For whom?
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Suppose you have a nice audio system with speakers and you are moving. In your new home, there is no suitable listening room or it is acoustically impossible to get it right. Or your family situation changes; a busy family with children generally does not tolerate fine electronics at crawl height. If the house is quiet, you sit back on the couch, put on your headphones and are personally surrounded by your music. An alluring thought, isn’t it?
When your author first started listening to an electrostatic headphone system, we effortlessly (and breathlessly) listened to a complete Matthew Passion. Without noticing, it was well past midnight. This is where our fascination with personal audio began, and we may note that magnetostats are increasingly succeeding in controlling speed and bass response.
We therefore dare to state that headphones are now capable of replacing a conventional audio systems. This is currently reserved for the top-of-the-line models, but the technology will trickle down to the more price-friendly models.
For the audiophile cis-man who sees his out-sized audio components and cables as thick as a garden hose moved to Ebay, there is good news; even in personal audio there are more than impressive (tube) amplifiers specifically for headphones, such as the Viva Audio Egoista. Something to ponder upon.
