Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 Discussion Thread

[shuto77]

Hey, everyone. I'm interested in these for metal music and for some gaming.

I currently have the NAD Viso HP50, but I'm thinking these might be more up my alley.

I would be using the Brainwavz pleather pads, which I enjoy quite a bit.

 

[441879]

I'd take the woofer out and check it. A blown woofer should be pretty apparent, there shouldn't be thought of "maybe it's blown and maybe it's not". The quick way to check would be to gently press the woofer in (be careful to not damage dustcap, push around it), if it sticks or hesitates (if you feel a fair amount of resistance) in its movement then it's blown, if not.. Might just need to be refoamed, which can be done by your local stereo shop, check your local craigslist! Rattles can also often be something loose within the speaker, whether it's something that got in through an open port, or maybe an internal part becoming loose. Best of luck!

Definitely blown. Already pulled it out. It was quite sticky and the voice coil had separated. I checked with the manufacturer and they'll sell a replacement no problem which is good. I bought them used almost 30 years ago so I guess I got my money's worth.

In truth, I don't use my big stereo much any more except for watching movies. Wife and daughter aren't exactly fans of my musical tastes, which is what sent me to Head-Fi

 

[arteom]

Definitely blown. Already pulled it out. It was quite sticky and the voice coil had separated. I checked with the manufacturer and they'll sell a replacement no problem which is good. I bought them used almost 30 years ago so I guess I got my money's worth.

In truth, I don't use my big stereo much any more except for watching movies. Wife and daughter aren't exactly fans of my musical tastes, which is what sent me to Head-Fi

Yeah 30 years is very good indeed!! Nice choice with the MSR-7's, you can tell AT put a lot of thought into them. Think one would be hard pressed to find anything better in that price bracket. Even then, you are looking at full size cans.

 

[441879]

Yeah 30 years is very good indeed!! Nice choice with the MSR-7's, you can tell AT put a lot of thought into them. Think one would be hard pressed to find anything better in that price bracket. Even then, you are looking at full size cans.

I'm pretty pleased. They're exactly the kind of sound I like. Crystal clear and detailed, tight, solid bass. Of course I've now read a ton of reviews and so I'm curious if electrostatics or planar magnetics live up to the hype. Next week I'll be in Seattle so I think I'll check out some Audeze EL8s

 

[zazex]

Hey, everyone. I'm interested in these for metal music and for some gaming.

I currently have the NAD Viso HP50, but I'm thinking these might be more up my alley.

I would be using the Brainwavz pleather pads, which I enjoy quite a bit.

 
Having owned both the MSR7's and the HP50's, though not at the same time,
I liked the AT's more.  But the HP50's are very good.
 
I think that if you want to make a real move up from the HP50's, you've got to
go to the next level.  Something like the Shure 1540's, the HFM 400i''s or 560's,
maybe the Oppo PM3's; the Grado RS2e's or PS500e's...
 
something along those lines.
 
If you want to make a basically lateral move for a somewhat different sound 
that might be more appealing to you than that of the HP50's, the MSR7's are
a good choice IMO.  But they're not going to do what those others can do in terms
of detail retrieval, soundstage, all that good stuff.

 

[shuto77]

Having owned both the MSR7's and the HP50's, though not at the same time,
I liked the AT's more.  But the HP50's are very good.

I think that if you want to make a real move up from the HP50's, you've got to
go to the next level.  Something like the Shure 1540's, the HFM 400i''s or 560's,
maybe the Oppo PM3's; the Grado RS2e's or PS500e's...

something along those lines.

If you want to make a basically lateral move for a somewhat different sound 
that might be more appealing to you than that of the HP50's, the MSR7's are
a good choice IMO.  But they're not going to do what those others can do in terms
of detail retrieval, soundstage, all that good stuff.

Thanks for the input!

I already have a Philips Fidelio X2 and just ordered a Hifiman He400i.

I understand these two headphones are pretty close quality-wise. I just want to know if the MSR7 is good with metal and if it's passable with gaming. I understand it won't be great, since it's a closed headphone.

Thanks again!

 

[jon parker]

Hey, everyone. I'm interested in these for metal music and for some gaming.

I currently have the NAD Viso HP50, but I'm thinking these might be more up my alley.

I would be using the Brainwavz pleather pads, which I enjoy quite a bit.

 probably quite good for metal BUT
for gaming
I played some Battlefield 4 with them and I immediately took them off - Far too bass heavy (amongst other things) - you need to hear all the details such as foot steps etc
 
TBH I have found the Superlux HD668B to be perfect for gaming AND they are $40 or so - If you havent heard of them look 'em up here  

 

[shuto77]

 probably quite good for metal BUT
for gaming
I played some Battlefield 4 with them and I immediately took them off - Far too bass heavy (amongst other things) - you need to hear all the details such as foot steps etc

TBH I have found the Superlux HD668B to be perfect for gaming AND they are $40 or so - If you havent heard of them look 'em up here  

Thanks, Jon!

I'm coming from much bassier headphones, so this probably means their bass is sufficient.

I've been playing The Wicher 3 with my Fidelio X2s, which are much bassier, and they're great. The Viso HP50, however, was too boomy with Destiny, via my Soundblaster X7.

