Speakers need a good sounding room to sound really good. An acoustical bad room will make the most expensive speakers sound bad. Headphones do their job everywhere.

as to not bother others.

Some people live in apartments with thin walls....

Some people have wives that complain about "the noise"....

etc....

Wanna hear something even more outrageous? Most of my audio purchases are IEMs.

Mainly because I listen to music all over the house and when I’m outside, so I’d rather spend the big bucks on something I use 80% of my music-listening time.

As for speakers,

1. I don’t want to annoy my neighbours
2. I’d have to basically redecorate my whole living room to get good acoustics. Yeah no.

I can’t go full blast with porn on speaker.

I like the sound-inside-my-head feeling. Also headphones maintain directionality when you move your head around. Speakers dont move to keep that stereo feeling. I still use speakers, but for parties etc where idc about the sound that much.

Many reasons.

One, speakers aren't very portable.

Two, headphones provide a much more affordable and accessible way to hear music through different tuning signatures.

Three, headphones offer intimacy in their detail that speakers can't match, especially when comparing price to price.

Four, closed-back headphones offer privacy not available with speakers.

Five, speakers often require expensive room treatment to sound their best. Headphones don't need that.

Not everyone has the time to do all what is necessary to make speakers sound their best in their space because:

1. They may not have said space

2. Convenience and ease of use of over ears

3. Don't have time for speaker placement, room correction, filters, crossovers and all that

>Speakers are way better than headphones in my experience and I don't know why people buy these very expensive headphones instead of speakers at the same price bracket.

I wouldn't say they are better. Maybe better in the sense that a car is "better" than a bike, but if you want an absolute top shelf bike, that's still $20k or more.

They sound very different

I do have a nice stereo but I currently live in an apartment with a neighbor that won’t hesitate to complain that my music is too loud. It got to the point I would have high anxiety while listening to my music that she’d start pounding on my door.

Now with headphones I worry that I won’t hear my girlfriend yelling at me.

Learning that I just can’t win.

I find it better for fps games because I can't really get surround sound in my room would be way to unpractical. I also don't wanna wake anyone up when playing at 3 am

Besides what everyone else has said, I find myself loving headphones as display pieces as well. I have been a collector at heart for most of my life, so headphones stick out to me as far more distinct and appealing to keep around than speaker systems. I plan to eventually get super nice headphone stands for all my current and future pairs.

Personal preference and or have more money than you. Everyone is not the same

Some people need 1000 bucks just to treat their room so they’re thousand dollar speakers won’t sound like crap.

Chipotle uses Klipsh Heresys, but I can assure you the audio in there isn’t good.

Also, speakers aren’t inherently better. Prefrence exists.

For me it is limited space and time. I have time for headphones during work but other than that i hardly listen to music. If i had time and space i would totally use speakers.

Easier to travel with

A lot of people hit it right on the nose.

Affluence, Luxury, Convenience, Preference~

The motivations for any hobby differ from person to person.
Audio is a predominantly subjectively driven pursuit with many variable opinions on qualifiers for quality, tonality, impressions, and A E S T E T I C appriciation.

The end result is, people adapt their budget, space, and interest into exploring the rabbit hole.

One person's opinion : Speakers aren't terribly sexy. I can't take them with me, they depend heavily on the room for performance. They are bothersome to the people I share my home with. I seldom have the opportunity to sit and enjoy them, and I'm not particularly fond of what they do to music.

It feels like I never have absolute control of sound, and that I'm suck on one piece of equipment as opposed to having fun exploring different ideas and profiles.

I've moved even from Headphones to IEMs & DAPS.
Having immediate, enduring, long lasting access to music when I NEED it most has been far more enriching to my life than the demo room. I've had speakers, but didn't fall in love with music until I had FIDELITY in the office.

I don't have space. I wish I had, because I like building speakers.

But if you want the best sound, then maybe speakers simulated on a headphone would be it, I think.

Besides speakers aren't really better than headphones until you get to really big stuff, like 10" and at that point, luxurious headphones are way cheaper.

Many people can't play music at a decent level at all times of day, perhaps due to close neighbours or spouses & children. When I started getting noise complaints from a new neighbour I decided to get some adequate headphones (no >£1k yet.) I found that good headphones aren't necessarily "better" than speakers, just different. Clearly the faithfullness of the sound reproduction is closer with speakers but some days I prefer the headphone experience.

