Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 Discussion Thread

Mar 9, 2015 at 4:04 AM Post #616 of 2,808
   
Thanks!!

As promised, I made the A/B comparisons.
 
 
Subtly explained music background: I enjoy listening to j-pop, rock, and some trance with hip hop here and there. I took the best tests for the sub-bass and mid-bass category for the hip hop/rap. The trance also had been chosen towards a bias in sub-bass. I used j-pop to determine the mid-bass quantity and to listen for the mids and highs.
 
Source: Samsung galaxy note 4 @ 50-60 % volume
 
Mikros90 volume @ 60% - Good seal?
Ath-msr7 volume @ 50% - Good seal
 
 
RAP
 
 

 
Wiz Khalifa - On my level
 
This is the best sub-bass test from what I heard. 
 
The sub-bass region at 20hz was a bit skewed in mikros90's favor by 1-2db. The ath-msr7 did a good job of keeping up for being an over-ear, and it even had somewhat better rumble detail compared to the mikros 90 by at least 1 db detail. Tightness was the same on both.
 
 
Subbass quantity - Mikros90 > Ath-msr7
Subbass quality - Ath-msr7>= Mikros90
 

 

Lil Wayne ft Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, The Game - Rah!

 
The mikros90 fared well in the midbass quantity, having a pretty good punch for what it offers in size. The ath-msr7 hits a little harder while having slightly more mid-bass quantity, while still retaining the quality.
 
mid-bass quality - Ath-msr7>= Mikros90
mid-bass quantity - Ath-msr7> Mikros90
 
 
 
TRANCE
 
Sub bass songs
 

Zaitek - Essence of Music
 
The mikros90 and the ath-msr7 fared pretty well! Both had the same amount of sub-bass and mid-bass quantity. I'll put the subbass quantity in favor of the mikros 90 as I heard .5db more subbass 
 
Subbass quantity - Mikros90 >= ath-msr7
Subbass quality - Mikros90 = ath-msr7
 

 
Dillon Francis - Masta Blasta
 
The mikros90 has a bit more subbass rumble than the ath-msr7, but only slightly. Both CAN REACH the same amount of subbass quantity. The quality for both are almost equal, but I give the edge to the ath-msr7 by .5db in detail as I coul hear the beginning of the subbass rumble a bit better, including some of its nuances for having slightly less rumble and .5-1db less subbass quantity.
 
Subbass quantity - Mikros90>=Ath-msr7
Subbass quality - Ath-msr7>= Mikros90
 
 
 
JPOP
 

Acid Flavor - Feeling
 
in this scenario, I' testing only the mids and highs. I'm changing the format of the text as this is a bit more complex to describe.
 
Mikros90 Mids&highs: The mikros90's mids and highs are pretty great sounding with resolving treble detailing. There's not much grain on the treble and I hear the nice splashes and crashes from the cymbals. The treble is slightly full from waht I hear, but I think that has to do with how my headphones are sealed. Having said that, if I A/B this headphone with the ath-msr7, I hear problems with the mids-treble airiness as the sound can sound cogested (not in terms of sounstagnig, it's pretty dang good 3d imagery), while having a lack sense of air for a 35mm headphone, which makes some sense to be honest. By itself, however, I hear sound to be somewhat airy, but still not enough to how I desire my flavor for headphones. The mids also suffered similar problems, but the mids were definitely detailed and pretty alaned with the rest of the frequency, while the ath-msr7 had a slight boost in it upper mids. I would have said that the mids would have been slightly more detailed than the ath-msr7s if it were airier, but the msr7 has better etail retrieval in the mids, an slightly better crunch to the guitars.
 
Ath-msr7 mids and highs: I hear the treble detail to be equal of the mikros90, possibly a bit better detailing in nuances as I hear the treble slightly crisper, kind of like the rice krispies cereal, when you hear the snaps, crackles, and pops from the cereal. I love how the cymbal crashes sound in the ath-msr7 due to it slight, very slight forwardness, cleaner detailing (as I hear the sound to be airy and not much congested), and pretty well rounded splashing that doesn't sound tinny. Treble sounds slightly thinner than the mikros90, but not y much as there is some fullness to the treble. now, the mid region for the ath-msr7 sounds pretty clean, open, detailed, and slightly thicker than the mikros90. The sound was silky smooth, which surprises me as it is even silkier and transparent than the mikros90.
 

 
Wings Of Liberty - Ohara Sayaka
 
Mikros90 mids + highs - The highs sounded less grainy than the ath-msr7s, but only slightly. In return, slightly less treble tail than the msr7, and just slightly congesting sounding in the treble as the cymbals could have been at lot more airier .The female vocals sounded fantastic, However, even if sounding just a smudge closed in than the msr7s. Regardless, the mikros90 has a slightly smoother upper mids than the ath-msr7s, which helps avoid a weird grainy tsu sound from Sayaka, but iti sn't that noticable. 
 
