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Headphones to keep you honest

This forum hosts endless debates about the relative merits of the many parameters that go into high-end audio reproduction, but I don't recall ever seeing headphones mentioned as a sort of baseline standard by means of which to judge the acoustic merits of one's system. Of course, most of us will prefer listening to speakers over listening with headphones; there's no denying that the experience headphones inevitably create of music directly input to the brain, as it were, is not "natural," even if it has its own weird solipsistic appeal. But: we also know that headphones solve many of the problems we throw a lot of money at to address in our systems: room acoustics are mooted; distortion is vanishingly low; frequency response is flat and very extended (even at the low end, although felt bass is lacking); detail is hard to match. The list goes on.

So here's my question: why not use a good pair of headphones as a tool to identify both the strong and the weak elements in one's speaker-driven system?

I recently acquired a set of HiFiMan HE1000 headphones and, using a long cable, I'm able to listen with them at my sweet spot. Plugging them directly into the discrete headphone amp of my Marantz SA8005 in order to match the volume level of my speakers, I can then directly compare the sound of my system to the nearly perfect reproduction the headphones provide. And if I want to listen just with the headphones for an extended time, I can cancel the main speakers but drive the subwoofer at a lower volume; this gives me the visceral bass that no headphone can supply, as well as enhancing the illusion that the sound is coming from in front of me (an illusion the HE1000s are better at all by themselves than any other headphone I've used).

Has anyone out there followed a similar practice? Does anyone use a good pair of headphones to identify where improvements might be made in their main system?

128x128snilf
david_ten
5,480 posts
 

I agree. Not many do so.

why not use a good pair of headphones as a tool to identify both the strong and the weak elements in one’s speaker-driven system?

 

I disagree on what is highlighted below, since many headphones are "tuned," most in significant ways ...which necessitates being extremely careful and selective with the headphones chosen for the purposes you state.

 

But: we also know that headphones solve many of the problems we throw a lot of money at to address in our systems: ...frequency response is flat...

cd318
2,636 posts
 

You're right, headphones can expose loudspeaker issues rather e   asily. Especially those to do with transient response!

 

However, there are certain problems with headphones.

They might need a special amp.

Finding one with a flat frequency response is not easy. Frequency anomalies seem far easier to identify with headphones.

Headphones just don't have the same visual appeal that loudspeakers can have. 

Headphones  also don't really work well in family environments where headphones might be seen as a particularly selfish indulgence?

They're often also seen as a luxury item.

Whilst they can remove possible room issues there might be problems with finding a good fit for every head etc.

For some, the lack of tweaking options might be an issue.

For me, it's one of comfort. I guess I'm rather fidgety and don't like being tied down in one place for too long.

big_greg
6,647 posts
 

No.

soix
9,593 posts
 

For me, it’s the other way ‘round. Especially for imaging/soundstage headphones are just poor relative to a good home stereo. There’s just something a little unnatural about having sound pumped tight into my ears versus it having time to express itself in time and space. I still enjoy my HeadFi rig a lot, but to me it’s just an approximation of the full expression I get from my “big rig.” Put another way, I find it much more useful to let my home system let me know which headphones are doing a respectable job. Similarly, I’d trust someone well versed in home audio to assess headphones, but not so much a headphone listener to assess a home system. Just my $0.02.

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