"To plug headphones into your computer today is as natural as Dolly Parton sleeping on her back. But that has not always been the case. Most of you remember your old 166 MHz with a couple of tiny speakers hanging on the side of your monitor. That was all you needed, the soundcards couldn't handle any more advanced system. But currently the soundcards has reached a point in their development that make many replace their stereo and use the computer instead. There are even those who throw out their not so old DVD-player because of the computer. And how did the headphones come along in this evolution from computer to media centre? I can't imagine any computer interested person who does not know what LAN is. When you go to a LAN you can't bring your loudspeakers, as it would end up rather messy with hundreds of persons listening to different kinds of music, games or movies. That is why everyone supply themselves with a pair of headphones and most of the time they are very impressed by the sound of a 2004 quality headphones, and maybe even replace the speaker system with a pair of headphones."
Source :
NordicHardware