Recording - July 2017 - 32

The HPH-MT5

Yamaha
HPH-MT5
and HPH-MT8

Headphones

Take your pick: affordable quality...
or extremely affordable quality
REVIEWS BY MIKE METLAY

e reviewed Yamaha's HPH-MT7, the first of its
new MT Series pro headphones, in our March
2016 issue, and found it a very workmanlike
contender in a crowded market. When the newest headphones in the MT Series were announced and demonstrated
at Winter NAMM last January, though, it didn't take us long to
realize that these two new models were something special.
The HPH-MT5 and HPH-MT8 join the HPH-MT7 in the MT
Series. They offer a solid feature set and useful accoutrements
at a manageable cost of entry. I got to work with them for
several weeks, and here's what I learned.

The siblings

The two headphones do have a lot in common, but there's
a pretty clear demarcation between them when you open their
boxes. Selling for under $100, the HPH-MT5 nevertheless comes
nicely appointed, with a nylon drawstring carrying bag and a
3-meter straight cable ending in a gold-plated TRS minijack with
screw-on 1/4" adaptor. The all-black HPH-MT5 features a folding
design for portability, well-padded earcups and headband, and
an overall impression of workmanlike solidity. Like the HPHMT7, it's also available in an all-white design, the HPH-MT5W.
The HPH-MT8 is still quite affordable, coming in around
$200, but takes everything up a notch, with a soft leatherette
carrying bag and a 1.2-meter straight/coiled cable in addition
to the straight cable and adaptor. It sports a headband with
thicker padding, concealed wiring, and click-stop head size
adjustment vs. the simple sliding mechanism on the HPH-MT5,
and in addition to folding compactly it adds a right earcup
that rotates out of the way for one-ear use. It's black with silver
trim; there's no white version.
Both headphones are closed circumaural designs and offer
a comfortable fit with excellent isolation, with the cable attaching to the left earcup via a twist-lock submini jack. Since
cables are often the first point of failure in hard use, it's good
to see easily replaceable cables as a standard feature; the
HPH-MT7 didn't have one, and it's a very welcome addition
to these new models.
32

RECORDING July 2017

I was going to spend a bit less time
with the highly affordable HPH-MT5
than with its spendier counterpart,
but ended up working with it almost
exclusively in my office for a couple
of weeks before ever feeling
the need to move to something
different. This kind of sound quality
in a headphone this affordable
was a very pleasant surprise.
Before I talk about the sound, let's
get a few specs out of the way. The
HPH-MT5 has a 51Ω impedance,
a sensitivity of 100 dB/mW, and a
rated frequency response of 20 Hz-20
kHz. It has 40 mm drivers with copper-clad
aluminum wire (CCAW) voice coils.
The HPH-MT5 has a nicely balanced sound
that leans more toward rock and pop music
than classical or jazz. Midrange is ever so slightly
forward, so vocals and guitars are presented very
clearly within a mix. This is not a bass-heavy headphone by
any means; in contrast to many other closed designs, especially
those intended primarily for DJ use, it presents its low end in
good balance with the rest of the frequency range. There's
punch and reassuring firmness without woofiness or unnecessary
boom. The high end is also pleasant, with good extension
and clarity without any spittiness or shrillness.
Because of its solid sound with an emphasis on the mids and
its effective isolation, I see the HPH-MT5 as a dual-purpose headphone. On the one hand, it would make for a great first pro
headphone for home recording enthusiasts just getting started
on a tight budget, allowing for real editing and mixing decisions
to be made effectively rather than relying on the questionable
frequency response of consumer earbuds or cheap phones.
On the other hand, for larger studios or for rooms that grow
to accommodate more players, the HPH-MT5 would be an
appropriate and effective tracking-room headphone, allowing
guitarists and singers to hear monitor mixes without mic bleed.

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