Alessandro MS1000 and MS Ultimate - DIY & modding [56K warning]
May 29, 2008 at 11:27 PM Post #61 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by malldian /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmm considering mass production... how much would people be willing to pay in US for these?


I'd say $30 would be fair. $40 would be doable, but pushing it, especially if shipping is on top of that.
 
May 30, 2008 at 12:32 AM Post #62 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Denser woods would be stronger at thinner dimensions, but hard to be worked at. Most important IMO is a homogenious wood structure, with only little differences between early wood and late wood. Ash tree propably woudn't work for that reason, and I also had some serious difficulties with the stone hard black walnut.

Linden is just perfect for such purposes. That wood was used for the medieval madonna sculpures you find often in old europe's churches. If only softer wood such as spruce is available, I'd increase "wall thickness". I make linden distancers with ~2mm, for softer wood I'd propably choose ~3-4mm.



Thanks, i prob don't have much of a choice in wood, will just take the biggest block of the densest wood leftover i can find in the factory.

Also, I prob can't get my hands on the GS1000 pads until i get back to Singapore, so will have to make do with the stock MS1 pads for the moment.

One more question, does the thickness of the wall affect the sound?
 
May 30, 2008 at 7:15 AM Post #63 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by malldian /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmm considering mass production... how much would people be willing to pay in US for these?


If you consider the limited value of a MS1 and the extra costs for the GS1000 pads, I'd say 30-35. Consequently, it can't be done by building them in the EU and shipping them over to the US. Come on, where are the North American DIYlers?
Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowmoses
Also, I prob can't get my hands on the GS1000 pads until i get back to Singapore, so will have to make do with the stock MS1 pads for the moment.


Leave it unmodded until you have GS1000 pads.
Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowmoses
One more question, does the thickness of the wall affect the sound?


I doubt it.
 
May 30, 2008 at 3:24 PM Post #64 of 2,483
Todd has announced that he has run out of GS1000 pads for a short time. Maybe that has to do with the increased demand in Germany.
 
May 30, 2008 at 4:21 PM Post #65 of 2,483
I just got mine directly from Grado Labs for the same price as Todd. But yeah demand probably has gone up!

James
 
May 31, 2008 at 12:16 AM Post #66 of 2,483
Ah, too bad. I was already sorting things out how to get money to todd. Modding has got me really tight. However, I'm not finished yet; the glue I used for my grill mod today was kind of aggresive and colored some of the black plastic to white (prolly the gas that came of it)... Need to repair that and get some better glue + mesh. Don't know whether to be happy or not
wink.gif
 
May 31, 2008 at 8:06 AM Post #67 of 2,483
I suggest to use transparent epoxy for your grills.
 
Jun 9, 2008 at 5:16 AM Post #68 of 2,483
Not that i don't trust you Nickchen (
wink.gif
) but has anyone else tried this mod with similar success? I'm really keen to try this but with the cost of getting the pads to NZ I just want to check it's worth it!
 
Jun 9, 2008 at 8:34 AM Post #70 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by bobkin /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Not that i don't trust you Nickchen (
wink.gif
) but has anyone else tried this mod with similar success? I'm really keen to try this but with the cost of getting the pads to NZ I just want to check it's worth it!



We have at about half a dozen modified cans in Germany meanwhile - pads supply is really slow. Noxter has posted his impressions of MS1000 and MS Ultimate here, but most of the others can't be bothered to turn up at headfi or are not headfi members at all.

Summary: MS1000 and SR225000 are big fun with some minor weaknesses with vocal presentation, RS1000 doesn't work, HF1000 becomes very "serious" but isn't as tiptoeing as MS1000. MS2000 is a question of taste (I don't like it), MS Ultimate is awesome.
Quote:

Originally Posted by iozz
I just received a pair of jumbo pads to go with my distancers. Hope I'll be able to test the mod on my MS-Pro this week.


Good to hear. Pay attention that the distancers sit real tight and gapless.
I envy you & Noxter, it will take a bit time until I can afford an MS Pro...to be modified, of course.
 
Jun 9, 2008 at 1:37 PM Post #71 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by bobkin /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Not that i don't trust you Nickchen (
wink.gif
) but has anyone else tried this mod with similar success?



It's kind of FOTM in Germany and in the meantime quite a few members of the german HiFi-forum.de have modded their own headphones or listened to the mod at mini meets.
I've tried it with my RS-1s, MS-1s and with the SR225s of my spouse.
The modded RS-1s do sound really crappy.Totally unlistenable IMO.
The modded SR225s and the modded MS-1s on the other hand are interesting though.
Is it worth it?
It depends.It's probably not for everyone but surely many listeners would prefer the modded cans.
What you get is an unique and very attractive headstage.
Unique like in "not really comparable to any other headphones".
Not perfect since it's lacking in depth and layering precision, but this might be due to the mediocre performance of the mid-fi Grados/Alessandros in the resolution department and the modded Alessandro MS-Pros might be better in this regard.
However, you'd be hard pressed to get a similarly attractive headstage for less than $200 anywhere else so if headstage is paramount for you a modded MS-1 represents the best bang for the buck ratio I've encountered so far especially when you take into account that you don't need an expensive amplifier.
The modded cans do sound like very different headphones.Still somewhat forward sounding but you are not sitting on the laps of the musicians anymore, and the tonal balance is not exactly the same.
You could even call it a (mild) suckout in the mids and therefor human and especially female voices sometimes don't sound as good anymore.
I guess it's dependant on your preferences and therefor unpredictabe whether you'd like the modded cans better or not but I certainly do.

One caveat though: The modded headphones are not suitable for hot and humid weather.The Grados with jumbo pads do block the flow of air like no other pads and actually to me the modded Alessandros/Grados are worse than my Sony MDR-CD3000s, and the latter are closed cans with pleather pads !!!

One additional hint: For a first test or even for a permanent solution you don't have to utilize glue.A small rolled out amount of blu tak (or similar) does the trick very well and it's easily reversible in case you don't like the mod.
 
Jun 9, 2008 at 1:46 PM Post #72 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Good to hear. Pay attention that the distancers sit real tight and gapless.
I envy you & Noxter, it will take a bit time until I can afford an MS Pro...to be modified, of course.



Yeah I'm a bit annoyed as I have to glue the distancers to the MS-Pros (don't want to damage the cans) so I'll need to figure out another way to do it.
 
Jun 9, 2008 at 2:11 PM Post #73 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by iozz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Yeah I'm a bit annoyed as I have to glue the distancers to the MS-Pros (don't want to damage the cans) so I'll need to figure out another way to do it.


Just look at the end of the post above yours .........
 
Jun 9, 2008 at 5:27 PM Post #75 of 2,483
Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Headstage is not perfect since it's lacking in depth and layering precision, but this might be due to the mediocre performance of the mid-fi Grados/Alessandros in the resolution department and the modded Alessandro MS-Pros might be better in this regard.


Out of memory I'd say that MS1000 and MS Ultimate don't differ significantly in respect of soundstage. Big and spectacular, but not the most precise soundstage I have experienced.
Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The modded headphones are not suitable for hot and humid weather.


I have made other assessments some weeks ago, but now that summer is here, I also tend to feel uncomfortable under the big bowls.
Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif
One additional hint: For a first test or even for a permanent solution you don't have to utilize glue.A small rolled out amount of blu tak (or similar) does the trick very well and it's easily reversible in case you don't like the mod.


I guess silicone would be also a good reversable solution.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top