[RushNerd]

  Can you make a brief comparison between MT-220 & HE-400 & DT990, please?

I don't have a lot of time right now to write a lot but:
 
First off, I never liked my Beyer DT990's that much. One of the lightest and most comfy headphones, but the wicked treble spike and serious lack of low-end they have kept me away. HE-400's are a much different beast that the 220's and certainly not studio headphones. I do adore He-400's bass, but 220's certainly have way more than I thought they would for studio style headphones.
 
I would honestly make the comparison to the Fostex T50RP planar closed headphones to the 220's. I think they have a lot similar; I was wanting to buy the T50RPs again, but the bass was something I really needed and the 220's have some real punch to them.

 

[Nekrosov]

  I don't have a lot of time right now to write a lot but:
 
First off, I never liked my Beyer DT990's that much. One of the lightest and most comfy headphones, but the wicked treble spike and serious lack of low-end they have kept me away. HE-400's are a much different beast that the 220's and certainly not studio headphones. I do adore He-400's bass, but 220's certainly have way more than I thought they would for studio style headphones.
 
I would honestly make the comparison to the Fostex T50RP planar closed headphones to the 220's. I think they have a lot similar; I was wanting to buy the T50RPs again, but the bass was something I really needed and the 220's have some real punch to them.

Thank you!

 

[Solduios]

   
 
 
Sharing some thoughts and observations about some time I spent comparing the mt220 via different players and settings.

Please take all this with a pinch of salt. It may simply be a placebo effect. Was also difficult to match sound levels, so that too could distort perception.
 
* Players used: Foobar, AIMP, Audacity (really a recording open source software)
* Yamaha Steinberg ASIO (for the THR5A), WASAPI (Event and where the option allowed Windows default), Direct Sound.
* Tried different sampling rates 44.1k to 192k and different bit depths upto 32bit.
* Routed via the on onboard Realted HD soundcard or the Yamaha THR5A
* The players were set to no DSPs and all gain related settings turned off
(Foobar has gain applied as default, I think, which may contribute to it being seen as giving better sound - higher spl adding to a feeling of improved sound).
 
Brief unsure conclusions:

* Felt almost no difference between Foobar and AIMP on WASAPI Event settings. At times, AIMP on WASAPI windows default seemed a bit poorer.
* Via the Yamaha THR5A on WASAPI was pretty much the same.
* Surprisingly, little or no effect felt at higher sampling rates and bit rates higher than 24bit (Onboard soundcard allows up to 196k sampling)


Now the interesting part:

* Initially felt unsure but after hearing multiple times the things did seem noticeably better THR5A on its Steinberg ASIO.
* While there was no real noticeable difference between AIMP and Foobar to my ears, Audacity made things better. Often felt significantly better(onboard soundcard). This was without the ASIO (Audacity does not given an option for ASIO).
 
* The improvement in both cases was in the resolution and imaging of sound. The sound had more body, felt less thin. The Midrange improved a little bit too (felt so more with Audacity). Very slightly more airy with possibly better transitions.
 
Folks might want to try out Audacity, not as a player (not really viable), but simply to see if they can get better sound from their system. Need not get into understanding the software. Simply drag and  drop the file onto it, and play.
 
I am a bit surprised at the improvement felt via Audacity.

Installable version: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Audio-Editors-Recorders/Audacity.shtml
Portable version: http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Multimedia/Audio/Windows-Portable-Applications-Audacity-Portable.shtml

I would suggest giving http://www.jriver.com/audiophile.html a try they do have a free demo and has so many cool features. I love Foobar2000 but at times it can be hard to find up to date plugins ect.. there are lots of hidden jem sourceforge projects out there for this player. If you are lazy like me just get JRiver media player its always up to date and has tons of features.

 

[NuckinFutz]

Another one that I use is musicbee, really awesome and has replaced foobar for me

 

[Lorspeaker]

Heard pataburd is selling his yammie ....anyone keen do give him a pm.

 

[RushNerd]

Listened to my Yammys three hours striaght today in the car (Though my tablet straight, easy to drive!) to see [COLOR=FF0000]RUSH[/COLOR] and boy did they deliver! Mosly spun some Japanese turntableism, The Prodigy's new album (they never lost it, man are they amazing) and as I got closed to rush, Clockwork Angles their last album (they never lost it either, and were as good as when I saw them 10 years ago. Greatest band ever.)

Certainly very happy with these headphones, more than I have been with almost any other outside the HE-400s.

 

[hEddy]

  Lorspeaker, you are such a tease! lol
 
 
Thanks to hEddy here is another one - Good stuff.
 

