[peterdc]

  Also a asked you a question earlier regarding these phones, and your comments about not listening to music/being an "audiophile."

Yes, that was answered by someone else. I listen now and then but not a great deal.

 

[peterdc]

Okay, as long as it's for "discontinued," items, that's what I was curious about.
 

 
Erm... I am most confused... MT220 still for sale at Yamaha UK...
 
http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/headphones/headphones/?mode=series#tab=product_lineup
 
The HPH 200 is discontinued though...

 

[pbirkett]

I've just upgraded my DAC to a Beresford Caiman Mk2 with the latest firmware, these headphones are now sounding pretty damn spectacular out of this thing, I've actually never heard my music sound like it does now. These must be the bargain of the century (the Beresford seems pretty bargainous too). I can well imagine people try and spend more money to get a sound like this and fail. Lovely stuff.

 

[inthere]

  Erm... I am most confused... MT220 still for sale at Yamaha UK...
 
http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/headphones/headphones/?mode=series#tab=product_lineup
 
The HPH 200 is discontinued though...

 
You can get them in a day from Amazon UK for £120:
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/607/dp/B009F8WRXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441465445&sr=8-1&keywords=yamaha+hph+220

 

[xanlamin]

There is a brand new one at the FS thread for USD170

 

[Lorspeaker]

  I've just upgraded my DAC to a Beresford Caiman Mk2 with the latest firmware, these headphones are now sounding pretty damn spectacular out of this thing, I've actually never heard my music sound like it does now. These must be the bargain of the century (the Beresford seems pretty bargainous too). I can well imagine people try and spend more money to get a sound like this and fail. Lovely stuff.

 
Enjoy your new dac, heard good things abt it...i feel your excitement
(the yammie is spectacular off my audiogd dac/amp...the music just comes alive. )
 
 
saw some posts on the "weight" of the yammie:
never felt the yammie to be  "heavy" on the head...
the coiled section of the cable is most of the time on the table or on the sofa..
leaving a 2.5 feet straight wire to the cup. 
 
This yammie is a special can, v few cans out there can make the music comes alive.

 

[peterdc]

   
You can get them in a day from Amazon UK for £120:
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/607/dp/B009F8WRXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441465445&sr=8-1&keywords=yamaha+hph+220

Yes, I know. But I wonder what's all this talk of them being discontinued when they're on Yamaha's website...

 

[Lorspeaker]

..i guess once the stock is sold, thats it.  yamaha stopped the production.(?)
 
 
geez...just snapped on THE BEE GEEs...intoxicating..could hear all their throaty voices
( not a smoothed out sound )

 

[peterdc]

I've just ordered the Focal Spirit Pro to see if they have even greater accuracy than the MT220.

Sorry to say, it doesn't. The MT220 sounds a lot more accurate to my ears than the FSP, and I owned two FSPs.

 
You are quite right. The Focal Spirit Pro arrived today and it's good but nowhere near as good as the MT220.
 
FSP lacks bass extension, the highs are surprisingly harsh and unpleasant, upper mids seem a bit pushed. Soundstage very narrow indeed. Lack of bass depth might be because the FSP doesn't fit my ears very well. Overall I felt like they were shouting at me. They look quite nice though.
 
Back to Amazon they go.

 

[Juan Virgo]

Its unbelievable how good the MT220... What is the reason it's discontinued ?
Maybe it is too good and make other much pricier headphones sounds like crap?
 
Maybe ultrasone payed to Yamaha just for discontinue the MT220 ?

 

[Lorspeaker]

   
You are quite right. The Focal Spirit Pro arrived today and it's good but nowhere near as good as the MT220.
 
FSP lacks bass extension, the highs are surprisingly harsh and unpleasant, upper mids seem a bit pushed. Soundstage very narrow indeed. Lack of bass depth might be because the FSP doesn't fit my ears very well. Overall I felt like they were shouting at me. They look quite nice though.
 
Back to Amazon they go.

 
 
The FSP sounded like what u described, to my ears too.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  You're interested only in "high end" but just bought a pair of MT220's PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.................

