[dleblanc343]

 

Hello fellow Head-fier's. As a young audio enthusiast with reasonable experience with headphones, I feel the need to move up the scale a bit. The audio store I work at holds many brands and I've had the privilege to try out many headphones such as the whole grado line, as well as sennheiser hd600, hd650, hd25-1 ii and the hd800, and so on.
 
I absolutely love the grado headphones, they are truly unique and very colorful , but maybe just slightly too much for my tastes at times. (the 325i's, which interested me the most, are a bit too forward with certain music). This is what led me to Alessandro's, I've never had the chance to demo them, but they are tweaked grado phones with a slightly more neutral frequency response. I'm looking for a fun headphone that can also be reasonably analytical and work with more genres, rather than excelling in a couple. It seems the ms2i's would be a great choice. Otherwise, I am opened to recommendations! P.S: Mids and detailing are more important to me than bass frequencies.
 
I am looking to pay between 225-300. 
​

 

[laxsar]

I've been using my lovely MS2i for about 5 months now. I grow to love it more and more everyday. I have paired it with the Asgard, ST, iBasso D6, CmoyBB v.2.0.3, STX but I love it the most on my Maverick A1. 
 
It is very smooth and there is just something magical about the mids of MS2i when it comes to female vocals. It's a bit more laid back and very slightly wider soundstage than the 325i. 
 
I also love the HD650's smooth sound signature. For me, both are detailed, but you get the sense of extra details due to HD650's wider soundstage that yields better instrument separation, in a sense. If you've been tuned to the MS2i for a while, the treble of HD650 will sound recessed and veiled. 
 
For me, MS2i + A1 is the type of sound that I love the most (tubey warm, smooth and musical). MS2i + STX is sharp, harsh and analytical, whereas MS2i + Asgard is crisp and sterile.
 
HD650 + Asgard yields tighter bass and crisper highs, while HD650 + A1 kind of smoothen the bass  in a good way but the smoothing of the already recessed treble makes it sound anemic to me.
 
I am biased towards Grado, it is for me the most musical, engaging headphones and no other ones have yet to make music connect with me on that particular level of emotion. Personally I think it's the forwardness and warmth that puts me closer to music.
 
The only sure way to know is to audition the MS2i yourself with your favorite tracks. 

 

[dleblanc343]

Hey thanks for the input. Yes I agree grado's sound like no other headphone. I will not have the chance to audition anything alessandro simply because we don't sell and I don't know anyone with them. I am sure it can't be a bad purchase though, and I could pass them onto someone else worst case scenario.
 
Have you ever compared them with the 325i's by any chance? And would you consider them warm or laid back, neutral, or a bit more forward? I know it depends on your gear, but the headphone itself, what are it's strengths/ weaknesses?
 
Thanks again!
 
Quote:

I've been using my lovely MS2i for about 5 months now. I grow to love it more and more everyday. I have paired it with the Asgard, ST, iBasso D6, CmoyBB v.2.0.3, STX but I love it the most on my Maverick A1. 
 
It is very smooth and there is just something magical about the mids of MS2i when it comes to female vocals. It's a bit more laid back and very slightly wider soundstage than the 325i. 
 
I also love the HD650's smooth sound signature. For me, both are detailed, but you get the sense of extra details due to HD650's wider soundstage that yields better instrument separation, in a sense. If you've been tuned to the MS2i for a while, the treble of HD650 will sound recessed and veiled. 
 
For me, MS2i + A1 is the type of sound that I love the most (tubey warm, smooth and musical). MS2i + STX is sharp, harsh and analytical, whereas MS2i + Asgard is crisp and sterile.
 
HD650 + Asgard yields tighter bass and crisper highs, while HD650 + A1 kind of smoothen the bass  in a good way but the smoothing of the already recessed treble makes it sound anemic to me.
 
I am biased towards Grado, it is for me the most musical, engaging headphones and no other ones have yet to make music connect with me on that particular level of emotion. Personally I think it's the forwardness and warmth that puts me closer to music.
 
The only sure way to know is to audition the MS2i yourself with your favorite tracks. 

 

 

[dleblanc343]

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[Kevin Brown]

I love Grados!   I have heard all of these and owned most of them for extended periods of time:
 
SR60i
SR80i
MS1
MS1i
SR125i
SR225i
SR325is
MS2i
HF2
RS2i
MS Pro
 
Out of them all, the SR325is was the least preferrable, specifically because of how bright they are.  The MS2i's are definitely a mellower, easier to listen to version of the 325 IMO.
In fact, for absolute sound quality, I'd personally go with the RS2i, but for value, the MS2i get's my vote.
 
I sent my pair for a recable recently, and it took a while to get them back.  Once I did, I listened to them for 2 and 1/2 weeks straight even though I also have the HF2 and RS2i.  I missed the MS2i that much.
 

 

[dleblanc343]

Wow cool, what's the sound signature difference between the rs2 and ms2i's?

 

[Kevin Brown]

Quote:

Wow cool, what's the sound signature difference between the rs2 and ms2i's?

Others have asked that too, and I've never actually compared.  (I went from the MS1i to the HF2 to the RS2i.  So I compared 1 to 2 and 2 to 3, but not 1 to 3.)  Let me do something listening in the next week, and I'll report back.
 

 

[donunus]

I would be interested to know the differences between those cans also. I would also like to ask whether the ms2i is more laid back than the hf2 and if they sound closer to them than they do to the 325i. 
 
Ive heard both the 325i and the hf2 by the way which is why I'm trying to gauge whether I would like the ms2i from your impressions. Something in between the two in sound would be perfect for me.

 

[Kevin Brown]

This should help:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/570526/ms-2i-or-rs-2i
 
Or maybe not !!
 

 
Sometimes you just have to try a pair out, figure out what you like and dislike about them, post your comments here, and then the community can direct you from there.
 
One thing I'll say about something laxsar said up above: I have owned all of the following: Senn HD535, 555, 595, 600, & the 650.  Me, myself, and I: there is just something about Sennheiser highs that I don't like.  I even tried longer term listening to try and "unlearn" my preference for Grado, and none of those Sennheisers stuck with me.  I just find Grado highs more involving, detailed, "present", and immediate.  The funny thing is that I use comfies with all of my Grados, which takes the edge off the highs, but yet still, I didn't like any of those Sennheisers.
 
... But I use a pair of Senn PX-100's for portable use, so go figure ...
 

 

[donunus]

Well I feel the 325is have great forward mids without being annoying with a smooth source/amp like a fiio E10 and the HF2 is slightly brighter in the snare department with more air but are slightly less engaging with horns and vocals and the plucks of a bass guitar. I was wondering if the ms2i had even less forwardness /less mids than the hf2. Stuff like Black metal become a little unbearable in its aggressiveness with the 325i though which is the reason I am looking for something in between in terms of their midrange presence. I would be happy with either one though but since the ms2i are the cheapest to get in a non US country, I am also making them an option. 

 

[dleblanc343]

I can say I prefer the ms2i to the 325's, but the highs on the 325's are more intense. The ms2i has a very nice bass impact, it's very aggressive and I find them great for rock. Since I've posted this thread, I've acquired ms2i's, HD600's and got a paradox'd t50rp. I am very satisfied with the grado's, I use them more than the HD600's simply because of my musical tastes.
 
I can't compare over hf2's, but I would take ms2i's over sr325's any day.