Training by Indian Ocean | Black Friday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj3rn7FmFp0&feature=youtu.be&list=PLRXilC-WxDpYX-QGfr6x634L8sRbLw51d
 

I estimate 150 hours burn-in hits the sweet spot, more timbre, musical and 3D soundstage.
 
Music is the international language that feeds the soul!

 
Could not agree more about music feeding the soul, across man-made political boundaries, .@Light - Man .
 
You wanted 'em to flow Light -Man, so here is another one from this band, with the founder Susmit Sen playing the lead guitar, improvising with a Saaz player (an Indian string instrument) - playing this piece together for the very first time.
 
Besides finding this piece a lovely composition, it's enjoyable to feel the raw side of the piece in this MTV Unplugged version. One can hear the plectrum striking the strings, it flowing through the strings, the touch, the slides - both on the guitar and the saaz, at times the sound of the fingers as they slide. Though I have heard this piece numerous times, am enjoying it differently on the MT220. It is showing out more detail, without the detail getting bothersome. The treble balance from the phone is getting appreciable now.
 
With how well this phone handles the bass, I am also happy to note the sound of the Indian drums here (Tabla). It inherently sounds quite different from most western style drums in how there is a slight transition in the sound as the hand slides a bit across the membrane. Though this isn't a prime example, one can notice it quite well in this piece too. Some systems (headphones or otherwise) can make it sound too "slappy and punchy" which is not how it really sounds. MT220 doing pretty well on this too. I am getting more pleased.
 
Spent about 9 hours with this phone on my head the other day!

 
PS: Forgot to mention that this is an instrumental piece, so there is no barrier of words in this one.
 
 

 

[hEddy]

  I would suggest giving http://www.jriver.com/audiophile.html a try they do have a free demo and has so many cool features. I love Foobar2000 but at times it can be hard to find up to date plugins ect.. there are lots of hidden jem sourceforge projects out there for this player. If you are lazy like me just get JRiver media player its always up to date and has tons of features.

 
 

Another one that I use is musicbee, really awesome and has replaced foobar for me

 
 
Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I've usually ended up using open source software and freeware quite happily for most things for a long time. I am also not big on plugins; not at all. Usually like to listen to what the artist and the sound engineer intended, which is what made me lean even more towards a Studio type signature/headphone. Also usually like to avoid using an equalizer, if the system is suitable/transparent/good enough. Just my silly way of appreciating music

and keeping my ears "tuned". I have usually found the artist+sound engineer's versions (with proper recordings) good enough to not really tamper much.

I also find AIMP very suitable for my needs with my collection being folder based. The Revoluted skin making it even better ( this download has tips on using the skin better).
 
Audacity improving sound quality over Foobar2000 is what surprised me. Though I downloaded MusicBee (portable), I haven't really used it much.

Did anyone find an improvement in the sound quality over Foobar2000/AIMP, with any of the players?

 

[Solduios]

   
 
 
 
Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I've usually ended up using open source software and freeware quite happily for most things for a long time. I am also not big on plugins; not at all. Usually like to listen to what the artist and the sound engineer intended, which is what made me lean even more towards a Studio type signature/headphone. Also usually like to avoid using an equalizer, if the system is suitable/transparent/good enough. Just my silly way of appreciating music

and keeping my ears "tuned". I have usually found the artist+sound engineer's versions (with proper recordings) good enough to not really tamper much.

I also find AIMP very suitable for my needs with my collection being folder based. The Revoluted skin making it even better ( this download has tips on using the skin better).
 
Audacity improving sound quality over Foobar2000 is what surprised me. Though I downloaded MusicBee (portable), I haven't really used it much.

Did anyone find an improvement in the sound quality over Foobar2000/AIMP, with any of the players?

Music bee is okay but I had stability issues with it at times still not enough good features to make me replace Foobar2000 or JRiver media. Audacity wouldn’t be surprising to be better quality as it is used for mastering recordings ect..
 
JRiver is also used in some industry and plug-ins are of course optional... I just like it for the ability to play with track gain w/o messing up audio details. Too many new artist have their music mastered at +10db or more which annoys me when my play list is old and new music combined. One song will be nice dynamics the next song blast your ear drums until they bleed.

 

[hEddy]

I could be wrong, but my impression was that if one is not modifying the sound by plugins etc, and if it was played via WASAPI, the software player would simply provide the bit-stream to the sound driver to process and play via the hardware. If that is true, various players (if played without any plugins and the like) should sound identical.

Even Audacity does have some components which allow for a better/cleaner transportation of the bit-stream, I wonder why other players would not use those components, since Audacity is not propriety and an open source software.
 
I was hoping that people would try out Audacity, to see if they too noticed an improvement in sound when heard via the MT220. If one does not want to install a software which one may not want to keep, there is a portable one available (ie use without installation).
 