Have you by chance heard the Beyerdynamic T70? I'm debating between the T70 and MSR7s at the moment.

Thanks!

 

[jon parker]

 

 probably quite good for metal BUT
for gaming
I played some Battlefield 4 with them and I immediately took them off - Far too bass heavy (amongst other things) - you need to hear all the details such as foot steps etc

TBH I have found the Superlux HD668B to be perfect for gaming AND they are $40 or so - If you havent heard of them look 'em up here  

Thanks, Jon!

I'm coming from much bassier headphones, so this probably means their bass is sufficient.

I've been playing The Wicher 3 with my Fidelio X2s, which are much bassier, and they're great. The Viso HP50, however, was too boomy with Destiny, via my Soundblaster X7.

Have you by chance heard the Beyerdynamic T70? I'm debating between the T70 and MSR7s at the moment.

Thanks!

 
Cool, they may well suit you very well then. I had the Beyerdynamic DT800 - If you lean towards treble detail i would do the AT's If you lean towards warm I would go towards the T70 
x

 

[441879]

So, I found an online tool for creating equal loudness contours. This is what these headphones sound like to my 50 year old ears- Mids recessed a touch with a little dip between 400 Hz to 1.5 kHz and slightly brighter highs. Solid bass down to the bottom of my hearing but rolling off a little starting around 60hz. Essentially flat on the high frequency side past 12K then dropping rapidly after that (probably because of my age).


Here's a graph with two different amplifiers:

Blue line: Old bit-head amp
Orange line: Teac HA-P50

Could just be subjectivity I my part, but the Teac sounds a little less depressed in the Mids. The Teac is by far the better amp so I would assume if there is any real difference, the Teac curve is the more typical

 

[ellenzu]

how does this compare to shure se846?

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

   probably quite good for metal BUT
for gaming
I played some Battlefield 4 with them and I immediately took them off - Far too bass heavy (amongst other things) - you need to hear all the details such as foot steps etc
 
TBH I have found the Superlux HD668B to be perfect for gaming AND they are $40 or so - If you havent heard of them look 'em up here  

IME the HD668B has serious build quality problem! My friend's broke just after warranty runs out, mine broke after 6 months and as I was abroad I could not claim warranty for it. I don't dispute that the Superflux's offer great sound quality for the money, but as in the cases with other Chinese headphones/earphones, I'm not that sure about their longevity. 
 
On the MSR7, I find its sound sig quite suitable for Metal. The soundstage may be not enough for Symphonic and Gothic (after all it's closed-back), but sure you can't just have only one pair for all Metal subgenres. On gaming, I concur that the MSR7 is just too musical for competitive FPS, but take note that the amount of bass depends a lot on the choice of sound card/DAC. I suppose its bass could be reduced when used with the Siberia sound card (can't verify this since I don't own the Siberia SC anymore). I've found that the MSR7 gives substantially less bass (and thus more accurate) when connected to my MSI gaming board than to my amps.
 
PS: upon writing this post it suddenly dawns on me that gaming and Metal (actually music in general) aren't quite compatible. I had myself a pair of Steelseries 5H for a while and it honestly sucked for any kind of music. Gaming headset are often extremely dry (soulless!) in order to provide competitive edges, the only exceptions I found being the Siberia ones.

 

[441879]

I'm pretty pleased. They're exactly the kind of sound I like. Crystal clear and detailed, tight, solid bass. Of course I've now read a ton of reviews and so I'm curious if electrostatics or planar magnetics live up to the hype. Next week I'll be in Seattle so I think I'll check out some Audeze EL8s

Listened to the EL8s. Meh. The MSR7s are not quite as good down low, but much, much better above 1000 hz

 

[Asr]

Bought a set of MSR7's off the for sale forums. Have been listening to them for the past week, really liking them. They are well detailed, are neither aggressive or too laid back, have a nice bottom end. I've lately been on a sort of regressive path, going from an HD-800 to a 650, now from that to the MSR7. It's not so much that the MSR7's are technically superior, I just like their flavor, their perspective of the music played. You get a sense that tuning was well thought out, and that follows through in the listening experience.  
There is some sizzle up on top, but is tolerable. They are definitely keepers!!

 
Hey Art, glad to see you like it as much as I do! Funny you mention the HD800, since the MSR7 almost makes me think of it as something like a closed micro-HD800, at least in terms of the clarity and relative treble tilt.
 
I really like the MSR7, easily one of my top favorite headphones of all time!

 

[arteom]

   
Hey Art, glad to see you like it as much as I do! Funny you mention the HD800, since the MSR7 almost makes me think of it as something like a closed micro-HD800, at least in terms of the clarity and relative treble tilt.
 
I really like the MSR7, easily one of my top favorite headphones of all time!

 
Yes, I got them because I was so impressed by your set at the last meet! Not sure if you read a bit further down, but my dog ate the earpads off my MSR7's. I ordered and installed the brainwavz pads, which I don't like, sadly those are the only pads available at this time it seems. I've signed up for the January CO meet, will be bringing the MSR7's, will be interesting to get other peoples opinion on them with the Brainwavz pads. 
 
I got my fingers crossed that ATHUSA gets some earpads in this coming month so I can order a replacement set of the stock pads.