Interesting topic. I only use headphones when traveling. Focal Bathys to block out the airplane engine noise with my music. I find it much enjoyable to listen to speakers at home.
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?
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I have a pair of Klipsch HP3 and a Quicksilver Headphone Amp. I haven't really used them since I set up a bedroom system. They are a good sounding combo but it's not the same as speakers . I bought the pair when I was in the middle of a divorce so they served me well when my gear was boxed up and in storage for 10 months. |
If the music playing doesn’t move air/make your whole physicality respond to it or doesn’t vibrate the abdominal cavity like a didgeridoo, it’s a no-go for the most part. But, dudes who live in closet sized apartments with neighbors in all directions calling the cops on them...or live with a kill-joy queen don’t have much of a choice w.r.t headphones, i suppose. Even in such a case, some nearfield monitors could be a better option. Get a divorce and move to a cheap 1 horse town, get a mobile home if you need to (keep the neighbors an acre away). Be free dawgs. |
@oddiofyl - I had a Quicksilver headphone amp for awhile; excellent value hand-built tube headphone amp for under $1000. Klipsch is not known for their headphones, though, and for good reason; they're best at making speakers; headphones are a relative afterthought. I think you'd have had quite a different experience listening to Focal Utopias, for example, through that Quicksilver, as I did; they sound like they were made for each other. |
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