Ath-msr7 mids + highs - The high sounded splendidly detailed and airy, but at the cost of the cymbals sounding somewhat grainy. Regardless, the splashing sounded smoother than the crashing did on the ath-msr7s that I can't actually give the mikros90 the faor. They both have equal strengths in treble detailing. The mids are silkier and more thicker on this headphone than the mikros90, while still having great detailig on Ohara's voice, if it weren't for the tsu sounding grainy that is.
 
 
Overall mids + highs : Mikros90 = Ath-msr7
 
 
That is all I can part with, I hope this is enough information!
 
Mar 11, 2015 at 3:06 AM Post #617 of 2,808
Ive read a couple of posts saying these aren't good for metal.. Is this true? From what I've been reading about the sound signature they seem like they would be perfect for metal music.
 
Mar 11, 2015 at 10:45 AM Post #618 of 2,808
Ive read a couple of posts saying these aren't good for metal.. Is this true? From what I've been reading about the sound signature they seem like they would be perfect for metal music.

 
IMO, MSR7 are good for metal. I think, if someone like metal, but need closed over-ear headphones, MSR7 should be considered at 1st place
(Sometimes I'm listening to Trivium, Dragonforce, and Dream Theater)
 
Mar 11, 2015 at 7:41 PM Post #620 of 2,808
   
 
That is all I can part with, I hope this is enough information!

 
...and then some!!!
 
 
beerchug.gif

 
Mar 11, 2015 at 10:55 PM Post #622 of 2,808
 
   
IMO, MSR7 are good for metal. I think, if someone like metal, but need closed over-ear headphones, MSR7 should be considered at 1st place
(Sometimes I'm listening to Trivium, Dragonforce, and Dream Theater)

+1. in fact i like them more than my ms1i for metal 

That's awesome! The MS1i is supposed to be great for metal too. What bands/genres do you listen to?
 
Mar 13, 2015 at 1:37 AM Post #624 of 2,808
 
  That's awesome! The MS1i is supposed to be great for metal too. What bands/genres do you listen to?

 
mostly prog metal like opeth, dream theater. i also listen to other bands like dark tranquillity, in flames, trivium and slayer too and they sound great 

Do you mind telling me how this band sounds in the MSR7? I'm very curious about the impact and depth of the bass drops as well. If you listen to the whole thing there is some really cool atmospheric parts.
 
 
 
Mar 13, 2015 at 1:36 PM Post #625 of 2,808
To let you guys know, I just received and tested Anker (yeah, that famous battery company on amazon!!!) 3.5mm audio cable with MSR7, and it fits perfectly and sounds as good as stock cable.  I know black shielding cable probably will look better with black headphones, but I don't mind in my case.  Cable is very durable, definitely a great build quality.  The coolest part, only $6.99 and fulfilled by Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R124LAK/
 

 

 

 
Mar 14, 2015 at 11:11 AM Post #627 of 2,808
Mar 14, 2015 at 1:07 PM Post #628 of 2,808
  To let you guys know, I just received and tested Anker (yeah, that famous battery company on amazon!!!) 3.5mm audio cable with MSR7, and it fits perfectly and sounds as good as stock cable.  I know black shielding cable probably will look better with black headphones, but I don't mind in my case.  Cable is very durable, definitely a great build quality.  The coolest part, only $6.99 and fulfilled by Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R124LAK/
 
 
 

 
 

 
That looks Good!
Thanks for the info!
Hopefully sounds as good or better than the stock cable ;)
 
Mar 14, 2015 at 1:13 PM Post #629 of 2,808
 
  To let you guys know, I just received and tested Anker (yeah, that famous battery company on amazon!!!) 3.5mm audio cable with MSR7, and it fits perfectly and sounds as good as stock cable.  I know black shielding cable probably will look better with black headphones, but I don't mind in my case.  Cable is very durable, definitely a great build quality.  The coolest part, only $6.99 and fulfilled by Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R124LAK/
 
 
 

 
 

 
That looks Good!
Thanks for the info!
Hopefully sounds as good or better than the stock cable ;)

 
For under $7 it sounds as good, not better but the same.  The key here is durability and fitment, Anker mentioned cable was tested to withstand 10k bends.
 
Mar 14, 2015 at 9:40 PM Post #630 of 2,808
  To let you guys know, I just received and tested Anker (yeah, that famous battery company on amazon!!!) 3.5mm audio cable with MSR7, and it fits perfectly and sounds as good as stock cable.  I know black shielding cable probably will look better with black headphones, but I don't mind in my case.  Cable is very durable, definitely a great build quality.  The coolest part, only $6.99 and fulfilled by Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R124LAK/
 

 

 


Hi  The metal part (the sleeve where you hold the connector) of the plugs looks quite long, would you be able to measure how long they are?
Been looking for a spare cable for these as well was thinking to go the DIY route, but might just pick up one of these since they fit
 

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