[Tatalor51]

Will be using FiiO K3 and Audioengine D3 as DACs, I will use a Tidal HiFi account and I mostly listen to rock, alternative and some brit pop (Pink Floyd, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, REM, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Tom Petty, Radiohead, Suede, Morrissey, Depeche Mode to name a few).

I already bough Audio Tehnica ATH-MSR7 for 150 Euros and love it and I would need at least another pair (one for work, one for home). What I have in mind from a local store I like are:

Sennheiser HD 599 (open back), 150E - heard good things about it and I could use it at home
ATH-MSR7b,180E - is it worth buying given that I already have the MSR7? I also love the MSR7s so it might?
Sony MDR 1AM2, 160E - the reviews are as good compared to the others but seems to have more bass and apparently is very comfortable. Are they better than ATH-M50x which I plan to return because they are noticeably worse than the MSR7s? Or am I missing something about the M50x?
Meze 99 CLASSICS, 210E - are they worth the price difference?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mhog55]

RIP Tom Petty
Not sure if the Msr7b would be worthwhile unless you want the balanced option. I have it, and absolutely love it. I think the 99 Classics or Noir would be a nice compliment and contrast in addition. I also own one, and these are the best 2 semi portable cans I've heard. Both have excellent mids in slightly different ways.

 

[serman005]

Personally, if my plan were to take my MSR7 for work, I would probably go with an open headphone for home. Maybe an HD58X or something, given what you've got going on.

 

[Tatalor51]

RIP Tom Petty
Not sure if the Msr7b would be worthwhile unless you want the balanced option. I have it, and absolutely love it. I think the 99 Classics or Noir would be a nice compliment and contrast in addition. I also own one, and these are the best 2 semi portable cans I've heard. Both have excellent mids in slightly different ways.

RIP indeed.

Don't think I can use the balanced option, my FiiO K3 only has a 2.5 balanced headphone out, not a 4.4. Without this there's not much difference between MSR7 and MSR7b to warrant having them both, right? Since I'm already returning a pair of M50x and probably another pair of Sennheiser HD 569, I'll probably stick to the MSR7. I think they have the Meze for testing, I'll give them a listen. How about the Sony
MDR-1AM2, are they OK for 50-55E cheaper than the Meze?

Personally, if my plan were to take my MSR7 for work, I would probably go with an open headphone for home. Maybe an HD58X or something, given what you've got going on.

That's a good suggestion but I can't find them in our country and, from what I can see neither on Amazon UK or DE, they seem to be only be sold in the US. How about HD 599? They have a decent price and I can find them here. HD 600 are almost double compared to them and have pretty high impedance, not sure if the FiiO K3 can drive them properly.

Thank you both!

 

[serman005]

RIP indeed.

Don't think I can use the balanced option, my FiiO K3 only has a 2.5 balanced headphone out, not a 4.4. Without this there's not much difference between MSR7 and MSR7b to warrant having them both, right? Since I'm already returning a pair of M50x and probably another pair of Sennheiser HD 569, I'll probably stick to the MSR7. I think they have the Meze for testing, I'll give them a listen. How about the Sony
MDR-1AM2, are they OK for 50-55E cheaper than the Meze?



That's a good suggestion but I can't find them in our country and, from what I can see neither on Amazon UK or DE, they seem to be only be sold in the US. How about HD 599? They have a decent price and I can find them here. HD 600 are almost double compared to them and have pretty high impedance, not sure if the FiiO K3 can drive them properly.

Thank you both!

I like my HD599 quite well and it is really quite easy to drive compared to my HD600--no doubt about it. Comfy, too. Never run my HD600 out of a K3, so just can't comment on that. But it is def a headphone that does best with plenty of power behind it.

 

[Mhog55]

You can purchase an 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter for relatively cheap, but yeah, I'd opt for the 99s. I found the Sony okay, a little meh to be honest. Didn't seem in the same realm as the 99s to me.

 

[Tatalor51]

Got a 170E deal for a returned/resealed pair of MSR7b, basically new, the guy at the store said and with the usual 2 year warranty. Really considering it now.

 

[PointyFox]

My advice would be to not worry about your source, cables, or what connector you use. They make less difference combined than the ambient temperature or what mood you're in.

