Headsets vs Speakers for music?

[IMPERIUS]

Hi!

I'm looking for an upgrade for around 100eur for listening to music and I don't know if should be looking into headsets like the ath m40x or speakers.

Also, will I need to buy an amp/dac to use with my speakers? I plan to plug them into my pc and will probablly be 2.0 or 2.1 bookshelf speakers. I also like the idea to add an aditional subwoofer for more bass whereas with headsets you're stuck with what you get.

I would like to have punchy bass but clear vocals etc.

What do you recommend getting? And what are some pros/cons of both for music?

Thanks

[Octavialicious]

I personally favour headphones, I feel like there is more detail and obviously the bass is fun because it's right up against your head.

[SimpleG]

IMHO I would go for speakers, your ears don't hurt when listening all day, everyday. Speakers have a crisp sound too, even my iirc cheap Acme 2.1 speakers have crisp sound and punchy bass

[KamiKatze]

100€ for speakers? meh

 

100€ for headphones? yepp, why not.

 

I'd say headphones sound much better and speakers are better when you want to feel the music.

[paprikman]

Good sound system would cost a lot more, however when talking about headphones and speakers at the same price, headphones will win.

[Octavialicious]

IMHO I would go for speakers, your ears don't hurt when listening all day, everyday. Speakers have a crisp sound too, even my iirc cheap Acme 2.1 speakers have crisp sound and punchy bass

If your ears hurt with headphones then you are listening to them wayyyy too loud

[Freddieboy]

Hi!

I'm looking for an upgrade for around 100eur for listening to music and I don't know if should be looking into headsets like the ath m40x or speakers.

Also, will I need to buy an amp/dac to use with my speakers? I plan to plug them into my pc and will probablly be 2.0 or 2.1 bookshelf speakers. I also like the idea to add an aditional subwoofer for more bass whereas with headsets you're stuck with what you get.

I would like to have punchy bass but clear vocals etc.

What do you recommend getting? And what are some pros/cons of both for music?

Thanks

What type of audio solution you should get is simply what you think sounds better, personally I like headphones more since I can use them at any time when there are people around etc. If that is not a problem for you and you like the sound of speakers, get that. But surely the most versitile way would be to get headphones, you would also most likely get a lot better sound for your money.

 

As for the DAC, you won't need one for 100 eur headphones as long as you have a decent sound card or decent built in audio interface in your motherboard or laptop, that is mostly for very high powered headphones that uses a lot more power than a 100 eur pair. I don't think that you would need one for speakers either, but I have a lot less experience in that area!

[SimpleG]

If your ears hurt with headphones then you are listening to them wayyyy too loud

Not like the hearing but they're just too tight and I have set equalizer to bass, so after I listen to songs with a looot of bas, my hearing will hurt then

[SeanBond]

Headphones any day of the week for me. Speakers can be nice if you get really expensive ones but for a fraction of the price you can typically get headphones that will give you the same quality of sound.

[dougoftheabaci]

As a general rule of thumb you will get better audio from headphones at a significantly cheaper price than you will from speakers. For example, You can spend $700 on a pair of headphones (plus another $500 for the amp and DAC to drive them to excellence) and to get an equivalent speaker quality would cost you around $2,000 per speaker, plus more for a receiver that can handle them.

 

You get headphones because you want to listen to music on your own and enjoy it as much as you can. You get speakers because you don't want to have to always wear headphones or you want to be able to listen with other people.

[ShearMe]

Speakers are always better. They also take up more room, wake your neighbors, and get picked up by your microphone.

[Pomfinator]

Speakers > Headphones any day, open headphones try to mimic the spaciousness that speakers offer, but in the end they just mimic it.

 

Also people grossly overestimate the price-gap between good headphones and speakers.

[Lays]

There are plenty of speaker solutions that compete with spendy headphones, not sure why everyone thinks you need to go spend 30k on a speaker room with cable risers.

A pair of mica mb42 and a lepai sounds great and is quite cheap.

[DimasRMDO]

I prefer headphones over speaker, I can hear the music more clearly, beside it doesn't disturb others.

[genkifd]

at that budget - i vote for headphones and as a good headphone setup are much cheaper than good speaker setup.

 

a good speaker system will have a much larger sound stage and better punchier lows that headphones can never achieve.

[SSL]

For all the people touting speakers, which I agree with, I haven't seen any recommendations in the budget. Personally, I'd go headphones.

[ShearMe]

For all the people touting speakers, which I agree with, I haven't seen any recommendations in the budget. Personally, I'd go headphones.

 

I'm too lazy to check Slovenia's eBay listings.

[dylan43270]

I have a lot of headphones, but speakers win hands down. It is more awesome to shake your entire house instead of just your ear drums. You also have more EQ potential with separate speakers. Also people saying you need to spend a lot more to get as good sound quality out of speakers have not found good budget speakers.