Yamaha monitor headphones "HPH-MT5" modified to balanced drive
Hello! This is T, a staff member at Onkodo.
This is a continuation of my previous blog post.
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[Staff Blog] I bought the FIIO Bluetooth Receiver BTR17 and the YAMAHA HPH-MT5
The classic headphones `` YAMAHA HPH-MT5 '' that we introduced previously have a 2.5mm stereo jack on the jack side.
This format has a locking mechanism and is very durable, but there are currently few compatible plugs.
We also carry these products, and if you replace your original parts with these you will be amazed at the difference in sound.
MOGAMI 2893 Headphone Cable YAMAHA Type etc. [2.5φ 3-pole bayonet lock plug]
However, this time I would like to replace it with a 4.4mm balanced jack and convert it into a balanced drive headphone.
Furthermore, the internal wiring will be re-cabled by Mogami so that it will serve as a standard for product development.
It's only been a few days since I bought it, but I'm going to take it apart. Breaking the golden rule of not opening anything that moves, I'll start by removing everything that can be removed.
The sound-proofing material (?) was assembled with the position shifted to one side, and even went through to the screws.
This is a common occurrence with mass-produced products, so fix it and return it to the correct position.
The regular location is here.
The cable used for the internal re-cabling is a Mogami line cable with a NEGLEX conductor.
Normally I don't think it's necessary to go to such lengths, but I did it for product testing, and I regret it...
The cable wouldn't pass through, so I had to sand it down here and there.
I didn't take many photos during the work, but I had a junk ONKODO AJ4.4-550G so I used that instead.
ONKODO AJ4.4-550G DIY 4.4mm 5-pole female balanced jack
It looks a little bad, but it's now balanced.
I connected and tested the FIIO BTR17 , which I did last time.
The cable used is a balanced cable made from Mogami 2534.
MOGAMI 2534 Balanced cable with 4.4mm 5-pole male on both ends
I use a Pixel 8 as the source and play my favorite songs via Amazon Prime Music via a wired connection.
The sound was so different that it was like a completely different thing.
Since I changed the internal wiring and switched to a balanced connection at the same time, I can't tell exactly which has the bigger impact, but I think the benefits of the balanced connection are quite significant .
The difference in sound separation and depth is incomparable to that of a 3.5mm unbalanced connection.
The sound itself doesn't sound different, but the balanced drive conveys that the sound from the headphones is coming out properly.
This is especially noticeable on the bass side, and the increased separation means you can hear the high notes clearly as well.
However, since these are monitor headphones, it is true that they may feel a bit over the top, but this is inevitable given their intended use.
I think it may not be suitable for listening.
This once again confirmed that the "BTR17" can be driven sufficiently by headphones when connected in a balanced manner, and that it produces a sound with very few quirks.
If the sound changes this much, I think it's worth the challenge.
It will make it easy to create sound standards when testing new products in the future, and I think it will be a very useful tool.
We are currently searching for balancing headphones as part of our product menu.
This is not possible with all headphones, and it would likely be an expensive option if it involved re-cabling the internal wiring, but if you just replace the 4.4mm balanced jack, the price should be able to be kept down to a certain extent.
This year, we would like to do our best to offer such product menus in order to meet customer requests.
We will also do our best to spread the word that there are other ways to enjoy audio.
Thank you for staying with us until the end.
