Speakers versus headphones

[CJRP]

What is better for music when connected to a PC?

Say for instance you had $1000.00 to spend, would it be best put towards headphones or speakers?

I do not have a nice receiver, and by the looks of it, if I went with speakers I would be spending $800 on a nice Denon one. Seems like it would be best to save another $1000 after that to buy a nice sub and speakers, maybe some Paradigms?

It seems like you can get a cheaper amp for headphones, but I am clueless at this point.

I like the idea of "feeling" the music, which as far as I know only comes from a nice sub. I am also interested in hearing every detail in my music. I have noticed that my Klipsch 5.1 system (the Promedias) kind of jumble all of the details together, instead of allowing me to hear each instrument or sound. Are there detailed headphones that also have nice lows?

Does anyone have an opinion on this? Thank you in advance for your opinions.

 

[spaceman]

Headphones will give you the most bang for your buck.

One of the biggest issues about speakers is the room. If your room is not treated it can really screw up the sound. Acoustics can be so bad that it would not really matter what kind of equipment you have, the sound would still suck. I have just that issue atm.

With headphones, you just slap them on your head and there it is.

Ultrasone 900 Pro is a new headphone that is about $400-500 and has mega slam/bass with great detail. If you have a decent sound card, you could get that headphone and something like the Head Direct EF1 amp for a bit under $1000 and have a very serious sounding setup. In fact, I am strongly considering just that myself.

 

[CJRP]

Thanks for the reply.

I have a feeling the accoustics in my room are HORRIBLE. I figured I would probably need to save up maybe $2000 for a nice setup either way.

I have an old pair of Sennheiser HD580s (I think thats the model) and for speakers some old Advent Laureates (sold my Klipsch set, and I'm not satisfied with the power of the small Swan set on my desktop).

Looks like its a good idea to continue saving.

 

[phide]

You certainly don't need $2000 for a kickass, top-end headphone setup, but you can certainly spend that much if you were so inclined. For $750, you can do incredibly well.

Remember that you can use acoustic treatments to clean up a sloppy room, but you realistically only go so far. If your floors and ceilings are parallel, you're pretty much already stuck. For music listening, you want to retain early reflections and minimize reverberance and standing waves, which means you need a reasonably firm understanding of acoustics to be able to treat the room with absorbers, diffusers and bass traps.

 

[tazzmissionx]

Room acoustics obviously can make the best of speakers sound like Bose, but you can avoid many of the effects of room acoustics by setting your speakers in a near-field configuration if room/space allows.

 

[kool bubba ice]

What is better for music when connected to a PC?

Say for instance you had $1000.00 to spend, would it be best put towards headphones or speakers?

I do not have a nice receiver, and by the looks of it, if I went with speakers I would be spending $800 on a nice Denon one. Seems like it would be best to save another $1000 after that to buy a nice sub and speakers, maybe some Paradigms?

It seems like you can get a cheaper amp for headphones, but I am clueless at this point.

I like the idea of "feeling" the music, which as far as I know only comes from a nice sub. I am also interested in hearing every detail in my music. I have noticed that my Klipsch 5.1 system (the Promedias) kind of jumble all of the details together, instead of allowing me to hear each instrument or sound. Are there detailed headphones that also have nice lows?

Does anyone have an opinion on this? Thank you in advance for your opinions.

I'm biased towards headphones..No 'sweet spot', or acoustics challanged. You will always get the best sound from your headphones..No restrictions like speakers.. If SQ is number 1 then a grand on a headphone rig will go much further..X10 in the detail department, depending on the headphone of course.. If you want your room to rumble and need 5.1 then get speakers..You can get a nince USB DAC/Amp/Headphone for under a grand easy..The Sony SA5000 have great seperation..Very fast transients, so minimal smearing..And gobs of detail. They cost around 300 or less used..My beyer 48's are more detailed, and cost nearly the same, but has very weak bass, and don't sound fun..Above the 48's you'd need to get a higher end STAX, K1000, or the detail king the Q 010.