[pathway]

Well,
 
I'm wondering if I'll ever get to find out myself! Still no HP delivery which is becoming very frustrating. Amazon are usually outstanding but these are 'through' Amazon but coming from another company. They do have a very good rating so I think this may be a one-off hence giving them some leeway.
 
Anyway - the Philips L2 look fantastic and if I was in the market for a semi-open design in that price range they would certainly be high on my list. However, I'm specifically looking for a fairly good isolating HP as these will be my primary office cans. (I still love my Senn HD580 for those chances I get to listen alone in a quiet environment - an oldie but still a goodie )
 
gelocks - you mention songs with high levels of sibilance - any examples? This is an area in which the AKG K550 is often criticized and although I really like the overall sounds of them it is something I am hoping the Yams will be better at.
 
I'd love to pre-listen to some good examples so I can clearly hear the differences - any suggestions?
 
O.

 

[gelocks]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/658673/yamaha-hph-mt220-thread-merged/120#post_10287363
 
and some observations:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/658673/yamaha-hph-mt220-thread-merged/135#post_10290555
http://www.head-fi.org/t/658673/yamaha-hph-mt220-thread-merged/135#post_10290612
 
and like I mentioned, not a "game-ender" but could get annoying if you are not used
to bright signatures.

 

[pathway]

Much appreciated - I had read the entire thread but completely forgot about those comments - apologies!
 
My current office cans are pretty bright anyway and generally I like the sound signature so I doubt these will be problematic but only time will tell
 
Cheers
 
O

 

[gelocks]

I can tell you that at least they are not "problematic" to me. Only on some tracks I just decide to lower the volume a bit! LOL. Other than that, them I like!
 
I have a set of cans that I think are the brightest I have had, Spider Moonlight Studio, and still I listen to them from time to time so, I guess it depends on the individual taste (or maybe tolerance?! )
 
Enjoy!

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Just sharing a few of my impressions on Yamaha MT220
 

  Listening to out of box impressions of Yamaha MT220.

The bass seems decent, not superb, slightly more subbass skewed than midbass, I'd need a tiny bit more midbass for the hardstyle to sound correct, a very tiny boost at 125Hz slider and it sounds better (more in-balance with the subbass). Quantity wise a bit lower than Q40, but still decent, would put it as entry level basshead. Texture is above average but the subbass can slightly mask the finer details.

Mids are pretty much neutral sounding, neither too warm nor cold and neither distant or up-front, so neutral, can't either detect any upper-mid resonance peaks from a quick listen which is a fairly common issue. 

Highs are slightly on the rough side, there's tiny bit graininess present and it's tiny bit boosted, very slightly too much for my tastes, a very very slight cut around 8kHz helps but I wish they were softer overall and not so "shrill"/rough. I personally rather take a softer highs texture than rough as I find it unnatural sounding if it's too rough, I never hear highs like that in real-life so.

Soundstage seems pretty okay, not as amazing as I had thought it to be, a bit more oval shaped, so not as much depth as width. Imaging doesn't impress me that much, Q40 has a smaller soundstaging but better imaging (easier to pinpoint stuff). 

Comfort is pretty good, the clamping is tiny bit lower than my taste ideally would want as I prefer slightly tighter clamp. Since I'm used to lighter headphones the Q40 is more comfortable for me to wear and Yamaha MT220 starts stressing my neck after a while.

At this point I'm very unsure about the Yamahas but they are still new so will give them more time.

 

  I use Realtek ALC1150 onboard on the ASRock Extreme6 board with onboard amps and digiZoid ZO2.1. I have a SoundBlaster ZxR sitting on the shelf too as I prefer the sound of the onboard which is by far the best onboard soundcard I've ever used but I will probably have to give ZxR a try with Yamaha as it could have better synergy and the ZxR is pretty warm sounding which is exactly what I'd need, a more warm/smooth sounding source to get closer to my preferred sound.  I have to set the bass boost a few levels higher to get to that preferred level compared to Q40. 

The main prob as it is now, seems to be the highs, they are a bit too shrill which creates a slightly cold signature that doesn't make me get into the music, I'd want a tiny bit more warmth, think Tube amps and the sound would be far better. Vocals and hi-hats etc doesn't have that much raspiness to them in real-life as I'm currently getting with the Yamaha, it's more the character than quantity of the highs that is the issue.

