Which is better for overall muscle gains?
Your opinions?
“There is no best way.”
Both are useful and can be used to elicit hypertrophy.
Although, I’d probably give the nudge to barbells just because you can use more weight in barbell lifts than you can with some dumbbell lifts.
I think that sometimes you can address an imbalance better using DB’s. There is no ability for the stronger muscle group to perform the work of the weak group.
Personally, I like Dumbbells as they seem less harsh on the joints because of the freedom of hand positioning.