Introduction
I need to clarify something before I begin, this is not a review of the MSR7 headphones: This is an instructional web log detailing how to modify your MSR7 headphones in order to circumvent a design flaw that can cause pain and discomfort after wearing them for long sessions (i.e. 2-10 hours or longer). If you remove the earcups you will notice that there is a rounded, half ring of plastic around each of the drivers. This is the source of any recurring discomfort you are likely to experience while wearing the MSR7’s for more than 30 minutes without taking them off. Audio Technica included this design in order to reduce discomfort from the angled drivers used to direct sound towards the inner ear, but unfortunately this design does not agree with those of us who have more sensitive outer ears. The modification I have been using successfully for several months to remove 98% of discomfort I formerly experienced with my MSR7’s requires no special skills or expensive materials, but will require a steady hand and patience if you are not used to modifying consumer products in this fashion.
Legal Disclaimer
I, the author known as Alexander Darks, will not be held legally responsible if anyone who reads the contents of this web log sustains physical injury, mental/psychological/emotional injury, damage to personal property, or any other real or perceived misfortunes seemingly related to being directly/indirectly exposed to, reading the contents of, and/or attempting the process described in this web log. The author will not be held legally responsible for any real or perceived damage or misfortune brought about by direct/indirect exposure to or interaction with other individuals who post comments in the comments section associated with this web log. The author will not be held legally responsible for any real or perceived damages or misfortunes directly/indirectly resulting from direct/indirect participation or direct/indirect exposure to any discussions held about the contents of this web log through any medium. The author, to the best of his knowledge, did not knowingly publish this web log with any prior knowledge of any identical or similar comfort modification(s) to the product named in the title of the web log.
Here is an image, compliments of Massdrop.com, that depicts the design flaw around the drivers that I detailed in the introduction:
Materials
You will need a writing utensil, paper, ruler, scissors, tape, a compass or circular object, and the special ingredient — a pair of memory foam insoles that should cost about five dollars depending on where you buy them.
The Process (With Pictures)
Note: If you haven’t removed the earcups and put them back on before trying this mod, please practice before attempting this entire process, you might thank me later.
Step 1
Remove the earcups from each headphone to expose the drivers and use your ruler to measure the outer diameter of the ring around one of the drivers and then measure the inner diameter of the ring (where the inside of the ring makes contact with the driver). Proceed to use your compass or circular object to trace two half circles using the diameters you just measured, but be sure to exaggerate the largest measurement so you have more material to work with for step 2.
Step 2
Take your scissors and traces to cut out the complete half circle, trace additional cut out lines in the half circle, and start cutting out strips using said lines to place around each exposed driver. You may want to read ahead to step 3 before deciding whether or not you want to place the foam strips foam side up or cloth side up. Please refer to the image below to see what your foam strips should look like (approximately) and how to place them around the rounded plastic rings before proceeding to the next step.
Step 3
Cut small pieces of tape — I recommend electrical tape or duct tape — to secure the foam strips around the rounded plastic rings. Make sure that the tape doesn’t encroach beyond the edge of the headphones; it could make the final step more difficult. Also, if you place the foam strips foam side up (the brown side) don’t attempt to take the tape off once you place it over the foam: It will rip and you will have to cut out another foam strip. You should be able to avoid this potential issue by placing the foam strips cloth side up, but I can’t guarantee that it will be quite as comfortable due to how sensitive the outer ears can be. You may have to experiment to find the ideal methodology.
Step 4
Carefully place the earcups back over the earphones without upsetting your comfort modification. This shouldn’t be any more difficult than usual assuming you followed the previous steps as closely as possible. Congratulations, you now have a pair of MSR7 headphones that, if modified precisely enough, should cause little to no discomfort when worn for up to 10 hours or more continuously.
Closing Statements
To the best of my knowledge, the comfort modification described in this web log is an original idea of which I am the first to share/publish on the world wide web in a public capacity. As such, I would greatly appreciate it if anyone who wishes to share this comfort modification (who directly/indirectly learned about it from this blog) would have the common courtesy to give credit where credit is due (e.g. either provide a link or URL to this web log, mention the author by name, or state that the idea was originally conceived by another individual). With the latter in mind, I encourage anyone to share knowledge of this comfort modification with anyone they wish, especially for the sake of bringing attention to the fact that Audio Technica would benefit from acknowledging and possibly rectifying (in the MSR7 or future models) their blatant and unacceptable design flaw that is a detriment to long term customer satisfaction.
alexanderdarks 