Submitted by BC_LOFASZ t3_125ypez in headphones
I am curious why do people do this because I don't really understand.
Speakers are way better than headphones in my experience and I don't know why people buy these very expensive headphones instead of speakers at the same price bracket.
Just to be clear, this is not a rant, I just want to hear other people's opinions.
For me it is limited space and time. I have time for headphones during work but other than that i hardly listen to music. If i had time and space i would totally use speakers.
That's reasonable. But eg. I can't use open backs at school or while I am studying (at home), because it bothers my mother or schoolmates.
Some people live in apartments with thin walls....
Some people have wives that complain about "the noise"....
etc....
Speakers need a good sounding room to sound really good. An acoustical bad room will make the most expensive speakers sound bad. Headphones do their job everywhere.
Not everyone has the time to do all what is necessary to make speakers sound their best in their space because:
They may not have said space
Convenience and ease of use of over ears
Don't have time for speaker placement, room correction, filters, crossovers and all that
What headphones do you use?
What genre are you listening to?
As I said for another commenter people in my area can't stand my open backs (because they can hear what I am listening to) so I can't use open backs even at home.
Also, I am listening to deathcore so that is the other problem I think. Not as many people listen to this extreme genre so they can't stand it. I think they wouldn't mind if I was listening to pop or hip-hop.
Personal preference and or have more money than you. Everyone is not the same
I don't have space. I wish I had, because I like building speakers.
But if you want the best sound, then maybe speakers simulated on a headphone would be it, I think.
Besides speakers aren't really better than headphones until you get to really big stuff, like 10" and at that point, luxurious headphones are way cheaper.
Many people can't play music at a decent level at all times of day, perhaps due to close neighbours or spouses & children. When I started getting noise complaints from a new neighbour I decided to get some adequate headphones (no >£1k yet.) I found that good headphones aren't necessarily "better" than speakers, just different. Clearly the faithfullness of the sound reproduction is closer with speakers but some days I prefer the headphone experience.
I like the sound-inside-my-head feeling. Also headphones maintain directionality when you move your head around. Speakers dont move to keep that stereo feeling. I still use speakers, but for parties etc where idc about the sound that much.
Wanna hear something even more outrageous? Most of my audio purchases are IEMs.
Mainly because I listen to music all over the house and when I’m outside, so I’d rather spend the big bucks on something I use 80% of my music-listening time.
As for speakers,
I find it better for fps games because I can't really get surround sound in my room would be way to unpractical. I also don't wanna wake anyone up when playing at 3 am
Mine too.
For me it's because I can't use open backs because it bothers my mother, so I buy IEMs that I can carry around with me.
They sound very different
I do have a nice stereo but I currently live in an apartment with a neighbor that won’t hesitate to complain that my music is too loud. It got to the point I would have high anxiety while listening to my music that she’d start pounding on my door.
Now with headphones I worry that I won’t hear my girlfriend yelling at me.
Learning that I just can’t win.
Some people need 1000 bucks just to treat their room so they’re thousand dollar speakers won’t sound like crap.
Chipotle uses Klipsh Heresys, but I can assure you the audio in there isn’t good.
Also, speakers aren’t inherently better. Prefrence exists.
>Speakers are way better than headphones in my experience and I don't know why people buy these very expensive headphones instead of speakers at the same price bracket.
I wouldn't say they are better. Maybe better in the sense that a car is "better" than a bike, but if you want an absolute top shelf bike, that's still $20k or more.
I can’t go full blast with porn on speaker.
Many reasons.
One, speakers aren't very portable.
Two, headphones provide a much more affordable and accessible way to hear music through different tuning signatures.
Three, headphones offer intimacy in their detail that speakers can't match, especially when comparing price to price.
Four, closed-back headphones offer privacy not available with speakers.
Five, speakers often require expensive room treatment to sound their best. Headphones don't need that.
Besides what everyone else has said, I find myself loving headphones as display pieces as well. I have been a collector at heart for most of my life, so headphones stick out to me as far more distinct and appealing to keep around than speaker systems. I plan to eventually get super nice headphone stands for all my current and future pairs.
Personally I'm with you. I'd be willing to spend maybe $400 max on headphones, whereas my studio monitors + sub were about $800 total. Sound quality (especially the treble and low bass) is better on the speakers, but sometimes I want the sound to be more intimate, in which case I prefer to use my headphones. Also gaming is better with headphones most of the time.
