[WhatAmIDoing]

Hi guys, I'm new to audiophilia and the ATH-M50's were my first headphones when I bought them 2 years ago. I ended up giving them away as a gift and now I'm wondering whether I should buy another pair of M50's or upgrade to the MSR7's. I don't use an amp, I typically listen through my computer or smartphone, I usually listen off youtube so the mp3's aren't always the best quality and I tend to listen to hip hop, rap, classic rock...just an eclectic mix of everything
 
Which headphones would be best for me. I read a CNET review that said the MSR7's are much less forgiving of lower quality sound files and the M50x has better bass? I don't understand why the MSR7's are considered an 'upgrade' then and why they're $60 more expensive.

 

[Dulalala]

The MSR7 don't sound very similar to the M50X. If you are looking to upgrade with to something similar to the M50X I would recommend the V-Moda M-100.

 

[WhatAmIDoing]

I don't know if I'm looking for something 'similar' but I am looking for something 'better', if that makes any sense.

 

[Dulalala]

  I don't know if I'm looking for something 'similar' but I am looking for something 'better', if that makes any sense.

So you want one with a different sound signature? Can you be more specific?

 

[WhatAmIDoing]

I can't because I'm a noob. I don't even really know what terms like 'sound signature', 'bright', 'warm', etc even mean.

 

[Dulalala]

 
I read a CNET review that said the MSR7's are much less forgiving of lower quality sound files and the M50x has better bass? I don't understand why the MSR7's are considered an 'upgrade' then and why they're $60 more expensive.

Different headphones have different sound signatures. Just because the MSR7 has less bass than the M50X doesn't mean it's worse. Can I assume from this that you want a bassy pair of headphones? Also how much are you willing to spend?

 

[WhatAmIDoing]

I'd like to spend less than $200. I don't know if I want something that's overly bassy. I just want something that will be versatile and good for all types of music. I mostly listen to 90s rap and 60's classic rock. I need a pair of headphones that will be very forgiving of older and poorer quality audio files since I mostly listen through youtube.

 

[Dulalala]

Try looking into the Sennheiser Momentum 2. They're a bit over budget at around $220 on amazon though. If you really need it closer to $200 I stick by my recommendation for the V-Moda M-100.

 

[RedSky0]

  I can't because I'm a noob. I don't even really know what terms like 'sound signature', 'bright', 'warm', etc even mean.

 
Sound signature is just a pretentious way of referring to how headphones sound different because they say, accentuate different frequencies and have a slow / fast decay for the sounds they reproduce (and have a different sound signature).
 
Bright generally refers to the treble (high) notes sounding more prominent. This can bring out certain instruments (e.g. strings) but can also sometimes be perceived as sharp or piercing if overdone.
 
Warm is where mid / mid-bass is accentuated. This tends to make the sound more rounded off and smooth, but can obscure / cloud the sound of treble which can reduce how much detail you perceive.
 
If you don't have a local store where you can test or A/B the headphones you are considering, I would suggest playing around with an equalizer on your phone with your current headphones. This can give you a sense of the sound signature you are after and whether you prefer a neutral, bright, warm or V shaped (bass / treble heavy, mids light) sound.

 

[Dulalala]

  I can't because I'm a noob. I don't even really know what terms like 'sound signature', 'bright', 'warm', etc even mean.

If you want to know the different terms and what they mean I suggest looking at this. 
http://www.head-fi.org/a/describing-sound-a-glossary

 

[WhatAmIDoing]

Thanks for the responses guys. Could you also recommend a pair of around-ear open back headphones for under $200?

 

[Dulalala]

AKG K7XX are good for the price but you will have to wait for them to redrop on Massdrop. The Audio Technica AD900X are also good but are lacking in bass. They have really nice soundstage though. Though to be quite honest it's quite hard to recommend something when we don't know what you specifically want. 

 

[puudub]

M50x has more bass
MSR7 has less bass and a lot better mids and highs
momentums sound bit similar to m50x, but better hi end imo.
haven't listened to v-modas unfortunately.

Check out AIAIAI's, have set of them and after trying out dozens of different headphones I concluded these still the winner.

Also before buying open cans, you should first listen to them, I ended up hating a lot of them. Although HD600, which I tried, sounded incredible, but the price and lack of bass meant that these aren't for me. 

 

[WhatAmIDoing]

What about the Sennheiser HD 598's (special amazon edition)? I'm looking at those. The price seems to be right at around $150

 

[puudub]

Tried these (not special edition), but unfortunately couldn't remember the sound signature. For some reason they didn't end up in my picking list. I like bassy music and sennheiser HD series wasn't something I was looking for.
 
EDIT: I recommend going to the sound shop and listening to different headphones, if possible without looking at the price and label. This way you wouldn't be biased that higher price means better SQ and higher number in series means that they are better. You will be amazed how bad many expensive ones are and how good many of the cheaper ones are. No bulls#!t, only pure enjoyable music listening.