War Of The Waves

It may well be one of the most heated debates of the last century, so what’s the verdict? Which is the better contender, the faithful sound system and audio speakers or the convenient and compact headphone?

The ‘ear bud headphone’ has been in existence since the late 1920s and has really only showed up for the party in the last couple of decades (now that’s showing a lack of commitment!). But in respect to this we can now say that headphones are a part of everyday life, and a necessary tool for some. Because technology is so constantly evolving and is so convenient, there is not much limit to what we can use headphones with anymore. Whether it is your home computer, laptop, television, mp3 player, children’s DVD player or mobile phone most of these gadgets will compensate for a pair of headphones. 

Just as headphones have been used for a range of technologies they have also been differently designed to suit their purposes. Headphones for music players can range from small in ear, ‘bud’ headphones to overhead out of ear headphones, some of which are able to remove background noise. These top quality equipments available are said to help reduce ear damage (and make you look like an eskimo). 

Now just because headphones can be necessary and in some cases more practical, there is no need to ditch your beloved sound system. After all, we can’t all rock out with our headphones on at a festival (unless you’re into silent discos & being anti-social) and more often than not they simply can’t beat the punchy bass and treble a sound system would produce.

Try to imagine life without surround sound. We may not all be fortunate enough to own a surround sound home theatre in Brisbane, but if you have never experienced the sound from one I can only assume that you live beneath a sound-proof rock. Without these we would never have acknowledged the true eerie feeling of an ice cold thriller or the buzz of the street car engines in the fast and furious movies. 

Even music concerts & festivals wouldn’t be the same without audio speakers, amplifiers wouldn’t exist. You’d never know what bass felt like, rumbling through the floor of a festival hall and AC/DC would never have been able to play a concert at 130 decibels.

So can we really come to a conclusion here, do the headphones come out on top or does the old school audio speaker? Both have their own pros and cons and in some cases one is practical where the other is not. Perhaps they are the yin and yang of the audio world, and the whole concept of this question is simply misunderstood? 

If you’ve feverishly been seeking the answer to this question (which you probably haven’t), sadly, you won’t find it here. I’ll let you be the judge.