[sahwnfras]

Hey been don't say much, mostly just lurk, Love music.

I give credit to Head-fi and free music to my appreciation for good sound. I got started here with head phones, px-100 (still use mainly for portables), tried some eggos, passed on my 240s to my bro, and now use the 555's alot at night (i know i need to upgrade).

At the same time i have started a real cd collection, no ****ty dl's for me (those are for the ipod lol). And i started a speaker set up with some athena's, denon cdp, and nakamichi amp, i loved it. Speakers were my new love, **** headphones.

Now this was about 3 years ago, now i have a slick pioneer eliete x-z9, its a all in one cdp and class d ICE amp (ya i know all in one, but trust me its awesome). And it comes with some nice 3 way bookshelfs.. large bookshelfs, with the Kef Q tweeter n mid, and sperate cabinets for the bass woofer. And i am still loving the speakers.

I have had the chance to listen to a dream system. a top of the line Krell set up with evo 600 mono blocks, evo 202 pre-amp, evo 505 cdp, and the Modulari Duo speakers. I must say WOW. I will say the mid and high end are spectacular, at first did not like it as much as some b&w's i have heard but still amazing. Soon after a cable changed was made that fixed that thought (do not know what kind (if you know what the mad expesive flat thin ones are its that (they where the ones changed))).

But thats not what this is about. After listening to that (a $175000 system) you realize what real bass is about. Never from headphones do i believe you can feel your body shake from the amout of bass. Make the lights shake and feel the walls shake bass. Play some Love Lockdown and fall down, some Lil Wayne that shakes the place. I have heard some other music some Chris Cornell song that rattles the building, n much more but i love the hip hop.

Now i dont hate headphones, i still use them just about every night (im using em now). But its almost like 'this could be so much better'.

Give speakers a try i think you will love them. I still give headphones credit to my entrance to good sound.. along with free music (you need something to listen to)

 

[Get_Zwole]

Ive got about 5k total in my home audio nothing crazy but it sounds very nice, great SQ setup. My ed sub will knock pictures off my wall if i want it too but i see no point. That much bass is just stupid in my opinion. I love my home setup, and my westone 3's about the same. Depends which im in the mood for. To me that kinda bass only belongs in your home theater or just when watching movies if you dont have separate listening area's. You wont ever get that feeling from headphones but once you get to that level you are also damaging your hearing so to me theres no justification to listening to that much bass its just an annoyance to me.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Yep. There have been a number of discussions about this, but speakers offer a lot that headphones don't. For me, the real pleasure lies in the soundstage. I've nurtured a passion for dipoles and there's nothing like them except for the real thing.

You don't need to drop $175k on speakers, either. I found bliss with a pair of $650 Quad ESL-63s (used, of course) connected to a $700 Conrad-Johnson MV-52, also used. The combination cost less than my much-loved Sennheiser HD-800, and I get immense pleasure from the combination. By the end of the year, I'll put the Linkwitz Orion+ online - it'll be nice to get that last octave of bass, though I wonder if they'll match the Quads for transparency. Many say they will, but the Quads will be kept for a second system.

 

[sahwnfras]

Yes i realize that cost i could never afford, but wow.

And too much bass i dont know its not like your ears hurt, but ya know its gotta go low. I also believe you should listen to your music loud, try to make it as much like a live performace as you can. But i know everyone is different.

 

[Spareribs]

Many of us, including myself are already speaker lovers. I listen to speakers way more than headphones actually.

 

[Get_Zwole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahwnfras /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes i realize that cost i could never afford, but wow. And too much bass i dont know its not like your ears hurt, but ya know its gotta go low. I also believe you should listen to your music loud, try to make it as much like a live performace as you can. But i know everyone is different.

Ill agree with you there i do my fair share of loud listening i just try to limit it. I also agree on a movie or something if you have speakers that will go below 20hz and you start feeling your hair or eyebrows move etc. is pretty cool. But i would never listen to music like that, that much bass just takes away from my experience. I listen mainly for SQ i dont like making my ears bleed lol's.

