I'm given to understand that binaural recording works much better if played from actual speakers. Headphones end up placing the sound "in your head" too much. See this recent New Yorker article:
Headphones bypass our pinnae, which I suspect may be an important part of how we place sound (along with all the other important parts).
I've heard of lengths one can go to to get truly accurate 3D sound from headphones, but those involve taking an impression of your ear - I forget if it's the canal, or the pinna, or both - and then running some sort of further audio processing based on their topology.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/01/28/130128fa_fact_...
Headphones bypass our pinnae, which I suspect may be an important part of how we place sound (along with all the other important parts).
I've heard of lengths one can go to to get truly accurate 3D sound from headphones, but those involve taking an impression of your ear - I forget if it's the canal, or the pinna, or both - and then running some sort of further audio processing based on their topology.