(SSandDigital) With a lot of terminology in the audio world often loosely defined, using inaccurate and emotional terms like “pitiful” probably does not add to your argument.
I think of soundstage as the way a system let’s you perceive space with the sound, and therefore consists of mainly three parts: imaging, separation, distance (maybe airy-ness too). Do keep in mind that this is just my opinion, but offering context in a discussion can be helpful.
I owned MSR7s and currently own MSR7b and AD1000X. Honestly IMO the “soundstage” with MSR7b while more “sealed” is quite comparable to my AD1000X, even “deeper” forward (and MSR7s not far behind either). Many will argue that the AD series are not known for wide soundstage among open headphones but still, regarding imaging and separation they are respectable. They might not offer much in terms of “distance”, but with the way human ears perceive sound in nature, the sense of distance often comes with two things: low volume and low definition.
If what you meant by “pitiful” was that they don’t sound “huge”, then headphones in general aren’t for you. Headphones can never compete with speakers for “huge” sound, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that they offer higher definition and better imaging. To me soundstage is much more than just “size”, but that’s just my opinion and you can disagree.
