Alessandro MS1000 and MS Ultimate - DIY & modding [56K warning]

[apatN]

I think I know what you mean, though "bestiary" is a word I can't seem to find in any dictionary.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Definitions of Bestiary on the Web:

a medieval book (usually illustrated) with allegorical and amusing descriptions of real and fabled animals
WordNet Search - 3.0

A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson. ...
Bestiary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bestiary (2001) is an album by the American ambient musician Robert Rich. This album showcases the musical concept that Rich has long referred to as “glurp”. It evokes a frenetic and surreal landscape inhabited by a wide variety of bizarre organisms.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiary_(album)

A medieval treatise of various real or imaginary animals
bestiary - Wiktionary

a graphic and literary genre particularly popular in Medieval Europe that collected images and descriptions of animals, real and imaginary, often ...
Glossary

Natural history book in the Middle Ages.
docs.ksu.edu.sa/DOC/Articles19/Article190588.doc

 

[kintsaki]

Larry I like this definition better , it is a bit more articulate for our case....

A medieval collection of stories providing physical and allegorical descriptions of real or imaginary animals along with an interpretation of the moral significance each animal was thought to embody

Last night I spent the night with a newly discovered animal

the Ultra Ultimate Alessandro MS-Pro

perhaps this will keep the bestiary going

I will explain what the "Ultra" is after I have some more time to play with it.

In a nutshell it is a "closed" Ultimate that increases the sound stage further and introduces the magic of midrange sweetness of an R-10 at the expense of bass energy (not depth, not kick, not speed, just overall energy).

It may be my mood swings but I will try it again.

It was plain magic sounded faster than SA-5000 and more engaging than the fully modded D5000
and the sound stage well it just smoked the K-1000's.

Bestiary?.....

may be.... and then maybe not....

this was a "closed" set using reusable not disposable plastic water cups extending out 8 inches filled with foam at the last 3 inches.

 

[apatN]

I demand pics!

 

[nhancakes]

would probably smoke the k-1000 in terms of ugliness too

 

[nickchen]

Really interesting, Mike, but to me, that was rather teaser prose than a description of a modification...

 

[jageur272]

Has anybody taken up Fatman on his offer? I would, but since I'm going to go to college, I don't think that I can.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Bestiary is always better than Beastiality...

 

[kintsaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really interesting, Mike, but to me, that was rather teaser prose than a description of a modification...

I did not mean to write a "teaser post" and I did not think that one must come up with a mode to post in this thread.

I merely suggested that now that the "inside" has be worked out and taken care off very well we should perhaps investigate what can be done on the "outside" of the enclosure.

As I have indicated to you in my PM after receiving the regular and shorter distancers my findings are in complete agreement with yours
and the distancer mode is a great one at that as it truly improves significantly the sound stage and it also enhances bass depth and "kick" without sacrificing the glorious mids and refined highs of the Alessandro MS-Pro.

At to the various cloth screens and depth of distancers it is a matter of preference as they affect trade-offs.

I went with the shorter distancers and the heavier clothes in line with my experiment that tends to brighten up the highs and reduce the bass energy but almost doubles the width of the soundest.

I had a second night and this time I took along the SA-5000 and the fully modded with Jena Labs Denon.

The Ms-Pro driver is really no where as powerful as the other two but its midrange sweetness make it a very romantic and passionate headset and with the extended sound stage (or even without it) many people like me may prefer it over the Denon with its incredible -"bestiality" like but wonderful (to me at least) bass-and powerful treble but somewhat lacking midrange.

If people ("apatN") insist on photos I will take some and post them when I get back to town.

And yes, "nhancakes", they smoke in ugliness the ugliest headphone.

I am also going to try to see if I can use a smaller cup inside the bigger one to try to do away with the low frequency cancellations and get the bass and intensity back up.

Unfortunately there are some bad news for small audiophile companies (no names mentioned), and these are SA-5000's
transient response and dynamic range at a
mere 350$.

This for me is now my new "flagship" and it is at least two tiers higher than the other two and it gets an equally wide sound stage along with bass improvement when I place the cups.

 

[nickchen]

I personally was also very impressed by the SA5000 technical abilities & build quality, but there were some metallic colorations in the mids I couldn't live with, at least outside the sheer syhth territory.

 

[Xan7hos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bestiary is always better than Beastiality...

I believe the correct term is "Inter-species Erotica"

 

[Dinan]

Another pair of MS1000 in progress thanks to this thread. I received the MS1 today (amazingly they were shipped the day after I ordered them) and a custom TARA Labs headphone cable that I will throw in at the same time.

Waiting for Grado pads, RDS distancers, and JMoney leather headband which are all in transit.

Still have to find some nice wire mesh for the cans to replace the plastic crap so a trip to the kitchen supply and the office supply stores is on the agenda.

I went for the MS1 after calling Grado to talk about the differences between the 1 and the 1i. They claim that only the housing and cable are changed on the i and everything else stays the same. As I am replacing the cable and wanted something more compact, the MS1 seemed like the better choice.

Cant wait to tear into the project tonight!

 

[lordvader]

Another pair complete

(did it while bored at work !)

Must say ! These pads are pretty comfortable !

Now for some listening ... work later

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dinan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I went for the MS1 after calling Grado to talk about the differences between the 1 and the 1i. They claim that only the housing and cable are changed on the i and everything else stays the same. As I am replacing the cable and wanted something more compact, the MS1 seemed like the better choice.

After approx. a dozen MS1s that went through my hands, I had my 1st contact with the MS1i two weeks ago. Couldn't resolve any differences in respect of sound. No wonder, housing is just boutique according to the systematical A/B-tests NoXter and me made.

 

[Dinan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif After approx. a dozen MS1s that went through my hands, I had my 1st contact with the MS1i two weeks ago. Couldn't resolve any differences in respect of sound. No wonder, housing is just boutique according to the systematical A/B-tests NoXter and me made.

Glad to hear I wont regret my choice of the more compact cans!