Headphones? Really? Thats the craze?

Out of sheer curiosity , whats the big deal with headphones?
I mean really? I've seen multi thousand dollar head phones and it seems to be the craze right now. Maybe it's always been the craze and I was not in tune with it.
Honestly I think head phones are a un natural way of listening to music or sound for that matter. I would buy a nice pair IF I wasn't able to listen to my speakers when I wanted to.

I own a nice pair of Klipsch in ear buds and they are really nice. They are a rugged design for sports and I use them for Mountain bike riding. I don't however use them any other time, I have no desire to.

So all you head phone addicts , Am I missing out on something?

Think of headphones as a well setup system with the room taken out of the equation. You hear more of the music without the standing waves or reflections that can cause a drop in SQ. As a youngster, listening to a reel to reel on the headphones was sonic bliss, a pain in the ass, but blissfull none the less. If your going to be stationary in your listening, headphones might be up your alley as the next progression in your musical enjoyment.

DO you still rock head phones today? If so what are you using and why?

With the exception of the iPod earbuds, I haven't owned a pair of headphones in nearly 30 years. While I have heard some that sound amazing, they always felt to confining for me.

I think the word portability explains the headphone market. In this world of hard drives and digital storage everyone wants some nice headphones to take for use at school with their laptop, for use with their iPhone, when working out, ect.

I myself am building a entire digital system with the intent of using it at work with headphones as I am in the cubicle world and thats the only way I can enjoy tunes at work.

I cant take my LSI setup with me to work, but I can get close from a headphone setup. That and a really good set of headphones, and I mean really good can sometimes be worth 2 to 3 times cheaper than an equivalent 2 channel setup that produces a similar output.

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Originally Posted by trav0810

With the exception of the iPod earbuds, I haven't owned a pair of headphones in nearly 30 years. While I have heard some that sound amazing, they always felt to confining for me.

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Try open back headphones or really expensive closed ones (like 300+) and you will be shocked. The Polk UltraFocus 8000's were quite comfy and ridiculously good! The Grado RS1i and RS2i were ridiculously good to listen too and I couldnt tell I actually had em on..

Just like a good 2 channel system, the good stuff doesnt come super cheap.

I have never seen a pair of the "open back", but that sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip fellow Hoosier!

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Originally Posted by trav0810

I have never seen a pair of the "open back", but that sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip fellow Hoosier!

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No problem, look at some of the Grado stuff (like the pair FS here in the flea market).

P.S. if your in the Indianapolis area Ovation in Castleton has a headphone listening section and they dont have them out, but they do have the Grado RS1i and RS2i last I was there for you to listen too. I was able to bring in my iPhone to connect to their Peachtree amp to listen to all the different headphones they had.

I'm in New Castle, but I am in Indy a couple times a week. I'll check it out.

I used to be the same way. But once you hear a set of high end cans with a good front end, you'll know what it's all about.

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Originally Posted by trav0810

I'm in New Castle, but I am in Indy a couple times a week. I'll check it out.

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Cool, its one of few hi-fi stores that had a headphone section for you to actually put them on and hear them. Though I will warn you, in order to increase sales they do carry beats by dre :biggrin:, dont discount them based on that. I cant blame them buy I know the sales guys HATE EM :smile:

Also there is an Ovation in Greenwood, but I dont know if they have the headphone section since I am never down there as I live in Zionsville

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Though I will warn you, in order to increase sales they do carry beats by dre

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I can't blame them. You gotta give the people what they want...regardless of how overrated it is!

On the one hand I totally agree mantis. If noone is around and i have the choice its actual speakers. Even with all the room problems i prefer it because it feels more like live music than cans to me. Something about the full room sound stage and much fuller room pressurizing bass that helps. But...a good pair of cans are really fun and i do think are more accurate overall than most people's 2 channel setups. The frequency response is much flatter, and every note is crystal clear. And if u get a pair of open back like grados the soundstage gets surprisingly realistic, but you lose the sound isolation factor. Give it a shot you might be surprised!

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Originally Posted by mantis

Out of sheer curiosity , whats the big deal with headphones?
I mean really? I've seen multi thousand dollar head phones and it seems to be the craze right now. Maybe it's always been the craze and I was not in tune with it.
Honestly I think head phones are a un natural way of listening to music or sound for that matter. I would buy a nice pair IF I wasn't able to listen to my speakers when I wanted to.

I own a nice pair of Klipsch in ear buds and they are really nice. They are a rugged design for sports and I use them for Mountain bike riding. I don't however use them any other time, I have no desire to.

So all you head phone addicts , Am I missing out on something?

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To answer your question, you could be missing something, but you'll probably never be a headphone guy (IMO) The reason for this is you can listen to your speakers anytime you want.

For me personally, it's a way for me to take music with me on the road and be able to listen to decent sound when I can't get to my systems. Do I prefer my headphones over my 2 ch rig, the answer would be a resounding NO, but I don't always have my rigs available to me.

