Quote Originally Posted by Eugene-p
1. Try saying "Нина" and if you can imagine Ы instead of И then.....hmmm....I missed something in my life.
и/ы is a special case, you're right.

2. Cut the first consonant in the "мяч" out using audacity or something and try to hear the A there.....
Done, 'А' is the same.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/596phk
Do you see what happened when I tried to preserve the A original without softening? It's exactly the same thing I talked above of, referread as an accent.
I hear [ммм'асо] - long 'м' that is no palatalized at the beginning, then becomes palatalized and from this point it sounds more or less like 'мясо' should.