Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7b

First of all, it is to be mentioned I am not familiar with the old MSR7, so I cannot do a comparison with that.

I bought this pair of headphones for the very good reviews in terms of reference sound signature and for the balanced cable (it is the first I bought with balanced).

The first feeling that I got was the headphones require quite a lot of power to be driven properly, despite one would not think that given the 101dB/mW sensitivity.
Given this, I always felt these were made to be used mostly with the balanced cable. While they can be used on the single ended cable no problem if the amplifier
has enough power, I almost always use the balanced one, so even DAC/amps with less power can drive them at loud volumes without going to the max setting.

Ok, so let's summarize the cons: what I do not like about the MSR7b is the cheap plasticky feel and the fact they creak every time you put them on your head.
I mean for the price, I expect more in terms of quality: my super cheap Senheiser HD 559 is of much better build quality.
Then it's the cables and the cups themselves: every touch on the cable in heard inside the cups if there is no sound or you are listening to quite passages.
I think it's both that the cable that is microphonic and how the connectors are fixed into the cups (without any rubber) that causes this issue.
So replacing the cable with a better one is unlikely to solve the problem completely.

In terms of comfort, I find them very comfortable: light, cups are almost large enough to cover the enire ear, but just barely.
While I can listen to the MSR7b for hours without disconfort, the Senheiser HD5xx/6xx are clearly much better at this aspect.
Then it's the leather cushions: my ears do get hot when the ambient temperature is higher.
Again, at this aspect I prefer the velour pads in the Senheisers or Beyedynamics (which will also last a lot longer).

I mention all of these aspects, as despite the sound is indeed very good, those minuses do matter a lot for me,
especially the creaking and relatively small cups for my ear (the lobe of my ear does slightly touch the cushion).
So my 4.5 stars rating is only because of the very good sound quality, as this clearly outweighs the cons.

Getting to the sound quality itself, this is one of the few headphones I feel sounds good and relatively flat without doing any EQ on it.
I especially like the bass on it, it feels very natural, with a lot of body and impact and quite the right amount.
I do listen to a lot of EDM, house and other genres with a lot of bass and I do like how the MSR7b reproduces the bass on these genres,
despite some might want a bit more, especially in the sub-bass region.
They do sound a bit bright, especially at higher volumes, but that's pretty much the only region where I would EQ them a bit (lower treble).

It's one of the few headphones I own where applying some pre-made EQ from Equalizer APO (from referenceaudioanalyzer) does produce
a worse result than no EQ, especially on the bass. This EQ has a -6.1dB on 139Hz, which makes the bass sound dull.
If I move that to 0dB, or even a bit above, the EQ suddenly becomes better than without EQ.

All in all, I do love these headphones and use them on a regular basis.
What I like the most is the very clean and crisp sound, a very good frequency response even without EQ (can be better with as mentioned above)
and the fact they can handle pretty high SPL without distorting (I like listening loud).
For the price (170euros at local retailer when writing), I think it's a pair definetely worth getting, despite the cons.

I have kept this little closed gem from audio-tehnica around for many years. The MSR7B is a competent headphone in all aspects.

The timbre is unique to me.

It is as if you took the typical audio-technica female vocal forward and slightly bright soundsignature - remove any hint of grain - and then dipped it in a bucket of Fostex/Denon Biocellulose warmth. I assume this is a feature of the DLC coating of the driver.

It has a sort of crsystaline clean sound, but there is no hint of brittle or grainy texture, it is always smooth, and can extract a lot of detail especially in busy passages of music without ever losing composure.

The bass is a little warm, compared to the predecessor has more space, but it feels a little too mellow to me. In the bass region I would prefer a more stepped texture with more punch. But it is still very enjoyable.

Low mids are a touch down, then rising to the high mids, treble has endless zing and resolution without harshness. Can feel even smoother with a DAC on slow roll off filter, or a hair more splashy on a fast roll off filter. Beware it is very sensitive, and can be driven of anything. BUT can sound quite different depending on the source. For some reason the apple dongle doesnt do it justice in the treble despite driving it easily to loud levels. On a desktop setup it really shines.

It has SOME decent imaging and soundstage (more height than width) but overall a more direct sounding headphone. But not overly in your face at all.

If you are soundstage fan I would highly suggest the WP900 wooden cup headphones from AT. Those sound very spacious.

the MSR7B is more about bringing up detail while being very musical and engaging.

To me this headphone is warm yet bright, and can be very source revealing aided by it's technical abilities.

Just a little background before I start with the HP review... I'm essentially an amateur musician (electric guitarist by choice, keyboardist by default role) and have been playing from small-medium sized venues.
Before the MSR7's, I've had on-ears.. the last one being Thinksound On1.

Review Start:

I've had the ATH-MSR7b for a year now. I bought them from Audio46.
Pros: Excellent detail, a lot of highs and mids and I can pretty much imagine where instruments/singers are singing from. It's also a joy to hear all those micro details in musical instruments and the trailing audio from vocals [reverb]
Cons: There is a tendency to want a bit more of bass

Audio Sources (on iPhone XS and Dell G3 3579):
Spotify (High Quality)
Deezer HiFi

DAC: FiiO Q1Mk2
I listen through FiiO's 2.5mm (using a 4.4mm -> 2.5mm adapter) using MSR7's balanced 4.4mm cable

General Impressions:
When listening to tracks, I just love how these HP's reveal the little nuances in the instruments and voices. I just love the amount of detail there. In fact, my "novice-ness" (if I may use the term) has me listening to the same track 3-5 times over and focus on different details at a time. It's just so clear!

I would do 30min-4hr sessions on these and they wouldn't even bother me. Well, the HP's do get a bit warm but never any more than that even at longer listening sessions. Comfort is ace!

