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Love MS1, worth going MS2?

post #1 of 28
4/10/08 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
I have MS1 and really like them (even more than my um2). Is it worth buying MS2, the difference in sound worth $300? (I live in Chile, selling my MS1 wont be very easy, there isnt a big used headphone marker around here). Considering I will drive them with a total bithead (if a upgrade my amp i wont have money for the ms2)
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post #2 of 28
4/10/08 at 7:51pm
Depends how much you value an improvement in sound.

law of diminishing returns =(
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post #3 of 28
4/11/08 at 3:26am
I intensely compared the MS1 with the MS2 for a week and came to the conclusion that they sound alike and the MS2s are less comfortable because they’re heavier so they tended to slide off my head. I wanted the keep the MS2 because I love the way they look but since I couldn’t justify their $300 price I sent them back. Someone here once said the MS1 is the best value in phones under $500 and I believe it's true.
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post #4 of 28
4/11/08 at 5:32am
I thought the MS-2 was a big improvement over the MS-1 and worth the extra.

You must like a forward sound with a lot of speed & impact. They can be a bit fatiguing.
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post #5 of 28
4/11/08 at 8:12am
Loving the MS1, I bought a pair of MS2i last year. Sold them half a year later, but I guess I'll keep my MS1 till forever.

Of course, the MS2 is technically better (more details, better placement of instruments, more refined SQ), but it also differs from the MS1 in some negative ways: The musical bandwidth is quite narrow, it suffers from harshness and listening fatigue issues, the comfort is really bad. It simply nerves sometimes.

And the MS1, on the other hand, always meets the right tone. My buddy got the MS Pro some weeks ago -- surprise, surprise, turned out to be not much more than a MS1 twin with much better soundscape and a bit more smoothness.
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post #6 of 28
4/11/08 at 8:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickchen View Post
Loving the MS1, I bought a pair of MS2i last year.

My buddy got the MS Pro some weeks ago -- surprise, surprise, turned out to be not much more than a MS1 twin with much better soundscape and a bit more smoothness.
You have got to be joking.
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post #7 of 28
4/11/08 at 8:48am
Nope. The tonal differences between the MS1 and the MS Pro weren't very prominent. They have much more in common than MS1 and MS2i. My buddy, who owns all 3 models, shares that opinion. But we're both not of the pathological audiophile fraction though.
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post #8 of 28
4/11/08 at 9:31am
I believe you nickchen, I also find differences between grado models to be small in relation to the price differences
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post #9 of 28
4/11/08 at 10:02am
We all would be in severe trouble if other brands, whose models differ much more than Grados or Alessandros, had the same price policy!!
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post #10 of 28
4/11/08 at 11:24am
I believe nickchen as we agreed on other headpones in the past regarding their sound. I sold the MS2i's 2 weeks after getting them. Tonally they're just bland and boring. The SR325i's are much better - involving, lively, impactful. So the MS1's seem to be interesting.
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post #11 of 28
4/11/08 at 11:31am
the ms1s are bland and uninvolving too relative to grados. i enjoy my sr60s more than the ms1s but listen to miles davis kind of blue or something like that oooh the saxes are more real sounding on the ms1s.
the first thing i tried when i got the sr60 again recently was if it had the same realism factor playing miles davis against my memory of the ms1s. The sr60 failed to impress with this particular music but is better suited to my 80s music.
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post #12 of 28
4/11/08 at 11:39am
I am a long-time MS-1 owner and recently tried out the MS-2. I can see why some people like them. The bass is more pronounced, and there is more treble. Construction certainly seems more substantial than the flimsy MS-1. However, I felt like the midrange went away, and the treble seemed to peak in a narrow range, which I couldn't bear.

With the MS-1, I found that the stock comfy pads filtered out too much treble. With bowls, the treble was released, but bass went away. The happy medium for me is to use gaudy yellow Sennheiser HD414 pads with nickel-sized holes cut out of them. If you try this, just buy two pairs and make small holes (maybe dime-sized). Progressively enlarge them to find out the optimal size for you. If you go too far, you still have the extra pair to do correctly.

I think most Grado/Alessandro fans will strongly prefer one or the other. While you can tell the 'phones are relatives, they are pretty different from one another.
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post #13 of 28
4/11/08 at 12:25pm
To the OP, if you love the MS1's then there is really no reason to upgrade. Buy some more CD's and enjoy the music. (However we are of course head-fiers and upgrading is inevitable...)
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post #14 of 28
4/11/08 at 1:20pm
I suggest trying bowl pads. The cheapest solution to get upgraded sound for the ms1. Or if you want a free upgrade, do the reverse comfy mod
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post #15 of 28
4/11/08 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
I will try the bowls and HD414 pads first. Then I'll make a decision about my next upgrade.... even though I'm very happy with my MS1 its impossible not wanting more.
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