Headphones vs full range speakers

A top of the line headphone system and speaker systems are two very different things. I have both. Click on my UserID to see them. I would say both of my systems are capable of similar sound quality and detail. I listen to my speaker system 99+% of the time. When I want a fire in the fireplace and look out the windows I listen to my headphone system.

In general, headphone systems are for a contingency...when I can’t make noise, don’t have the space, traveling, can’t afford a high quality speaker system, or the environment is to noisy. There are probably a couple people out there that like them better, but there is probably some hidden reason.

Headphone systems don’t project the images and sound in front of you like a real concert, the sound stage is in between your ears. No mater how good they are there is something physically touching you.. it gets fatiguing.

On the other hand you can put together a top notch system for a tenth the cost... that is about the ratio of cost of mine. The sound with my Focal Utopia or Sennheiser 800 is simply amazing. 

It's all good but different. 

ghdprentis has it 100%.

When i succeed to install my relatively good but low cost audio system in his rightful three dimensional embeddings controls space, i throw all my SEVEN ,dynamics, electro-acoustic,magneplanar,or hybrid headphones in a drawer for ever...

When i begun my journey with the same audio system now for years, any of my headphone was better than my speakers..

Now i prefer the same speakers on all acoustical counts...

Take yourself your conclusion...

M y own conclusion is : mechanical,electrical and especially acoustical embeddings controls are much more impactful in S.Q. than almost any upgrade of a piece of gear...

The only usefulness of headphones is listening without bothering others...

By the way the total cost of my audio system well chosen gear for sure is under 500 bucks... I had been lucky... it will cost me over one thousand now...( i dont count here the price of my main 7 or even 9 headphones if i add them all)

By the way i modified all my headphones with success, increasing their S.Q. with modifications in the shell room cups from damping technique and decreasing also the vibrations of the cups through the headband etc ...

it is there in this "tweaking" process i discovered the destructive power of vibrations, cross talk, and benefit of  ACOUSTIC science....

If you want to know why speakers are POTENTIALLY  better than most headphones if someone learn how to install them  it is simple... It is small room acoustic control the key....

@gdprentice

wow you have a couple really nice systems there! 
Do you prefer the Focals or the Sennheisers? 
 

Never owned floorstanding Focals until recently and they are lowly 836w but I love the hell out of them.