[Thujone]

I reeeeeeeally didn't like the stock MS1. It was so thin. Only mids and a ton of treble. Listening to rock on the MS1000 is great because the bass boost provides the punch for the drums and the mids aren't too affected IMO. The MS1000 does sound completely different than the MS1 though (obviously). Still though, the MS1000 definitely isn't a 'flat' headphone with the amount of bass holes I made so I can understand your experience.

 

[nickchen]

Mids are are a question of taste. I personally dislike recessed mids as much as overpronounced mids. IMO, the stock Gradessandros have too much mids, and the mods fixes that. I've compareded the MS1K and the Ulti to many other HPs, their tonality is very close to the super natural AKG K701...plus punch, of course. My wife is a violin player, she hasn't yet to listen to any HP that sounds as natural as the MS1K / Ulti when violin or cello sonatas are to be displayed.
 
4 bass holes is a lot though, maybe...

 

[apatN]

^ Seconded. Especially the Ulti sounds a lot like a K701 but with more punch. The MS1000 might have the same tonality as the Ulti but it lacks the resolution.

 

[kcdecker]

 
 
 
My first attempt.  Not as good as I wanted (appearance-wise), but nicer than I expected on a first attempt.  The outer grill/screen will come later.  Onto the sound....the sound is a million times better...and I loved the MS-1 originally.  The punch hole mod really extended the bass a bit without sacrificing that tight kick that is unique (among my collection, anyway) to the MS-1.  I tried the thin layer of felt on the inner side of the distancers and wasn't happy with it--currently, it is removed.  Very odd as I usually consider myself a borderline bass-head and fully expected to want to tame the treble significantly.  
 
Dumb question, but for those out there who have the MS-1 and the MS-2, does the MS-2 have the same punch to the bass?  
 
Dumb question number 2:  Is there much reason to try an MS-2 after constructing the MS1000?  I keep wondering if having a stock Grado/Alessandro is something I'll miss, and some head-fiers claim the MS-2 reproduces female vocals like nothing else...and with the correct pads, can still have the awesome punch.

 

[xaval]

I'd say all Gradessandros have the punch... it's just that some can have a bit more than others... It's a trademark actually 

 
Through the thread there is feedback that MS2 is not so good of an option compared to MS1. My MS1s are not PS1000'd, just woodied btw. I do however have a pair of Magnum 3.5 woodied and distanced (the shorter version) with gen Grado bowls. And they're wonderful.
 
If you have the distancers installed in a non permanent way on the MS1s, I'd say you should go for it and just play with what you have, assuming you own the MS2 already.

 

[kcdecker]

My apologies, I should clarify. Is there any reason to purchase an ms2 after constructing an ms1000?

 

[nehcrow]

Man oh man does this look good.
Anyone still make spacers? If so whats the pricing? I feel like this could be a great mod considering how much I digged the Alessandro house sound

 

[xaval]

@kcdecker MS2 don't sound anything like a PS1000 or MS1000. The pads make all the difference. What the PS1000 concept brings to the table is that you get the bowl effect inherent to PS1000 + distancers, without negatively affecting the FR (on the contrary, actually lol).

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but has anyone tried this mod on the rs1i? I did the mod on my MS Pro, like it quite a bit but I'm not sure whether I should do this on my RS1i or not.
 
Thanks

 

[xaval]

The mod is reversible. I suggest you give it a go. Let us know your findings. No problem in resurrecting great threads! 

 

[cosmopragma]

  Sorry to resurrect this thread but has anyone tried this mod on the rs1i? I did the mod on my MS Pro, like it quite a bit but I'm not sure whether I should do this on my RS1i or not.
 
Thanks

Modding the RS1i is a waste of time IME.
MS Pro and MS1 did react favourably.
Modded RS1,RS1i,SR225 and SR325i didn't sound that good.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Thanks. Since I'm in Singapore it's rather harder to find someone to mod the cups for me. I'm into this mod for 2 reasons, first for the sound. 2nd is for the comfort. Unfortunately getting warranty/service from Alessandro seems more diffifult than Grado (I'm in Singapore) so I sold my MSPro and get a RS1i instead. 
 
@cosmopragma can you please tell how the change on RS1i was?

 

[020Assassin]

I didn't want to buy a pair of MS-1 headphones, but I contacted ApatN some time ago and got the short 11.5mm distancers from him. I intended to put them on my SR325iS, but two days ago I was scouring Marktplaats.nl for Grados to fit with wooden cups and I found a pair of MS-1, with original box. So I'll be making an MS-1000.... At the end of Januari a friend from America will bring me a package with both Grado and EarZonk G-cushions...

 

[020Assassin]

I didn't want to buy a pair of MS-1 headphones, but I contacted ApatN some time ago and got the short 11.5mm distancers from him. I intended to put them on my SR325iS, but two days ago I was scouring Marktplaats.nl for Grados to fit with wooden cups and I found a pair of MS-1, with original box. So I'll be making an MS-1000.... At the end of Januari a friend from America will bring me a package with both Grado and EarZonk G-cushions...

 
Okay, I managed to buy an MS-Pro (with a beautiful brown leather band, square rods, and wooden nubs) as well as an MS-1. I only had one set of distancers, so I figured I'd put them on the MS-Pro first. Without the modification, the MS-Pro sounds great, but the Pro definitely cannot compete with my Stax headphones. With the modification... it still couldn't. That was pretty disappointing.
 
So, I removed the mod from the MS-Pro and installed the distancers and G-cushion on the MS-1. The MS-1000 is a great improvement on the sound and the headphones sound ten times better than their components would let you to believe. Still not a match for my Stax, but I can accept that from a 99$ headphone (but not from a 699$ headphone).
 
So the MS-1 gets to stay, and the MS-Pro has to go. Anyone living in the Netherlands interested in an MS-Pro for 425 euro (and shipping), send me a PM or email.
 


 
 

 

 

[nickchen]

No wonder that you were undwhelmed by the Ulti when being a Stax creature. Stax is all about resolution and fidelity, whereas the whole Gradessandro bunch only does work-to-rule in that respect. In fact, I wouldn't say the Ulti's resolution is noticeably superior to HD600 or so. You get a MS1K or an Ulti when you want fun and tiptoeing. The Ulti is tiptoeing with the best SQ available IMO. But when SQ is your only concern, conventional HPs will serve you better.
--------
Haven't been here for MONTHS. My Ultis still alive...just so...I had a cable damage close to the systems, so I had to grub them out of the wood without destroying anything. It worked, but they look a bit rugged since then ^^