Personally I'm with you. I'd be willing to spend maybe $400 max on headphones, whereas my studio monitors + sub were about $800 total. Sound quality (especially the treble and low bass) is better on the speakers, but sometimes I want the sound to be more intimate, in which case I prefer to use my headphones. Also gaming is better with headphones most of the time.

Bought a pair of speaker for 1K, sound like crap. Then spent 20 hours and few more thousandths buck did a room treatment, they sound like heaven. Stereo systems need space and room treatment, both of which costs more money and time than buying speakers themselves

Speakers are a pain to setup. The room, the placement, etc. And don’t forget other equipments like the power amp, the DAC, and the darn expensive cables for no reason. And at the end of the day, you need to do an outstanding job to get any where near the resolution / detail retrieval of good headphones or IEMs. I prefer a good pair of IEM and a music player, so I have my listening room anywhere.

Besides all the reasons others have mentioned, audio hobbies have a really high barrier to entry. You have to learn all the parts of the chain, tech, nuances, etc. That's normal. What's not normal is you also have to establish yourself somewhere along the objectivity/subjectivity spectrum. Should I buy an expensive amp? Depends who you ask. Is burn in real? Depends who you ask. Do DACs make a difference? Depends who you ask. Cables? Diminishing returns? FR? Technicalities? I was so frustrated when I first got into headphones because with other tech products, tvs, smartphones, PCs, etc it's very formulaic. With audio products you HAVE to take a leap of faith, and IMO experience things for yourself in order to become experienced in the hobby and then after everything what matters is what you like, which is different for everyone.

​

Anyways, what I mean to say is: I don't know anything about speakers and I'm still tired from learning about headphones lol. Maybe someday.

I think it greatly depends on where you started your audio journey, and use case. If you're very mobile, you maybe started with so-so earbuds, and the naturally progression from there may split to wireless BT TWS or wired IEMs. Or wireless to wired. However, I started with so-so headphones (Koss and Sony circa late 80s early 90s), eventually enjoyed over ear more than on ear, soon found myself in limbo with gaming headsets, and naturally ventured out into greater over ear headphones (AKG, I'd preferred, until I got the Nighthawk which have been a blast). They're comfortable and I use them for many different things, gaming (very zeroing on audio cues, but other headphones have lower bass and greater treble), DAP, phone, etc without disturbing others. Although they're open back (Er semi open really), which I prefer. Where closed back mobile are concerned, I use ANC earbuds (Sony xm4, realizing that great AQ but weak isolation and ANC, is not ideal for my use (in a less than pristine, somewhat noisy environment), so there's some tradeoff, sure).

Ive Just gotten into speakers because, I realise that for home theater, with the occasional friends and fam over, the soundbar I'd been using is so-so. It'll always be so-so compared with speakers (but a ton better than stock tv speakers, yes). The natural progression from there is either getting a better soundbar with a sub (which I have, and I think hit ceiling), or 5.1 surround system (if not 7.1 but to achieve very good there is a significant investment I feel) or, just pool my money into great towers, and a sub, along with a very good receiver... which is what I've begun to build. I'm not a stranger to speakers, as I was a live audio tech for several years, though some years back now. You certainly, of course, don't get full body feel with headphones like you do with speakers. That's a good point some of you have made. Although I don't have huge rooms to make the most ideal case for speakers. Though, I don't need to go beyond what my situation/dimensions can handle.

And I still intend to use headphones, because I love that ear hug and semi isolation. Besides, when gaming, speakers intrude upon the mic. It's been years since someone was critical of my mic, and that's a point of pride. But I now see no reason why I shouldn't have a stereo system - as well as headphones. I would enjoy them Both.

I have difficulty concentrating on things. This includes sound. The soundstage of speakers is just too large for me to stay concentrated on the music and enjoy it. Even some headphones with larger soundstages set this off. Thus, I choose to buy headphones that have a small enough soundstage where I can just enjoy the music with instead of trying my best to keep listening to the music.

left channel sound goes to left ear
right channel sound goes to right ear
Besides that, there are a lot of things that's just better with headphones

My speakers are more expensive than my headphones.

