Recording - March 2016 - 46

From guitars and drums to pianos and saxophones
to synthesizers and digital mixing consoles, there are
very few parts of the music world where Yamaha
hasn't made a significant impact. In the pro audio
world, though, one product arguably stands out as a
truly universal part of the history of recording-the
NS-10M reference monitor. The NS-10M is a staple
in studios around the world, decades after its discontinuation, because its sound is a known constant that
almost any experienced engineer can work with.
Yamaha's recent MT-Series headphones have been,
according to the products' webpages, an attempt to
create a headphone design that can serve as a true
workhorse in the recording studio, whether in the
tracking room or working on edits or a mix... much as
the NS-10M is to so many rooms. To do this, the goal
is to offer unflattering accuracy and detail, sturdiness,
and comfort, all in one, at an affordable price. We've
looked at early MT designs, but the latest model, the
HPH-MT7, really made us sit up and take notice.
On paper-specs and outfitting
The HPH-MT7 (and its all-white counterpart the
HPH-MT7w, intended to evoke the familiar white

cone of the NS-10M) is a closed-back circumaural headphone with
40 mm dynamic voice coils made from copper-coated aluminum
wire with neodymium magnets. Its spec sheet boasts a 15 Hz-25
kHz frequency response, a maximum power handling of 1600 mW
at 1 kHz, a 49Ω impedance, and a "Sound Pressure Level" (we
think that Yamaha means sensitivity) of 99 dB/mW.
Weighing in at about 360 grams (a hair over 12 ounces) and fitted
with a wide and nicely padded headband and earcups, the HPH-MT7
offers impressive comfort. The earcups adjust for head size with a sliding
metal band, and have a small amount of side-to-side pivot to fit comfortably to the skull. The earcups are not designed to swivel or fold, and the
single 3-meter (10-foot) cable is permanently attached to the left earcup.
It comes with a nice carrying bag and a screw-on 1/4" TRS adapter for
its miniplug (which, by the way, has excellent strain relief).
In use-sound and comfort
The HPH-MT7 is a pleasure to wear. It rests comfortably on the ears
and provides good sound isolation without pinching or binding, and I
could wear it for several hours without feeling pressure on the top of my
head. The sound was not at all fatiguing, and I had a great time listening to my usual collection of music in all genres, including high-resolution
audio files, through my trusty H2 Designs MIYO interface.
The best way to describe the HPH-MT7 is "honest without being
showy." This headphone presents good strong bass with plenty of
detail that's never woofy or resonant, highs that are clear and finely
etched without being shrill or obnoxious, and an ever-so-slightly
recessed midrange that presents lead instruments and vocals in a balanced manner without pushing them forward in your face.
Soundstaging and stereo presentation are very good, with well-made
mixes gelling together nicely without the "exploded view" detail that
one gets from some headphones. I should note that those two
approaches are neither good nor bad, only different, and you're likely
to prefer one or the other in any given headphone depending on your
primary intended purpose for them. While I own at least one headphone with more microscopic detail for fine edit work, I found these

Yamaha HPH-MT7
A reference workhorse that evokes the famed NS-10M
phones to be absolutely dynamite at mixing, with my mixes translating
very well to other headphones and to my various reference monitors.
The HPH-MT7 also makes a grand tracking headphone, offering comfort and isolation that will work well for almost anyone. While they're not
quite isolating enough for drummers, and screaming vocalists who want
really loud music in their monitor mixes may suffer some leakage, they
worked great for pretty much any sort of instrumental tracking, from guitar
and bass to keyboards, hand percussion, winds, and strings.
Conclusions
Yamaha is onto something here. I enjoyed the HPH-MT220, the first
MT-Series phone to be reviewed in our pages, but the HPH-MT7 blows
it away in terms of sound quality, while offering comparable or better
isolation and listening comfort. What's beautiful about it is how unobtrusive it is... it delivers what you're supposed to be hearing, in a way that
lets you work reliably and consistently, without any fuss or hype. That's
rare in our modern era of fashion-forward headphone designs, which is
a pity, but it's great to hear that Yamaha is addressing this goal so
effectively.
Not exciting, maybe, and not thrilling... but accurate and confidence-inducing in an environment where the engineer needs confidence and accuracy above all else. A headphone that you plan to rely
on for the rest of your career could do a lot worse in terms of a performance rating, you know?
Price: $299 * More from: Yamaha, www.yamahaproaudio.com
46

RECORDING March 2016

http://www.yamahaproaudio.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2016