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Are Headphones Fit for Serious Music Listening?

Not for me they’re not, but I welcome and appreciate that they might be for you. Here’s why:

First, I am aware that extraordinary headphone gear exists out there, rivaling the best of 2-channel gear.

Second, I do own headphones myself. They’re Bowers & Wilkins; I think they’re a pretty decent set. They live in my gym bag because I listen to podcasts with them.

As I rejoin the audio fold, it becomes more and more clear to me that different folks experience music in different ways, leading them to different head spaces and different beliefs and different corners of this hobby. Yes, that much should be self-evident, yet many people don’t seem too aware of it; they think their way is the way, and they’re quick to dismiss other people’s points of view, sometimes in terms that can be unpleasant to witness.

The number of fruitless arguments we see around here could be greatly reduced if folks respected the diverse ways in which other folks consume, appreciate, enjoy, and love their music, and agreed to disagree.

Back on topic - i strongly believe that - for me - music is to be felt as well as heard.

I’m not necessarily talking about 115 dB peaks and wall-shaking electronic sub-bass, though that’s fun too. I’m talking about the tangible, tactile quality of tight, well-controlled bass that envelops the entire head and is felt in the chest as sound waves radiate, deep inside the chest if one’s amps + speakers couple allows it.

I’m listening to A Tribe Called Red’s Nation II Nation album as I write this. VC is on 35 out of 100, probably no louder than 70 dB, yet I distinctly feel the waves of tribal drumming hit my body, in ways wholly unrelated to my hearing sense yet deeply complementary to it.

And there you have it: headphones, by definition, don’t / can’t give this to me, so - for me - headphones don’t work for serious music listening. But they’re great for podcasts.

How about you guys? How do you experience your music, and how loud do you like it?

 

devinplombier
ghdprentice
7,320 posts
 

I listen to my main system at 65 - 70 db typically. Sometimes crank a bit to have peaks get around 80. It is the expansiveness and wide deep soundstage that is so compelling although I can feel it.

I have pursued a great headphone system for at least fifty years. I have developed stationary home and office systems and traveled with portable DACs, head amps, of all kinds. I stacked up tubed equipment in my office... I have at least six sets of top of the line headphones. They always sounded like they were in a different class of experience. Sort of like a great sounding transistor radio. But as you describe.

Then I bought the Woo WA5 headphone amp. It has so much power you can connect speakers to it, huge current. I have a set of Takayuki 300B tubes in it. That is a completely different experience. The full midrange - bass and power behind the sound is completely different then every headphone system I have ever owned or experienced. It is incredibly compelling and addictive. It is hard to put down... like my main system.  It fills the void I think you are describing that headphone systems are missing. Maybe it really is the sound hitting your chest... but maybe you are missing what I was.


You can see my main and headphone system under my user ID in virtual systems.

inna
7,437 posts
 

Yes, they might fit, but I don't like headphones, don't like music in my head.

 

yyzsantabarbara
4,962 posts
 

I get the appreciation for the feeling of the waves of sound in my Livingroom system, and it is an incredible listening experience. However, my earphones are like 2-channel except for the waves of music hitting your body. Though, I do not have to deal with a room, and I can listen late at night without bothering the family. I had to purposely set my ROON Core server to automatically shut down at 2:30AM so that I was forced to go to sleep.


RAAL requisite SR 1a Earfield Monitors Review

I also do not like headphones.

nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,947 posts
 

I'm not a big fan of headphones and have a pair sitting on the shelf for last 10+ years. About a month ago I took a flyer on a pair of Fiio FT1 Pro headphones (planar magnetic) for $200. They're open back and really kinda nice. 

Nothing special but they have great extension, deep and articulate base, airy but not fatiguing highs and a really pleasant midrange. The drivers are angled somewhat forward (nothing drastic) which tames down that in-your-head sensation some and I've enjoyed some long listening sessions where I almost dozed off. Never done that before with headphones.

They're quite comfortable but I bought a Capra headband to slip on which spreads out the pressure on my noggin so as to feel like they're floating on my head instead of laying on it.  

So far, they sound great with all genres of music. I run them out of my Technics SU-G700M2. All in all, not bad for the money. Yes, they do lack the 'feel' of the music that I'm so accustomed to but once you get used to it, you trade the feel, impact and your bodies contributions for the intimacy of what a headphone provides.  I don't see it as a competitive way to listening, just another way to listen.

All the best,
Nonoise

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,239 posts
 

I have a pair of B&W headphones and a nice little Fiio headphone amp. I use this setup when traveling on planes or in situations when I'm away from home in a hotel room. That is the extent of my headphone listening. It sounds pretty good and will do in a pinch, but is a far cry from the main rig.

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