Cost effectiveness and noise. I still live with my parents and my mom works third shift, so she's asleep during the day. My dad goes to sleep a few hours after she wakes up. My room shares a wall with theirs and has no sound isolation. In order for me to use speakers without waking someone up, I would be limited to that couple hour period. I'd spend a grand on something I can rarely use

Half my prime listening time occurs while my wife is sleeping (insomnia).

Because you need room correction or room treatment.

A lot less expensive and time consuming.

I'm a college student living in my parents home. Every penny I saved from working, birthday, and Christmas money went into my setup. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being able to play music loud, nor do I have the proper space for a speaker setup. Given this, headphones are the best I could do, and I'm plenty happy with how I've spent my money.

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Speakers have a different sound presentation compared to headphones. I prefer that intimate “in your head” sound

They are 2 different products with 2 different uses.

It's like asking why do you use a tablet when you have a TV at home.

I'm guessing most people with have both, I know I do.

Plus, people tend to get shitty when I take my speakers on the plane...

I hate speakers.

Ok not really, I Just like the sound of headphones and iems more.

Headphones are more intimate and less likely to cause a fuss with neighbors

I live in a tiny apartment with three other people and work from home. Most of the day I’m at my desk with headphones on, because speakers would bother my wife also working from home in the next room. On top of that the space where I work (which is basically a hallway) has irredeemable acoustics, so while I do have speakers there for when I’m alone they’re cheap because basically no speaker will sound good in this space.

Not having to deal with room acoustics, not bothering others, it can be more immersive with headphones, hearing music in a different way, easy to change headphone if you're in the mood for a particular sound signature/ tuning, they take up a lot less space, personal preference etc.

There is no "x is better than y", it depends. If I want physical impact and a wider soundstage I listen to speakers. Most of the time I just enjoy headphones.

My home office is on the other side of the room from my entertainment center (7.1 Klipsch RP setup). If my kids are using the TV for something I can hop on my PC and play games or listen to music without anyone complaining that I am interfering with their TV/moving watching, game playing, etc. I use mostly closed back headphones which helps.

I live in a condo and the walls are not very thick so I cannot fully enjoy my speakers for music (usually just movies, shows, and PS4).

I think many of us actually also have good speakers. But here they only post about their headphones because that’s the topic of this sub.

I stay up late and listen to music while I study (and my family is sleeping). My parents wouldn’t be happy campers

I live in my vehicle

More bang for the buck.

I read that as "sneakers" and started writing a philosophical answer until I realized that I need to learn how to read good.

That aside, my reasons are that my children and husband don't always appreciate hearing my music, and when I'm working, it's helpful to listen to headphones to shut out the rest of the world around me so I can concentrate. I can't get either of those things from speakers.

Different use cases… no further explanation needed

We don't hate our neighbors.

I live in an apartment building and I can put my headphones as loud as I want.

Two completely different experiences.

I am fortunate enough to have expensive headphones and speakers. They each serve their own purpose. I don’t think they can do what the other one does and I enjoy them both equally.

It’s good to have both (if you can afford it). I agree speakers are more enjoyable than headphones, especially if physicality and stage are important to you. On the other hand, it is hard to get clean sound out of speakers without room treatments and correction, and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If you had to chose one, I can see why a lot of people would go the headphone route given certain lifestyle constraints. I read somewhere that speakers put you inside the music, and headphones put the music inside of you. As a music lover, both are feelings you want to have ;-)

Not everyone has a living situation that allows for good speakers. Some like the intimacy of headphones.

For me speakers aren't really comparable to headphones outside of the fact they both produce sound. I am either in the mood of one or the other. I find the intimate sound of headphones can be very comforting. It's a complete different listening experience, imo.

Others have mentioned space constraints, but it's also the seating position factor. Usually, with speaker set ups (especially higher end ones), outside of a very small "sweet spot" it doesn't sound nearly as good. Headphones don't have that issue.

Lastly, most decent headphones are full range and the bass extends to 20hz, especially with planars. Speakers? Need a sub or really big towers to get that subbass extension and desk set ups like mine have nowhere for a sub and towers aren't designed for desks. My 6 inch bookshelfs do a pretty good job but definitely roll off in the bass, even eq'd. For that full bass extension at my desk headphones are the only solution.

So, in my experience, there are both practical and preference reasons to get headphones over speakers.

