Just grabbed a pair of Yamaha HPH-MT8 and I think I stumbled on a way to make them behave like tiny nearfields. If I tilt the cups forward about a finger’s width (so the rear of the pads touches first) and run a super-light crossfeed, the phantom center locks in and stereo mic phase quirks jump out like I’m sitting 1 meter from monitors. Panning increments feel way more “speaker-like,” and kick/bass decisions seem to translate better.
Has anyone else treated the MT8 as “earfield monitors”? I’d love to compare notes on two things:
1) Crossfeed + EQ that mimics common Yamahas
- What crossfeed amounts and EQ curves get you closest to HS5/HS8/NS-10 translation on the MT8?
- I’m currently testing: crossfeed 5-8% with a 300-700 µs interaural delay, gentle HF roll-off above 10 kHz, and a tiny -1.5 to -2 dB dip around 3-3.5 kHz. Curious if anyone has a more dialed preset that consistently predicts vocal brightness and kick thump on HS/NS rooms.
2) MT8 pad/amp variables that change the picture
- Pad swaps: has anyone measured or at least heard how velour or hybrid pads alter mid imaging and sub roll-off on the MT8? Do they smear transients or shift the 80-200 Hz region enough to mess with low-end decisions?
- Output impedance sensitivity: on some mixers/interfaces with higher-Z headphone outs, I’m hearing a slight low-end swell; anyone using a small inline resistor or dedicated amp to keep the MT8 response consistent across rigs?
- Cable microphonics: the coiled cable seems to transmit bumps into the cup at low volumes-any tricks to tame that when tracking quiet sources?
Quick tests I found super revealing on the MT8:
- Stereo mic sanity check: record a spaced pair acoustic guitar, then nudge one track by 0.1-0.3 ms. With 5-8% crossfeed and the slight cup tilt, the image collapse/comb filtering becomes obvious in a way I usually only get on speakers.
- Pan resolution test: mono shaker panned in 2% steps from center; with the setup above, I can reliably call 4% vs 6%-without it, it’s a blur.
- Low-end translation: sine sweep plus kick+bass stem; I’m listening for the 60-80 Hz handoff. On my MT8, a -1 dB shelf around 120 Hz helped mixes land closer to HS8 in my room.
If you’ve got MT8-specific recipes or measurements-crossfeed settings, EQ points that nail HS/NS translation, pad comparisons, or amp/output impedance notes-please share. If this “earfield” trick works for others too, maybe we can build a community MT8 preset that makes tracking and mixing on the go a lot more predictable.