[Yogi619]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around for quite a while, and reading the threads prompted me to pick up my first decent pair of headphones; my MS2's. So far I have zero complaints, but I also realize that there is room for improvement.

The next piece of gear that I plan on buying will be the MAD Ear+ Super ii amp, and familiarize myself not only with headphone amps, but also the tube sound.

With that being said, I almost exclusively listen to arena style/fast rock, with a little bit of reggae and blues peppered in there. My sources are lossless itunes songs converted from cd's, and Pandora One streaming music.

I'm new to the headphone world and don't quite know what I'm missing with an upgrade, if anything at all with my given choices of music and sources.

If given the chance to spend up to $1,000, would you upgrade to one of these other sets of headphones, or keep the MS2's as your main headphones? If not one of these, which set, and why?

Thanks everyone.

 

[ProjectDenz]

It's not a big jump to the RS1i's (or MS-Pro) and an even smaller jump to the PS500.
 
I had the MS-Pro, still got the MS2i and MS1i. I ended up selling the MS-Pro because the jump in SQ from MS2i to MS-Pro was pretty small and could not justify the more than double price increase. Plus I liked the MS2i sound signature better.
 
In retrospect you are not missing much at all. The MS2i's remain among my most listened to headphones.

 

[steve2151]

With the MAD Ear+ plus another $1000, you're looking at ~$1800 total. I personally prefer the PS500 since it does many things well and is non fatiguing for a Grado, but you might want to also consider the HE-500 or LCD-2 if you're willing to spend that sort of money.

 

[whoelse]

Quote:

It's not a big jump to the RS1i's and an even smaller jump to the PS500 (or the MS-Pro).
 
I had the MS-Pro, still got the MS2i and MS1i. I ended up selling the MS-Pro because the jump in SQ from MS2i to MS-Pro was pretty small and could not justify the more than double price increase. Plus I liked the MS2i sound signature better.
 
In retrospect you are not missing much at all. The MS2i's remain among my most listened to headphones.

 
I do have a MS1i and MS2i so naturally I am thinking to get the MSPro to complete the family, I like the MS2i too now after seeing your post, I am not sure should I get the MSPro. I will audit the Pro with my MS2i one day.
 
So, by doing a blind test, it is hard to differential MS2i and the MSPro?

 

[Mad Max]

Definitely keep your MS2i's, give the other two a try if you want.

 

[ProjectDenz]

Quote:

 
I do have a MS1i and MS2i so naturally I am thinking to get the MSPro to complete the family, I like the MS2i too now after seeing your post, I am not sure should I get the MSPro. I will audit the Pro with my MS2i one day.
 
So, by doing a blind test, it is hard to differential MS2i and the MSPro?

 
MS2i has quite a different sound signature than the MS-Pro, it's just that there isn't a big jump in SQ because the MS2i is already very good.
 
Think of the MS-Pro as an all round better sounding MS1i with better extension in both the treble and bass. They have roughly the same sound signature. This was another reason I sold the MS-Pro, because the SQ of the MS1i was still pretty darn good at only a fraction of the price of the MS-Pro.

 

[Yogi619]

I'm definitely willing to shell out a couple of bucks if the quality can be heard.

To be a little bit more descriptive, I'm blessed/cursed with living in San Diego, where the weather is great, but your neighbors are usually within arms length away. So instead of buying a decent quality receiver and set of speakers for $X,000, (and prices get ridiculous pretty quickly) I decided to save some money on HOA fines and get into headphones. It turns out that my need for headphones over towers has turned into something I'm liking more than I thought I would. In a few words, I'm addicted.

Let me somewhat rephrase and ask which other headphones would be a compliment to the music I listen to? I only mention the Grados because I was under the impression that they're a sure thing for rock and that toe tapping speed. While I really like my MS2's, I know there is better out there, and to be perfectly honest, I just want to try some new stuff out and explore the headphone world a bit.

The amp is already budgeted, but I'm letting myself play with another grand (change would be nice, though).

Thanks again, and it looks like my MS2's are staying, but what else is out there?

 

[Mad Max]

Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, and plenty more.