In Reply to: Cheapest path to audiophile sound = headphones? posted by Ham Radio Nut on May 12, 2007 at 10:22:54:
I love my speaker system and use it during the day, but at night it's gotta be the Beyerdynamics and for reference listening, the Sennheisers. My own loudspeaker setup in my own dorm room can't possibly match the sound quality and tonal balance, and I can crank it up without pissing anybody off.It's more stressful and fatiguing listening, though, as it's right outside your ears without the 6-10 feet (my usual distance) of air to fly through, and I always listen louder on headphones. That's part of what they're there for; not only can I not crank up my speakers to ear-shattering levels (I can get them plenty loud enough for my tastes but two watts of SET power isn't going to rattle the walls), but I don't want to because I'm a considerate neighbour. I'm also a bit more impatient and tend to pay attention to every second with cans, while with speakers I sit back and let the time pass. Classical can sometimes be torturous with headphones because of the huge dynamic range and that tendency to pay attention to every second instead of every note.
That's just my experience, though. I'm definitely a headphile, too, and couldn't live without mine. I use my speakers during the day for ordinary listening, but there are certain times when you NEED a good pair of cans.
One of those times is while listening to ABBA, by the way. Fucking great pop band, but you'll get laughed at for saying it. ;-)
How would we listen to guilty pleasures at satisfactory levels without 'phones? I'm just a poor kid; I haven't got thousands to drop on expensive loudspeakers. My EPIs were $20 for the pair at Goodwill and my speaker cable 47 cents per foot at Home Depot... sounds just great to my ears, though.
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Follow Ups
- Definitely, in my experience - Mark Tinordi 15:01:50 05/12/07 (0)