For others headphones might be a way to bring their music to work, or listen and not disturb the kids or wife. The isolation of the headphones also lets us remove ourselves from the world for a bit. Some find this very relaxing, and good for the soul. If I'm wearing my phones, I can't hear someone calling my name or the ringing of the phone.

For others, it is a discounted way to get into advanced audio sound. The equipment costs are minor compared to rigs with amps, pre amps, individual sources, cables etc.. . It's also a way for those on a smaller budget to be able to experiment, just as we do with our rigs, and find that synergy that makes it special. If you look go over to Head-Fi and look at the signatures, lots of folks list their progression of headphones as they experiment and look for that synergy. There is also fair market for your used phones so you can recoup some of the $'s previously spent as you upgrade or experiment.

I also think, the last reason I listed are folks that will be the folks that do the same thing with a stereo rig in their house once they buy one, have the room, have a larger budget for audio than they do right now.

As far as the very expensive headphone rigs go, I think those folks are niche users. They prefer listening to headphones. It brings out something in the music that they prefer and now they have the budget to experiment with different components looking for that magic synergy.

Just my .02,
Scott

PS I'm using my trusty Cowon J3 player and almost exclusively listen with Westone 4r IEM's

I had a fairly good pair and never used them, they didn't synergize with my system. Recently I picked up a pair of HiFi Man HE6 and a Schitt Lyr amp and now you can find me listening to them many evenings. Speakers are sitting there, no reason I couldn't power them up. Its a good way to get deep into the music. It is also a great way to hear everything in the recording. When it comes to characterizing interconnects you can hear a lot of differences. With the HE-6 and an optional amplifier connection box you can characterize amplifiers quite well too.

I think as stated before me that it's just wanting to try out different sounds. Just experiencing the same material in many ways. When my dad mixes he listens to stuff from a ridiculous amount of headphones/speakers/amps. I keep buying speakers just so i can listen to different things.

I myself would like to try out some of the higher end cans (350+ range) with different amps. I'm not sure if I have a preference but i just like new experiences.

We sell all kinds of headphones. I should take a pair home and rock them for awhile and see IF I can dig this side of things. We have some nice **** and preamps , DAC's all kinds of head phone crap.
Effin Audiophiles ,LOL what are head Phone users called?

There are 3 main reasons why headphones are a good idea:

1 - Obviously they're more portable than speakers
2 - They're more quiet than speakers. For folks who live in a condo or apartment and can't crank their speakers, headphones are a great option.
3 - Up to a certain point, dollar for dollar they can sound better than speakers. If I have $1000 to spend for example, I can get much better sound out of a headphone rig that I can a stereo setup for that price.

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Originally Posted by AsSiMiLaTeD

3 - Up to a certain point, dollar for dollar they can sound better than speakers. If I have $1000 to spend for example, I can get much better sound out of a headphone rig that I can a stereo setup for that price.

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Exactly, look at the price of ?ber high end speakers compared to ?ber high end headphones.

I go back and forth. Sometimes I'll go weeks never turning on the 2 channel rig.
And I have multiple set ups for headphones. Hard to do that with speakers.

I have mixed feelings about this topic. I have heard a very good set of Grados, but not through a dedicated HP amp. So although I could tell they were at another level from a 100-200 dollar set of cans, it was also "obvious" to me that if you wanted to really hear that level, you needed that extra 1000 dollars or so worth of gear! And that's just too much for my blood. On the other hand I do use cheaper HP which are quite "adequate" for a late night movie or some background music when everyone else is asleep. I am a bit of a night owl and have been since I was a teenager so that's most important. I don't know how some of you get up at the crack of dawn because if I did that I'd crack and be hospitalized within a week or so. lol

Like everything else in this godforsakenly overly expensive hobby, there is a High End niche for everything! Including H.Phones! And when you have a 15 year old you're looking to send to a top tier college or university in a few years, 1000+ is not chump change or just lying around somewhere when expenditures for four years could be close to $300,000?

cnh

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Originally Posted by cnh

And when you have a 15 year old you're looking to send to a top tier college or university in a few years, 1000+ is not chump change or just lying around somewhere when expenditures for four years could be close to $300,000?

cnh

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Let him rough it on $299,000. :)

I had a chance to hear Senn he-60's Stax SR-009 at a small local meet.
Both were something else. Sources, amps and headphones were top notch,
and worth more than the vehicle I drove there. Take whatever crap you think you
know about headphones and throw it away. It's more that just a portable option.
It's a different experience than speakers, so many aren't going to like the change up.
But it is by no means slumming it.

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Originally Posted by madmax

Let him rough it on $299,000. :)

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LMFAO !!

So often this hobby gets people to equate good sound with thousands of dollars. It's either cheapo stuff or ubber high end, nothing inbetween. You can get a good head amp for a few hundies used, and a nice set of cans too. Theres some real estate between entry level and high end gents.

Used to have the Koss Pro 4A models in the 70s-80s, my ears heard details in the music that I'd never heard listening to loudspeakers. I DID get tired of the "umbilical" aspect, though. They were a little dangerous too because you couldn't hear anything outside of the music playing, the seal/insulation was that good. I might have to pick some up again and give some DSOTM a spin!:wink:

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