[kintsaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif My old MS1000 (>3000h) sounded much better than the Ulti with zero hours. Luckily, it could catch up and overtake later during the break in process.

I am willing to bet that your new Ms-Pro (being a bad sample) will never catch up with your old Ms1000 (super good sample). There are quite a few more bad Rs-1's/Ms-Pro's than SR-125/ MS1's ( thanks to John's marketing genius.

 

[AudioNovice]

I found the JMoney's to be an improvement over the stock headband, if that means anything. I have no reference, otherwise.

The GS1000 pads make the entire unit float on my head a lot more than the stock comfies, so they slid off my head all the time... but the leather JMoney headband stabilized it a lot, they (for the most part) stay on my head way better.

---------------
Btw, I took these headphones on a roadtrip last weekend, actually didn't have to drive for once and was able to sit in the back and just chill with my headphones, and I just gotta say this: They suck in cars, lol. The road noise just totally sucked the sound right out of them. All I could hear was the highs. That's the main disadvantage of open earphones... if there's a lot of ambient noise (fans, road noise, engine, etc...) they really struggle. They sound a lot better in a nice quiet room with no one else around and little ambient noise.

Being in the car almost made me wish I had my Sony's with me (closed)... they don't sound near as nice in a quiet room, but on the road, those Sony's woulda sounded a lot better.

 

[NimbleRabit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN /img/forum/go_quote.gif All the parts needed and best places where you can find them is covered on the first page. About the distancers: myself and some others build them (I am out for the time being). I recommend getting a Beyerdynamic DT770 headband. They are very cheap and super comfy!

Okay, I was just kinda hoping there was somewhere to get the GS1000 pads cheaper. As it is, both of the shops on the front page charge more than half what I paid for the actual headphones. I'll probably still go for this mod, but man I almost wish the phones cost more just so the mod didn't feel so expensive to me lol.

 

[gknix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NimbleRabit /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been trying to read through some of this thread, but it's pretty massive. Where are the best places to get the parts I need for this mod? Also, I love the look of some of those ones that have the wood pieces instead of just distancers + the default plastic. If I wanted to do that, where do I start? Sorry, I'm sure this has already been covered but after reading quite a few pages I wasn't finding very much concise information. Thanks for any help! Oh one more thing, some of those headbands look amazingly comfortable. I looked into the jmoney ones I've seen mentioned, but is there another option? The jmoney ones don't look particularly comfortable to me, although maybe I'm wrong.

---Parts for MS1k---
Distancers: DIY or apatN, rds, nickchen , and some others
GS-1000 pads: TTVJ, or Planet of Sound (for Canada)
Tapes, bluetac etc. at your local store

--Headband--
DT770 headband pad (an addition to your plastic headband, quite cheap ~$9 if I remember correctly)
Jmoneyaudio Headband - More expensive, and replacing the original plastic headband ~$44 for v3, $20 for v2 (some other site...try searching on head-fi)
The difference between v2 and v3 are quite large. v3 is noticeably thicker and more comfy. Though very high quality, the v2 just dosn't seem thick enough. However, the Gs-1k pads make your headphones float either way...so you won't feel the headbands that much.

In terms of comfort, it depends on how large your head is. If you require to pull those rods all the way down to fit your head, the DT770 headband pads may not be the way to go. They add thickness to the headband, and as a result shorten the distance from headband to speaker cups. Otherwise, both are very comfortable...

--Woodies--
Many options around...Jmoney audio, the mighty nickchen himself, headphile etc.

 

[AudioNovice]

^-- Good summary, woulda been nice when I was building mine, had to hunt and dig through 70 pages of stuff, lol.

 

[AudioNovice]

Just out of curiosity, would anyone that has experience with many Gradossandros be able to sort of "rank" the MS1000 amongst all of them in terms of overall sound quality? What Grado/Alessandro would I have to buy to "better" the MS1000?

