[Eurobeat]

 
He's right.  I was fortunate in that when I was deciding on an all-rounder to use for both portable and desktop use (until I can get something even better for desktop use, but which won't be portable, like something from Mr. Speakers) which had to be closed-back over-ear, I was able to find a couple different audio stores in the area which had all the models I was considering except the Yamahas, the NAD Viso HP50, and the Oppo PM3. . .the ATH-M50x, Shure SRH-840, PSB M4U 1, Sony MDR-1A, and Sennheiser Momentum, I got the chance to audition all of those, and that helped me eventually decide on the MDR-1A.  It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to audition the HPH MT220 and thus ruled it out to buy right then, but I'll probably get it in the future just to try it, and return it if I don't like it.  Besides, it's not really made especially well for portable use, ergonomically speaking, from what I've heard.

The ultimate point is that indeed, auditioning headphones (ideally several different ones side-by-side in the same sitting/session) is very, very important for making good purchase decisions on them, if possible.

for sure, I wish I had places closer to me to try .

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Is that one of their older models?  Iddn't notice it on the site, but I'll recheck...

I made a new thread, in the help forum, so lets see what peeps say .

I'm still debating on these Alpha pads.. or not...

also debating on this sorbathane....

SO MANY CHOICES OMG.

 
It's one of their newest models: a $79 USB powered amp/DAC that is very small.
 
http://schiit.com/products/fulla
 
Whatever you get, make sure to compare with and without it, in case you don't hear a difference.
 
My prior advice applies here: if you can't easily afford mod supplies, save it for later.

 

[goodyfresh]

 

for sure, I wish I had places closer to me to try .

If it's more "common" mid-fi audiophile headphones, you could check out Sam Ash music stores, if there are any in your area (they're a national chain if I'm not mistaken, here in the U.S., although I'm not sure where you live) and they'll let you demo stuff like the Shure SRH-440, SRH-840, Sony MDR-7506 and 7510 and 7520, and ATH-M50x right there in the store.  Some similar music stores let you do the same, although you wanna check beforehand if they allow people to audition the headphones. . .Guitar Center, for example, does not let people do so, they expect you to just buy a pair of headphones and hope they'll sound good to you. . .the bastards >_<  Lmao.

 

[Eurobeat]

   
It's one of their newest models: a $79 USB powered amp/DAC that is very small.
 
http://schiit.com/products/fulla
 
Whatever you get, make sure

For sure, I don't know if I ahvfe anthing, but I will see if Sam ash is arounbd me...

Either way the headphones we are discussing here...  Idon't think I'll be able to find them (( to compare with and without it, in case you don't hear a difference.
 
My prior advice applies here: if you can't easily afford mod supplies, save it for later.

Oh .  I didn't really look at the combos, just seperate AMP and DACS.

I'm not sure what it will cost, but I think I vcan spend some on some additonal gear .  IT seems like it will make it better regardless, but maybe not?
 

 
If it's more "common" mid-fi audiophile headphones, you could check out Sam Ash music stores, if there are any in your area (they're a national chain if I'm not mistaken, here in the U.S., although I'm not sure where you live) and they'll let you demo stuff like the Shure SRH-440, SRH-840, Sony MDR-7506 and 7510 and 7520, and ATH-M50x right there in the store.  Some similar music stores let you do the same, although you wanna check beforehand if they allow people to audition the headphones. . .Guitar Center, for example, does not let people do so, they expect you to just buy a pair of headphones and hope they'll sound good to you. . .the bastards >_<  Lmao.

I don't think I have any of those stores, but I'll check

 

[Lorspeaker]

U can experiment with some cheap blue tac first, if u dun want to shelf out monies for the sorbothene.

 

[Eurobeat]

U can experiment with some cheap blue tac first, if u dun want to shelf out monies for the sorbothene.

Im going to contact the company and get their opinions on the matter.


There is also "Acoustic" vs regular vibration dampening, so I'm curious what that's about.

 

[waynes world]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
The actual soundtrack on this is POSEIDONNIC !!!  Love this MT220...just dropped in thru my chimney !

 

 

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

very very initial impressions....the seller said 50hours put in. I am into my first 4 hours.
 
( Listening thru Audiogd NFB10.32 in single ended mode...macAir...Itune..Audirvana software...AIFF format..cabledyne silver USB cable..)
running briefly thru my vocals playlist..
airy, high effortless extension very significant on this headfone, even on my first listen thru my android fone.
vocals are not recessed, Vanessa Williams..Fergie...Kelly Sweet..all breathing, throating n swallowing with intimacy..blush.
It's a tall envelope of sound around my head. Thats the immediate effect i get.
The cups are slightly shallow, i need to add some foam to the backend of the pad to make it more comfy for my flappyears.
Otherwise the seal is great..good isolation.
Bass, is enuf..textured..some slight rumble...not denonrumble yet...i might feel otherwise with more songs..as it is..
it is quite balanced ..not a basshead can for sure.
 
