There are two factors at play here: the closed-back earcups, and a circumaural (around-the-ear) design. The closed backs mean your Yamaha HPH-MT7 Studio Monitor Headphones offer increased isolation from outside sources, suiting them to stage use where you're surrounded by loud audio. Their circumaural design means they seal around the ears to create the big bass needed for mixing applications.
Should I mix with headphones?
Monitoring in a reliable, treated environment with speakers you trust is always going to trump mixing on headphones. But today's mixing headphones have gotten so advanced that, for audio folks without a great room and reliable speakers, they're sometimes a better alternative. Take the Yamaha HPH-MT7s. These headphones are built for mixing from the ground up. Their drivers and ear cups have been designed to eliminate extraneous resonance, ensuring that what you hear in your HPH-MT7s remains true to the audio source. Headphones also have the added advantage of being portable — mix at the beach or at the coffee shop if you feel so inclined.
Business or pleasure?
Making great mixes means getting your hands dirty. That means hearing things that are sometimes unpleasant — room peaks, bass buildup, shrill sibilance, noisy guitar amps, and so on. As a result, the Yamaha HPH-MT7s are not top recommendation for pleasure listening. But if you're looking to make solid mixes that translate from system to system, they should be high on your list.
Features:
- Finish: White
- Specially designed for mixing
- Shed light on the problem areas of a mix
- Suited for the stage or studio
- 40mm CCAW neodymium drivers reproduce the entire audible spectrum (15Hz-25kHz)
- Comfortable design — built for long mixing sessions
- Closed backs — provides isolation from outside sounds
- Circumaural design — seals around the ear for deep, accurate bass
- Ear cups flip up for one-on, one-off monitoring
- Impedance: 49 ohms
- Sensitivity: 99 dB/mW
- Includes a carry bag, 10-foot detachable cable, and 1/4" adapter