also listen to my music at any volume I want to at any time. They also block out the noise from the nearby pub at closing time (which is not bad, but it is still better not to hear it at all).

- Comfort wise I do understand that some people do not find headphones that comfortable. But there are so many options to try; in ear, buds alone, buds with ear support, on ear, around the ear with foam, leather and fabric covers. You cannot say you don't like wearing headphones till you have tried them all.

Even if you don't go the whole hog, you owe yourself a decent set of headphones to go with your system. It is such an involving way to listen to music.

 

[Craig M.]

speakers for me. but, if i had some phones of the same standard as my speakers and a top notch headphone amp i might change my mind. i think i'd have to spend quite a bit to match or better my hifi though. got some sennheisers somewhere that cost about 80 quid i think, sound pretty rubbish compared to the hifi, but there is a huge price difference between them. i think i would need wireless phones to tempt me away from the main setup, and i've never seen any good reviews of them.

 

[ElectroMan]

The best thing about headphones for me is having no worries about the volume being too loud, and having no interference with the sound.

And I don't think you can beat a good pair of electrostatic headphones for sheer clarity, like Stax, or these, or these.

 

[Anonymous]

I wish I hadn't read this post, I have only just got over an outbreak of upgraditis

 

[Superaintit]

Hi ZZgavin,

Great to hear you're enjoying your headphone. I also have a sennheiser and I must say it's by far the best (hifi) buy I ever made. The hd650 just has a fantasticly open, smooth and natural sound. I listen to it for hours each day. If any speaker system matches it in quality of sound I would sure like to know. So far, nothing can satisfy me more.

 

[idc]

Click for a headphone amp feast all the way from Oz. It at least gives you an idea of what is on offer. To add to that here is a nice picture of the Cute Beyond amp available from Russ Andrews...............................

......and if it is too expensive (£175) there is the portable Fireye 1 at £61.10 (it charges via the USB)................

and then there is the Fubar with integrated DAC and the top of the range Little Country III is a not exactly massive £442......

 

[Anonymous]

Speakers for me everytime. Period.

 

[idc]

Graham_Thomas:Speakers for me everytime. Period.

Graham, your kit list includes a dedicated headphone amp and good quality headphones. Do they not get much use? Which sounds better;

Cyrus 8SE, MF A3.5 amp, Monitor Audio GR20s, Atlas Voyager, Monitor Audio Pureflow Biwire, Tacima CS929 and Tacima shielded mains cables

or

Sennheiser HD595 and Pro-Ject Headbox Mark II.

 

[Anonymous]

idc. The speaker system - everytime for me. Although, I must admit the headphones are probably only just fully run in as I never use them or the Headbox.

Mind, I'm lucky as I'm in a detached house, on my own with few interruptions......

y

 

[PJPro]

The key to the headphone experience is the dedicated amp. I suspect many have had a listen through their headphone jack on their amp and have been disappointed. With a relatively modest investment, you can experience a really quite exceptional sound quality.

I spend the vast majority of my listening time using headphones. With the kids in bed and me browsing the web, it's simply the most convenient option.

 

[SteveR750]

Speakers for me too, soundstaging in stereo is always better than binaural. I have yet to hear a pair if headphones where the soundstage really is outside of your head

 

[Anonymous]

Headphones are great but I find I only use them a lot on the go (iPhone + Shure SE530). When I had my Senn 650s & Earmax Pro at work they were vy good but I don't like the feeling of headphones after a while. At home I have a Benchmark DAC1 which is amazing with the HD650s, but I prefer listening to my speakers usually - much more sociable
For a few months I had the Grado GS1000s which have incredible soundstage - the only headphones I've listened to with soundstage as good as my speakers - but I just didn't like the balance / sibilance that much, and in the end used them too little to justify having them.

 

[Anonymous]

Love headphone listening, especially when it involves glowing tubes, ummm. Soundstage with headphones I have found is highly dependent on the amp, I get a beautiful soundstage. Your right, it's not outside of you head it's in your head, but when you hear an echo of your subarachnoid membrane or a drummer slamming your cerebellum and a chorus from your prefrontal cortex, nothing really matters. (sorry, I'm a neuropsychologist in training)

But there is something qualitatively different about speaker listening, I suppose you don't go to a concert with nothing in-between the band and your ears. There is a deeper sense of realism because of an environmental soundstage. I love both methods equally.

 

[matengawhat]

i love my headphones and they have there place but nothing like being able to feel the music - when you are at a concert that first bass guitar or drum beat that smashes your chest is amazing

 

[matthewpiano]

I love listening with headphones. It somehow gives me more of a sense of listening time being 'me' time and I love not having to worry about upsetting the neighbours. I also love being able to 'hide away' in my musical world when the other half is watching Big Brother or other such rubbish. My main pair are Beyer Dynamic DT770PROs which I much prefer to my Sennheiser HD595s. The 740A has a proper headphone amp built into it as well and sounds very good with headphones, although I'm sure a dedicated box would deliver even more when funds allow.

 

[idc]

Brisk:..... Soundstage with headphones I have found is highly dependent on the amp......

Agree totally Brisk. The soundstage is down to the amp. With a good amp the music is not just locked inside the head, but it is also in the earphones and then, with albums such as Gomez 'Bring it On' and Kraftwerk 'Minimum Maximum' or The Beatles 'Sgt Peppers..' the music moves all around you as well as through you. With a live album there is a greater sensation of it being live and you being there. Stereo sound effects are even more pronounced with a decent headphone setup than with speakers IMHO.

 

[SteveR750]

matengawhat:i love my headphones and they have there place but nothing like being able to feel the music - when you are at a concert that first bass guitar or drum beat that smashes your chest is amazing

and isnt that what it is all about really?? bass instruments are supposed to shake your organs a bit not simply shake your cerebral tempral lobes etc etc la lalalalal

I bet Stuart Cable doesnt use headphones in his house!

 

[idc]

PJPro:The key to the headphone experience is the dedicated amp........

It is not just the function of beinf a headphone amp. Headphone amps have taken a lead over 'standard' amps by having other functions such as also being a preamp and having an internal DAC. At the moment 'standard' amps with DACs are considered high end and are expensive, untill you look at the headphone amp part of the market. I wonder why the likes of Cambridge, NAD and Roksan, all popular makes of amp, dont also jump on the idea of a DAC within the amp. From what I can figure out the Burr-Brown PCM 2706 USB DAC in the MF X-CANV8P is about £20 to buy commercially. Add in the USB connection and some circuitry that must be less than £40 to manufacture.