Length...it's a coiled cable..it says 1.2m when coilED..
but i can easily pulled it all the way to say 6 or 7 feet? maybe 8.
 
Doesnt come with a pouch...doesnt fold flat....looks fashionably utilitarian. i wont feel bad with this can in Mcdonalds.

 

 
Wow, I didn't realize that you've had the 220's since May 2014! You must have had them all throughout your mikros 90 tenure. I'm very surprised that it took you this long to break down my mt220 resistance lol!
 
And @nabwong, I'm looking forward to trying out your sorbothane mods once when I get the 220's - thanks!

 

[Lorspeaker]

..as long as u can build up a physicalwall around the circumference, to direct the directsoundwave towards the ears, it helps.
( instead of  some of the soundwave radiating/dissipating into the foam as it comes off the drivers..)
just like a stiffer innerwall of a pleather pad vs softvelor.... say an alphapad.
 
dampening the inner cups where secondary waves come out thru the top n bottomholes also helps the clarity n punch.
 
these mods just adddds up....like improving your gears...loads of fun.
Of cos when it is overmodded, u can always peel them off till u hit your sweetspot.
 
 
wayne, u are enjoying the yammie vicariously thru me.  Dun buy the yammie. just read this thread.

 

[peterdc]

  I forgot to mention, studio monitors are notorious for extracting so much detail out of poor recordings that make you want to opt for another pair of listening headphones.
 
That's why I can discern the differences between the formats on studios than say an HE-500. The HE-500s I wouldn't be able to tell the difference because of the sound signature and other tonal qualities. It isn't designed to retrieve each sonic detail with piercing volume. They are for listening to music.
 
There's nothing wrong with listening to studio monitors, but for me I get fatigued from too much use.

Lucky it isn't your job then like everyone in the industry who listens hours on end (12 hours at a time) to STUDIO MONITORS (which you clearly are unfamliar with - perhaps you heard Rokkit 5's once - a laughable monitor).
 
Don't talk about things you have no experience of. You just look stupid.
 
Confrontational!
 
How would any studio work get done if 'studio monitors' were fatiguing?
 
Sorry, but I call dimwit ******** idiocy.
 
I think you have no idea what you are talking about, says me sitting here in a studio after 7 hours of the glorious Yamaha HS8 monitors, and tiny Wharfedale Diamonds as bad-sound checks (a respected hifi speaker but studio-wise it is terrible - a V-Moda). Not once reached for headphones. All I've really achieved in this time is a **** of dirty good mega distorted bass sound and a good drum sound. I did not do that with fatiguing monitors. I COULD do that fairly accurately on the MT220. Certainly not DT770 as is commonly used.
 
I work all day on studio monitors. The entire point is that they are NOT fatiguing.
 
Incidentally, what does "formats on studios" mean? I've never heard that in 30 years in studios... Please enlighten me.
 
Also headphones are not monitors. Monitors are the big speakers that shift lots of air. Headphones are called headphones, or 'cans' if you are a "wanna be cool" idiot.
 
I'd just shut up now if I was you, pretending to know things.
 
No offence but you sound very silly and vacuous to me.
 
 
 
ON THREAD... I'd happily have done today's work on the MT220. Some tweaks would be inevitable but on the whole they'd be as close as I could reasonably expect. In perspective, I would not trust any other headphone.

 

[Eurobeat]

 
 
 
Also headphones are not monitors. Monitors are the big speakers that shift lots of air. Headphones are called headphones, or 'cans' if you are a "wanna be cool" idiot.
 

You say "Monitors" are "Big Speakers?"  So why are people calling some headphones "Studio monitors?"

Can you explain more about this, please.

Thanks.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Lucky it isn't your job then like everyone in the industry who listens hours on end (12 hours at a time) to STUDIO MONITORS (which you clearly are unfamliar with - perhaps you heard Rokkit 5's once - a laughable monitor).
 
Don't talk about things you have no experience of. You just look stupid.
 
Confrontational!
 
How would any studio work get done if 'studio monitors' were fatiguing?
 
Sorry, but I call dimwit ******** idiocy.
 
I think you have no idea what you are talking about, says me sitting here in a studio after 7 hours of the glorious Yamaha HS8 monitors, and tiny Wharfedale Diamonds as bad-sound checks (a respected hifi speaker but studio-wise it is terrible - a V-Moda). Not once reached for headphones. All I've really achieved in this time is a **** of dirty good mega distorted bass sound and a good drum sound. I did not do that with fatiguing monitors. I COULD do that fairly accurately on the MT220. Certainly not DT770 as is commonly used.
 
I work all day on studio monitors. The entire point is that they are NOT fatiguing.
 
Incidentally, what does "formats on studios" mean? I've never heard that in 30 years in studios... Please enlighten me.
 
Also headphones are not monitors. Monitors are the big speakers that shift lots of air. Headphones are called headphones, or 'cans' if you are a "wanna be cool" idiot.

