[tolis626]

Hi man! So I tried removing the little felt ring that opens to the back and I do feel the bass has improved. But in the beginning I felt like the sound was a bit weird, maybe a bit narrower of a soundstage and a bit of mid bleeding. Anyways, for some reason one of my pillows broke so I tried some of the polyfill in the headphones... would you believe me if I said they sound more "open"?

Hi!

Let me understand exactly what you did first. What I understood is that you just removed the felt ring in the back of the cans while using the stock pads. Am I correct so far? If yes, you're missing out. Stock pads don't really work without the extra damping from the felt, they sound bloated and congested like that. With bigger pads, such as the HM5, it all comes together nicely.

Next, you say you tried polyfill in the headphones. Where? Can you please post some pictures? That is uncharted territory for me. I suppose in the very back, in the area blocked by the felt rings, where the connectors are. Also, with stock pads? If I'm correct, then I suppose that the polyfill just dampens the back of the driver, but does a better job at it that just a tiny felt ring. Still suggest the HM5 pads upgrade though.

Looking forward to hearing back from you mate! Really nice work!

 

[Tubenoob]

Hi!

Let me understand exactly what you did first. What I understood is that you just removed the felt ring in the back of the cans while using the stock pads. Am I correct so far? If yes, you're missing out. Stock pads don't really work without the extra damping from the felt, they sound bloated and congested like that. With bigger pads, such as the HM5, it all comes together nicely.

Next, you say you tried polyfill in the headphones. Where? Can you please post some pictures? That is uncharted territory for me. I suppose in the very back, in the area blocked by the felt rings, where the connectors are. Also, with stock pads? If I'm correct, then I suppose that the polyfill just dampens the back of the driver, but does a better job at it that just a tiny felt ring. Still suggest the HM5 pads upgrade though.

Looking forward to hearing back from you mate! Really nice work!

Yeah at first I only removed the felt ring, I liked the sound I got and the following day I filled the back (not directly behind the driver but behind the now open hole) and all this with the stock pads. I do see what you mean with changing them, they become a source for headaches if I use them for long.
Haven't gotten around ordering the pads because I have a pair of HE4XX's coming though!

Which exact HM5 pads are the ones you recommend to get?

Thanks for the info!

 

[tolis626]

HE4xx, eh? Nice! These are on my list too! I just want planar, damn it!

Well, I can vouch for their pleather and sheepskin flat pads. Haven't tried angled ones, but I can't imagine it would work well, with the driver being angled already. Between the two pads, the pleather ones are softer but hotter and get sweaty. The sound with them is warmer and darker. The sheepskin ones are nicer (like, too nice), they feel firmer and nicer on the skin, while being a bit more breathable. Sound sig wise, the balance is closer to stock, being a very slight V, but they sound quite a bit sparklier and livelier than the pleather ones. Compared to stock, the difference is huge. Granted you have the felt removed (I have no idea how polyfill in the back affects the whole thing, I'd love to hear back from you), using either HM5 pads results in wider soundstage, much better bass and subbass response (like, on a completely different level to stock) and more controlled/smooth mids and highs. Not to mention the comfort is as good as it gets.

If you can, please do take a few pictures of your polyfill job. Also, post back if you decide to get HM5 pads!

 

[CKT1138]

I just got my MSR7s...
WOW.
I'm staggered by the level of hidden detail they reveal, it's really quite impressive. I managed to snag mine for under 100 USD used on eBay and they have become hands down my favorite closed back.
I don't really find them lacking in bass or excessively bright either. It has the Audio Technica house sound, with the very airy treble and otherwise quite neutral signature. They remind me of my pair of M40xs, except with better low end tuning and more neutral tonality overall.
Phenomenal!

 

[tolis626]

I just got my MSR7s...
WOW.
I'm staggered by the level of hidden detail they reveal, it's really quite impressive. I managed to snag mine for under 100 USD used on eBay and they have become hands down my favorite closed back.
I don't really find them lacking in bass or excessively bright either. It has the Audio Technica house sound, with the very airy treble and otherwise quite neutral signature. They remind me of my pair of M40xs, except with better low end tuning and more neutral tonality overall.
Phenomenal!

Well, nobody said the stock MSR7 were bad. They are quite balanced and extremely detailed, as you noted. However, you did get them used, which means they were probably burned in. When new, they have quite an edgy treble response which is fatiguing after a bit. But that smooths down a lot with burning in and they are fine after that. But a) their comfort leaves a lot to be desired, at least for people without small ears and b) their best face can't show in stock form. Bass at stock is quite good, neutral in quantity (if not a bit shy) and great in quality. The timbre of these cans is spot on after all. But they lack... Oomph. They sound anaemic. The bass is there, I can hear it, I just can't feel it. With a little bit of modding all of that is gone. Timbre, balance, detail, all are still present, but the bass... Oh the bass. Gotta hear it to believe it. That sort of low end punch with the MSR7's detail retrieval, speed and timbre is phenomenal sounding. Biggest difference compared to other cans of that range for me is with kick drums. On most <300$ cans I've heard, kick drums usually sound like electronic beats generated by software, like in EDM music. It's punchy and bassy, but it feels artificial. On the MSR7 you can not only hear clearly that it's a drum being physically hit, you can almost deduce how tight the drum skin is and with how much force the drummer hit it. That's at stock, after modding you can also feel the kick.

