Do you prefer Speaker or Headphone?

My 2¢…
Speakers can simply be wonderful, but then so can HP's.

The major differences, at least for me come down to expense and resource allocation, and I'm not talking merely $$$$$.
There is the amount of additional resources needed in order to dial in any system to bring out it's fullest potential.
And speakers need WAY more of these additional resources than HP's do simply because there is a room involved, not to mention the additional time (and expense) needed to deal with the additional power requirements. That is if you want that totally immersive experience.

And most any tweaks made to the electronics can be applied to either type of system.

But there are a few distinct advantages to either type of system and I figure these can help determine which system is preferred.

Speakers give us the freedom of movement within the sound field (unless there is a narrow sweet spot) and the potential for pant flapping bass, not to forget that illusive immersive experience.

HP's give us a degree of detail and focus that is hard to match (read $$$$$) simply due to the much shorter distance between driver and our ears.
And they can deliver bass that is very difficult for speakers to match (read $$$$$$) let alone seamlessly integrate into the rest of the audible spectrum.
The single drivers in HP's simply don't need to displace very much and are inherently going to make less distortion than larger drivers that need to deal with greater excursion.
This also involves crossovers and the difference sonic signatures that exists between different drivers.

But it seems to me the trick setup is to dial in the system's electronics using TotL HP's, then go after the speaker setup, that is if the room will cooperate, and some, no matter how much acoustic treatment is applied, will never be rigid enough, nor acoustically neutral enough.

And all of this is relative to the extent and degree of how high is up, or how good is good enough.

And for some all of the above is not really a factor in their listening enjoyment, they simply pay attention to other musical and acoustic qualities than what I focus upon, and so all of the fussing and tweaking and experimenting is unnecessary, as long as there is enough to satisfy.

And for me HP's, at least the system I have on hand, is so much more useful, accessible, and superior to a comparable speaker system, especially on a $ for $ basis, that it's a no brainer.

And yes there are exceptions to the given constraints mentioned above, but they are the exception and not the rule.

JJ

 

wow, this is a really hard one!!! I mean....just wayyyyy too hard

 

Headphones! I'm done with speakers; I sold my 2-channel rig, and I have no intention of getting another one. The same goes for vinyl.

 

That setup would have certain other advantages. On balance, I think it would beat headphones and speakers. But you might have to smear her all over with Deoxit for the full audiophile experience!

The ideal music listening session is uninterrupted and without distraction (and, as per other discussions about computer-based systems, something that I don't do so often these days) --- but, sometimes trips to the kitchen or toilet are necessary. One simple thing I like about speakers is not having to take them off and not (unless one is going to be some time) pausing the music. Being able to hear the music playing from the other room, uninterrupted, is all part of the experience

Knowing Norah Jones was waiting for me would work pretty well too