 
You missed the context, so I'll explain. He was referring to 1) studio monitor headphones, not studio monitor speakers, and 2) being able to hear differences between file formats (like MP3 and FLAC) while using studio monitor headphones. "Studio monitor heapdhone" is a well-known and popular term. Being a studio professional, I'm surprised you don't seem to be familiar with it. I guess you can look it up on Google if you need verification. Those who have experience with many studio monitor headphones know that his description is accurate. Many of them are very bright and harsh instead of accurate. But yes, properly set-up studio monitor speakers sound very accurate.
 
Examples of studio monitor headphones I have owned:
 
Audio-Technica ATH-M30x
Audio-Technica ATH-M40x
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Focal Spirit Professional (two pairs)
NVX XPT100 (two pairs)
Sennheiser HD 280 PRO
Sony MDR-7506
Sony MDR-V6
Stellar Labs 35-5960
Yamaha HPH-MT220
 

  You say "Monitors" are "Big Speakers?"  So why are people calling some headphones "Studio monitors?"

Can you explain more about this, please.

Thanks.

 
No offense, but you can find this information within seconds by searching on Google. Studio monitors are speakers used in studios. Some are small, some are large. Studio monitor headphones are sometimes simply called studio monitors by those who are too lazy to spell out all three words, so this causes confusion.

 

[peterdc]

  You say "Monitors" are "Big Speakers?"  So why are people calling some headphones "Studio monitors?"

Can you explain more about this, please.

Thanks.

In a studio the speakers are called monitors. Headphones are called headphones. Either way you are MONITORING the audio. Dunno what else to say about that. I think it's only hifi and marketing people who call headphones "monitors". I mean a while ago a computer screen was called a 'monitor'. That's the best I can do. If you want to know more about the word "monitor" there are copious online dictionaries and inaccurate Wiki. I seem to remember it's greek and to do with looking at something godly. I am old now so school is a distant memory.

 

[Eurobeat]

   
You missed the context, so I'll explain. He was referring to 1) studio monitor headphones, not studio monitor speakers, and 2) being able to hear differences between file formats (like MP3 and FLAC) while using studio monitor headphones. "Studio monitor heapdhone" is a well-known and popular term. Being a studio professional, I'm surprised you don't seem to be familiar with it. I guess you can look it up on Google if you need verification. Those who have experience with many studio monitor headphones know that his description is accurate. Many of them are very bright and harsh instead of accurate. But yes, properly set-up studio monitor speakers sound very accurate.
 
Examples of studio monitor headphones I have owned:
 
Audio-Technica ATH-M30x
Audio-Technica ATH-M40x
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Focal Spirit Professional (two pairs)
NVX XPT100 (two pairs)
Sennheiser HD 280 PRO
Sony MDR-7506
Sony MDR-V6
Stellar Labs 35-5960
Yamaha HPH-MT220
 
 
No offense, but you can find this information within seconds by searching on Google. Studio monitors are speakers used in studios. Some are small, some are large. Studio monitor headphones are sometimes simply called studio monitors by those who are too lazy to spell out all three words, so this causes confusion.

 

 
In a studio the speakers are called monitors. Headphones are called headphones. Either way you are MONITORING the audio. Dunno what else to say about that. I think it's only hifi and marketing people who call headphones "monitors". I mean a while ago a computer screen was called a 'monitor'. That's the best I can do. If you want to know more about the word "monitor" there are copious online dictionaries and inaccurate Wiki. I seem to remember it's greek and to do with looking at something godly. I am old now so school is a distant memory.

For sure, just was curious about the claims you were saying about headphones not being monitors.

At first I thought you were mentioning 2 types of headphones and talking about ":monitors moving air..."  Do any headphones do that as well?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Some headphones are specifically marketed as studio monitor headphones and even say it on the packaging. Only some are designed for such studio use, hence the distinction.

 

[nick n]

Yes they are used to check tracks and recordings so most often are of a neutralish signature ( nothing is perfect that's for sure )so that everything can be heard. As I understand it nearfield speakers are the fallback, but headphones are often used used at times for checking tracks also at same time.
It's not like every studio is setup the same...
Certainly you have to weed through the obvious marketing bs, it's usually obvious what people would consider using in studios = higher quality stuff, not like the cheap " studio " branded junk that abounds.
( I never did understand how anyone can use the Sony V6 and that range )
 
I have a pal's 220 being sent to my place here while he is away, so will likely do the Sorbothane 1/10 inch 30D on them also but I would like to apply it inside the baffles so that the pad depth does not increase and affect the sound. Doubtfull that 1/10 will affect that though so whatever is cleaner.
I'd rather have him break them in. I can at least compare to some Elega DR-631 which are a real deal studio pair ( mainly for broadcasting ), though I am betting these are more extended in both directions... no doubt. K240M are sold unfortunately. (oops I have the JVC/Victor HA-M1000 also...)
 
Tempted for a long time to nail down a set of these JVC/Victor MX10-B http://www.head-fi.org/t/560124/new-jvc-victor-studio-headphone-the-ha-mx10-b, but that won't happen in time to compare.
 
Should I pick up an Ashidavox ST-31 "Zard" also I wonder....