[AlexKx3]

@AlexKx3,

This is mainly due to initial availability & high price when it first came out compared to PM 3 & 99 Classics, not to mention MH 40 is considered a fashion can in the community overall which is sad as it's actually a decent headphone.
It is also tricky to get for a good price if outside the US.

Hope you have a great day !

Ah makes sense, no reason why fashion and function can't co-exist! Have a great day too.

 

[PaganDL]

Ah makes sense, no reason why fashion and function can't co-exist! Have a great day too.

No problem.

 

[Slater]

Saw a guy wear a pair of these on the tube in blue. They look quite exquisite. But never hear audiophiles talking about them vs similarly priced closed backs such as the Oppo-PM3s or Mezze 99 classics.

FYI, they are not open-backed, despite appearing to be. The grille is not functional. The ear cups are sealed, making these closed back headphones.

That may be why they aren’t talked about more. Some people don’t take a headphone ‘seriously’ unless it’s open backed.

And as stated above, they have poor availability outside of the US (as well as an overpriced MSRP upon initial release). I think they should have been $249 or maybe $279 tops, as the build quality and sound is roughly equivalent to something like the 1More H1707 (which was $249 retail) or the KEF M500 (which was either $249 or $299 if I remember correctly).

 

[hifi80sman]

FYI, they are not open-backed, despite appearing to be. The grille is not functional. The ear cups are sealed, making these closed back headphones.

That may be why they aren’t talked about more. Some people don’t take a headphone ‘seriously’ unless it’s open backed.

And as stated above, they have poor availability outside of the US (as well as an overpriced MSRP upon initial release). I think they should have been $249 or maybe $279 tops, as the build quality and sound is roughly equivalent to something like the 1More H1707 (which was $249 retail) or the KEF M500 (which was either $249 or $299 if I remember correctly).

100% agree. I think their original MSRP was $399. At that price, I never thought of purchasing them as a real option, since I can get some seriously good cans for that price. However, now that Master & Dynamic has discovered they have just too much inventory because they priced themselves into a niche market, apparently they decided it's time to make some money and start moving it. For the $139 I paid, I'm happy. They're not worldbeaters, but those materials (no plastic), great style, and good sound for $139? Sold.

 

[jwbrent]

Amazon has all the MH40s at good prices starting at $159, but I wanted the Alcantara version, so I had to pay a bit more. I‘ve owned the MH40 before, but I had issues with the leather earpads, and the alcantara pads weren’t available yet so I gave my pair to my son.

Really happy to have this back in my collection!

 

[jwbrent]

I received my MH40 with the alcantara headband and pads, and I find it more comfortable than when I had it before with leather pads. They don’t slip off my ears like before, so I highly recommend these pads which are sold separately at M&D.

 

[jwbrent]

I really like the Alcantara headband and pads, makes the MH40 more comfortable and less likely to slip off my head when I’m up and about, strongly recommended.

I just ordered a Lavricables Reference Pure Silver cable made for the MH40. Looking forward to receiving this British-made cable in a couple weeks. I’ll comment on the sound after burn-in.

 

[hifi80sman]

I really like the Alcantara headband and pads, makes the MH40 more comfortable and less likely to slip off my head when I’m up and about, strongly recommended.

I just ordered a Lavricables Reference Pure Silver cable made for the MH40. Looking forward to receiving this British-made cable in a couple weeks. I’ll comment on the sound after burn-in.

How's the sound signature with the Alcantara pads vs. leather? Same? A little less warm?

 

[jwbrent]

How's the sound signature with the Alcantara pads vs. leather? Same? A little less warm?

It’s been too long since I had my original MH40 for me to accurately compare its sound to the Alcantara version, but the smooth leather pads were a problem for me since they easily slipped when I moved my head around ... the Alcantara pads don’t have this issue.

 

[Slater]

How's the sound signature with the Alcantara pads vs. leather? Same? A little less warm?

I have both leather and alcantara, and yes the sound is a little less warm.

You can also order Alcantara pads by themselves, which you can install on any MH40.

 

[hifi80sman]

Not sure if anyone has already tried this, but the Sony MDR-1AM2 balanced cable fits perfectly on the MH40. Running this balanced (4.4mm) in the office over my FiiO Q5s sounds notably better than unbalanced 3.5mm. Less warm, more definition (but still not detail retrieval kings).

 

[Marco Angel]

Not sure if anyone has already tried this, but the Sony MDR-1AM2 balanced cable fits perfectly on the MH40. Running this balanced (4.4mm) in the office over my FiiO Q5s sounds notably better than unbalanced 3.5mm. Less warm, more definition (but still not detail retrieval kings).

If you are outputting via the 4.4mm to a unbalanced headphone, you could damage your Q5s amp. shurely you are not getting the benefit of a true balanced but your having extra power (the MH40 benefits a lot when using a powerfull (and bright) amp.
I would ask to fiio about this before using it

 

[Slater]

Not sure if anyone has already tried this, but the Sony MDR-1AM2 balanced cable fits perfectly on the MH40. Running this balanced (4.4mm) in the office over my FiiO Q5s sounds notably better than unbalanced 3.5mm. Less warm, more definition (but still not detail retrieval kings).

You're not plugging into each ear cup at the same time, are you?

Because both jacks are wired together, as well as each jack being individually wired with shared grounds.

I would be very scared to plug even 1 side into a balanced amp, much less both sides at the same time.

To run the MH40 with a balanced source requires modifications of the internal wiring/resoldering of both earcups.

There is a How2 guide that was posted in this thread not too long ago. I plan on doing it to one of my pairs eventually when I have some free time.

 

[hifi80sman]

You're not plugging into each ear cup at the same time, are you?

Because both jacks are wired together, as well as each jack being individually wired with shared grounds.

I would be very scared to plug even 1 side into a balanced amp, much less both sides at the same time.

To run the MH40 with a balanced source requires modifications of the internal wiring/resoldering of both earcups.

There is a How2 guide that was posted in this thread not too long ago. I plan on doing it to one of my pairs eventually when I have some free time.

Interesting. No issues thus far, but now that I know, I'll just run unbalanced. What's curious, and maybe someone can shed some light on this, there is a 6+ feet 3.5mm TRRS cable that comes with the MH40 (not the mic cable).

 

[jwbrent]

Interesting. No issues thus far, but now that I know, I'll just run unbalanced. What's curious, and maybe someone can shed some light on this, there is a 6+ feet 3.5mm TRRS cable that comes with the MH40 (not the mic cable).

I noticed the TRRS connectors as well. I believe this was done for daisy chaining MH40s and still allowing the remote to work.