 

[chesebert]

Krell and "dream system" should never be used in the same sentence.

 

[pcf]

I only listen to headphones when I can't listen to my speakers- which is 90% of the time with kids in the family and living in an open planned house. I still prefer speakers but it is much cheaper to play around with different headphones. I agree with Uncle Erik that you can get some high quality used speakers (even legendary ones like the Quads) for less money than you would pay for a pair of good headphones. The only problem is that you are more or less stuck with them until your next upgrade unless you have room for more than one pair. On the other hand you can change headphones all day. That is part of the fun for me. I find myself paying more attention to the music more with speakers knowing that I can't just stop and swap them for another pair.

 

[nhancakes]

speakers are great, but I'm out and about in different places during the day and the only time i'm by my analog setup is usually at night when everyone is asleep, so headphones offer great sound/experience with compromises/convenience.

 

[auradud3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahwnfras /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey been don't say much, mostly just lurk, Love music. I give credit to Head-fi and free music to my appreciation for good sound. I got started here with head phones, px-100 (still use mainly for portables), tried some eggos, passed on my 240s to my bro, and now use the 555's alot at night (i know i need to upgrade). At the same time i have started a real cd collection, no ****ty dl's for me (those are for the ipod lol). And i started a speaker set up with some athena's, denon cdp, and nakamichi amp, i loved it. Speakers were my new love, **** headphones. Now this was about 3 years ago, now i have a slick pioneer eliete x-z9, its a all in one cdp and class d ICE amp (ya i know all in one, but trust me its awesome). And it comes with some nice 3 way bookshelfs.. large bookshelfs, with the Kef Q tweeter n mid, and sperate cabinets for the bass woofer. And i am still loving the speakers. I have had the chance to listen to a dream system. a top of the line Krell set up with evo 600 mono blocks, evo 202 pre-amp, evo 505 cdp, and the Modulari Duo speakers. I must say WOW. I will say the mid and high end are spectacular, at first did not like it as much as some b&w's i have heard but still amazing. Soon after a cable changed was made that fixed that thought (do not know what kind (if you know what the mad expesive flat thin ones are its that (they where the ones changed))). But thats not what this is about. After listening to that (a $175000 system) you realize what real bass is about. Never from headphones do i believe you can feel your body shake from the amout of bass. Make the lights shake and feel the walls shake bass. Play some Love Lockdown and fall down, some Lil Wayne that shakes the place. I have heard some other music some Chris Cornell song that rattles the building, n much more but i love the hip hop. Now i dont hate headphones, i still use them just about every night (im using em now). But its almost like 'this could be so much better'. Give speakers a try i think you will love them. I still give headphones credit to my entrance to good sound.. along with free music (you need something to listen to)

not knocking your tastes, and you are correct on many counts. but! your source components and speakers are in the mediocre range. denon is just a starting place, the b&k the krell, now we are talking components, and the bookshelves are not capable of carrying the full range you speak of. as far as rattling the windows, that is volume, not necessarily quality. i use a velodyne spl 1200r and it delivers in a way i really cant describe, it does not have to do with volume, but tones. my entire ht/ 2 channel system is b&w based starting at the 802 series. and there are time when the mood strikes that my headphone rig just knocks the speaker system down, depends on mood, and level of intimacy you want at the moment. with the proper setup they are equally satisfying. but more often than not, i chose my cans over the speakers. and my source in all respects are solid performers. so? speakers over cans? it depends on what mood strikes you.

 

[Edwood]

I don't need no stinkin speakers.

-Ed

 

[virometal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif I need speakers.

There, fixed it for ya.

 

[iriverdude]

Why are you 10cm from the plasma?
oh speakers > headphones.

 

[krmathis]

Speaker rigs sure can well surpass headphones and sound just 'magic'.
It is no easy or cheap task though. First of all you need a suitable listening (5x7 meters or so), acoustic damping, and not to forget the speakers and electronics to feed them.

Because of that, and the lack of intimacy I prefer headphones.

 

[washutwo22]

I think that headphones are best since they dont make a lot of noise so everyone cant hear what youre listening to