I can really only give info from personal experience and the occasional offhand comment from really close friends / SOs here, but in short: yes. I should note here that I don’t use masturbation aids, aside from online porn; I could probably improve the masturbation experience somewhat. On the other hand, that’s probably also true for the sex experience. In any case, YMMV.
Masturbation is (for me) usually faster, but the orgasms aren’t nearly so intense and don’t last so long (I’m a guy, so a “long” orgasm is like 10 seconds unless I’m really lucky). Masturbation never produces the “post-coital glow” feeling I get after good sex. Masturbation almost always feels like simply a means to an end (orgasm), whereas sex is pleasurable pretty much the whole way through. Part of that is probably that I’m extremely tactile-oriented; touching my partner is way more pleasing than touching myself.
Sex also has the huge advantage of being able to please your partner; giving orgasms isn’t quite as good as receiving them, but it’s still good and most women can have several of them for each one you get. If nothing else, it’s a feeling of achievement and acknowledgement. Of course, this assumes that the sex goes well; if it doesn’t (for whatever reason) that is a pretty bad feeling even if your partner is kind about it. In any case, the first time I had sex after realizing I was in love with my then-girlfriend, and telling her so, made me feel like an idiot for waiting so long because it made everything about sex together better.
I can really only give info from personal experience and the occasional offhand comment from really close friends / SOs here, but in short: yes. I should note here that I don’t use masturbation aids, aside from online porn; I could probably improve the masturbation experience somewhat. On the other hand, that’s probably also true for the sex experience. In any case, YMMV.
Masturbation is (for me) usually faster, but the orgasms aren’t nearly so intense and don’t last so long (I’m a guy, so a “long” orgasm is like 10 seconds unless I’m really lucky). Masturbation never produces the “post-coital glow” feeling I get after good sex. Masturbation almost always feels like simply a means to an end (orgasm), whereas sex is pleasurable pretty much the whole way through. Part of that is probably that I’m extremely tactile-oriented; touching my partner is way more pleasing than touching myself.
Sex also has the huge advantage of being able to please your partner; giving orgasms isn’t quite as good as receiving them, but it’s still good and most women can have several of them for each one you get. If nothing else, it’s a feeling of achievement and acknowledgement. Of course, this assumes that the sex goes well; if it doesn’t (for whatever reason) that is a pretty bad feeling even if your partner is kind about it. In any case, the first time I had sex after realizing I was in love with my then-girlfriend, and telling her so, made me feel like an idiot for waiting so long because it made everything about sex together better.