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I really harmed my hearing by listening to headphones too loudly too often in my youth. I avoid them now . . . and as hearing damage is often cumulative and irreversible, I urge younger people to be very careful of volume levels when listening to headphones. By the time you realize how important it is, it may be too late.

I keep odd hours and have to use headphones to avoid bothering other people. But I like the damned things. They're also a good way to get high-end sound at a low-end price.

As far as headphones are concerned: I never really wanted nor liked to listen to the music through headphones... Why would anyone then buy loudspeakers costing huge amounts of money? OK, sometimes, when privacy is needed and/or when children/wife/parents (choose appropriate) nag about the loudness of the music, then it is fundamental to have a good pair of headphones at hand...

I find that listening to recordings rich in sonic detail and/or complex arrangements with high-resolution headphones, such as the Sennheiser 600's or 580's, can often yield satisfying results. It's much easier, at least in theory, to design a good-sounding pair of headphones than a good-sounding pair of speakers.

Headphones are my primary mode of listening. In fact, I'm a moderator of a web site and forums dedicated to headphone hi-fi as a hobby at http://www.head-fi.com. It's 4:34am here right now, and I'm listening to Appalachian Spring on SACD at near-live volume levels through my dedicated headphone hi-fi rig.

I listen to music throught headphones in office most of the time. But at home, I think I sticked to speakers. They can give me soundstage which headphones cannot.

'You should be made to wear earphones, because, something is happening her, and you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?'

Living in a townhouse makes it quite impossible to listen to music at levels I enjoy after a certain time at night, therefore I will fire up the Stax Pro Lambdas for a night of quality CD and SACD listening. My headphone listening is a necessity, but I would much rather listen through speakers, which give me a more realistic soundstaging.

I have an old pair of signet TK 33s hocked up in my office on a secondary system with Met 7 speakers as the main source. I thought that I would use the headphone at night but the occasion for quiet listening does not happen frequently.

Especially when I was younger. Top quality headphone provide a relatively inexpensive entrance to the pleasures of the high-end.

I listen to music through cans at home, during "quiet time," and when traveling, using a HeadRoom system.

My Beyer DT990 Pros don't get as much play time these days. In their day, they sounded better than many "high end" speakers. Alas, time and technological improvement have soldiered on and now they get only the occasional wearing. I have to hand it to the folks at Beyerdynamic, though, my cans (ahem) are twelve years old and still look and sound as fresh as the day I first unwrapped them.

No speakers in my bedroom atm.

I use ear-speakers exclusively on airplanes (with my Headroom amp., etc.).

The Headroom amp makes ALL the difference. I found even the best headphones unlistenable before. Now I can listen when I want, as loud as I want and consequently listen much more. The Cosmic is amazing, transportable and the Base Station power upgrade makes an amazing difference.

With a two year old at home, I find that I spend more and more time late at night, after he's (FINALLY!!!) dropped off to sleep, listening through my (Sennheiser HD600) headphones. And not just music, either... I watch TeeVee that way now, too, as turning up the volume on Letterman or NightLine would wake him up.

I don't like having them on my head or beying tied to a chord. I host a short radio program once a week, and my headphones are off except for my brief talk breaks.

I HAVE STAX SR-5'S WITH A TUBED DRIVER UNIT, AND LINE INPUTS. IT SOUNDS SO GOOD THAT I EVENTUALLY REALIZED THAT MY MAIN STEREO WOULD NEVER MEASURE UP TO IT. IT HAS CAUSED ME TO GIVE UP ON ANY MORE UPGRADES - NOW I FEEL FREE TO SELL MY BIG POWER AMP AND USE THE SPACE FOR A TURNTABLE.

I listen to music through headphones just about every day, Monday–Friday as I work. This started six years ago. Prior to that, I couldn't bear to listen to music through headphones for more then 15–20 minutes. What caused the change you ask? First, I purchased a pair a Grado SR80s, a HeadRoom headphone amplifier (the Little version), and connected it to a decent Sony portable CD player via a set of high quality interconnects. Two years later, I upgraded the Grado SR80s headphones to the Grado SR225s and have been totally happy with my headphone listening experience ever since. Granted, it can't compete with the big rig, at home, but, at a fraction of the cost, the sound is very listenable, un-fatiguing and enjoyable. One of my biggest complaints, concerning headphone listening had been having the image smack in the middle of my head (between the ears). The HeadRoom amplifier and its special built-in circuitry effectively removes this problem.

i use headphones mostly at work. imagine having a pair of Watt puppies standing in the office.

I would say that 75% of my listening is on headphones. They're on my head at this very moment as I surf the internet.

At first, listening to headphones was a necessity, since I live in an apartment building. Then I started realizing that my HD580s sounded way better than any speaker I could afford, and now I listen to them by choice.

I mhave some grado 225 headphones. But I usually have to dust them off when I listen to them. They have an excellent sound, and I would love to upgrade to the top of the line but I can't justify the investment. I guess I love the sound of my speakers too much. That is the beauty of living alone.

Finally bought a pair of Grado SR-60s a few weeks ago. I am still getting used to the perspective and sensation of having something on my ears.

Anytime I want to hear the details, the AKGs go on the head (or the Etymotics in the ears), driven by a HeadRoom amp. I also use 'em as monitors while recording or for on-air work at the local classical FM stations (he/she who announces without wearing headphones is an idiot!)

Phones offer extrordinary bang for your buck. I listen to headphones at work every day to help keep my sanity and my job. So not only are cans affordable by themselves, they allow me to keep earning the almighty dollar to keep feeding them new tunes. A bargin if I've ever heard one.

Not everyone in my house likes opera or heavy metal after 8pm. Headphones allow me to hear the details in the music without having to keep a constant watch over the volume control. They're useful for after-hours listening to any music with a wide dynamic range. However, a proper two-channel speaker set-up still sounds more natural to me.

I'm trying to preserve my hearing!

Although you can get "high fidelity" without disturbing the rest of the house), the sound in my head does not remind me of a musical experience.

Sennheiser makes it difficult to NOT listen to headphones!