Headphones to replace speakers

[Rocker]

I am downsizing everything including our hi-fi system and am wondering if it would be satisfactory to replace our system with a headphone amp and cans. What are the better products within a fairly decent budget? Thanks

[Derek]

DaveF has a Stax setup in the classifieds
https://tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5709

[DaveF]

I am downsizing everything including our hi-fi system and am wondering if it would be satisfactory to replace our system with a headphone amp and cans. What are the better products within a fairly decent budget? Thanks

Hi Rocker,
I've been a Stax headphone user for a few years now and I've gone through 3 different sets. Will headphones replace a typical speaker system? The answer is no, not really. Rather they will give you a very different presentation. With headphones you wont really get the wide soundstage and depth of a well integrated room and speaker system. To what extent will depend on the headphones themselves.
With headphones, you wont get any room interactions or reflections, things that can sometimes ruin or take away from a speaker setup in the wrong room. So there is advantage there. Plus late night listening sessions is always an option.
You can drop serious money on a headphone setup and the Stax in particular do benefit from very decent implication. Just a note on Stax, they need a special type of amp called an Energizer. A normal headphone amp will not work with them.
If you are interested in my Stax set that's for sale, let me know. If not there are few other options that I'd recommend.

[HiFiFan]

I am downsizing everything including our hi-fi system and am wondering if it would be satisfactory to replace our system with a headphone amp and cans. What are the better products within a fairly decent budget? Thanks

If you could swing it I recommend going to here: https://canjamglobal.com/shows/london2025/

You will have the chance to experience all the best in headphones and headphone application.

I have gone to 2 of these and can recommend.

[Rocker]

Thanks to Derek, HiFiFan and DaveF for your replies. I am set on replacing my standard Hi-Fi system (loudspeakers & amp) with a headphone amp and headphones, they type and model to be decided after listening sessions.

For some time, I have listened to music as a musician might, identifying the type of guitar used, any overdubs etc., mainly to see if I could learn something from the recording. Loudspeakers, good as they are, do not allow me to listen deeply enough into the music track. Headphones, even the cheap ones I have, do allow me to almost see into the recording studio. This situation dovetails nicely into our plans to downsize our house. I have had a room dedicated to hi-fi and music, a room that I now know I can do without. And I don't want to compromise a living room by installing even a smallish amp and speaker system.

Piano music is my main music choice when I am not in musician mode. The headphones I have do a reasonable job of replaying a piano, better quality 'phones will only improve the listening on those occasions.

Thanks again for your input, your responses have been very helpful and enlightening.

[hudo]

During lockdown I was working from abroad, and used headphones only, and really got used it, enjoyed it a lot! Its a different experience from speakers of course, but I liked it.
For that purpose i got myself Audeze LCD2 (after trying few Hifiman and other planar headphones) so I personally prefer planars compared to dynamic drivers. Hifihut has few in stock, so you can demo them and compare directly.
For amp, I ended up with Schiit Asgard 3, very satisfied with its performance.

[Ivor]

Hifihut has few in stock, so you can demo them and compare directly.
For amp, I ended up with Schiit Asgard 3, very satisfied with its performance.

HiFi Hut seem to have developed an attitude recently whereby you have to make an appointment just to look in the door. That attitude was always there but its recently been honed! I'm going by others experiences, I only every use them for mail order on smaller stuff.

[hudo]

True, I always want to check out what they have connected and playing on the 1st floor demo room. They told me once i have to make an appointment, which i did few times, but such i shame i can't just pop in for a 10mins and have a quick listen. Complete opposite from Cloney where they often tell me "sit down and listen to this" as soon as i enter the shop. God bless them:) But hope you don't need to make appointment for headphones since they're already there hanging on the wall.

[Brutus1968]

Years ago I bought a pair of Grado SR80 to be connected at the standard phones output of my vintage integrated amps, but I have never been a fan of headphones. I think I miss the physical impact of a good speaker (not necessarily at very loud volume). So I have the idea (one day) to include in the headphones setup a subwoofer amp module and a pair of exciter speakers mounted to the listening chair/couch: in this way I would keep the physical feeling, with the possibility to adjust it as well. Probably not really a HIFI experience, but it could be entertaining. Did anyone try something like that?

Best