Your premise is not true - speakers are not way better than headphones. I have both good speakers that cost thousands and TOTL headphones and one is not superior to the other, but have different strengths. In fact I think the TOTL headphones sound better in most cases. One are where speaker system does better is high quality subs can actually make you feel physical bass, which headphones obviously cannot do.

I would love to try speakers, but I dont want to spend money in speakers just to see they sound bad in my room. my room is essentially a square with a long hallway in the middle with the roof shape going up and down. I listened to my friends polk audio speakers with a yamaha amp in his living room, my god they sounded horrible. The bass was boomy with no slam and it drowned out all detail (Im not sure if this is because Polk speakers are bad or if his living room wasnt good for the sound). I also listen to 80% classical and soundtracks so I would need a good speaker setup that gives me the detail I want which can be expensive. Also with headphones you can compare easily. Im looking at the Aryas right now and I could find a hundred posts of people who have both the Arya as well as one of my headphones giving me a good breakdown. Headphones allow you to own multiple sets. While I didnt delve in the world of speakers much Im sure not everyone owns multiple sets of speakers. Not to mention room acoustic of one person will make the speaker sound different than the room Acoustic at my house, so it kind of ruins the comparison.

it's just a matter of taste and use case . This is like asking why some people listen to rock music instead of jazz .

Some people need their headphones for sound isolation bc they're not in a position to play music loud where other people can hear it.

Personally, I don't need to spend $1,000 on a headphone or speaker, I'm more than satisfied at a much lower price point with both. I actually have some headphones and some speakers because they serve different purposes.

Could you imagine trying to work in a studio with no headphones??

Headphones allow you to listen and won't bothers other (open backs leak sound, but nothing close to how much speaks do). Headphones are portable and can easily be taken to work, home, school, other's houses. Speakers are impacted by your room and where you are sitting in relation to them, you need to be in the perfect conditions to ge their best sound, with headphones you can use them anywhere in your house. If you want to EQ, headphones are easy to EQ and almost all popular models have auto EQ profiles, to EQ Speakers you will need a DSP and proper equipment to measure the speakers.In terms of absolute sound quality, headphones are better than speakers at the same price point, but as you spend more, speakers will outperform headphones.

Honestly you've probably never heard a seriously premium set of headphones if you need to ask that question. I appreciate a great loudspeaker but I'm also an avid fan of premium headphones. It's not either or for me. I can enjoy the differences in both forms of audio reproduction.

compare price of totl speaker vs hp

Convenience.

I like both the sound of headphones & speakers

I have a Sennheiser Ambeo Max soundbar with SVS-1000 Pro subwoofer, and it's incredible for gaming and movies. But for music, headphones just sound better imo.

So I use Sennheiser 800S and Hifiman Arya (Stealth) for music off my phone, with a Hidiz S9 Pro dongle DAC/Amp and a 2.5 balanced cable.

Sounds incredible.

Cuz I can't use speakers at work, in the backyard chilling or when my kid or wife are asleep. And because I already have good speakers and wanted a killer set of headphones.

how about both?
I have 3 pairs of nice speakers and I rarely use my maggies, cause I have to move my other speakers to set them up and I need to sit in the sweetspot on the couch.
And after 9-10 I cantuse them anymore, cause noise complaints.
Also, ir just hits different

Girlfriend finds 99% of what I enjoy musically to be unlistenable noise - which is fine, I'm listening to a lot of French post-black metal and death metal; she loves Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco, we are not quite the same - so investing in a pair of really good headphones has allowed me to enjoy my unpalatable harsh chaos noise without her having to suffer through it.

EDIT: it occurs to me that my answer may not be all that helpful, or on-topic, because my headphones only cost me around $300USD...not an insignificant amount, but also not the $1000+ cans that OP was probably asking about.

I understand where the OP is coming from. I too enjoy the sound of my computer speakers, Logitech Z-5500. They have the most open sound of course compared to headphones, they have a very nice bass rumble and music sounds great with them. But I also have expensive headphones and a nice DAC and Amp. I think it’s ok to enjoy both. You might have a tendency to lean towards one over the other depending on the context. There is no right or wrong, good or bad. It’s totally subjective and based on personal preference. Enjoy what you have and save for what you don’t and really want.

Here's my educated reason: 90% of the audiophiles are deaf and have to crank up the volume to compensate.

Experience and knowledge is from attending speaker and headphone shows.

I've heard people with headphones across a room! So the argument about noise volume is debunk.