[Jbroad572]

Please share the characterisitcs of these cans with jazz, classical, alternative, rock, rap, and MOVIES (dvd's) if you can. These are a consideration for me. I've heard a model of almost every brand, except Grado/Alessandro. I'm looking for a can to replace my hd595's, so please tell me what ya know

 

[Chefguru]

Two things you should now about grado/alessandro headphones.

1. Small soundstage. No matter which model it is they will have a small soundstage

2. Pads are very important and change the way the headphone sounds by ALOT. Bowls = bigger soundstage , more slam , better trebble , bright Flats = much more bass , more comfortable , small soundstage , not as bright. So make sure to get both see which you like more.


The ms-1 isn't worth your time, Ms-2 is good but for 300 dollars( they are hard to come by used ) you might as well just save up for a used rs-1 for 400-450.

Ms-2 will do well with pretty much all music. It's on the netural side and it doesn't really have the slam the other grado's are known for.
I personaly think the sr-225 is one of the best grado's out right now. It is the king of rock, and it works well for jazz and classical. I'd recommend picking one of those up used ( also get some flat pads from todd) see how you like it and then think about going up the grado line ( hint hint ps1-pro :-D).

 

[sleepkyng]

hey, i personally found them way to bright, even for rock, (ms1's) i think you'd be better off fiddling with the grado series 225's and up,

i mean, you have your neutrality in your 650's so if you're gonna go rock and over the top, might as well go all the way.

 

[TMC]

I've only had SR60 and MS-1 so I can only compare these two. I found that SR60 can sometimes be a bit too bright for my taste if I listen more than an hour or so, but the MS-1 is smoother and closer to what I consider neutral when it comes to treble. Overall the MS-1 still has the v-shaped EQ of SR60, but where SR60 lacks a bit in low bass the MS-1 doesn't show that roll-off. These are predominantly my rock headphones and as such they work really well with the nice bass-impact to give rock that extra energy. In all other genres I tend to grab my CD1700 for the better defined soundstage and more intimate mids.

I should of course add all the above impressions are with modded Senn pads.

 

[Pepsione1]

Quote:

Originally posted by sleepkyng hey, i personally found them way to bright, even for rock, (ms1's) i think you'd be better off fiddling with the grado series 225's and up, i mean, you have your neutrality in your 650's so if you're gonna go rock and over the top, might as well go all the way.

Are you tell me you don't like your cans? This upsets me because I loved them.

What amp are you using with it?

 

[Snufkin]

I don't find the MS-1 to be bright at all, in fact I don't understand why some people would call them 'bright'. The MS-2 could probably be considered bright, but it's more the fact that they're an energetic sounding headphone.

The soundstage of the MS-1 is extremely narrow, but it definately improves after a good burnin. It's not amazing, but it's better than "no soundstage". The MS-2 has a much more spread out sound, but placement of instruments isn't as well defined as it could be, so I guess you could say the MS-2 doesn't have a great soundstage.

Personally I think the MS-2 does have the Grado slam, just with the edge taken off.

Jbroad572 - I don't really like the Alessandros for classical music, but for the other genres and for DVDs I find them to be very good.

 

[boodi]

the fact they are lacking soundstage so much tend to distract me from paying attention to grado or alessandro low series ... I mean .. soundstage is one of the first thing i search while listening and having joy from listening ..

 

[Snufkin]

I think people tend to get a bit carried away with negatives

Grado/Alessandro headphones HAVE a soundstage, it just isn't as holographic as some headphones out there, on the other end of the scale you have headphones like the AKG K501 (K1000 too!) and Beyer DT880 which tend to take the soundstage and run with it.

I have no problems picking individual instruments with the MS-1 or MS-2 and they're placed in their own little spots which is nice, the MS-1 sounds like you've got a bunch of guys playing in your bedroom, while the MS-2 sounds more like someones backyard.

There are far worse headphones when it comes to soundstage reproduction.

 

[skitlets]

how much would an ms-1 improve with an amp?

 

[Snufkin]

Reasonably well actually, even with a little extra power the MS-1 has extra clarity

 

[pirate]

my ms-1 compared to my friend's sr-60 seems to have more of an extended bass but perhaps slightly not as "aggressive"? smoother is a definite. worth the price difference in my opinion

 

[sleepkyng]

I liked the Ms1's, but with my setup, i really did like the 580's better.

i don't know if it's fair to do a comparison between the two because pricewise the 580's new are 100 bucks more.

To me, the Ms1s were not bright at first, but in comparison to the 580's it was quite noticable.

Also, the 580's matched up much nicer with the PiMeta.

I know that if the sweet deal for the 580's (~$90shipped) hadn't come, i'd still be loving the ms1s

 

[Snufkin]

Quote:

Originally posted by sleepkyng I liked the Ms1's, but with my setup, i really did like the 580's better. i don't know if it's fair to do a comparison between the two because pricewise the 580's new are 100 bucks more. To me, the Ms1s were not bright at first, but in comparison to the 580's it was quite noticable.

See now that's different

I'd say it's not that the MS-1 is bright, but the HD580 is dark. Try the HD590 sometime

BTW, IMHO the SR225 is bar brighter than the MS-1 so I'm not sure why you recommended the SR225 over the MS-1 when you say the MS-1 is too bright

 

[sleepkyng]

Snufkin,

i guess what i mean is that the sr225 (from what i've heard) is the best Grado can for rock.

so if i were to get a pair of grado cans (again) i'd go with the 225's cuz i might as well go for broke when it comes to a signature sound!

 

[Snufkin]

fair enough, that makes more sense