[oopeteroo]

or the normal brainwavz pads ?

 

[menuki]

IMO the velours suck out the bass too much. If you like a brighter MT220 then thats fine but if you like neutral bass (harman target response) i would reccomend the hybrids for a nice in between and pleather for more bass. I wouldn't reccomend the angled ones because the driver is already angled so no need for further angeling. But i could see some liking a narrower soundstage.

 

[yoyorast10]

or the normal brainwavz pads ?

 
are you checking your pms

 

[appsmarsterx]

IMO the velours suck out the bass too much. If you like a brighter MT220 then thats fine but if you like neutral bass (harman target response) i would reccomend the hybrids for a nice in between and pleather for more bass. I wouldn't reccomend the angled ones because the driver is already angled so no need for further angeling. But i could see some liking a narrower soundstage.

yes. velour pads will suck out the bass response quite a bit and make it more airy and treble will also be brighter. I had the same issue with my stock naked velour pads. that's why I modded it.

but to me hybrid pads are not perfect either. despite the excellent bass response, it will make midrange quite recessed and highs will become more brighter imo. so I think none of those pads are perfect unless you willing to modify them..

 

[Asr]

I mostly listen to Dark Ambient music and it needs both bass extension & impact and soundstage & imaging. I own DT770 and they can't portrait the atmosphere of the music at all. On the other hand, my Samson SR850 has better soundstage & imaging capabilities, but its bass response isn't suitable for conveying the feeling of the music.

 
I'm actually semi-familiar with Atrium Carceri and Lustmord which you linked earlier, I have some of their albums in my MP3 collection. Like you've discovered, there aren't that many headphones that really play that kind of music well. If you haven't heard the Fostex TH-X00 or TH900, those might be something worth considering.

 

[menuki]

yes. velour pads will suck out the bass response quite a bit and make it more airy and treble will also be brighter. I had the same issue with my stock naked velour pads. that's why I modded it.

but to me hybrid pads are not perfect either. despite the excellent bass response, it will make midrange quite recessed and highs will become more brighter imo. so I think none of those pads are perfect unless you willing to modify them..

 
I gave the MT220 to my girlfriend meaning i don't listen to them anymore. But i noticed that when i pushed the hybrids pads closer to my ears (just a slight push) the mids came forward again and the highs got reduced a bit while also making the bass more tight and present. I red that sorbathane can fix this problem. I think the hyrbids are just not tightly enough attached to the headphone resulting in this "flabby" sound.

 

[jakenthall]

How would you guys compare the mt220's to the hd600's or 650's? I'm thinking of stepping down from the senns and to these and am unsure of what to expect. Would you say that they are on the same tier in terms of their overall quality? I understand that both the senns (hd600 specifically) and the mt220 aim for a neutral sound, yet I'm curious as to how it is implemented.

 

[menuki]

  How would you guys compare the mt220's to the hd600's or 650's? I'm thinking of stepping down from the senns and to these and am unsure of what to expect. Would you say that they are on the same tier in terms of their overall quality? I understand that both the senns (hd600 specifically) and the mt220 aim for a neutral sound, yet I'm curious as to how it is implemented.

 
I don't own the HD600 or HD650 but i know that both of them are very laid back in treble. Take a look at some of the frequency responses of them both. In terms of treble the MT220 is the opposite as to the HD650 / 600. Can't say anything about bass but i know that the HD650 have more bass and i'm fairly shure the MT220's have more bass. Neutral sound is a difficult topic because alot of people have diffrent opinions on neutral headphones. On one hand the HD800 is considered as neutral by some and by others the HD650 / HD600 are considered neutral even though the HD800 is the opposite in terms of treble quantity.

 

[Arttt]

neutrality doesn't only cover lows mids and highs amount, its not only about FR.  Its also about tonality...
some headphones if described by a color or a season of the year, could easily find comparisons.  Like " coffee , chocolate" some use to describe audeze lcd2 , or " sunny winter day" some used to describe hifiman he500 and so on...
 
well some headphones don't have such words to describe them because they have no "color" or "taste" , like water , how would you describe taste of water ? ...
Those headphones are neutral! even if they may have different FR tuning and a certain sound signature but still " taste like water" and not coffee or sweet chocolate drink or some refine red wine ...
 
