Sorry disagree. MSR7 is not less colored than MDR1 or Momentum. The bass is clearer than Momentum but not less colored. The treble and mids are brighter and more forward than both MDR1 and Momentum. Bith MDR1 and Mimentum do have a warmer muddier aound, MSR7 has a brighter more forward sound, sounds clearer because of it, just the other spectrum of colored. I prefer the MAR7 sound when my ears don't get fatigued andirritated by the shrill treble. I would say HP50 has a more straight forward presentation, but would atill not recommend for mixing/studio use. It is obviously made for consumer use as a portable headphone.
AKG K712 is the neutral headphone that I have heard.
Well, I guess our ears or our definition of colour is slightly different then.
I have the AKG K702 65th Annies which are almost the same as the K712,
I do agree it is very neutral.
But we are not going to compare the MSR-7 to them because they are in a very different class,
(open vs closed, different price range, etc).
I am going to focus on the MDR-1A and the Momentums here, since I have done a direct comparison of the MSR-7 to those before.
I have only tried the HP-50 when I visited a store and I haven't experienced it for more than 30 min,
so my perception of them may be slightly off,
since they sounded fast and delicate in my memory,
with a slight bass emphasis that seemed similar to the MSR-7 (correct me if I am wrong on this, its been a while),
but they seemed to have a weird soundstage that I didn't get used to and it lacked a little detail in some more complex classical tracks.
While for the MDR-1A there was simply a substantial bass hump compared to both its mid and highs,
which made it muddy compared to the MSR-7 as you said,
it also had a very pronounce Sony-flavor to it that I would describe as "fun".
This Sony house (very bass heavy in comparison) signature is why it is very colored compared to the MSR-7 in my opinion.
On the other hand,
The Momentum is also bass-heavy,
but not on the level of the Sonys.
Instead it carried a very Sennhieser house sound to it,
and was colored in a way that it brought the mids forward by quite a bit,
and the highs seemed recessed,
which made it sound lacking in detail and muddy as well.
Furthermore, because of a flawed cup design that made it pretty uncomfortable for my larger than normal ears,
I didn't even consider them further (thought I heard their version 2.0 is much better).
I would say the MSR-7 is closer to neutral than both of these,
Its bass is nowhere as accentuated, and its mids are not at a point that is affected by the amount of bass present.
Its very slight rise in the treble may be its only downfall,
which may seem harsh in some ears (also could be a strength in the ears of detail freaks).
The MSR-7 is definitely colored,
but its much closer to a monitor sound compared the other two HPs above.
I guess I agree the HP-50 (and maybe the MDR-1A and momentums) is better made as a consumer portable headphone in terms of its non-fatiguing signature,
but the MSR-7 is a unique sounding headphone that offers a more detailed and delicate sound compared to other HP here,
while not offering a signature that is perfect for outdoor use.