What I have noticed however is that compared to live performances of tracks I'm very well acquainted with, I find the bass present but not as powerful/impactful as it should be. I mean, the thump and details are there but I feel they need to be a bit more forward.

Oh, on Spotify High Quality, I have noticed in tracks like "Call Your Name - Hiroyuki Sawano", the bass doesn't seem to be as present when comparing it against the Deezer HiFi version (I've done the A/B on separate occasions and days... and my ears tell me the same thing)

The same phenomenon goes for the highs. There is a tendency for Spotify's tracks rich in high frequencies to pierce my ears whereas listening to the same track via Deezer HiFi doesn't hurt my ears at all.
NOTE: There is to this date (Jan 27, 2020) no localized pricing for Tidal in the Philippines.


Overall, I just love these cans (but am now looking to upgrade to the next Closed back cans-- or I could probably upgrade DAC first...)

Note on the reviewer. I have a critical ear and enough musical performance experience to know what voices and instruments _should_ sound like. I am not an experienced audio reviewer though, so just assume I'm a noob. This review focus primarily on sound (how it performs and what I was looking for), and some unfortunate build issues. No unboxing pictures here.

Search Criteria / Story

This is my story of looking for an upgrade from my SONY MDR-7506 headphones that I have been using with my FiiO M11 DAP. I also have some AKG K501's, but the DAP can't drive them well so I don't use them.

I find the Sony's quite nice for $79. However to sound really good they need to be paired with the right recording, and on other recordings they sound canned, tinny in the treble, and lacking in the bass. Again, they are capable of sounding great, but it depends on what you feed them. This is often the expectation with reference headphones.

In looking for an upgrade I purchased a $160 pair of Drop X Sennheiser Jubilee X58's, but it was very disappointing. They cut off higher frequencies at the knees, vocals sounded _heavily_ muted, high percussion would nearly entirely disappear from the playback. Sure, the sound was ... smooth ... but it was not what I wanted. If you love the X58, you will not love the ATH-MSR7b. I sent the X58's back..

After discussions with a number of head-fi members, I decided that what I
really wanted was:

• A close-to-reference headset with a reasonably flat frequency response.
• A teensy bit less treble so that playback might seem less harsh or "canned" when they otherwise sound that way on the Sony's.
• A teensy bit more bass, must not be muddy.

TL;DR: The ATH-MSR7b pretty much fit the bill. It isn't particularly more bass-y than the Sony MDR-7506 but it has increased ... presence ... that makes the bass feel fuller, and indeed most of the recorded materials. These headphones are a delight for classical performances based on my testing so far, and I have nothing to complain about with other genres. For some specific tracks and comments see below.

Super Sensitive!

The ATH-MSR7b ('b' for 'balanced' by the way), using the balanced inputs with my DAP, are incredibly sensitive. Where I might listen to my Sony MDR-7506 in at volume 60-70 on my DAP (out of 120), I find myself generally turning the volume down 15-20 ticks for the ATH-MSR7b. If you're looking to drive these from a portable device they should be very good for that. I cannot comment on the unbalanced input, I didn't test with it, though the headphones come with both the 4.4mm balanced jack and the 3.5mm unbalanced jack in the box.

Build And/Or Quality Issues

The headband and adjustment mechanisms seem well enough. The ear cups though, at least on my pair, are at the least lacking in quality assurance, and in the worst case may have poor build quality. The following image shows defects in the stitching. One part almost looks like it isn't attached right, though a minor tug on it doesn't seem to reveal problems. Still, I almost returned them for this flaw, and expect better on $229 headphones.


Tracks & Comparative Testing

Here are a few tracks I compared between the ATH-MSR7b and the SONY MDR-7506 on Tidal.com. All were "HIFI" quality unless otherwise noted.

Test #1: Track #1. Album: Mahler Symphony No. 1 "Titan" by the Utah Symphony


Test #2: Track #5: Album: R. Strauss: Vier letzte Leider, TrV 296 - 3. Beim Schlafengehen "Four Last Songs"

Test #3: Track #1 & 2: Album: Jean Luc Ponty's "A Taste For Passion"

Test #4: Track #1: Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, May 1 1996 "La Estiba"
Test #5: Tracks 1&2: John Garbarek "Rites"

Test #6: Track #1: Pink FLoyd, "Dark Side of the Moon"

Test #7: Track #1: Barbra Streisand, The Essential Barbra Streisand "Evergreen"
Comfort/Fit

These are billed as over-ear headphones. I have a large head, and for me they felt more like on-ear headphones. They won't win any awards for comfort, but they weren't bad either. If comfort is your #1 concern and you have big ears/head, these may not be for you.

Concerns/Complaints

1. The lettering for the 'L' and 'R' designators is grey on black and small. It's hard for old eyes to read, and nearly impossible in low light.

2. The headphones do feel cheaply made, both in general and compared to the much cheaper Sonys. For my headset ordered from Amazon there is a cosmetic flaw (and possible more serious manufacturing defect) in ear pads. This is not acceptable for $229 headphones. Heck, I'm not sure I think it's acceptable for headphones at any price. If these headphones were a clothing, it would be marked as an irregular.

Conclusion

I was looking for a step up from my Sony MDR-7506 and I found it, after failing with the Drop X Sennheiser X58.
(Most people love the X58, I am apparently in the minority on this point). To be fair, the ATH-MSR7b is $69 more than the X58, but worth it. I won't be sending these back.

On some of the nuanced recordings I care about, the ATH-MSR7b is a huge step up from the Sony MDR-7506 and worthy of a critical listen. Though as noted above, it did sound harsh on one track, but lowering the volume alleviated most of that.

The sensitivity of the headphones and the balanced input plays very nicely with the FiiO M11 DAP. I'm amazed at how much I have to turn the volume _down_.