I don't understand the Yamaha HPH-MT8 sound

[cgidesign]

Can you help me with understanding the sound coming out of a Yamaha HPH-MT8 headphone?

It sounds "thin" compared to two other headphones.

• Yamaha HPH-MT8 - low base intensity, mids and highs are emphasized - I must increase the volume to get a feeling of base, but that volume is already to loud for normal listening for me. On the other hand, if there is base then it sounds controlled.
• Sony MDR-7506 - base is there and sounds ok to me but a bit muddy, mids and highs are less pronounced than with the Yamaha (but still a quite high sounding headphone)
• B&W P7 - base is emphasized and muddy, mids and highs are ok for me (this headphone gives the most "easy listening" of the three, but the base gets somewhat out of control)

I am wondering why the Yamaha's base is so "weak" in comparison.

One of the tracks I used:

If I understand the spectrogram correctly, it tells me there is a lot of base with high amplitude from 30 Hz to 500 Hz in this song.

System used:

I am actually listening to the HPs via a notebook's 3.5 jack output. The notebook's audio chip is a simple Realtek one:

• Source is 44.1 kHz 16 bit flac
• Player is MusicBee set to:
  - WASAPI (Exclusive)
  - volume to 100%
  - dsp and EQ is off
  - replay gain is off
• Audio device (Realtek chip) is set to 44.1 kHz
• All audio enhancement features are off
• OS is Windows 11

Background of my question
I borrowed most of the stuff to compare the notebook's internal audio with an external old RME Babyface interface. If I can hear, that the sound quality from the Babyface is better than the one from the notebook, It might be, that this is also true for a mobile phone (cheap model with a jack output) compared to an external dac/amp via usb. If I hear a difference between the notebook and the Babyface I might check if I can afford such a mobile dac.

But because of the weird sound of the Yamaha I am unsure whether there is something wrong with the Yamaha or whether there is a variable influencing the sound I have not yet considered.

 

[solderdude]

The HPH-MT8 is a bit wonky in frequency response AND seal dependent.
Needs EQ for sure and as shown below is bass-shy and too 'forward' in instruments and voices.

The MDR-7506 is closest to 'neutral'. The small dip around 200Hz 'dis-attaches' the bass from the mids.

The PX7 is an overly 'bassy' headphone

Nothing wrong with the used gear.
You just need a 'better' headphone.

 

[cgidesign]

Many thanks!
Seems so those graphs fit to what I am hearing.

Could it also be that the P7 is somewhat tuned to sound more forgiving than the other two?
I am just listening to "Take Five" from Paul Desmond that he wrote as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartett.

In this piece there are the Ride Cymbal and the Hi-Hat very prominent. And and Alto Saxophone is the main melody provider.
With the P7 all those instruments sound nice, but maybe a tad to smooth. I think the Ride Cymbal should have a bit of metallic sharpness in its sound when hit. And same for the Alto Saxophone. It does not sound dull or so, but it lacks a bit of detail in the high notes.
With the Sony everything is more brilliant. With the Yamaha on the other hand it is to sharp and high pitched.

My idea was to compare the notebook's realtek with the babyface but now I am comphavearing headphones - argh.

EDIT:
After more google I found the information that ohm can be relevant for sound.
I knew about volume with respect to ohm but not sound quality.
It was written that the source should have much less ohm than the headphone.
The babyface which is now running has 30 ohm but the P7 has 22 ohm.
Could that have a relevant influence on how the P7 sound?

 

[Redacted]

Many PC's have weak sound chips and may not get the best out of many headphones, not to mention adding noise from the PC. This was absolutely true for the various laptops in our house - I bought a Topping DX1 MK1 external USB DAC and my 'phones are much improved. Users with boutique 'phones with high impedances may need something more powerful than a DX1.

Don't get bogged down in what the internet says about "ohms" in sources. Read up on "internal impedance" instead, on Wiki or somewhere with basic engineering information.

Also you say "Audio device (Realtek chip) is set to 44.1 kHz" - but there should be nothing for you to set, as the DAC figures out the sample rate for itself.