Computer and headphones for music & movies

 

no speakers for now
Unregistered guest
Over the last two weeks I've been reading the current posts on the boards and searching the older posts for help in looking for a good speaker and receiver combo.

I've gone out and listened to b&w's 600 & 700 series and paradigm's monitor and studio series. I've listened to receivers by denon, marantz, and higher-cost separates that I don't remember the names of. After each listening experience, I came home and read opinions from others and thought about my next step in hunting down a good system. It's been tedious, but fun. : )

For the last year and a half, I've been listening to music and movies on $300 Grado headphones connected to my pc via an $80 Audigy soundcard. I love this combo, but thought I'd checkout a surround or a music system, which I've always wanted.

However, from my listening experiences, I've come to realize that my current headphone/pc combo sounds better than any of the stuff I listened to during the last two weeks.

The sales people were good at helping me and showing me a wide variety of stuff. I definitely got to hear a good representation of what's available.

Why bother to post this? Because after spending the entire afternoon listening to a >$6,000 system at one store, I came home and relistened to Diana Krall, Star Wars Attack of the Clones, Depeche Mode, and other stuff, and smiled the whole time because I heard detail and richness that I couldn't hear on the >$6,000 system I listened to today.

I strongly suggest to any of you having the option of checking out headphones, giving it a try.

I may still do a surround system in the future, but for now, I just can't justify the high cost for substandard sound. I'd like to thank everyone who posts serious and intelligent messages, you've been very helpful. That's what's inspired me to post my experience and opinion. I hope to help someone who may be looking, but isn't pleased with what he or she is hearing. Good luck in your hunt for good audio equipment. Please don't take my message as a bashing of your system. I have my preferences, and they may help someone who is in the same position I was in. I'm only trying to help them, as I have been helped by every post I've read on here. The richness in opinions definitely gave me many ideas in my hunt, which is over for now.

 

Silver Member
Username: Kano

Post Number: 360
Registered: Oct-04
Listening at the show-room is one thing, having your system finely tuned to your preferences is another. I'm certain that some things sound better through headphones, just as certain that headphones will not compare to speakers on a movie like Saving Private Ryan.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Tevo

Chicago, IL USA

Post Number: 63
Registered: Feb-05
You should try your Grado's connected to a high quality headphone amp and source. :-)

I agree to a certain extent. Because of moving (and financial challenges), I sold all my audio equipment except for a cd player, headphone amp and headphones.

Hi-fi via headphones is a different experience than listening to speakers. Headphones offer a more virtual reality, in side your head experience whereas speakers give you more of a sense of being in a live acoustical environment (albeit, ultimately still a reproduced one).

As far as home theater goes... headphones can't come close to replicating the multi-channel experience in a well done home theater system. Fortunately, I'm still an old-school 2-channel audio purist. :-)
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stealth_c

Dublin, CA USA

Post Number: 98
Registered: Jan-05
I think it is pretty well accepted that a good pair of headphones will give you the detail of speakers costing five times more. And a good amplifier can indeed improve your experience further. I find that my Sennheisers offer detail that is comparable or superior to the higher end speakers that I have listened to.

Of course there is no substitute for a good bass hit from a subwoofer, and surround sound is still pretty sweet IMO. However, since I have volume limits in my house, I was driven to get good headphones a while ago.
 

Silver Member
Username: Rkvfire

Vancouver, British Colu... Canada

Post Number: 182
Registered: Aug-04
Grado headphones, arent too bad. Nothin beats a good DJ headphone.

Technics IMO are the best makers of headphones. goes all the way down to 5hz. Plus on top of headphones compared to speakers, the speakers on headphones are right beside your ears.. of course they would sound great.
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