Pearljam5000
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How do they compare to each other? What are the advantages / disadvantages of each?
Headphones give an 'in your head' soundstage rather than one that is in front of you, and headphones can't produce bass that you can feel as well as just hear. As such, for me, headphones are always a poor substitute, and I'd get more enjoyment from lower quality speakers than the best headphones.
The obvious upsides of headphones are portability and not disturbing others.
This is all from a listening for pleasure point of view, not mixing/mastering.
Headphones give an 'in your head' soundstage rather than one that is in front of you, and headphones can't produce bass that you can feel as well as just hear. As such, for me, headphones are always a poor substitute, and I'd get more enjoyment from lower quality speakers than the best headphones.
The obvious upsides of headphones are portability and not disturbing others.
This is all from a listening for pleasure point of view, not mixing/mastering.
The ratio quality price for the headphone.How do they compare to each other? What are the advantages / disadvantages of each?
Price! You can get some really good headphones for a few hundred dollars and you don't a need power amplifier to drive them. You can get "high-end" sound without high-end cost! The AKG K371 ($150 USD) is highly rated for sound quality (not so highly-rated for build quality). In a blind listening test, you probably wouldn't choose a super-expensive headphone as your favorite headphone in the world...High-end headphones vs high-end speakers/monitors?
I absolutely agree on this one.Mixing and mastering with headphones I find completely impossible, as both stereo panning and EQ decisions end up sounding awful on wide-range loudspeakers. Tracking on headphones is OK, I suppose, as that's mostly laid down flat and processed later. As for straight-to-stereo classical recording with a pair of mics or a Decca Tree, again headphones I find useless as so much of the stereo experience is down to microphone placement, and I just can't judge that on headphones.
S.
I think I kind of agree with this. Over the years I have owned fairly decent loudspeakers but because of poor acoustics they have mostly sounded like two boxes at the other end of the room. In better rooms (without neighbors) things would probably be quite different.To be honest I like headphones better, it's a more intimate experience and you can get lost in the music easier....
I hear you but that's for outside the house to protect me from cold and sunlight. It doesn't cover my ears and is more comfortable than any headphones I've tried. When I listen to music (in house only, btw), I prefer to be unburdened.