 

[Ynot1]

It's a good time to be in the market for a new headphone. New models are coming fast for the holidays.
Audeze LCD-1 and Philips X3 are a couple of popularly speculated options not on your list.

 

[Tatalor51]

My advice would be to not worry about your source, cables, or what connector you use. They make less difference combined than the ambient temperature or what mood you're in.

Yep, i do think this too and I do hope to keep this newfound interest of mine at a moderate level: 200-300E pair of headphones here and there. But we'll see how it goes.

It's a good time to be in the market for a new headphone. New models are coming fast for the holidays.
Audeze LCD-1 and Philips X3 are a couple of popularly speculated options not on your list.

Audeze seems great but it'a almost 500E around here, kinda out of my planned budged. The other one it's the X2 Fidelio, right? Can't find any X3. I'll need to buy it from Amazon as its not available locally. But both very good indeed, I will consider it. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Tatalor51]

Thinking about it some more, I am really tempted by the 170E deal for the returned/resealed pair of MSR7b I mentioned before. Is the sound of these so similar to the original MSR7 that it doesn't really worth it? Heard very good things about improved comfort and slightly better sound quality and I really love MSR7s compared to Sennheiser 569 and ATH-M50x which I have on hand and could test them against.

Would I be better off getting something with a different sound signature like the Sony MDR-1AM2, Sennheiser HD 599 or maybe splurging some money towards a Meze Classics or maybe Sennheiser HD 600? Can an Audioengine D3 or a FiiO K3 drive the HD 600 with a good sound quality? Also, how loud is the sound from a pair or open cans? Enough to be annoying for my wife who's pretty often two feet near me at her desktop either playing/listening to stuff with only one ear covered by headphones or reading/browing?

 

[Mhog55]

The Msr7b does have a slight increase in overall sound quality... To my ears anyhow. It's noticeable, but not significant. As for the open backs, your wife will definitely hear exactly what you're listening to. If you choose that route, I'd suggest the 58X. Awesome headphones, slightly easier to drive than the 600 / 650. Again, I'd go with the 99 Noir, and use the smaller pads that come with it. I listen to mostly 70s and 80s rock of all sorts, and my 99s are best everything else for this genre. 58X and Msr7b aren't far behind though. Personally, I'd pass on the Sony.

 

[Tatalor51]

Got the resealed MSR7b for 170E and not too happy with them. They might be not a great pair or slightly broken but, listening alternatively with the MSR7 they sound noticeably worse. Less bass, and by quite alot (and the MSR7s were not bass heavy to begin with but they sound like they are compared to the b's, which are outright anemic in this regard), a bit less detail, a bit less volume and the sound is completely flat. They are more comfortable but that's about it. Is it possible that they are broken somehow? The sound is not 'bad' in a very forward way when you listen just to them, it's just bad compared to the MSR7s. Especially the bass part, most people here and in some reviews said the MSR7b have a bit more bass than the original MSR7, but the pair I have has quite a lot less. MSR7 bass is quite punchy compared to them.

Any ideas? Could they be indeed broken? Might be that my not so trained ear is wrong and they are fine? Really thinking of returning them too.

 

[Mhog55]

Got the resealed MSR7b for 170E and not too happy with them. They might be not a great pair or slightly broken but, listening alternatively with the MSR7 they sound noticeably worse. Less bass, and by quite alot (and the MSR7s were not bass heavy to begin with but they sound like they are compared to the b's, which are outright anemic in this regard), a bit less detail, a bit less volume and the sound is completely flat. They are more comfortable but that's about it. Is it possible that they are broken somehow? The sound is not 'bad' in a very forward way when you listen just to them, it's just bad compared to the MSR7s. Especially the bass part, most people here and in some reviews said the MSR7b have a bit more bass than the original MSR7, but the pair I have has quite a lot less. MSR7 bass is quite punchy compared to them.

Any ideas? Could they be indeed broken? Might be that my not so trained ear is wrong and they are fine? Really thinking of returning them too.

Replied in the Msr7b thread. Return them. This doesn't sound right. And I'm going to keep suggesting the 99s.

 

[PointyFox]

I've heard several hundred different headphones and I like the 99s.