I didn't think about this, but now that you've said it, it makes sense.
I had speakers but then I moved to another apartment where the neighbours were complaining at the smallest sounds, so I had to get headphones.
Easier to travel with
That's a myth. They do it in the library.
left channel sound goes to left ear
right channel sound goes to right ear
Besides that, there are a lot of things that's just better with headphones
Here's my educated reason: 90% of the audiophiles are deaf and have to crank up the volume to compensate.
Experience and knowledge is from attending speaker and headphone shows.
I've heard people with headphones across a room! So the argument about noise volume is debunk.
Well not with that attitude you can’t!
Or husbands that complain about “the noise”
Bought a pair of speaker for 1K, sound like crap. Then spent 20 hours and few more thousandths buck did a room treatment, they sound like heaven. Stereo systems need space and room treatment, both of which costs more money and time than buying speakers themselves
My speakers are more expensive than my headphones.
Cost effectiveness and noise. I still live with my parents and my mom works third shift, so she's asleep during the day. My dad goes to sleep a few hours after she wakes up. My room shares a wall with theirs and has no sound isolation. In order for me to use speakers without waking someone up, I would be limited to that couple hour period. I'd spend a grand on something I can rarely use
Half my prime listening time occurs while my wife is sleeping (insomnia).
Speakers are a pain to setup. The room, the placement, etc. And don’t forget other equipments like the power amp, the DAC, and the darn expensive cables for no reason. And at the end of the day, you need to do an outstanding job to get any where near the resolution / detail retrieval of good headphones or IEMs. I prefer a good pair of IEM and a music player, so I have my listening room anywhere.
Because you need room correction or room treatment.
A lot less expensive and time consuming.
I listen to my headphones 10 pm when my wife goes to bed till 2am when I go to bed. I couldn't use my speakers at 10pm at anything more than very very quiet.
A lot of people hit it right on the nose.
Affluence, Luxury, Convenience, Preference~
The motivations for any hobby differ from person to person.
Audio is a predominantly subjectively driven pursuit with many variable opinions on qualifiers for quality, tonality, impressions, and A E S T E T I C appriciation.
The end result is, people adapt their budget, space, and interest into exploring the rabbit hole.
One person's opinion : Speakers aren't terribly sexy. I can't take them with me, they depend heavily on the room for performance. They are bothersome to the people I share my home with. I seldom have the opportunity to sit and enjoy them, and I'm not particularly fond of what they do to music.
It feels like I never have absolute control of sound, and that I'm suck on one piece of equipment as opposed to having fun exploring different ideas and profiles.
I've moved even from Headphones to IEMs & DAPS.
Having immediate, enduring, long lasting access to music when I NEED it most has been far more enriching to my life than the demo room. I've had speakers, but didn't fall in love with music until I had FIDELITY in the office.
I'm not gonna lie, I enjoy my 300 speakers more than my 800 headphones.
I sometimes listen to deathcore/etc. metal too and honestly, just like with any other genre, your open back headphones shouldn't really be leaking that much sound if you're listening at normal hearing levels.
If you're playing games with repetitive particles or special effects, it might get annoying if other people are in the same room as you and they have like sensitive hearing or something.
For the most part, it shouldn't be that loud, you'll know what I mean as you can just leave the headphones on the table after setting your comfortable volume and then that's basically what other people kinda hear around you when you're wearing it.
Open back headphones and solutions to PC noises: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11dh2v9/is_there_anything_i_can_do_stop_hearing_my_own/ja8mltw/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/xpa9zd/pc_noise_with_open_back_headphones/iq2znjn/
Use parametric EQ for metal/etc. or look at this thread on Head-Fi: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/iem-for-metal-music-and-hard-rock-ultimate-solution.885104/page-122
Make sure that you have a vacuum seal with the ear tips for IEMs/TWS earbuds, and then for headphones it's the earpads. This will help with the noise reduction/isolation and should prevent you from getting tempted to raise the volume against the external noises in order to hear your own music/sounds.
Click this sentence for more info on the importance of ear tips sizing, dimensions, et cetera.
Click this sentence for comfort and everything with ear tips.
