Pianist
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jan 3, 2007
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That's the core of your posting. You describe your subjective experiences with the MSR-7. However it might sound bright to other persons due to different anatomical factors (resonance of the ear canal). The MSRs upper mids are indeed a bit forward compared to other frequencies which is also shown by the measurements of the frequency response.
Well, ok. I was just about to post the following:
The volume of mid bass at 150 Hz relative to the highs from ~3-10 kHz is very similar between MSR7 and HD600 as you see on these graphs:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD600.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AudioTechnicaATHMSR7.pdf
In fact, it looks like HD600 is brighter than MSR7 between 2 and 3 kHz and also does seem to have better presence after 10 kHz - more air.
I am comparing to HD600, because it's considered as one of the most neutral and balanced headphones by many people, including audio pros and it's used for recording in many studios.
Regarding our ear anatomy and hearing differences, that's a different matter, but I assume that the MSR7 and HD600 will sound similar to the same person in the way I showed above. So if a person considers MSR7 bright above 2 kHz, then HD600 should also sound bright above 2 kHz to that person. I have only seen very few people describe HD600 as bright in the highs though. In fact, quite a few people find them a bit too polite and recessed in the highs, even "veiled." You know, that famous "Sennheiser veil."