Headphones vs speakers….


So I’ve been patiently waiting to buy the final pieces for a Benchmark HAB2 and DAC3  system. I have the Totem 1 speakers and decided to hook them up to an old Naim Nait 5i (probably not the best pairing) and Cambridge Azur 840C CD player. Over the last few months I’ve been on a quest for great sound through headphones  and a headphone amp while I’m waiting and after maybe five sets of headphones I’ve found what I was looking for and I’m very happy.

After hooking up the Totems and Nait today I’m very disappointed. However, my room is far from treated yet - I have installed a large carpet, furnishings and will be hanging thick floor to ceiling curtains on the three walls - one behind the speakers and two side walls. However, wether I’ve been spoiled by the incredible sound of my headphone setup or I’ve been expecting too much from a full system  I can’t imagine after room treatment and dialing things in that I’ll be anywhere close to being as impressed as I am with my headphones…..do any of you guys feel this way or am I being too pessimistic?

 

thomastrouble

@thomastrouble 

As you have heard the room is critical to success. I would advise instead of guessing what and where to put things in your room you consult a professional who would take the guess work out of it giving you a great sounding set up. Good luck ! 

Have you tried listening nearfield?  That's the first thing I'd try in your situation.  I listen a lot with the speakers 2-3 feet from my head and there's a lot to be said for this.  You get much better punch from small woofers when they're close.  The volume can be lower so there's less room interaction.  

I used to listen to headphones about 40% of the time, daily in the evening when my wife is at home. We were both working days. I have a pretty good headphone stage in my DAC preamp (Audio Alchemy), and several pair of ("budget reference") Sennheiser phones, the 600 and 650. Whenever I shopped for possible new preamps or integrated amps, they had to have a decent headphone stage as I didn’t want to run a separate headphone amp (not a big deal though, really)..

Now, since retiring and being at home in the day when my wife is still working, I do most of my serious and loud listening when she isn’t home. I rarely use my headphones! I do have an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC (highly recommended) for listening to Tidal via my phone when out and about or traveling.

I do still enjoy listening to headphones (and room issues disappear), and will often A/B songs back and forth, phones vs speakers. I just prefer the speaker experience more, if the room and setup are dialed in. One true thing about phones is for $2000-3000 you can get some that are comparable to >$20,000 speakers, so they are an audio bargain in that sense. I am happy with my Sennheisers for now, and will hold off upgrading them and put the money elsewhere in my system. FWIW.

Exactly...

And it can beat on many acoustic factors even speakers systems of superior cost , especially those which are not in a dedicated acoustic room...

They dont compare , ....but with a BACCH filter system they may became IDENTICAL...

Anyway my Headphone system will cost me 1,600 dollars, 100, headphone, 200 dac, 300 amplifier, 1000 pre-amp or headphone amplifier and they will beat  many if not most very costly speakers system in a living room...

One true thing about phones is for $2000-3000 you can get some that are comparable to >$20,000 speakers, so they are an audio bargain in that sense. I am happy with my Sennheisers for now, and will hold off upgrading them and put the money elsewhere in my system. FWIW.

I have tried several times over the years to like headphones. I have some nice headphones and headphone amps. I rarely use them; much prefer listening to speakers.

With that said, I have several very nice speaker based systems, two of which use active ATCs.