This is how you should use Etymotics or really any IEM or TWS earbud to make sure you have that good/perfect fit for that vacuum seal (necessary for the bass to be properly produced): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KwXEqe6Gq4
Here's a bit more info on IEMs, hearing health, earwax cleaning, parametric EQ to compensate, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11nwy92/uneven_headphones/jbplupa/
Info about measuring decibels, hearing health, et cetera here: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11a4cpm/are_few_second_peaks_into_8285_db_still_safe_when/j9riw7q/
skill issue
I'm backing this, speakers>headphones nealy everytime if speakers arent really shitty.
Besides all the reasons others have mentioned, audio hobbies have a really high barrier to entry. You have to learn all the parts of the chain, tech, nuances, etc. That's normal. What's not normal is you also have to establish yourself somewhere along the objectivity/subjectivity spectrum. Should I buy an expensive amp? Depends who you ask. Is burn in real? Depends who you ask. Do DACs make a difference? Depends who you ask. Cables? Diminishing returns? FR? Technicalities? I was so frustrated when I first got into headphones because with other tech products, tvs, smartphones, PCs, etc it's very formulaic. With audio products you HAVE to take a leap of faith, and IMO experience things for yourself in order to become experienced in the hobby and then after everything what matters is what you like, which is different for everyone.
​
Anyways, what I mean to say is: I don't know anything about speakers and I'm still tired from learning about headphones lol. Maybe someday.
I'm some people
I'm a college student living in my parents home. Every penny I saved from working, birthday, and Christmas money went into my setup. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being able to play music loud, nor do I have the proper space for a speaker setup. Given this, headphones are the best I could do, and I'm plenty happy with how I've spent my money.
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Speakers have a different sound presentation compared to headphones. I prefer that intimate “in your head” sound
I think it greatly depends on where you started your audio journey, and use case. If you're very mobile, you maybe started with so-so earbuds, and the naturally progression from there may split to wireless BT TWS or wired IEMs. Or wireless to wired. However, I started with so-so headphones (Koss and Sony circa late 80s early 90s), eventually enjoyed over ear more than on ear, soon found myself in limbo with gaming headsets, and naturally ventured out into greater over ear headphones (AKG, I'd preferred, until I got the Nighthawk which have been a blast). They're comfortable and I use them for many different things, gaming (very zeroing on audio cues, but other headphones have lower bass and greater treble), DAP, phone, etc without disturbing others. Although they're open back (Er semi open really), which I prefer. Where closed back mobile are concerned, I use ANC earbuds (Sony xm4, realizing that great AQ but weak isolation and ANC, is not ideal for my use (in a less than pristine, somewhat noisy environment), so there's some tradeoff, sure).
Ive Just gotten into speakers because, I realise that for home theater, with the occasional friends and fam over, the soundbar I'd been using is so-so. It'll always be so-so compared with speakers (but a ton better than stock tv speakers, yes). The natural progression from there is either getting a better soundbar with a sub (which I have, and I think hit ceiling), or 5.1 surround system (if not 7.1 but to achieve very good there is a significant investment I feel) or, just pool my money into great towers, and a sub, along with a very good receiver... which is what I've begun to build. I'm not a stranger to speakers, as I was a live audio tech for several years, though some years back now. You certainly, of course, don't get full body feel with headphones like you do with speakers. That's a good point some of you have made. Although I don't have huge rooms to make the most ideal case for speakers. Though, I don't need to go beyond what my situation/dimensions can handle.
And I still intend to use headphones, because I love that ear hug and semi isolation. Besides, when gaming, speakers intrude upon the mic. It's been years since someone was critical of my mic, and that's a point of pride. But I now see no reason why I shouldn't have a stereo system - as well as headphones. I would enjoy them Both.
wrong answer
Not sure if people are down voting you because you live with your mother, or because they think there’s no way you use speakers if you can’t even use open backs lol.
I didn't say I use speakers. I just tried them with expensive headphones, and this was my conclusion, that speakers are better.
I didn't know about room treatment and other stuff tho
They are 2 different products with 2 different uses.
It's like asking why do you use a tablet when you have a TV at home.
I'm guessing most people with have both, I know I do.
Plus, people tend to get shitty when I take my speakers on the plane...
I hate speakers.
