# headphones vs speakers

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 31, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968 "2011-07-31T23:11:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chaosshifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@chaosshifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaosshifter)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968/1 "2011-07-31T23:11:30Z")

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Hello there dopers, so i was wondering which one the community preferred Headphones or speakers while on the computer? me personally I tend to use headphones when I need to focus on work or a project but use my speakers for just anything else. what about you all and why?

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**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968/2 "2011-07-31T23:30:18Z")

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I don’t listen to much music on the computer, but I prefer speakers. I have a nice set of JBL Platinum computer speakers. They also have an input for an external music source, so I plug my iPhone into them and rock out with them.

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**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968/3 "2011-07-31T23:34:22Z")

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Headphones when gaming, people who use speakers and inflict feedback on their ventrilo server deserve regular beatings.

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**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968/4 "2011-07-31T23:35:28Z")

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Speakers, usually, I have nice Bose speakers for the computer and sometimes leave Pandora Radio on so I can scurry hither and fro.  
Headphones make me feel leashed, or confined, or something.

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**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968/5 "2011-07-31T23:47:24Z")

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> [@chiroptera](#):
>
> Headphones make me feel leashed, or confined, or something.

Wireless headphones rock.

I’ve noticed ear ringing after playing games with earbuds. That never happens with headphones.

Downside about headphones is they don’t fit well over hats or in helmets.

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**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headphones-vs-speakers/590968/6 "2011-08-01T03:50:42Z")

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I get pretty bad headphone fatigue after a few hours – I use them for walking around, but even the lowest-fi powered speakers are preferable for me when watching a flv video or a webisode of Zach G, a movie, or something. Music can be transcendent even with my low-end Grado SR60s, but it takes concentration and acclimation to hear through cans what you’d hear through normal, decent speakers.