[Music Alchemist]

  I guess if worst comes to worst, I can always buy either or, and if I don't like it, sell it and get the other to try out. At least that way I can cover all the bases and know what they both sound like.

 
If you're willing to travel, you could track 'em down for an audition. Shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars if you play your cards right.

 

[Asr]

Yes, I  have an amp and dac, an audio gd compass dac/amp combo, a schiit modi 2 uber dac, and a stax srm-252s driver unit (I understand this driver unit will not cut it for the SR-007A, I will be getting a more powerful one sometime down the road IF I get this instead of the MrSpeaker Ethers.
I listen to pretty much everything except country, but main ones would be Orchestral, Jazz, Pop, Heavy Metal

 
Heavy metal? That was one of the biggest sore spots on the OII MKI (aka SR-007A) when I owned it, and from what I briefly heard with the Ether when I had one in-house for a weekend recently (although it was under-amped, admittedly), I wouldn't say it works well with that kind of music either. Both the OII MKI and Ether are relatively neutral headphones, and in my experience, neutral headphones just flat-out don't work well for metal in general. Sonic coloration is a good thing for metal, IMO.
 
I also recommend a huge upgrade on both your DAC and amp if you intend on getting any >$1K headphones. Well not that what you have now is bad, but both the OII MKI and Ether are going to be super-revealing of your DAC & amp.
 
And you need at minimum something like a KGSS to get anywhere close to decent performance out of the OII MKI, but a Blue Hawaii would be better. If you don't want to hunt down a KGBH or wait for a BHSE, it'd likely be a lot easier and more cost-effective to just go with the Ether (obvious gear to pair with that would be almost any of the upper-end Schiit stuff, among other options too of course).
 
Btw, where do you live anyway? There are meets in Canada semi-regularly, just hit the Meets forum.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  in my experience, neutral headphones just flat-out don't work well for metal in general. Sonic coloration is a good thing for metal, IMO.

 
For me, tonal balance is just the beginning of things, and a (close to) neutral headphone can sound amazing or boring with metal (and other genres) depending on other factors. I loved the STAX SR-207 with all music, and I listen to metal more than most other stuff. The Yamaha HPH-MT220 was a bit less neutral, but still close enough, and more importantly had great bass, impact, and energy. (Which the SR-207 is slightly lacking in.) So you ended up keeping yours after all, eh?

 

[MattTCG]

   
Heavy metal? That was one of the biggest sore spots on the OII MKI (aka SR-007A) when I owned it, and from what I briefly heard with the Ether when I had one in-house for a weekend recently (although it was under-amped, admittedly), I wouldn't say it works well with that kind of music either. Both the OII MKI and Ether are relatively neutral headphones, and in my experience, neutral headphones just flat-out don't work well for metal in general. Sonic coloration is a good thing for metal, IMO.
 
I also recommend a huge upgrade on both your DAC and amp if you intend on getting any >$1K headphones. Well not that what you have now is bad, but both the OII MKI and Ether are going to be super-revealing of your DAC & amp.
 
And you need at minimum something like a KGSS to get anywhere close to decent performance out of the OII MKI, but a Blue Hawaii would be better. If you don't want to hunt down a KGBH or wait for a BHSE, it'd likely be a lot easier and more cost-effective to just go with the Ether (obvious gear to pair with that would be almost any of the upper-end Schiit stuff, among other options too of course).
 
Btw, where do you live anyway? There are meets in Canada semi-regularly, just hit the Meets forum.

 
All of this. Plus don't take advice from anyone who says that haven't even heard the headphones you're interested in. 
 
GL...

 

[Fearless1]

   
All of this. Plus don't take advice from anyone who says that haven't even heard the headphones you're interested in. 
 
GL...

A giant +1.

 

[Music Alchemist]

FYI, the SR-007 isn't that neutral at all...it's one of the least neutral STAX headphones. And the SR-007A is the Japanese version of the SR-007MK2, which is even less neutral than the original SR-007. (Though there are different revisions of that as well.) All this is relatively well-known among the STAX fan base and is definitively corroborated with measurements.

 

[Rinoue]

Ah I was afraid of that, my Dacs are pretty low end, I was looking at the Schiit Mjolnir 2 amp for a future buy so eventually I'll get to that.
As for meets, I live in Calgary Alberta Canada, I know theres a meet here somewhere once a year but I've never been able to take the day off to get to it.
Hmm also too bad that neither these phones sound good with heavy metal, but that's ok, that genre isn't really the be all end all genre for me.

Edit: sorry meant to say Yggdrasil Dac not Mjolnir 2

 

[paradoxper]

What did you end up going with? I've loved the 007 and 009 with metal. Horses for courses.

 

[Rinoue]

I've decided to go with the Ether, the part where a lot of people said "musical" "airy" and or "fun" to listen to intrigued me, I use to own a etymotic er4p and they were so clinical and boring, it really turned me off from super accurate flat response headphones, hence I'm preferring musicality even though that may mean "colored" to a degree.

 

[paradoxper]

  I've decided to go with the Ether, the part where a lot of people said "musical" "airy" and or "fun" to listen to intrigued me, I use to own a etymotic er4p and they were so clinical and boring, it really turned me off from super accurate flat response headphones, hence I'm preferring musicality even though that may mean "colored" to a degree.

BOOOOOOOO!!!! Lots of people like that warmer more pleasant sound. Horses for courses. 

 
Should be good with the Ygg and whatever amp you bring in.

 

[inthere]

Energetic=boosted highs and/or high mids to help clarity, can be awesome and just what you're looking for if you listen at low to moderate levels BUT things can get sibilant and/or strident if you listen at higher volume.

Laid Back=more balanced or even rolled off highs which at lower listening levels will be taken by some as murky or muddy, even though clarity is extremely good. Laid back cans usually are better at higher listening levels and can be played for longer periods of time without listening fatigue.

 

[greenkiwi]

@Rinoue I'm definitely interested to see what you think when you get them.

 

[Rinoue]

Sadly I won't be getting them for a while, probably after xmas, recently my garage door motor crapped out and my fridge as well, and those 2 sucked all the money I had saved up for the phones, *falls to knees and yells to the universe* WHYYYYYYYY!!!!?

 

[Jodet]

  I've decided to go with the Ether, the part where a lot of people said "musical" "airy" and or "fun" to listen to intrigued me, I use to own a etymotic er4p and they were so clinical and boring, it really turned me off from super accurate flat response headphones, hence I'm preferring musicality even though that may mean "colored" to a degree.

 
So..... how are you liking them? 

 

[Eurobeat]

Energetic=boosted highs and/or high mids to help clarity, can be awesome and just what you're looking for if you listen at low to moderate levels BUT things can get sibilant and/or strident if you listen at higher volume.

Laid Back=more balanced or even rolled off highs which at lower listening levels will be taken by some as murky or muddy, even though clarity is extremely good. Laid back cans usually are better at higher listening levels and can be played for longer periods of time without listening fatigue.

Seeing as you posted here, I was curious, but didn't you mention at one point in some thread, that the Ether would cause hearing damage?

I thought I remember seeing a post about something like that, thought it was you saying it maybe not...?  Wanted to ask a bunch of times, just never did