EDIT: Doesn't look like the result out of ZxR is any better, if using the amped headphone out the mids slightly improve (the only real thing I truly enjoy out of the ZxR in comparison to the onboard).
 

I don't think these will be keepers for me. If I can't "get into" my music then I have a problem. The imaging and the highs are what's currently a bit off-putting to me about the Yamaha. Probably the lower-mids could be very very tiny bit more forward for my tastes too, the mids have missing that organic wamrth if that makes any sense that makes me get into the music partly due to the mids but mostly due to the roughness of the highs stopping that from happening.

I haven't heard good performance highs headphones yet but for my tastes the headphone that did highs the best so far that I've used is a pair of Sennheiser HD598 which are about as much present in the highs as the Yamaha but soooooooo much more softer in the character. 

 

[gelocks]

I can understand your views on their highs... I wonder what would you do if you hear the aforementioned Spider Moonlights!!!! lol
 
** ears bleeding, throw headphones against a wall **
 

 

[Sadkmf]

I got a MT220 for some time now, and they sound pretty great, my only gripe is they do not isolate at all.
Will changing earpads with hm5 pads or alpha pads help?  

 

[bala]

  I got a MT220 for some time now, and they sound pretty great, my only gripe is they do not isolate at all.
Will changing earpads with hm5 pads or alpha pads help?  

Same here, the MT220 are excellent! It also serves as my (trans)portable solution but isolation is not a significant issue for me. It doesn't seal well, but I consider that a feature prevents me from getting run-over! It serves as my portable W1000x, with better bass and less soundstaging and not so much magic in the vocals (but more transparent).

 

[Sadkmf]

  Same here, the MT220 are excellent! It also serves as my (trans)portable solution but isolation is not a significant issue for me. It doesn't seal well, but I consider that a feature prevents me from getting run-over! It serves as my portable W1000x, with better bass and less soundstaging and not so much magic in the vocals (but more transparent).

Well, isolation is important for me. Why buy closed? honestly If they can not be improved, I may get rid of them..I have denon d2000s already.

 

[Koolpep]

  I got a MT220 for some time now, and they sound pretty great, my only gripe is they do not isolate at all.
Will changing earpads with hm5 pads or alpha pads help?  

 
No, that won't help much as they are an open design, the sound will just come in via the open back, the seal is not the main issue.
 
Cheers,
K

 

[Sadkmf]

   
No, that won't help much as they are an open design, the sound will just come in via the open back, the seal is not the main issue.
 
Cheers,
K

Checked your profile. I think you've mistaken mt220 for HpH200. Mt220 is a closed design. 

 

[pathway]

The MT220 are not an open back HP but are closed.
 
The isolation is not great but once music is playing, even at reasonably low volumes, I find they block out all the sound in my office environment without needing to push the volume high at all.
 
I have only been using them for a few days so and have not compared them with my other cans much yet (hence no review to date) but overall I think they are outstanding for the money. The concerns I had about the treble (and pointed out by RPGWizard) have so far proven unwarranted (to my ears) and the overall balance is very pleasing.
 
My only gripe so far would be that the depth of the stock pads is low and my ear occasionally touches the main body of the earpiece. I may well look to get other pads to solve this but would be hesitant to do anything to negatively impact the SQ.
 
O.

 

[Sadkmf]

pathway,
I had the same problem, pads are not thick and very soft. Just for now, you can stuff tissue under the pads, it solves that irritation thing.

 

[pathway]

I have been planning on doing that - only just got them so not got round to it but it's a trick people have used in the past to improve the seal on the AKG K550. I seem to remember womens 'tights/hosiery' material was suggested.

 

[gelocks]

Yeah, isolation is not great, but as mentioned, once music is playing they are pretty good but they still leak quite a bit actually (not Denon D2000 levels but enough to "bother" anyone near my cubicle). I'm actually using Alpha Pads with them. Better comfort, a bit more isolation but leakage is mostly the same. Bass gets affected a bit as it sounds less controlled and maybe a bit boomy but I don't mind. Haven't tried any other ear pads.