Ok not really, I Just like the sound of headphones and iems more.
Headphones are more intimate and less likely to cause a fuss with neighbors
I understand where the OP is coming from. I too enjoy the sound of my computer speakers, Logitech Z-5500. They have the most open sound of course compared to headphones, they have a very nice bass rumble and music sounds great with them. But I also have expensive headphones and a nice DAC and Amp. I think it’s ok to enjoy both. You might have a tendency to lean towards one over the other depending on the context. There is no right or wrong, good or bad. It’s totally subjective and based on personal preference. Enjoy what you have and save for what you don’t and really want.
if youre not blasting brutal death metal at max volume to scare your grandma are people really audiophiles? /s
I live in a tiny apartment with three other people and work from home. Most of the day I’m at my desk with headphones on, because speakers would bother my wife also working from home in the next room. On top of that the space where I work (which is basically a hallway) has irredeemable acoustics, so while I do have speakers there for when I’m alone they’re cheap because basically no speaker will sound good in this space.
JBL 530s refurbished were $200, amp and cables and whatnot another $75. Absolutely shits on my old Sundaras, genuinely not even in the same realm.
I enjoy my blessing 2s for music but for certain aspects of music, not to mention movies, games, media, etc, it's not even close. I'm sorry but there's no headphone that can replace feeling Bass in my entire upper body when at my PC.
They are though, that's the point. Speakers scale linear with money invested. A $500 pair will absolutely shit on a $100 pair. A $1000 pair will shit on a $500 pair. A $10000 pair will dump on a $8000 set, and so on.
The sky is the literal limit. You could drop $100k on a audio setup and that isn't even scratching the surface of what the tech is capable of.
Headphones? Is there really anything worth 3x the MSRP of a HD800s? Does anything really sound 4x better than a LCD-X? Plenty of options in that range though. Headphones top out immediately in comparison to speakers, like it's not even close. There's a reason you can spend around $1000 for a headphone and you get pretty close to "max performance". Above that you're paying for build quality and creature comforts usually. You don't need a Orpheus to experience high end, there's not a world of difference between a $500 headphones and a $1000, nor a $1000 and a $2000. Plenty of people unironically prefer a 6xx over a $4000 Abyss. Nobody does that with speakers because every penny spent is put towards superior performance. Know how many options we have in the headphone and iem market under say, $300? I would compare a similar amount of options and performance gain on the table for speakers in the maybe 1-$2000 range.
You could drop $10k on a speaker setup and you're still not even close to high end equipment. In terms of "ability" my $200 JBL 530s blow my old LCD-X out the fucking water, so much more capable
Why do people act like every redditor has a industrial warehouse for a room? You put the speakers up, and face them towards you. Congrats, you're done. If you're dropping huge money, sure you could go above and beyond. But what is this laughable comparison I see here where if things aren't PERFECT then speakers are shit. Do you guys warn people away from Open Backs because hey guys there's noise outside so they're worthless right?
Not having to deal with room acoustics, not bothering others, it can be more immersive with headphones, hearing music in a different way, easy to change headphone if you're in the mood for a particular sound signature/ tuning, they take up a lot less space, personal preference etc.
There is no "x is better than y", it depends. If I want physical impact and a wider soundstage I listen to speakers. Most of the time I just enjoy headphones.
My home office is on the other side of the room from my entertainment center (7.1 Klipsch RP setup). If my kids are using the TV for something I can hop on my PC and play games or listen to music without anyone complaining that I am interfering with their TV/moving watching, game playing, etc. I use mostly closed back headphones which helps.
I live in a condo and the walls are not very thick so I cannot fully enjoy my speakers for music (usually just movies, shows, and PS4).
I think many of us actually also have good speakers. But here they only post about their headphones because that’s the topic of this sub.
I stay up late and listen to music while I study (and my family is sleeping). My parents wouldn’t be happy campers
I live in my vehicle
More bang for the buck.
I read that as "sneakers" and started writing a philosophical answer until I realized that I need to learn how to read good.
That aside, my reasons are that my children and husband don't always appreciate hearing my music, and when I'm working, it's helpful to listen to headphones to shut out the rest of the world around me so I can concentrate. I can't get either of those things from speakers.
A $2,000 barely running junk car is still many times faster than any human can achieve on a bike.
