Headphones vs speakers offer a significant difference that is limited to just your ears, while the other makes sound around us. Both headphones and speakers present sound in very different ways, each with pros and cons. To use headphones or speakers depends on various factors and, most importantly, your preferences.
In this post, I’ll take an in-depth view of headphones and speakers and their differences to help you make a better choice for gaming, movies, music, and more. Enjoy.
Headphones
Headphones, like speakers, convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, which comes out as sound. Headphones are every bit like the speakers in our home theaters. However, instead of sitting next to your TV or on the floor, headphones are worn on your head or go into the ears.
Using The Hifiman HE1000 to Listen to Music
Headphones are one of the most popular gadgets and come in different designs. Over-ear, on-ear, and in-ear headphones all represent how headphones can be worn on our heads. Over-ear headphones cover our ears, on-ear headphones sit on our ears, and in-ear headphones go into the ear. Apart from these, headphones can also be categorized as open-back and closed-back.
The major advantage headphones have over speakers is portability. With headphones, you can enjoy your music everywhere, which is not the case with speakers. Headphones also include features like Active Noise-cancellation (ANC), which can help listen to music while blocking noise. This lets you focus on your audio, even in a reasonably loud environment. See our headphones buying guide.
Why do You Need Headphones
- Privacy – If you share an acoustic environment with others, e.g., at the office, home, or on public transport, using headphones to listen to music keeps it private. Also, using headphones stops you from distracting other people around you. Unless you are listening at a very volume, closed-back headphones are great because they don’t leak sound.
- Portable Audio – Headphones play an essential part in the lives of millions of people around the world. This is primarily because they offer portable audio for those of us looking to enjoy music on the move. While walking, running, or cycling, you can listen to your favorite tracks or podcasts.
Speakers
Speakers are very popular in home audio and computer systems. The major type of speakers reproduce sound waves by rapidly vibrating a flexible cone or diaphragm, known as moving coil or dynamic speakers. There are three main speaker driver unit types: woofers, tweeters, and midrange.
Klipsch Home Theater System Setup at Home
Woofers are bigger and well-designed to reproduce bass sounds. Tweeters are smaller and designed to reproduce high sounds, while midrange speakers reproduce the mids of the sound spectrum. Apart from these three designs, speakers can also be categorized by their position in our homes. These include Tower/floor-standing speakers, bookshelf speakers, center channel speakers, In-wall speakers, and much more.
The advantage of speakers over headphones is the presentation of sound. Speakers can energize the room with bass, which you can feel in your body and through your feet. The stereo imaging is also more realistic with speakers compared to headphones.
Why do You Need Speakers
- Home audio – Speakers are the best candidate for an immersive sound system at home. They’ll allow for a group experience where you and your family can watch movies or listen to music. You can enjoy a theater-like system as you do in a movie theater with surround speaker systems.
Headphones vs Speakers
Listening to Music
When listening to music, I like to focus on the positives of each instead of pointing out the flaws of either headphones or speakers.
Headphones are fabulous for a personal/intimate audio experience. They are also very portable, which allows you to move around listening to your favorite tracks. You can use closed-back headphones at home or on the train because they neither leak out sound nor let noise interfere with your music.
Audeze LCD-X and Ibasso DX228
Speakers are great for listening to music because you can feel the music when it hits your whole body. The bass rumbling provides a visceral component to music you cannot get with headphones. Get the right placement with speakers, and you can get the best soundstage and imaging as they seem to disappear.
For Gaming
When setting up your gaming rig, you’ll think about the PC/Console, lighting accessories, internet, and much more. However, very few gamers will think about the sound. When it comes to gaming, you can choose gaming headsets or a pair of speakers.
I Use The Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro and HiFiMAN Sundara For Music and Gaming
A gaming headset/headphone is great for multiplayer games, where you can easily communicate with fellow gamers. A closed-back gaming headset provides noise isolation, which is great because it gives privacy and does not disturb others. For FPS games, a good pair of gaming headphones can help you hear where footsteps are coming from, giving you a competitive advantage over your opponents. See our guide on improving soundstage in headphones. The downside of using headphones is they can hurt your ears after prolonged use.
One of the advantages of using speakers for gaming is non-fatigue, even for long gaming sessions. Though there are comfortable gaming headsets, gaming for long hours eventually causes fatigue. You can also get authentic surround sound with speakers for a more immersive audio experience. Though virtual surround tech in headphones is decent, nothing beats a well-placed speaker system. The downside of speakers is they can be a nuisance to others in the room, and for multiplayer games, the sound can sip into a sensitive mic, thus hindering effective communication.
Watching Movies
I believe speakers get all the credit here when it comes to watching movies. The overall sound quality, visceral impact, soundstage, and imaging make them a go-to option for a theater-like home experience. The experience can further be taken to a whole new level by investing in a Quality Sound System. Choosing a Receiver or Amplifier creates immersive surround sound experiences that beat headphones hands down.
This is a Home Theater Setup with Klipsch Home Theater System
Headphones are also fabulous for watching movies. When you need private experience at home, dorm, or workplace without disturbing others, headphones are the right choice. Some of the best audiophile headphones, like the Sennheiser HD 800S, can create an immersive audio experience compared to speakers.
