[chailee80]

  Just bought these headphones after having them suggested to me, and for $150 it seemed like a really good price.
 
They arrive on Saturday.
 
Anything I should know about them? I've been going through this thread, but there is a lot to go through.
This is my first "real" set of headphones, I currently use Audio Technicas ath ad700s.
 
 
I'm excited.

The ad700s are no slouch themselves, don't be surprised if they hold their own against the yammys that being said the mt220 will naturally punch harder in the bass.

 

[lettuceman44]

 
The ad700s are no slouch themselves, don't be surprised if they hold their own against the yammys that being said the mt220 will naturally punch harder in the bass.

True that, it is why I bought the ad700s to begin with.
 
I guess instead of saying real, I should have just said this is my first pair of headphones over $100.

 

[jellofund]

I await your impressions after nodding the pads

 
 

   
When i first gotten the yammie, the drivers touched my ears, so i stuffed it without a second tot.
I didnt realise it mattered until another bro said the yammie has loose or overbearing bass..
so i took out my cotton gauze to give the stock sound a listen, then i understood what he was saying. Then i put back the gauze and i am back to a more coherent bass.

 
 

  Yeh i was surprised by how stuffing the pads seems to tighten up the bass, before it was like the bass had bad gps and was going all over the place and now its seems more precise and focused which makes it feel like it has more impact. If that makes any sense haha!

 
 
Cheers again for suggesting I try angling the pads guys. Proved to be a good one 

 
Managed to get my mitts on some cotton gauze. An unexpected bonus of being married to a medical professional I guess.....now I wonder if she can magic some custom cables from that medical bag??
 
Finally managed to put the DT-150 aside this evening (stellar cans) and spent a few hours in the company of the MT220. Must say angling the pads has addressed that slightly garbled sound I was complaining of and has made what was an already great headphone even better.
 
My overall impressions are that they now sound a lot more coherent (less instrumental 'spaghetti'), focussed and the bass now has better punch and tightness to it - all very welcome. I think doing the cork mod probably made the biggest improvement to the highs and I'm not sure if I perceived any improvement in that area from pad angling.
 
It's funny because now that I read back through the posts above I could almost be paraphrasing a lot of what you'd said, but that most definitely wasn't the case. Went in with an open mind so just calling it as I heard it.
 
I know I sometimes grumble about the treble a bit but in some respects the slight elevation is an integral part of the overall sound sig and gives them some pleasing air, energy and a bit of sparkle. Having gotten rid of the edge / spikiness I think I'm happy to stick with things as they are. Its only when I put the highs under the microscope I get nitpicky but most of the time I listen to enjoy not to critique
 
 
Thought I'd share a small part of tonight's listening. A recording thay I really enjoy in general but one that sounds wonderful on the Yammies:
 

 

[Lorspeaker]

wow, sounds AMAZING on my yammie ..straight off the McAir/Audirvana
thanks for sharing this vid, havent heard this band b4, lovely ..sultry...spacious..soooothing.

 

[lettuceman44]

Got my headphones, and just put them on.
Started playing the video you posted Jellofund. 
 
AMAZING.
 
These sound awesome! $150 well spent. Very good first impression. Lets see how it does with my music.

 

[mordy]

Hi lorspeaker,
 
In general I am very happy with the MT-220 but I have a problem with the bass. Plugged directly into my Little Dot MKIII tube amp it does not sound as good as when I use the Little Dot as a preamp and plug the headphones into my ss Sony amp.
 
Usually I get better sound directly from the LD, but not this time. The difference in sound is that the bass, although very detailed and powerful, has a murky, harsh and hollow quality to it.
 
Could this be a function of the gain setting on the LD amp? To get the volume I need, I now set the volume knob to around midway between the lowest and the highest. The gain setting is medium. (With my old AT headphones I only needed half the volume compared to what I need with the Yamahas.)
 
Would I be better off with a high gain setting on the amp?

 

[Manh]

Joined today just to say I love my mt220. After a week of getting used to it, I noticed that the left can sounded muffled compared to the right. It sounded as though something was smothering it.
 
I followed Lorspeaker's cork mod and that fixed everything up. As for riasing the pads with cotton gauze, I couldn't find any so I'm temporarily using tissues. No more sore ears after a long session.
 
Thanks Lorspeaker!

 

[Lorspeaker]

  Hi lorspeaker,
 
In general I am very happy with the MT-220 but I have a problem with the bass. Plugged directly into my Little Dot MKIII tube amp it does not sound as good as when I use the Little Dot as a preamp and plug the headphones into my ss Sony amp.
 