You need space, room treatment, and a fixed listening area for high-level room audio solutions. I can bring a pair of cans to anywhere I visit. Even with my desktop setup, I can listen at my desk, sofa, or armchair with an extension cable.
FWIW, I think there's plenty of differentiation at the high end if you know what you are looking for, and willing to build an appropriate system around a pair of high end headphones. You can also make $500 speakers sound really good with treatment, so the cost point isn't clear either way.
Different use cases… no further explanation needed
Not trying to argue, but how is that the wrong answer? Wouldn't a bad room or ill-placement of the speakers completely ruin the frequency response?
I've got decent studio monitors, but they lack the detail of even a $100 IEM, and I also don't get to feel much bass because those frequencies are almost entirely cancelled out in my garage.
We don't hate our neighbors.
I live in an apartment building and I can put my headphones as loud as I want.
Two completely different experiences.
I am fortunate enough to have expensive headphones and speakers. They each serve their own purpose. I don’t think they can do what the other one does and I enjoy them both equally.
You being able to feel the bass in your entire upper body already implies that you at least have decent acoustics for your setup.
Many locations would have near 0 sub bass because of room geometry or desk placement.
It’s good to have both (if you can afford it). I agree speakers are more enjoyable than headphones, especially if physicality and stage are important to you. On the other hand, it is hard to get clean sound out of speakers without room treatments and correction, and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If you had to chose one, I can see why a lot of people would go the headphone route given certain lifestyle constraints. I read somewhere that speakers put you inside the music, and headphones put the music inside of you. As a music lover, both are feelings you want to have ;-)
Not everyone has a living situation that allows for good speakers. Some like the intimacy of headphones.
For me speakers aren't really comparable to headphones outside of the fact they both produce sound. I am either in the mood of one or the other. I find the intimate sound of headphones can be very comforting. It's a complete different listening experience, imo.
Others have mentioned space constraints, but it's also the seating position factor. Usually, with speaker set ups (especially higher end ones), outside of a very small "sweet spot" it doesn't sound nearly as good. Headphones don't have that issue.
Lastly, most decent headphones are full range and the bass extends to 20hz, especially with planars. Speakers? Need a sub or really big towers to get that subbass extension and desk set ups like mine have nowhere for a sub and towers aren't designed for desks. My 6 inch bookshelfs do a pretty good job but definitely roll off in the bass, even eq'd. For that full bass extension at my desk headphones are the only solution.
So, in my experience, there are both practical and preference reasons to get headphones over speakers.
I much prefer IEMs, esp when listening to music in bed. I get better sound from my OEMs, but IEMs are generally more practical for my uses (voice and listening to higher range music)
Your premise is not true - speakers are not way better than headphones. I have both good speakers that cost thousands and TOTL headphones and one is not superior to the other, but have different strengths. In fact I think the TOTL headphones sound better in most cases. One are where speaker system does better is high quality subs can actually make you feel physical bass, which headphones obviously cannot do.
I would love to try speakers, but I dont want to spend money in speakers just to see they sound bad in my room. my room is essentially a square with a long hallway in the middle with the roof shape going up and down. I listened to my friends polk audio speakers with a yamaha amp in his living room, my god they sounded horrible. The bass was boomy with no slam and it drowned out all detail (Im not sure if this is because Polk speakers are bad or if his living room wasnt good for the sound). I also listen to 80% classical and soundtracks so I would need a good speaker setup that gives me the detail I want which can be expensive. Also with headphones you can compare easily. Im looking at the Aryas right now and I could find a hundred posts of people who have both the Arya as well as one of my headphones giving me a good breakdown. Headphones allow you to own multiple sets. While I didnt delve in the world of speakers much Im sure not everyone owns multiple sets of speakers. Not to mention room acoustic of one person will make the speaker sound different than the room Acoustic at my house, so it kind of ruins the comparison.
I mean tbf, I didn’t even mention open backs. From what i’ve listened to, I much prefer kilobuck iems to kilobuck open backs.
And I mean if you are buying speakers, no matter the price, to get the most out of them (excluding amp,source, etc since that’s case by case) you need to have a corrected room( which costs money) with good speaker placement
I guess your open back argument is somewhat valid, though unlike speakers and room correction, people talking doesn’t change the to ear FR of open backs.
