[reddog]

Try MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs or Prime's, both set cans sound great and do not leak at all. You could try MrSpeakers Mad Dog pro's but I have not heard them.

 

[ZSamuels28]

I just find it strange that the mt220 is so much better for that price.

 

[Digital7]

As is clearly evidenced throughout the headphone world, price has nothing to do with performance, so really you can see how a $200 MT220 can easily perform, especially as it has a multi-billion dollar company like Yamaha backing it.

 

[ZSamuels28]

According to your post on this forum: http://www.head-fi.org/t/750619/debunk-the-yamaha-mt220-myth you talk about how much trash the mt220's are. You obviously just want to sell your cans because you're dissatisfied.

 

[Digital7]

I'm a perfectionist. So anything that isn't 'perfect' is trash to me, and i state the sonic anomalies as i see it. But there are different levels of trash. The MT220 certainly performs better than most other headphones, but they are trash by my perfectionist standards. Makes no difference to me, i'll happily keep them or sell them; they are still a good performer when compared to Sennheiser HD600 or Beyerdynamic DT880 or Audio Technica ATH-M50 etc. True story!

 

[ZSamuels28]

So what is your ideal set of headphones?

 

[Lorspeaker]

Mt220 has better clarity than 840...
940 is very clear/bright..amazing for acoustic music...u can hear all the fretworks..bass is lacking.

Mt220 scales v well as u upgrade your gears.
But right this moment I am listening to it off my iPad...loaded with aiff lossless..
I dare say it sounds better than a lot of cans u can buy sub300bucks.

( the stock pad of the mt220 is kinda thin, drivers too near my ears...u will need to pad it up with some cotton gauze
To get a more cohesive sound, superb sound )

 

[Digital7]

So what is your ideal set of headphones?

 


To be honest with you i have never found an 'ideal' set of headphones. I have never ever heard any headphone represent the music accurately or 'correctly', and quite frankly i'm astonished about that.

But i must say that the new Grado SR60e is quite surprising. For quite low money it is sonically excellent, very damn close to an ideal sonic performance. I tried the bigger brother, the new SR80e and the SR125e, but no-go, the little sibling in the family (SR60e) was kicking their ass, and a lot of other asses. Other than that, i cannot think of one headphone that performs totally 'accurate'. But if you like a great sound and are not looking for perfection, the Yamaha MT220 paired with a FiiO E12 amp puts in a gutsy powerful performance with a very endearing sound and very enjoyable listening. I hate the Shure 940 and 1540, these two are money spinners, not performers, true story!

 

[whatup69]

OP,consider the audio technica ath a900x. They are great coming from a grado and they're an absolute steal at their current price! You won't regret it

 

[Lorspeaker]

A900x drivers kinda grainy. Has the typical audio technica enveloping soundstage.

 

[Mink]

True they are 'kinda grainy', but to my ears very little.

 

[skimrn]

I also am looking for closed headphones from not disturbing my family.  Looks like your budget is higher than mine
I have read good things about Beyerdynamic T70.  I am a big Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser fan.  I own the T1, but it's open.

 

[pathway]

Despite the confusingly & wildly fluctuating comments from Digital7 in different threads the Yamaha MT220 are a very good HP for the price and, it seems, can compete well with cans that are significantly more expensive - there are many on this site who have good things to say about them, myself included but of course it only matters if their sound signature is to your liking.
 
In terms of truly closed HP comparison I can only comment with any detail regarding the AKG 550 as I own it and the MT220 and in most circumstances I prefer the more energetic, rounded delivery and balance of the Yamaha MT220 (and they fit me much better as well).
 
The AKG are very good for the price and have a lovely open sound with plus you can pick them up for not a lot of outlay so they are worthy of audition as they might just be to your liking.

As to the Shure 1540, I cannot comment in any detail as I have only heard them briefly (about 5 mins) but I quite liked what I heard and they had good build and comfort (though again 5 mins is not enough to judge this aspect accurately) and by no means did i feel the need to rip them off my head - quite the opposite in fact but then again I am not one for hyperbole.
 
As Lorspeaker has said, the Yamaha MT220 have shallow pads and I found that slightly annoying as the driver touched the tip of my ear so I bought some Brainwavz HM5 pleather and velour pads as replacements which work very well and give me the option of 'tweaking' the sound (I prefer the pleather sound but the velour comfort).
 
To re-iterate something Digital7 said that I, and most, completely agree on is that the price tag is rarely a direct reflection of the sound quality.
 
Oh - I forget if you mention on-ear or over-ear as a preference - I am not an on-ear fan (hence don't use my v-moda M80 much at all) but there are some interesting options in the on-ear closed market such as the Focal Spirit Classic (which I owned, liked from an SQ perspective but sent back due to the comfort issues) and Focal Spirit Pro - which are often described as over ear but IMO are closer to on-ear unless you have very small ears

 

[Lorspeaker]

U hv LARGE ears

 

[bobaroo]

I 'm looking for closed as well
 
Pathway said
"Yamaha MT220 (and they fit me much better as well)"
 
I am curious about the inner ear pad opening size, I used to have AKG 271's, they were a wee bit small for me not too bad but velour pads helped
 
Thanks Bob