Headphones vs speakers….

Thanks guys

Headphones I tried were DT770s (80 ohm) - liked them a lot for the price and bass response, DT990s, nice but I missed the bass response. Tried others but I was on a quest for “good” bass, soundstage etc etc. Had to sacrifice soundstage somewhat as I preferred the bass response from closed back cans. Jumped up from $150 to close to $2000 for Fostex TH 900. The Fostex are a bit recessed compared to the cheaper DT770s but that’s ok. Just impossible to find one pair that has everything I’m looking for but I’m at a point of just trying to get myself to be content and stop chasing something that might not exist - I’m 95% of the way there and should be happy with that.

Right now the room is echoing like crazy and I’m putting my hopes on those curtains for the three walls and probably will add more soft furnishings. Swapped the Totems out for a pair of Paradigm S2V2 i had in storage out of curiosity but with the bigger cones the bass in the room is worse. Still, I know I have a lot of work to do to get this room right but I’m loving the headphones. Still not 100% with the Fostex as they are very slightly bright for my liking but I may be able to sort that out with EQ. I have to say the DT 770s are great for the price and my personal preference. Trying all kinds of headphone amps also - yes, you can go down a rabbit hole even with headphones!

Thanks again

Agree with all that mlisstl

im still in the addictive phase with headphones and I have one final pair to test out - the Audeze LCD 2 planners. After that I’m finished exploring and experimenting more. 
Agree on recordings, in fact on a nice system of good cans I can’t listen to a lot of my favorite tracks if they aren’t recorded well and I find myself enjoying music that never interested me if it’s a great recording. I have a few reference tracks that I try all my headphones against and if I’m not liking what I hear on a given set of headphones with those tracks I’ll give them a pass.

Anyway, I should have my preamp in about two weeks and my room will be treated by then so I’m very curious.

Re my headphones - too many to mention, all quality, some cheap but great for my sound preference, “good” bass. My cheap DT770s at $130 gets me 95% of the way of my favorites right now but at over $2000 with a good cable - Fostex TH 900 (for bass). Waiting for a pair of Audeze LCD2 to test out that flavor.

Thanks guys, wow, a lot to read here!

I thought I was done with my quest for great headphone and headphone amp combo but….

I should have mentioned my Benchmark amp and preamp will be used in a small room as I’m now in an apartment. I used to own big Magnapan speakers with great amps and I’ll probably never enjoy music like that again - I like my music loud but I can’t do that in this apartment. I’m out on the town a lot so I use portable headphone amps, right now the Ifi Gryphon. I’m happy but always wondering if there is better in a truly portable headphone amp.

my room is maybe 14 feet long by maybe 12 feet wide so I guess I’ll be giving up good soundstaging which I love. Using Totem 1 bookshelf speakers and will hook up a Velodyne sub with these. However today I swapped the Totems out for a Pair of Paradigm S2 v2 - horrible! My room isn’t yet treated (will be in two more weeks) but the Paradigms were just muddy as hell compared to the Totems and I’m wondering if this was due to the bigger cones on the paradigms coupled with an untreated room.

right now I’m just dabbling with what I have laying around (Naim Nait 5i ) until my Benchmark system is complete with the DAC 3. However, I doubt that will have any effect on the Paradigms sounding better, but who knows how much of this is due to a very untreated room.

Just to add in case anybody chimes in on cans and portable amp - the most important thing for me is a wide soundstage but I sacrifice this by using closed back because of the bass - can I find both? Not sure how much an amp affects this, but I like forward mids (vocals). My other little portable amp which I love is an older Oppo HA2 - I think this sounds warmer than the Ifi Gryphon. I’m curious about the Audeze but these will also be the closed back.

All in all I’ll be needing the system and headphones - the headphones for when I’m out and the system when I’m home. I understand these will be different experiences. Since my system isn’t properly set up yet I’m simply curious as to what to expect after being very very happy with the headphones. From dabbling with the temporary integrated I’m using now and the (probably) badly paired speakers I know a lot of my disappointment is due to the mud coming from an untreated room compared with the spectacular clarity of the headphones. These Totems are tiny but probably perfect for a small room like this but the mud I’m hearing when I swap them out (175mm cones compared to 125mm cones) really sound awful in this untreated room at present which has me wondering if I’m going to be able to use a subwoofer in that room. Anyway, I’ll find out in a couple of weeks once my Benchmark DAC3 arrives to complete my Benchmark setup.

This will be a dedicated listening room - I’m planning on hanging thick curtains on three walls (behind the speakers and both side walls) to dampen echoes - is this advisable? I’ll have the curtains cut into sections that I can open at intervals if need be to experiment.