Usually I get better sound directly from the LD, but not this time. The difference in sound is that the bass, although very detailed and powerful, has a murky, harsh and hollow quality to it.
 
Could this be a function of the gain setting on the LD amp? To get the volume I need, I now set the volume knob to around midway between the lowest and the highest. The gain setting is medium. (With my old AT headphones I only needed half the volume compared to what I need with the Yamahas.)
 
Would I be better off with a high gain setting on the amp?

 
When i had the mk3, i found the stock amp "thin sounding"....swapping in a "branded" power cord i had on my homefi added some heft to the sound, but finally sold it n moved on to the LYR, Mk4se..etc.
 
Yup, i think the MT220 loves highgain...i put my audiogd amp on high gain too when using the MT220, that added control really brings out the brilliance of this can.

 

[Lorspeaker]

  Joined today just to say I love my mt220. After a week of getting used to it, I noticed that the left can sounded muffled compared to the right. It sounded as though something was smothering it.
 
I followed Lorspeaker's cork mod and that fixed everything up. As for riasing the pads with cotton gauze, I couldn't find any so I'm temporarily using tissues. No more sore ears after a long session.
 
Thanks Lorspeaker!

 
 
Go raid the nearest FirstAidBox...there should be some gauze in there
Putting the drivers further away from the ears add some cohesion to the sound/bass.
 
If u cant find a firstaidbox...check out the shoe boxes u have...some shoes have thinnn cotton bags for each shoe...just roll it up and stuff that into the pads    that s what i am doing currently..lol  )

 

[mordy]

Hi lorspeaker,
 
Your suggestion worked out well - the Yamahas sound better than before, and also sound better when plugged directly into the Little Dot MKIII compared to the ss amp. It may be worthwhile to point out that my LD MKIII is heavily modded, using Siemens C3g tubes as drivers, and Sylvania 2.5A 6080 tubes as power tubes.
 
With these cans the bass is very strong.
 
What is the effect of the cork mod? Also need a link to a guide with pictures how to remove pads and open up headphones.

 

[jellofund]

I very briefly tried the MT220 with a Magni 2 uber amp. Wow and ow are the words that best sum up my thoughts.
 
Almost like a different (and if anything better) headphone in comparison to my normal pairing of the MT220 & O2. Dynamics, sub bass, detail & clarity seem improved and presentation feels quite a bit more forward. 
 
.....but. and it is a big one sadly. The M2U seems like quite a bright amp (using the O2 as my yardstick)  and paired with the MT220 (not a shrinking violet when it comes to treble) I found the treble on quite a few tracks to be incredibly edgy. Not tracks I've had much trouble with before either.
 
Feels like a case of so close and yet so far. With a bit less treble energu I really think this pairing would have been a match made in heaven. I got enough glimpses to tell that with the right tracks the M2U will really make the Yammies sing. Well worth a listen if the opportunity arises.
 
---------------------------------------  
Quote:

  Hi lorspeaker,
 
Your suggestion worked out well - the Yamahas sound better than before, and also sound better when plugged directly into the Little Dot MKIII compared to the ss amp. It may be worthwhile to point out that my LD MKIII is heavily modded, using Siemens C3g tubes as drivers, and Sylvania 2.5A 6080 tubes as power tubes.
 
With these cans the bass is very strong.
 
What is the effect of the cork mod? Also need a link to a guide with pictures how to remove pads and open up headphones.

 
Can't find the original post but someone quoted it a page or so back:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/658673/yamaha-hph-mt220-thread-merged/630#post_11291888
 
Should give you all the info you need along with Lors impressions of the sound. Very simple to do (speaking as a complete novice).

 

[Lorspeaker]

yes... go n do the corktreemod....it is v easy,
 
problem is finding a 600yr old corktree, only vintage XO cork would give the magic...otherwise, the sound is a roll of the dice.

 

[mordy]

Looked on Ebay for cork sheets. Seems that cork is used for wind instruments but the pieces seem to small. Any suggestions where to get it? There are no cork trees where I live.....

 

[jellofund]

  Looked on Ebay for cork sheets. Seems that cork is used for wind instruments but the pieces seem to small. Any suggestions where to get it? There are no cork trees where I live.....

 
If you have a model railway stockist nearby they might be worth a try. 
 
Not sure which part of the world you are but I got mine from the following seller on ebay UK:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORK-SHEET-225-mm-X-195-mm-CHOOSE-THICKNESS-LANDSCAPE-MATS-/200929589600?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item2ec8563960
 
According to the listing they ship worldwide so might be of use if you are in a pinch.

 

[Lorspeaker]

Try slicing up a wine bottle cork(?) if u hv a v sharpblade..but be extra extra careful..