Flat FR is usually expected along with neutral tonality, and mostly could be found in pro studio gear. But even with flat FR and "taste like water" tonality it doesn't mean headphones are sterile and identical to one another , they all have different characters...
 
 
i would say mt220 is neutral in tonality and have that studio like type of sound!   in FR is even , but have strong and pronounced low end and smooth treble.  I know its suiting for monitoring and mixing, so it won't get fatigue , and most people who work with sound in studios prefer that type of sound ...
 
 
HD600 and HD650 is faaaaaaaaaaar from neutral.  Its a colored headphone , warm , dark , sweet sounding.   But it doesn't mean its not pleasant 2 the ears and it doesn't mean its twist sound picture and makes it unreal. Simply colored presentation for enjoying the most recordings out there , in all genders.  All around headphones...
 
 
 
Mt220 is a pro gear for studio monitoring , hd600/650 is for layback in a chair , relax and enjoy some jazz )

 

[Arttt]

p.s
 
mt220 has more serious type of sound, i definitely prefer it to hd600/650 now.   But would i prefer mt220 to hd600/650   many years ago when i just started listening to hifi gear , i doubt it ...
our taste is evolving and changing , i don't recommend to skip few steps on the way only because some people with more experience recommend you one headphone over another.
 
i think you should listen to headphones you enjoy right now in the moment , and when you feel like something is missing and you crave improvement and you start to get an idea what those improvements may be , then you ready to try more serious gear...
 
but if you skip the steps and go to serious gear right away , you may end up just analyzing sound and start to enjoy music less and less , witch is easy to do because there is no end to the upgrades you can make in your sound system ..
 
so , while you enjoy hd600/650 whats the point of upgrading ? if you feel like you missing something and bored with what hd600/650 brings to your ears then start looking for upgrade.
Thats my advise ...

 

[Light - Man]

  p.s
 
mt220 has more serious type of sound, i definitely prefer it to hd600/650 now.   But would i prefer mt220 to hd600/650   many years ago when i just started listening to hifi gear , i doubt it ...
our taste is evolving and changing , i don't recommend to skip few steps on the way only because some people with more experience recommend you one headphone over another.
 
i think you should listen to headphones you enjoy right now in the moment , and when you feel like something is missing and you crave improvement and you start to get an idea what those improvements may be , then you ready to try more serious gear...
 
but if you skip the steps and go to serious gear right away , you may end up just analyzing sound and start to enjoy music less and less , witch is easy to do because there is no end to the upgrades you can make in your sound system ..
 
so , while you enjoy hd600/650 whats the point of upgrading ? if you feel like you missing something and bored with what hd600/650 brings to your ears then start looking for upgrade.
That's my advise ...

Arttt, you seem to be a bit of a wordsmith! 

 
Is the MT220 still one of your favourites and what else have you come across that you enjoy?

 

[Lorspeaker]

Mt220 is leaner , speedier n more layered esp in the bass than both hd600 650...
650 is heavy cream

 

[Arttt]

@light-man
 
mt220 is one of my top 5 headphones that lay always nearby , coffee table or hifi rack ...or on the couch, and depending on the mood i switch those 5 headphones from one to another often.  mt220 is definitely a classic in my collection.
 
right now i am spending most of my time with beyerdynamic t5p 2end generation.  majestic headphones , smoothness and high level of micro detail, and now with more bass to compliment it, probably one of the best closed headphones if you into smooth lush sound character that doesn't come at the cost of detail and speciousness.

 

[Lorspeaker]

The yammie brought Ayumi  Hamasaki into my living room...
this is one crazy LIVE can

 

[jakenthall]

Hey thanks for all the help guys. Reading your discussions on the mt220 was very informative. I ended up going through with that trade and am definitely enjoying the hell out of these!

@Arttt, I wasn't initially sure as to what you meant in your comparison of the 650's to the mt220's, specifically in your usage of flavor as a way of describing them. I think I do after using the mt220's for a few hours. The 650's gave a distinct interpretation or image of the song which was unique to the headphone itself. The mt220's seem to retain enough musicality to be enjoyable while imparting very little on the track itself.
 
It certainly presents a new way for me to enjoy listening to music, and I certainly will be hanging onto these for some time.