EDIT : The only real issue I can hear so far is the same issue I've heard with all "cheap" closed cans, and it's reflections in the cup. At lower volumes, it's fine. But give it a bit more juice and especially with "noisy" music like metal, you get a bit of a mess. Any other music really is fine, but metal music does tend to make a lot of cans fall apart, so there's that. The MSR7 handle most things beautifully, stock or not, except for metal at high volumes from my findings. I may try to find some way to cut the reflections or add dampening at the back. Dunno how I'd go about doing that, but I have some ideas.

 

[CKT1138]

Anyone been able to get official replacement pads for the MSR7?
Audio Technica only sells those awful M series pads as replacements from their online store, which I find absolutely baffling. I'm sure they'll be willing to send one to me if I request and pay for a replacement, but really, they should offer these things in their shop. It's a non-discontinued product, and the pads honestly aren't even bad, in fact I really like them, and I bet they'd be a good fit for M40 and M50x owners too.

 

[audiohurric4ne]

Anyone been able to get official replacement pads for the MSR7?
Audio Technica only sells those awful M series pads as replacements from their online store, which I find absolutely baffling. I'm sure they'll be willing to send one to me if I request and pay for a replacement, but really, they should offer these things in their shop. It's a non-discontinued product, and the pads honestly aren't even bad, in fact I really like them, and I bet they'd be a good fit for M40 and M50x owners too.

yaxi stpad. comfortable and doesnt change the sound atleast to my ear. tried other unbranded pads but none worked.

 

[tolis626]

I think you can find the stock pads on ebay for cheap. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was actually the same exact pad as stock and not a Chinese copy. But even if it was for the genuine stock pads, I wouldn't spend more than 10-15$. Yaxi pads have been brought up before, so they may work, but I have no experience with them at all.

 

[CKT1138]

Yaxi pad prices are absurd in my opinion, definitely over my acceptable pad budget

 

[Rodmunch]

Anyone been able to get official replacement pads for the MSR7?
Audio Technica only sells those awful M series pads as replacements from their online store, which I find absolutely baffling. I'm sure they'll be willing to send one to me if I request and pay for a replacement, but really, they should offer these things in their shop. It's a non-discontinued product, and the pads honestly aren't even bad, in fact I really like them, and I bet they'd be a good fit for M40 and M50x owners too.

I recently bought them directly from AT. I emailed them about it, they sent me an invoice, and I paid through PayPal. Including shipping it was about $40 total. They appear to be identical to the originals.

 

[Drienvyftigcent]

Hi guys,

Sorry I'm a total noob and new on this forum but I just bought a new pair of MSR7s and am using a laptop with a cheap soundcard. Can anybody recommend me an external soundcard/Dac/Dac+amp or something like that to run through under $100? I'd appreciate any recommendations.

 

[tolis626]

Hi guys,

Sorry I'm a total noob and new on this forum but I just bought a new pair of MSR7s and am using a laptop with a cheap soundcard. Can anybody recommend me an external soundcard/Dac/Dac+amp or something like that to run through under $100? I'd appreciate any recommendations.

Well, if you only have the MSR7, you can use anything power-wise, so focus on quality. For around 100$, my recommendations would be the Fiio Q1 MK2, Topping NX4 or something like that, assuming you want it to be portable. Or you can always go with something like the Schiit Fulla 2 or Micca Origen if you don't care about portability. Any of these will likely destroy any onboard audio solution. But before you buy any of this, do check Z Reviews' video on cheap portable amps. Maybe you'll find some info worth your time there. Enjoy!

 

[Drienvyftigcent]

Well, if you only have the MSR7, you can use anything power-wise, so focus on quality. For around 100$, my recommendations would be the Fiio Q1 MK2, Topping NX4 or something like that, assuming you want it to be portable. Or you can always go with something like the Schiit Fulla 2 or Micca Origen if you don't care about portability. Any of these will likely destroy any onboard audio solution. But before you buy any of this, do check Z Reviews' video on cheap portable amps. Maybe you'll find some info worth your time there. Enjoy!

Thanks thats very helpful.

 

[sejsel]

Hi guys,

Sorry I'm a total noob and new on this forum but I just bought a new pair of MSR7s and am using a laptop with a cheap soundcard. Can anybody recommend me an external soundcard/Dac/Dac+amp or something like that to run through under $100? I'd appreciate any recommendations.

For the given price, I think (for portable purposes) that the Audioengine D3 is well worth demoing. I have found it to be a very good math with ATH MSR7. It was listed even for $65; I don't know what is the current price offering though.

 

[tolis626]

For the given price, I think (for portable purposes) that the Audioengine D3 is well worth demoing. I have found it to be a very good math with ATH MSR7. It was listed even for $65; I don't know what is the current price offering though.

Oh yeah, that's another good option. I've seen it on Massdrop for a ridiculous price at some point, so do keep an eye out!