Hi guys!
Been out of here for a while (not that I was a particularly active member to begin with. I had only crappy gear and didn't have the budget for anything worthwhile, so I stayed away to avoid feeling jealous
) but I'm waiting for my MSR7s (used pair from e-bay, bought them for 104€ at an auction!) this week and wanted to ask a few things.
First thing is, what kind of DAC/amp would you guys pair these with? From what I've gathered, these go better with warmer sounding amps rather than very analytical ones. I do want to get the Dragonfly (preferably Red if I can afford it, but most probably I'll get the black), but people seem to think it's quite analytical sounding and I don't know if it'd make a good pair with those. I'd prefer something I can use on the go, but I guess these can make do with a smartphone too. Budget would be 200€ max, but preferably in the 100€ range. I've contemplated risking it with some of the chinese brands, but all of them seem to come with their own set of issues. I liked the SMSL idea, but it's got issues with Android. Then there's the Centrance DACport slim (not chinese, I guess, but for me still falls under the same category) with its heating issues and stuff. Then I saw on Massdrop the Zorloo ZuperDAC that comes with an ESS9018 and people say it sounds good, but the quality's flimsy and many people had theirs break (althought for 55$ I guess it's good enough). I was also thinking about going Fiio (Q1, E17k or E18), but except for the Q1 their prices seem somewhat jacked in Europe and I don't know if the Q1 is a worthwhile investment. I will mostly use these at home with my PC, but I bought them for the added portability, so I can take them with me when traveling or to the library and stuff. Still, I'm open to ideas about desktop DAC/amps if they're worth it. Same budget applies.
Second, would you change the pads on these to HM5 ones? I'm seriously thinking about it, especially considering the clamping pressure. But 30-40€ on top is getting somewhat pricey and I'd prefer spending that as extra for the amp, especially considering that mine are gonna be a used pair and are probably gonna be a bit broken in.
Finally, would you say the MSR7 sound good with metal music (like, 95% of my music listening is to metal music)? I'm torn, because on one hand the strong highs may get fatiguing, but then the detail is gonna make the instruments sound good and detailed, the bass is not gonna be overwhelming and I think these are supposed to have a good attack, so I guess they may suit metal? I dunno, I'd like some feedback on this.
Thanks in advance! I'm thrilled to be joining the club!
PS : I hope these sound quite a bit better than my BeyerDynamic Byrons. I mean, they're a 50$ pair of IEMs, but MAN do they sound great. Bit bassy and warm (which I like), but detail's there and the sound is generally awesome. I love these things. And they sound good driven by about anything I've tried them with.