 

@Solduios, Do you notice an improvement in sound in JRiver over Foobar2000/MusicBee? (BTW, I also tried to install JRiver in portable mode, but it gave an error. Will try again if you say that the sound is actually better) Though it may not serve your purpose, in case you want to change the gain setting in MP3 files, I have found this freeware called MP3Gain helpful. It simply adds a value in the MP3 file for it, without modifying the main audio file and one can revert the process without any change in sound quality, since there is no decoding and recoding of the file at all, and it takes only moments.

 

[Solduios]

  I could be wrong, but my impression was that if one is not modifying the sound by plugins etc, and if it was played via WASAPI, the software player would simply provide the bit-stream to the sound driver to process and play via the hardware. If that is true, various players (if played without any plugins and the like) should sound identical.

Even Audacity does have some components which allow for a better/cleaner transportation of the bit-stream, I wonder why other players would not use those components, since Audacity is not propriety and an open source software.
 
I was hoping that people would try out Audacity, to see if they too noticed an improvement in sound when heard via the MT220. If one does not want to install a software which one may not want to keep, there is a portable one available (ie use without installation).
 
 

@Solduios, Do you notice an improvement in sound in JRiver over Foobar2000/MusicBee? (BTW, I also tried to install JRiver in portable mode, but it gave an error. Will try again if you say that the sound is actually better) Though it may not serve your purpose, in case you want to change the gain setting in MP3 files, I have found this freeware called MP3Gain helpful. It simply adds a value in the MP3 file for it, without modifying the main audio file and one can revert the process without any change in sound quality, since there is no decoding and recoding of the file at all, and it takes only moments.

Ill try Audacity when I get home today...
 
Foobar2000 and MusicBee stock no real difference it all depends on set-up, output method, dsp settings, and ect...
 

 

JRiver gives a lot of room to work with DB's see description below: (Foobar2000 can too with some setup)

All audio handling inside the program is done with 64 bits of precision. Most high-end hardware uses 24-bit output, meaning the engine has an additional 240 dB of precision above the hardware's output. As a result, should you choose to use them, digital volume, room correction, and other audio functions are pristine.
 
Just give it a try compare with your ear ... I like free open source stuff as well but if its decent software I will pay for it.

 

[hEddy]

Look forward to your views on comparing "stock sound" via audacity and others, @Solduios. Thanks.

 

[Solduios]

  Look forward to your views on comparing "stock sound" via audacity and others, @Solduios. Thanks.

My test songs all on my computer not from youtube =D: (no dsp effects wasapi on for JRiver audacity default)
 

 

 
 

 

 

 
After to listening to both carefully for the night back to back on each song JRiver still feels a little more tonally rounded and more musical. Audacity feels a just a touch harsh, maybe overdriven but maybe more analytical. I am using my audioquest dragonfly dac/amp. I could compare later to onboard sound if you wish?

 

[hEddy]

  My test songs all on my computer not from youtube =D: (no dsp effects wasapi on for JRiver audacity default)
......
 
After to listening to both carefully for the night back to back on each song JRiver still feels a little more tonally rounded and more musical. Audacity feels a just a touch harsh, maybe overdriven but maybe more analytical. I am using my audioquest dragonfly dac/amp. I could compare later to onboard sound if you wish?

 
Thank you so much for comparing the two, @Solduios
 
So it wasn't just my mind or ears playing tricks on me. There is a difference in sound. It also seems that our observations are similar, though due to the context they may seem different. It appears that Audacity is giving more detail, which can make a track sound better or harsher and probably even unappealing, depending on the track, what we like listening to, what we are used to, how the recording was done etc. I too found the music to be more rounded without Audacity, which may often feel more musical to me as well, depending on the track.
 
In my case, at least, the volume level had to be reduced significantly in Audacity to get the same level of sound. Wonder if that could play a role in it sounding overdriven.
 
I presume you would have found a bigger difference between the two players, due to a better DAC. Would not like to bother you with a comparison with the on-board sound, however just in case you were to check out of curiosity, would be very happy to hear your observations.
 
I did install the trial version of JRiver as well. Tried it for a very short while and without any of the plugins seemed identical to AIMP. Presume it would be the same with Foobar2000. Thank you for your sincere effort once again, @Solduios.

 

[hEddy]

A good track to check the vocals. First three minutes.
 
I think she is British - Nicki Wells sings in what seems to be Sanskrit, in a Coke Studio performance. I too don't understand what she is saying, but can feel the emotion. At times it seems that the microphone captured too much.
 
Once again, enjoying this part differently on the mt220 and love the vocal expression via these headphones.