Headphone or Rig?

I also used to own Stax 009s and while I liked the sound I made ch prefer the results I get in my dedicated room. It's actually set up for near field listening so I get the detail and immediacy of headphones but also the scale and energy that only speakers can provide - think of it as a really big set of headphones!

mulveling, that's quite an analog rig, but why digital only on the Stax? At this moment, I'm listening on my headphones to records that are archived in the PC.

It's already been discussed and confirmed right here, that no matter how good your analog is, you'll get the same identical playback from your PC after you have archived them (the right way of course)

I tuned in on the PC channel here and got it right. We went round and round arguing every point, as good Audiophiles do. A lot of work, but not a great deal of money, which according to your rig is no problem. Now I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor.

I enjoy both.  Each has its strengths and weaknesses when compared to the other.  Usually I'll take the speakers over the phones in spite of the less detail.  It's detailed enough and more lifelike overall.

The Stax phones, with a tubed Stax driver unit, are fine for now but I can see a Blue Hawaii setup, or Woo Audio WES, in my future. The problem, of course, is that they never come up for sale on the used market. Even if they did, they would sell in minutes. Also, I see a pair of Quad electrostats in my future when I have a dedicated room to position them properly.

I have both. I guess my headphone situation is up to interpretation. I have AKG K702's with a Schitt Lyr and a custom cable made by Blue Jeans (does this sound correct? I never use it). As you can see, I never use it. The Lyr is in its original box and has been used about 5 or 6 times since it was new 4 years ago. Same with the AKG's. The headphone rig sounds great but nothing like an energized room.