Headphones vs speakers….

Just to add in case anybody chimes in on cans and portable amp - the most important thing for me is a wide soundstage but I sacrifice this by using closed back because of the bass - can I find both? Not sure how much an amp affects this, but I like forward mids (vocals). My other little portable amp which I love is an older Oppo HA2 - I think this sounds warmer than the Ifi Gryphon. I’m curious about the Audeze but these will also be the closed back.

You may never equal the headphone with the speakers and the room you now have. If volume is in play, and low bass, stick with headphones and everyone will be happier I guess. You see to be leaning that way. And if speakers and headphones are going to cost the same, stick with headphones.

I know how fabulous headphones can sound these days but the listening experience is night and day for me and if forced into headphones I could probably adapt. They just don't sound like a good loudspeaker, and that's what I do prefer.

You might consider an extreme nearfield experience with your speakers and see how it might sound. Keep experimenting with the Totems. Good luck!

Listened all night after getting B&W i5 in ear wireless headphones with an Android phone. Being freed from the wire immerses you in a sea of fabulous sound. Sennheiser TW3 if you want more bass at the expense of some transparency compared to the B&W. At these prices embrace the healing power of and.

* quantum leap over AirBuds.

@thomastrouble , it’s taken me half a lifetime to get to a point where my full system approaches the specific things I like best about what even a $500 pair of headphones can do. Yes they are two different experiences. But there are some areas where headphones have advantages, and some areas where headphones simply can’t replicate the experience of a full system.

But headphones have this blazingly fast quickness and ease of detail delivery, with drive and energy and great dynamics, that even now my full system can’t quite match - but it’s finally getting awful close. It’s this one quality that I’ve felt was very important for full enjoyment of music as it sounds more alive. Every now and then I’ll listen to a song on my system and then on my $500 pair of headphones (no fancy setup or anything, just Bluetooth to phone), and I’ll take note of the differences. Suggest others chiming in on this thread give that a try if you haven’t lately. You might be surprised!

The soundstage is badly distorted on headphones; Pure left sounds only to arrive at the left ear, and are perceived as being way to the left, with nothing on the right to create a semblance of a credible space. Likewise on the right side.

Pure left sounds on speakers also reach the right ear and they are perceived as being on the left side of a stage, far more realistic.

Sound from speakers at an identical left and right level, say, a vocalist or lead instrument, iff* you are seated exactly the same distance from both speakers, will deliver a nearly convincing center image - except that, again, there will be sound coming from the left speaker reaching the right ear and vice-versa, so that center image will be poorly focused at best, and only to a person sitting directly in the middle. Anywhere else, the center image fails. Try this: play a tune with a vocalist singing in the center - sit right in the middle. Now hold a record jacket, edge to you nose, blocking the left signal to your right ear and vice-versa. You will immediately hear the singer pop into focus, more accurately and realistically, coming from the center.

With headphones, a sound at equal levels left and right will be solidly placed in the center. Also, headphones will be immune from room resonances and reverb.

So - which is better?

For critical listening, for just one person, I would say a good pair of headphones - with one important condition: Unless the musical source is binaural - and that can sound spectacularly realistic, you need to temper that exaggerated soundstage.

It’s not too hard to do.

You need a separation or blend control to narrow that space. On some recordings, like some early stereo, where there was an exaggerated separation for effect, that will make the music far more enjoyable. But I find it essential with just about any stereo source.

It could be as simple as putting a 5 to 50 Ohm variable resistor (depending on your cans’ impedance) between the left and right wires the headphones.
I have adapted a few cables with this simple mod.

Then you can dial in exactly what you perceive as a natural sound stage, and the center will always be far better focused than any pair of speakers can ever hope to achieve.

You will be amazed how much better headphones will sound.

* iff - that’s not a typo. Look it up.