Entertainment For Lively Minds
Speakers or Headphones
Posted by Lunaman on 28 January 2011 - 11:21pm.
I love to hear music from great speakers and I also love to hear a good loud PA. Lately however, I'm really enjoying listening through a high end set of headphones and I've got to say that they're taking the edge as my favourite.
What do you favour as the best sound?
Headphones or 'speakers'?
- More from Lunaman.
- Login or register to post comments
-
Speakers
Big speakers. There's nothing like air moving.
I'm with Buxton.
I don't like headphones. Never have. I know you get a sense of immersion but I like music as a veneer. Give me my big Eltax floor-standers every time.
I like both
But domestic circumstances have dictated that my listening has been restricted to 'phones recently. As a consequence I'm considering an upgrade. Any suggestions around the £150 mark?
Not the prettiest but
I like Sennheiser HD25. They are favoured by monitor engineers so don't have a really long cable but are tough and should last you for years of domestic use.
As always...
...the answer is Shure, almost regardless of the price point. £150 spent on Shure in-ears (ideally plus Comply tips) is never going to cause you regret.
Thanks guys
Senheiser are usually a solid choice so I'll investigate those. Thanks Bob but I am looking for headphones rather than earphones.
I like speakers but...
... rarely get to listen to them. Sadly neither my amp Exposure XV nor my current cheap CD player has a headphone socket, so I'm a bit stuck.
I like speaker too...
...but almost never get to appreciate them. Like Lenny I have a good pair of Eltax floor-standers, but they're mothballed in the loft for lack of space downstairs. The main speakers downstairs are some really quite nice Wharfedale shelf jobs which I like a lot, but rarely hear.
The vast, vast majority of my listening happens through my iPhone and Shure SE115s.
Speakers are generally preferable
if only because that's how most music recordings have been mixed to be heard.
Some bootleg recordings sound better on 'phones because they were recorded on directional microphones placed fairly close together (binaurally) and quality headphones approximate the original live experience better than speakers do.
Having said all that, I particularly enjoy listening to Tangerine Dream / Klaus Schulze / Ashra on my ipod's earplugs (Etymotic ER6i) on the tube, especially while walking between platforms up and down crowded escalators etc.
Klaus Schulze
Wow - I haven't heard that name for a while. I did try to look him up on Spotify vut with no luck. I remember a night a very long time ago being introduced to the man...........
Neither...
My favourite way to hear music is unamplified in the open air.
Patrick - how does this work with Thin Lizzy?
I was there for Live & dangerous and quite a few more.....
Sorry Patrick
I commented too soon. I love acoustic open air too.
Swerving off-track for a moment
Could anyone recommend a good pair of headphones at a reasonable price. Yeah, I know. How long's a piece of string? Let's say around the £100 mark.
See my comment above.
Shure SE115s. Much less than £100 and AWESOME.
Thanks Bob
But I really mean HEADphones rather than in-ear jobbies. I'm still paying the aural price for using earphones all through the eighties. Plus I'm looking for something more shareable! Wax, anyone?
Seinhesers RS170
They have been wonderful.
I use headphones
when listening at times that it might be considered unsocial to inflict my tastes upon others. Any other time speakers are my preference. A nice pair of Dali at the moment, beautiful midrange, coupled with a pair of subs that rattle the walls. Bliss.
Has to be speakers
2 big problems with headphones
1) They make my ears hot
2) I hate if someone creeps up on me unseen
I also enjoy making others endure my noise
Headphones
Think I prefer my speakers (Ruark Prelude), but don't get the chance to turn them up loud very often.
My headphones are Grado SR125s which are brilliant for late night listening when Mrs L is in bed.
Grado 125s
How do you rate these cans? They're well reviewed and I'm tempted. I've read that they're very leaky, but I wouldn't be sitting near anyone else so shouldn't be a problem. I'd be interested to hear what you think of them.