[riddley]

* Edit - I just did another search and found a post that answers this question - so feel free to let this thread die a quick death. Sorry *

Has anyone listened to the Alessandro MS1s and can tell me what they think?

I'm looking for a not-too-expensive pair of open headphones to complement my Ety 4s - my favourite that I've auditioned so far are the Grado SR80s.

But I'm in Australia, and the Alessandro MS1s are actually cheaper because they include free airmail shipping for $99. If I got the Grados, I'd have to get them sent from an unauthorised dealer in the US, and they'd end up costing about $110. (Or I could pay $US200 to buy them locally. Yeah right).

I've heard both good and bad things about the MS1s - anyone care to weigh in with some opinions? Are they similar sounding to the SR80s? (I've heard them compared to the 125s but I couldn't find a pair to audition.)

Or of course if you've got any alternatives in that price range feel free to vent here...

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

MS-1 is more neutral sounding than SR-80... I recommend Alessandro over Grado. But it all depends on your flavor... If coloration is no problem for you and you like sweetened sound, Grado is the choice.

 

[Snufkin]

I'll be able to tell you soon, mine arrive sometime this/next week with my MS-2s and MS-pros

 

[austonia]

i just got my MS-1's a few days ago from Allesandro. I was interested in the first place because at $99 you get the same specs as a Grado SR-125, but its available with a miniplug adapter (3.5mm) which is what I requested. I will note that they benefit significantly from burn in. I wasn't too enthusastic about them on first listen, they were bright and rough. But after 20 hours of playtime on them I revisted and am fairly impressed at this price level. They have incredible bass, very deep, but tighter and more detailed then my other phones - and not tiring like my Beyer DT770's. The highs are also very clear and strong but not overly bright now. Voices sound excellent, very little sibiliance. However, I would NOT say this is a transparent sound, it is colored with an emphasis on the mid to low end. But the effect is good I think, the presentation is such that when listening to rock music I feel like I am at the concert with a large, loud sound system around me. The MS-1 pairs well with electronica as well. I am using the Senheiser pads (dyed black), not the "comfy" grado pads that come with it.

Recommended.

BTW, I used to Grado SR-80's but its been awhile and I don't trust my memory to fairly compare them...

 

[modestninja]

How is the comfort level of the MS1s? Do they use the same body as the sr-60, 80s, or 125s? Do they have about the same comfort level as any of these?

 

[Permonic]

Quote:

Originally posted by modestninja How is the comfort level of the MS1s? Do they use the same body as the sr-60, 80s, or 125s? Do they have about the same comfort level as any of these?

Grado SR-60, SR-80, SR-125 & SR-225 and Alessandro MS-1 use the same size of air chambers, made of plastic. SR-225 has metal mesh on the outer part of the air chamber. All of them have an identical metal headband covered by a thin plastic layer which is uncomfortable. You need to bend the headband a bit (make it flatter) to reach some comfort.

SR-60 & MS-1 come with soft pads (comfies). SR-80, SR-125 & SR-225 and the rest of Grados and Alessandros have bowl pads as default.

Comfies are generally more comfortable then bowls (however depends on your ear shape), but without the vwap's mod (see http://www.vwap.net) they sound muffled.

 

[rex0x0]

people always talk about the comfort level of the grado/alessandro phones. I really think its a matter of personal preferencne. I've had various pairs of grados for years and personally I don't find them uncomfortable at all (tho I have yet to try bowl pads) but with the flat pads and "comfy" (I really hate that name) to me they are fine for multi-hour listening sessionns. I've never bent the head band, maybe I just have a big head but it fit fine out of the box. My only promblem is after several hours the back of my ears hurt from being pressed inbetween the arms of my glasses and the phones. My solution is to take them off for 10 minutes and I'm good to go again.

 

[dan1son]

I'll give my little opinion about the MS-1s as well. I just received them last thursday so they are just now starting to burn in. So far I really like them. I bought them trying to find a home version of the er-6. Or at least something relatively similar. Yeah they sound quite different, but they do have quite a few similarities. They're both clear as a whistle and like to be driven by my Rio Karma.

The MS-1's sound uncomparably better than the Sony 7506's, IMO. They are a lot cleaner sounding. The bass is clear and fast. The Sony's always sounded extremely muddy to me. The MS-1's midrange is more pronounced then the Sony's, so voices sound more upfront where they belong. The MS-1's sounded a little shrill when new, that has subsided already, even after around 18-22 hours of play. I would recommend them to just about anyone... well anyone looking for an easily driven open headphone for around $100

.

I find the MS-1s to be very comfortable even without bending of the headband. I love the foam feel (I suppose I'm used to an old pair of HD424s). My father does find the headband to be a little "tight" on his head, but I am sure that can be easily remedied. I'm going to order to bowl pads here in a few weeks along with some replacement flanges and filters for my er-6's, just in case.

 

[austonia]

I stretched my MS-1 headband slighty to make them more comfortable. Now, combined with the Senn pads they are comfy for unlimited hours.

My first Grados were SR-80's and they extremely uncomfortable after an hour or so because of the tight headband causing ear-compression. Then months later, I realized, duh, just stretch the headband a little. Then they were totally swell. Did the same when I had RS-1's and they were so much comfier. I try to tell everyone who thinks Grados are ear-grating, just stretch the damn headband a little!!! Simple fix. The soft Sennheiser pads also help a lot. The bowl pads are just too sandpapery for extended use. I don't like the comfy pads because the cause murkiness.

edit: i just want to reitterate these are one of the best buys in the under $100 catagory - I can't think of any better in my experience.

 

[modestninja]

I was mainly wondering whether the MS1s were the same in terms of comfort as the Grados. Apparently, they are and since I don't find Grados uncomfortable, I think apair of these may be in my future.

Just wondering, have people who've been ordering these recently been getting them in a timely manner? It seemed like Allesandro was OOS (as well as most Grado retailers) for most of January. Has this cleared up? Cause I really don't want to wait a month to get a new pair of headphones.

 

[austonia]

it took more than 3 weeks to get mine, but the shortage may be resolved now that christmas season and holidays are past. maybe email Allesandro and ask them?

 

[dan1son]

Yeah took me about two and a half weeks. But apparantly they ran out of hardware which caused a delay. Should be fine now... It was worth the wait anyway.

If you find the Grado's comfy then the Alessandro's will be fine. They're the exact same thing. The MS-1 is made the same way as the lower SR series. Same headband and everything. They come with the "comfy" pads that the SR60 comes with.

 

[MegaMeee]

about all i can say is that i like the sound of the ms-1 much much more that my philips hp890... but they are so different that dosent really mean anything.

i would say they are actually fairly neutral, an emhasis on midbass and they dont go as deep as i would like. i would describe them as detailed without being overly bright (i used to think they were basically the same thing but now i realise you can have detail without being bright and vice-versa.

cant reallt comment further, because they are the best headphones i have heard i dont really have anything to compare them to.

snufkin im really looking forward to your opinions of them... but i must stress burn in does make a big difference - when i got them they just sounded like slightly improved ksc-35's (whereas now they sound like vastly improved ksc-35's

)

 

[Snufkin]

Don't worry, I always give my headphones a good burnin before giving impressons

It's the MS-pro I'm looking forward to hearing

 

[MegaMeee]

lol yes im interested to see how big a gap there is between the lower and high end... see if i need to upgrado (upalessandro just dosent sound right

)