Also I did say “some people”. You assumed I was talking about everyone. I’m not.
It's a sliding scale obviously... but my desk is roughly in the middle of an epoxy-floor garage, so I'm pretty affected by the room acoustics... I wouldn't spend even $200 on nice speakers because I already know that 30-50hz is already going to be nulled out without some additional investment there.
it's just a matter of taste and use case . This is like asking why some people listen to rock music instead of jazz .
Some people need their headphones for sound isolation bc they're not in a position to play music loud where other people can hear it.
Personally, I don't need to spend $1,000 on a headphone or speaker, I'm more than satisfied at a much lower price point with both. I actually have some headphones and some speakers because they serve different purposes.
Could you imagine trying to work in a studio with no headphones??
Headphones allow you to listen and won't bothers other (open backs leak sound, but nothing close to how much speaks do). Headphones are portable and can easily be taken to work, home, school, other's houses. Speakers are impacted by your room and where you are sitting in relation to them, you need to be in the perfect conditions to ge their best sound, with headphones you can use them anywhere in your house. If you want to EQ, headphones are easy to EQ and almost all popular models have auto EQ profiles, to EQ Speakers you will need a DSP and proper equipment to measure the speakers.In terms of absolute sound quality, headphones are better than speakers at the same price point, but as you spend more, speakers will outperform headphones.
Honestly you've probably never heard a seriously premium set of headphones if you need to ask that question. I appreciate a great loudspeaker but I'm also an avid fan of premium headphones. It's not either or for me. I can enjoy the differences in both forms of audio reproduction.
compare price of totl speaker vs hp
Grado Hemp, Sash Tres 16ohm. Both open backs.
I mainly listen to pop, metal, electronic, indie.
I'm working from home and I have my own room for working so the openess doesn't bother anyone.
Convenience.
I have difficulty concentrating on things. This includes sound. The soundstage of speakers is just too large for me to stay concentrated on the music and enjoy it. Even some headphones with larger soundstages set this off. Thus, I choose to buy headphones that have a small enough soundstage where I can just enjoy the music with instead of trying my best to keep listening to the music.
I see thanks
I like both the sound of headphones & speakers
I wasn't being fully serious.
I like to keep it light, i swear i'm not a troll.
But to be a little more serious, speakers is just a better way to listen to music and sound in general. I don't know a single sound engineer that mix primarily on headphones. Sure if the room acoustic is dogshit and your standing 30 feet from the speakers it won't be great. If you poke random holes in your headphone then soak it in bath water, it won't be great either. I understand those two things are not the same, i'm sorry i like to keep it light.
I also got studio monitors, and i have those 5 feet from me, it cost 200€ and it was already better than any headphone i tried before i treated my room and bought a sub and did EQ. if you are close to the speakers and are a little careful about where you place it, the room treatment is less important in my experience. I get plenty of details too.
I understand why it might get people upset on the headphone sub, but OP question was fair. Most people that go deep in buying gear will tell you that after a certain threshold, the money spend isn't proportionate to the upgrade. As far as i know, i'd rather spend 400€ for a good sub than the same money for a new headphone that will do some stuff better than my hd650 but some things worse. Even if i spend a thousand € on a hd800, i'll probably get a great soundstage but it will never be as good as the soundstage i'll get with my 200€ speakers. So to me the room treatment isn't really a valid reason. If you got a really shitty room acoustic, unless your living in a stadium it will cost you much less to treat it than a thousand bucks headphone.
Don't get me wrong, i love headphones and i definitely would buy a focal clear and a hd800 and one of those planar if i ever get plenty of cash for it. But that would not replace the good old speakers. It would be for quiet listening sessions and to get a great listening experience abroad or on a trip.
Well, if you don't feel awkward, then the rest is others own problem.
Where I sit next to my window in my garage, which overall is the only ideal place to sit, with my $600 studio monitors, I can barely hear kick drums because 50-60 hz is nulled out. Also, another considerable dip around 120hz... Not an easy fix there and kind of a deal breaker for a lot of the music I listen to.
