Thanks for very nice review. Yes it is hard review this headphone. Because it has many flaws but on the other hand thier sound is very exciting, I like Grado-Alessandro open airy sound. Did you try even MS1000 mod with wood distancers and GS pads? I find this mod best with them (bigger soundstage, everything a little more from head) and sound was very fun listen even from iPhone and also very comfy so at the end for the price very cool headphone for all family .. 

@knopi  Thanks for the kind feedback! Always appreciated. I haven't tried the MS1000, but it does look like a very interesting headphone, I'll keep an eye out if I ever attend a meetup or something. 

Ryan - the MS1 was one of my original gateways to better audio.  Its a great starter headphone, and eventually led me to an SR325 and ultimately to an RS1 (although I have none of them now).  Solid review my friend. I often thought about buying the MS1 again - and half the fun was modding them. Mine ultimately had the drivers (converted to 325s), headband, cable, and enclosures (full woodies) changed.  Great fun.

@Brooko Appreciated mate! Will definitely have to look into more extensively modding a pair of Grado's at a later date, it will be an interesting experience for sure!

Great review. I've listened to a lot of headphones, but none of the others have that Grado magic. The Alessandro MS-1 are easy to drive and pair well with almost anything, but it's a good idea to combine them with a complementary source and amp for maximum performance, e.g., a combo that gives them a bit more air and bass slam while taming their slightly emphasized upper frequencies.

Nice review.  I  see that you have a pair of these same headphones listed for sale right now.  Not sure how seriously you take your reviewing - but as a former professional audio reviewer, you may want to be mindful of avoiding even "an appearance of impropriety" or a  potential bias.  Footnoting your review may help avoid that problem.  If people begin to believe you are reviewing a product for the purpose of assisting your impending sale, they will not take your reviews as unbiased - and I assume you want to avoid that problem. 
 
I am not suggesting you cannot objectively review products and also sell them concurrently or immediately after the review - but full disclosure and transparency will help you avoid potential credibility issues later,
 
Good luck with your sale.
 
Frank

@TOPnut Thanks for the heads up, I can see how people would come to that conclusion, I was also hesitant to list them for sale. I've actually been sitting on this review for about 4 months now so I guess it didn't feel so immediate to me.
 
I do take reviewing seriously, otherwise they would have received an 8-10. I feel 7.5 is an honest score for me since I really like bright sounding headphones and generally don't use them outside of home (so for my preferences they score higher but objectively they are more flawed).
 
Also for those wondering the reasons why I put them up for sale, I simply have more expensive headphones and earphones at home so while the Alessandro's are really nice sounding for $150, they still don't sound better than my much more expensive gear that I use daily. I bought them purely out of curiosity and for the purpose of review since I want to mediate between the average consumer and boutique listener, hence comparison to the M50x and other popular models as well as stressing the various fallbacks in practicality due to the open back design. Selling these personal purchase sets keeps my website/hobby going, I never make a profit and often donate review samples to my friends and relatives in need. 
 
I am a full time university student so money is hard earned and dedicated mainly towards my passion. Reviewing for me is not a means to satiate my desire for more expensive products, it is a byproduct of my love for writing, audio and want to assist readers who lie in similar conundrums as I once did as a Head-Fi beginner. I hope this clears things up, I've received many offers for paid reviews and have turned them all down, you will notice that the vast majority of expensive products I review are personal purchases since I feel that I can be more impartial about their value and performance.

Nice job Ryan.  Trust me, reviewing is both fun and rewarding.  However, it is also challenging and, while the vast majority of people are gracious and appreciative, there are also those who are either suspect or convinced that every review is biased or the reviewer getting paid off in the form of free stuff or discounts that taint the objectivity of the review.  While some of that funky that stuff does occur, most reviewers I know are genuinely good people with good intentions and give honest opinions.  They value their reputations.
 
Many times I ended up liking a review piece so much I bought it - and that too was looked up upon as some form of "quid pro quo."  My comment was intended to give you a little bit different perspective of possible pitfalls to avoid - particularly one where your intentions were genuine as in this case.
 
Keep up the good work and, most of all, have fun and enjoy the music and equipment.
 
Frank

I've held on to my MS-1 for nearly 10 years, because I find these so good for spoken word content.  Podcasts, audio books and the like, the lack of bass response, and clarity in those vocal frequencies make it very easy to listen to conversation.  Nice review, and I really like your headband mod, it's like a different headphone! 

I know Alessandro doesn't technically designate the headphones as MS1i or MS1e, but it is my understanding that there are real differences -- I bought the MS1 just a few months ago and I understand they are use the newer 'e' series drives from Grado.
 
Are they that you reviewed using the 'i' drivers?  It appears so from the box?

I notice this is a vintage MS1; The newer Grado build is better in terms of usage and look. I believe you will warrant the score at 8.5 if you had one of the newer MS1.

@trellus @chicken beer They are the original MS1, the MS1i has larger mushroom cups which protrude at the rear. I actually owned the SR80i for a few years and the build was pretty similar. I don't think the build is bad, but the headphones are clearly very basic when compared to something like the M50X and the design section also factors in practicality issues associated with the open back design. But if I were to purely base the score on sound, then 8.5-9/10 would probably be right. 

Great review. I wanted to listen to my ms1 after reading it. But I discovered the hangers were broken where it swivel. May be you have a reference link for your Auvio replacement headband ?
Thanks