 

[Nakattack]

Nickchen, feel free to update the first post to reflect that I am willing to build distancers for Australians.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kintsaki /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am willing to bet that your new Ms-Pro (being a bad sample) will never catch up with your old Ms1000 (super good sample). There are quite a few more bad Rs-1's/Ms-Pro's than SR-125/ MS1's ( thanks to John's marketing genius.

Nope, they burnt in significantly. The Pro catched up within 24h and overtook after 3 days or so. Very different from what I experienced with a burnt in and a brand new DT880'600 a few days ago.
Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioNovice What Grado/Alessandro would I have to buy to "better" the MS1000?

The GS1K has a more precise soundscape, a stronger bass and more details, but an annoying dip in the mids. The latter is solved with the PS1K. And the MS Pro Ulti (which is the cheapest upgrade) is a MS1K in high res.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Nakattack Nickchen, feel free to update the first post to reflect that I am willing to build distancers for Australians.

That is very good news indeed.

 

[NimbleRabit]

What kinds of wood do you guys recommend to get the best sound? I'd also like to keep them somewhat light, do certain types of wood make these significantly heavier?

 

[nickchen]

Any wood. Sound differences through different wood sorts is snake oil, and the distancers are so small that wood density doesn't play a role. If it does, you have chosen a waaay too exagerrated wall thickness.

I personally prefer linden, as it's extremely homogenious, easely to be worked at and as it has at least acceptable solidity compared to pine or spruce.

 

[NimbleRabit]

Oh, I'm not talking about distancers, I'm talking about making new wood cups in the same vein as what you did with yours. Linden still a good choice?

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NimbleRabit /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, I'm not talking about distancers, I'm talking about making new wood cups in the same vein as what you did with yours. Linden still a good choice?

Good, but a bit boring unless you bate it. For woodies, you should look out for spectacular woods, the audiophiles are magpies.

 

[AudioNovice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif The GS1K has a more precise soundscape, a stronger bass and more details, but an annoying dip in the mids. The latter is solved with the PS1K. And the MS Pro Ulti (which is the cheapest upgrade) is a MS1K in high res.

Good enough. So this mod puts the MS1 up there amongst the greats, if only the PS1000 and MS Pro "Ulti" are "better", correct? Am I incorrect to assume that an MS1000 is better than a straight unmodded MS Pro?

I've had some interest in acquiring the Pro and doing this mod, but... the question I have is will I notice a correlated improvement in sound for the price?

The MS1 was $100 and the Pro is $700. That's 7X the price. I'm guessing it's not 7X the sound.

The MS1000 mod totalled it at around $185. A 1000'd Pro puts us at around $785. So... is an MSPro "Ulti" 400% better than an MS1000?

My budget allotment for headphones (read: wife) is not huge, so I'd only "lobby" to acquire a Pro if I knew that the upgrade from an MS1000 was significant. A neglible/minor/mediocre upgrade for $600 more probly disqualifies it.

Btw, I'm very satisfied with the MS1000s. I'm not necessarily looking to do anything at all, to be honest, I'm just "doing homework". It's not very likely I'll be able to swing a Pro anytime soon, this would be a long-term goal if it were to happen at all.

 

[nickchen]

To be honest, the Ulti is at most the MS1K x 1,15 or so (resolution & bass authority), with mediocre recordings & casual listening, it's sometimes even indistinguishable.

The Ulti is for those who love the MS1K so dearly that all sanity becomes subordinate. All others should keep their MS1K.

To compare the MS1K with the stock Pro doesn't make much sense IMO. I personally regard the stock Pro as (kind of) obsolete model, as it has the tonality for classical & jazz, but not the soundscape you need for those genres. Consequently, the usual K701/DT880/HD650 (which are also cheaper) are better choices for the usual audiophile silverback.

 

[AudioNovice]

Thanks nickchen. That settles it, I'm sticking with my MS1k's. I wish I had a dealer near me for me to test out cans personally. In the meanwhile I rely a lot on the words of people like yourself and others on this board. You've been a big help.