Completely agree with this. One further point, however, is that sound quality per dollar is much higher in the head-fi world. Especially if you include room treatment and if you want the bottom two octaves faithfully represented.
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It does seem that way. I still canāt figure out the pricing of speakers. Kind of like mattresses; thereās no rhyme or reason to the price variances.
At the recent NYC CanJam I had the chance to listen to the dCS Lina DAC/master Clock/headphone amp system (LINA) with two different state of the art headphones: the Meze Elite (planar magnetic) and the Focal Utopia (dynamic driver). Both sounded absolutely amazing but I did find the Utopia to be just a little more, well, dynamic. Or to put it another way, the Elite was just a bit too polite. However as we like to say in the audio world: YMMV
As far as soundstage is concerned, when sit in the sweet spot of a well setup speaker system while listening to well recorded music the soundstage can be incredible and better than any headphone, regardless of quality. What headphones provide is incredible detail into the recording along with the ability to focus since there are almost no external distractions. Again whether or not one likes this type of focused listening is a matter of personal taste.
Iām enjoying this thread and hopefully the conversion will continue.
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How and where they are built adds or subtracts a lot, such as hand assemble or a factory line, built and assembled in far east or domestic. Then add on the audiophile tax. Most British made speakers are expensive as they are smaller hand built designs and donāt have economies of scale. Some design their own drivers and crossovers some will pull off the shelf designs and modify other areas. Materials used for the bodywork if itās using laminated veneers or vinyl wrap.
Iād generally agree, but you can also spend big bucks on headphones and amps 
Are you tempted?
Though apparently good speakers can be cheap, according to the Tech Ingredients guy.
Warning: includes measurements!
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In my experience headphone listening is more demanding/conditional. Not sure how to say it. I can only listen to headphones when I am in a good mood and well rested. Whereas speaker listening can be unconscious and in the background, headphones are more usurping. For the past two years I got into headphones big time and when I have to say I like it a lot. Iāve had my best time listening to music with headphones. However, I canāt be really tired and still have a good time listening to music.
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1000% agree!
I find it the other way around. Bad mood, feeling ill or over tired I canāt stand speakers really colours it for me. Headphones I donāt have this problem. I can actually just turn off the stereo as I feel it sounds dreadful to me. Put same music on the following day it sounds so much better to me and I can listen for hours. Mood has so much to do with how we hear.
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I totally agree, headphones are just ok when used late evening not to disturb neighbors and wife.
Having good loudspeakers is a totally different feeling, I often go to classical concerts and I try at home to have the same sensation than listening to an orchestra, only good loudspeakers can get close to live music.
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An additional point from my perspective is
I have 3 young children. Headphones are especially good for drowning them out, even better with noise cancellation 
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Sure but the numbers on my lottery tickets never seem to match the winning numbers
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@Jazzfan_NJ The LINA is pretty eye wateringly expensiveā¦
Substitute a good DAC/Amp say on the level of the Benchmark DAC3/HPA4 (MUCH less than the cost of LINA). Would you expect to hear a difference with the same two headphones?
Iām going perhaps a bit off topic, on my own topicā¦
How important is the DAC/Amp (Benchmark donāt need no stinking separate clocker!) vs. the headphone assuming youāre not going low end on either? I would guess, (BASED ON NOTHING), that those headphones through the Benchmark (or insert your favorite alternative) would sound the same or nearly inaudibly close.
The headphones themselves it seems to me are primarily where the magic is.
Similarly, and somewhat bringing it back on topic, my speakers are BY FAR the most expensive part of my best system. I do believe that the DAC must be transparent, the AMP must have low (or desirable) distortion and importantly must have much more power than you think you need. But the speaker is the magic part assuming competent feeding components.
As I state this I wonder if the enthusiastically reviewed Mola Mola Tambaqui would make my life complete.
That would be a good thread, what would make life complete? or better, for how long? 
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Headphones and speakers certainly provide different experiences and preference is obviously subjective. For me there are a number of objective things that lead to me prefer listening on headphones.
- I can listen at my volume to my music without complaints from family members (or neighbours!).
- Headphones sound the same, even when moved from one place to another. (Obviously Iām talking about the same set of headphones. Iām not saying that all headphones sound the same!)
- I can reach a decent quality of sound for less money using headphones rather than speakers, as long as the headphones can be equalised to my preferred curve.
- Treating a room for speakers can be tricky if the dĆ©cor is not pleasing to others (yes, Iām talking about Mrs Graveyard.
)
On a more serious note, a preference for headphones or speakers can also be explained by the ways in which our brains work. I am, as they say today, somewhat neuro-divergent! Headphones create an enclosed listening experience that enhances my enjoyment of music. This doesnāt happen, in the same way, when I listen on speakers.
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@Kelly_Burkhart You bring up some very valid points. Is the Lina really that much better than the Benchmark system you mentioned? I canāt say for sure but I can say that the Lina is a clear example of the law of diminishing returns, in that in the brief time I spent listening I did notice that the Lina did a few things incredibly well. Things like super sharp detail, sense of soundstage and an overall clarity to the sound. Now is all this worth the asking price? Difficult to say since there werenāt any other headphone amp or DACs on hand to do a direct comparison with. I do think that at this price and performance level one is just paying huge sums for what are just very slight improvements. So like I said in an earlier post, if I ever win the lottery thenā¦
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My local dealer offered me a Warwick Acoustics Aperio Headphones System from stock (āat a special priceā) I was almost interested until I read a review and saw the Ā£28500 price tag, I guess theyād be a substitute for the entire systemā¦
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Another community member in need of a lottery win 
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