Headphones vs speakers

[M3thod_Man]

Hello everyone!
I'm new and i've got a ton of questions, so bear with me. First, I'm thinking of getting a sennheiser HD-580 headphones instead of desktop speakers in the next comp i build. Are quality audiophile speakers going to sound good on a computer with whatever high end sound card I get? ANyone have these headphones or similar top of the line and had problems driving them through a sound card? FOr high end sound quality, what cards do you guys recommend? also, anyway i can find out the specs for that specific sound cards signal output to a headphone?

Also, on my soundblaster live theres 2 cords going to my sub. I use headphones instead recently and only plug into the light green one... Is it ok to do this? is this output low enough in signal for both my altec subs/speakers and my headphones? the altecs are ACS54's....

Please answer as many of these questions as you can, especially if you personally only use headphones for soundquality purposes on your computer... THANKS!

 

[F_cksia]

I don´t know what you´re planning to do with your setup, but about the headphone/speakerstuff, may I advice you reading this ´legendarious´ article by BlueBearSound, one of the members here:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/bvaleria/bluebear/articles/headphones.htm

About the card: try looking at a Terratec EWS 88MT, that´s the best I have used so far, maybe someone else´s got a better option.

 

[ds21]

first things first

are you just looking for some sort of playback system for listenig to high quality recordings

or,

are you going to do multitrack audio recording (which is what this forum mainly deals with)

I can't tell from your question what your getting at, it's to openended, we could recomend anything from a sound blaster on up, what price range?

 

[bsanfordnyc]

I'll say this: headphones can damage your hearing much easier than speakers, especially if you're cranking them up.

I wouldn't use them as my sole method for listening.

 

[jhira001]

go check out sound on sound magazine this month. there is a great article about using headphones vs. monitors for mixing and stuff. it shows pros and cons and actual examples of good headphones.

jeff

 

[headstack]

Thanks for mentioning the ear dammage from using cans. Very big problem!!
Headphones are great to use as one source of judging a mix/sound, but please, use them at modest levels and only for short periods of time.
Get yourself a set of decent monitors for tracking/mixing. Almost all music is listened to on speakers. You need to mix for this situation. Headphones can be deceiving if you are not experienced in their use.
Best of luck on your purchases and be kind to your ears... You only have one pair!!
Stack