For roughly the same amount of money, I can have HD650s with a tube amp and use Ghz's CanOpener + a slight room reverb plugin to get an amazing, and consistent performance anywhere in the room. No, I can't feel the lower hz with the headphones, but I can at least hear them, and I don't feel them with the monitors anyway. Also, I can lay in the hammock with the same HD650s and a Qudelix and get pretty close sound quality, but with the benefit of being in a hammock.
So, yeah, if you have the room for it, speakers are great! But IMO the headphones win hands-down if you don't have a good room.
I have a Sennheiser Ambeo Max soundbar with SVS-1000 Pro subwoofer, and it's incredible for gaming and movies. But for music, headphones just sound better imo.
So I use Sennheiser 800S and Hifiman Arya (Stealth) for music off my phone, with a Hidiz S9 Pro dongle DAC/Amp and a 2.5 balanced cable.
Sounds incredible.
Cuz I can't use speakers at work, in the backyard chilling or when my kid or wife are asleep. And because I already have good speakers and wanted a killer set of headphones.
Hey man, to each his own.
The lower frequencies can be tricky to treat. But i feel that with that amount of money you should be able to get decent monitors plus a sub. You can usually move around the sub, more so than front speakers.
In my studio, i use a 500€ sub. There's really no headphone in the world that can make you feel those kick. But in my living room i use a 20€ sub that i got from second hand market, it goes down to 40Hz. I won't go on a long ass piece on how the difference in price is really justified between those two, but if you just want to hear the kick and you don't care about other considerations, it would fill the task.
I'm pretty sure there is a (cheap) solution to your problem, even tho i couldn't tell exactly what it is without more informations.
I could probably use a sub to fix the 50hz null... but there are more dips than that...
If I watch this, there are dramatic dips in the volume along the way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URrEtyFSENc
I like accurate bass tones... so it's just an uphill battle and a constant headache, especially if I'm usually listening around 60-70db where the kick is far less pronounced.
The timbre and presence of a really good cello tone is hard to beat with my cans.
Well, as i say, the important part is that you're happy.
Despite all i've written, having a good room to listen your stuff does make quite the difference. It's a little sad that you only have your garage to listen on speakers. I bet there's a lot you can do to improve your experience but if there is too many logistical constraints, you might still end up with a somewhat poor setup.
Personnally, i do have some dips in the lower bass, not horrible ones tho, and it still beat any of my headphones including the 650 and other ones with close to perfect frequency response measures on the low end of the spectrum.
It's really something else to listen to cello or double bass in good conditions. the absolute best of course is to listen to it live in a good venue. Listening to orchestral stuff in a church is pretty damn wild. I usually hate stadiums or big industrial type of venues.
how about both?
I have 3 pairs of nice speakers and I rarely use my maggies, cause I have to move my other speakers to set them up and I need to sit in the sweetspot on the couch.
And after 9-10 I cantuse them anymore, cause noise complaints.
Also, ir just hits different
So, for the record, I was inspired to try something... took a 500 watt bass amp and cabinet and supplemented the bass... Still, where I'm sitting 50hz is dead silent. I can't fix the fact that the 50hz wave is roughly 20% longer than the length of my garage and nulls out in this spot. It's absolutely wild how a 50hz test tone is silent in this spot. It's just the geometry of the room.
If I move my desk 3 feet back, it's plenty loud... absolutely rattling the walls, but then I'm literally sitting in front of my entryway.
This is obviously very specific case, but not a unique problem. I happen to like sitting next to the window and not in the doorway and I hate not hearing (and ideally feeling) the thud of kick drum.
The bass amp is an interesting solution lol, my sub is "only" 150w and that's plenty. I imagine it's just out of curiosity and not an intended fix.
Didn't even tought about wavelength, my studio isn't anywhere close to 32 feet but i had a crazy peak in 33hz, i wouldn't know what to make of this. Have you tried moving the amp around ?
Girlfriend finds 99% of what I enjoy musically to be unlistenable noise - which is fine, I'm listening to a lot of French post-black metal and death metal; she loves Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco, we are not quite the same - so investing in a pair of really good headphones has allowed me to enjoy my unpalatable harsh chaos noise without her having to suffer through it.
EDIT: it occurs to me that my answer may not be all that helpful, or on-topic, because my headphones only cost me around $300USD...not an insignificant amount, but also not the $1000+ cans that OP was probably asking about.
Fred011235 t1_je6m0rg wrote
as to not bother others.