Do I need a headphone or speaker to appreciate high-end DACs?


This is a common opinion I hear on forums:

That to appreciate TOTL DACs you need a very resolving transducer.

My question is, to appreciate such quality, do I need speakers, or will headphones be enough?

Typical TOTL DACs i hear are from dcs, Chord, Mola Mola, Holo, Lampizator, MSB, Rockna, Weiss etc. To enjoy that level of fidelity, do I need speakers?

When I say "enjoy", I dont mean subjectively feeling good. I am asking about the differences being big enough to spot on in blind A/B testing, compared to say, a 200$ Schiit or JDS.

kandamrgam

My headphones are uber revealing, maybe the best headphones for that. My speakers are also revealing. The headphones will always give more detail. 

BTW - an uber DAC for me is the Schitt Yggi+ OG which replaced a $15k DAC. That DAC with both the phones and speakers is end game.

Any headphone must give a natural timbre first...

Then it must gave not details but musical balance where no parts is perceived out of balance from the whole...

i am afraid of the word "revealing" for speakers as well as for headphones...

I prefer natural ( well balanced ratio between frequencies) and holographic ( 3-D spatial perception).

My K340 is not revealing it translate well any recording in timbre and holography with perfect bass impact...

But we are all different... To each his own for sure...

 

 

Right!

But i dislike all headphones and it is a miracle that i stumble on one almost perfect but after 6 months of studying how to optimize it right...

There is no easy road without study and experiments in audio... or pay a fortune and buy a bad one million bucks system in some case...

But who will dare to say that a million bucks system is bad?

With headphones you will save a lot of money on room acoustics :)

@mulveling 

Your first response is spot-on and exactly the right advice. Many DACs (other gear for that matter) can present well/similarly but only the better ones can offer greater soundstage depth and spacial cues. Utilizing headphones only gets you the sound signature but does nothing to demonstrate the aforementioned attributes, which for me are equally as important!