 
I said I am mainly interested in ultra-high-end headphones, not that I am only interested in them. I owned (and loved) an MT220 in the past, only returned it because I needed money at the time, and now have a chance to get another in perfect condition for $150. It would be a shame to pass that up.
 

  I'm also curious if anyone has comments about sound cards, vs amp/DACs...? 

 
Depends on your system. With most headphones, my Alienware laptop sounds just as good to me as the Schiit stack (Magni 2 Uber + Modi 2) I owned. You'll have to compare with and without things to see if you hear a difference.
 

  Erm... I am most confused... MT220 still for sale at Yamaha UK...
 
http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/headphones/headphones/?mode=series#tab=product_lineup

  Yes, I know. But I wonder what's all this talk of them being discontinued when they're on Yamaha's website...

 
The US link is still on their website as well.
 
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/accessories/headphones/hph-mt220_w/
 
Doesn't mean it's not discontinued; just that it is no longer in production.
 

There is a brand new one at the FS thread for USD170

 
In case you didn't know, at least one person bought from you from my recommendation.

 

  You are quite right. The Focal Spirit Pro arrived today and it's good but nowhere near as good as the MT220.
 
FSP lacks bass extension, the highs are surprisingly harsh and unpleasant, upper mids seem a bit pushed. Soundstage very narrow indeed. Lack of bass depth might be because the FSP doesn't fit my ears very well. Overall I felt like they were shouting at me. They look quite nice though.
 
Back to Amazon they go.

 
That's odd. I thought nearly the entire mids and treble were too recessed, which corresponds with the measurements. (Note how most of the raw measurements are significantly below the compensation curves instead of aligning with them.) The highs did not sound harsh to me at all. (Perhaps it was due to a bad fit for you?) I thought the FSP sounded too bassy and dark. The MT220 is quite a bit brighter than the FSP. To my ears, the MT220 has even stronger bass, yet somehow manages to sound a lot more neutral, though that's probably because the upper frequencies aren't as recessed. I agree about the "shouty" quality of the FSP's mids, but that's a common phenomenon in headphones, especially closed ones.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Does anyone think the Yamaha MT220 sounds as good as the HD600, and if not, how far off is it?

 
I haven't heard the HD 600, but did own the HD 650. I prefer the MT220 in just about every way, but that's only personal preference. I totally understand if others like the HD 650 (which, to my ears, is laid-back, smooth, and a little warm/dark) more. I think of this as a clash of sound signatures instead of strictly sound quality.

 

[pbirkett]

I've had the HD580, 600 and 650 in the past. I prefer the Yamaha, but mainly because I like the sound signature, that is, lively, forward and just plain fun. All of the Senns were great quality but lacked that foot tapping ability; for example, despite the poor comfort, I prefer the Grado SR80 to the HD650, despite the price difference mainly because it sounds fun.
 
I've had some pretty expensive cans in the past such as the aforementioned Senn's, Beyer DT880, Sony CD3Ks, along with some pretty nice amps and DACs and my current rig is now way out in front in terms of making me want to listen to it.

 

[peterdc]

  That's odd. I thought nearly the entire mids and treble were too recessed, which corresponds with the measurements. (Note how most of the raw measurements are significantly below the compensation curves instead of aligning with them.) The highs did not sound harsh to me at all. (Perhaps it was due to a bad fit for you?) I thought the FSP sounded too bassy and dark. The MT220 is quite a bit brighter than the FSP. To my ears, the MT220 has even stronger bass, yet somehow manages to sound a lot more neutral, though that's probably because the upper frequencies aren't as recessed. I agree about the "shouty" quality of the FSP's mids, but that's a common phenomenon in headphones, especially closed ones.

I think the bad fit had a lot to do with how they sounded to me. As I applied pressure and moved them around the sound changed quite a lot but in the only comfortable position that's how they sounded. The highs I thought didn't extend well at all but what was there was quite unrefined. And 2 khz seemed overly present. On my head anyway...