[niktheblak]

Yes! I have just ordered the venerable Alessandro MS-1. You may congratulate me for my great taste in headphones.

Seriously, I wanted to have the rock can. I currently own the HD595s, which by all accounts are a nice piece of audio equipment, but there's still that special something that's missing from them. And since I basically listen to metal 100% of the time I decided to take the plunge and get the most uniformly praised rock can under the sky. In maybe two weeks we shall see if my choice was the right one!

 

[lutwey]

did u just said that u like rock and u just ordred an ms1???

i dont want to overhyped u but for i would say it would perform well at the least. trust me, idont listen to rock just primarilly hiphop but with this cans in hand i started to enjoy listening to it. i just love the sq in which i can hear every instruments and where are they are coming from. (like a surround sound)

good luck...........welcome to the ever expanding team ms1.
i hope u have the patience in waiting for ur pizza box

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lutwey /img/forum/go_quote.gif one quick question fellow ms-1 owners, do you think that our ms1 is too fragile for portable use??? i just dont think these presious headphones can stand that much abuse.

Aw rats; I almost hate to mention it, but when I got my MS2i in September and was concentrating on them a lot, the Grandkids started asking if they could use my MS-1s on the computer. First one of them got away with it along with my Wife, and then eventually all five of them were using them on a daily basis starting in September and running ONE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS!! So for three months, four little kids ages five through twelve, were almost the sole users of my MS-1s!! As I had mentioned; the day before Christmas they managed to get the phones tangled up in their computer chair and did some pretty major damage to the cable between the "Y" block and the housings. The sleeving took most all of the damage and they still sound just fine!! But other than the cable, there's is no way to tell that a bunch of roudy kids were the "owners" of a pair of MS-1s for all that time! These are some tough cans!!

.....I was using KSC75s on my computer until the Wife "stole" them for her new iPod, and the kids all got new phones with their new MP3 players for Christmas. So my beloved MS-1s are back to stay on my computer right where they belong!!

 

[DEZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well; my experience is limited to running my MS2i off my home theater receiver, and it's a good experience!! I'm having good luck with my five year old high current Onkyo. The MS-1 does a great job unamped and only gets a little bit better with the amp. The MS2i is much happier with the amp. The MS2i sounds surprisingly good without an amp, but sounds a lot better on the receiver. Not night and day, but noticeable. The sound alone isn't worth an extra $200, but when the housings and headband are factored in it gets to be worth the cost, in my opinion. I guess the bottom line may be that if you like the style of the MS2i enough to spring for the looks and materials, and if your receiver is capable of adding a good input, then it could well be worth the sonic difference without a traditional dedicated "headphone" amp. ....but Yeah; I really like mine with my receiver, and if my upcoming HD600 also sounds good enough, I may just not bother springing for a dedicated headphone amp!! Time will tell! EDIT: Oh; and welcome to Head-Fi, and as the traditional Head-Fi saying goes:! "Sorry about your wallet!!"

Thanks for the feedback. I assume my ONKYO should do a good job!

I read on some threads that the MS-2 gets a little scary on the highs(like 325), is that so?? How are the highs on the MS-2 vs MS1?

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the feedback. I assume my ONKYO should do a good job! I read on some threads that the MS-2 gets a little scary on the highs(like 325), is that so?? How are the highs on the MS-2 vs MS1?

How are the highs on the MS2i vs MS-1?

Not a problem!! The MS2i has a slightly enhanced upper range, but it's more like an extended range which maybe can be considered a little "brighter" than MS-1. But in no way would it be considered scary!

What I hear when I compare the MS2i to the MS-1 is the MS2i is actually an MS-1; just MORE!! There's a bit lower and tighter bass, a bit more exact and fuller midrange and a more extended and clearer top end. The entire range is more filled out and "bigger" than MS-1 with somewhat more presence. Again; it's not a night and day difference, but it is enough more that, in my case anyway, while I can enjoy listening to MS-1 while on the computer and doing other things, when I'm listening to MS2i, all else stops while I listen to the tunes.

Right after I got them I did a fourteen hour "re-discover my CD collection" marathon! It was fun, and that was with BOWLS!!

They aren't perfect though. They don't do the big classical stuff all that well since the soundstage....which is a little bigger than MS-1...is still a bit smaller than that which is needed for classical. But they do acceptably for smaller choral works and chamber music sized groups. While I haven't heard the MS-Pro, I understand that they aren't exactly of that class either, but I have a feeling that for a pair of phones in this price range they do a very good job or representing themselves.

Some folks find the MS2i and the SR-325i to be a bit heavy, and some folks find them so heavy that they can't enjoy listening to them. They weigh about 100gm more than the MS-1 and SR-60, I did an "add 100gm worth of sockets to the height adjusters" test for a few weeks , uh, actually months, to see if I could handle the weight. No problem. But it is something to consider.

Anyway, to sum up: The MS2i IS better than MS-1 but it isn't $200 better from a SQ standpoint. When you add the workmanship and materials and style and all those other perhaps intangible things, then they may well be worth the price. And, they are a bit heavy to some listeners.

But nope, they aren't too bright!!

 

[fraseyboy]

Mmm... Weird... It seems the streetstyle (sock) mod boosts the volume quite alot. I didn't think having the driver FURTHER away from the ears would boost the volume?

 

[Nenso]

I'm dying!!! MS-1s were ordered like last month.. they replied to my email 2 days ago saying they were JUST shipped. God... the pain.. of waiting!!

 

[Abouna]

Still loving these. Can't wait for my Bowls & E-MU 0404 to show up, should make quite a difference.

Since I don't have the bowls yet though, just thought I'd try this:

 

[TedwardRoberts]

Ordered from the website and arrived at my house 3 in business days

These phones are ridiculously comfortable on my head, much more than I was expecting based upon people's thoughts on here.

I've been spending a lot of time listening to everything I own, and I'm overall pleased with the sound. I'm currently doing some burning in with pink noise to see what I can get out of them.. woohoo.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr. John /img/forum/go_quote.gif Still loving these. Can't wait for my Bowls & E-MU 0404 to show up, should make quite a difference. Since I don't have the bowls yet though, just thought I'd try this:

Is that 414's on top of Comfy's?

How does it sound?

 

[Abouna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is that 414's on top of Comfy's? How does it sound?

Very nice. Nicer soundstage with tamed highs. Similar to what I think the bowls will do.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr. John /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very nice. Nicer soundstage with tamed highs. Similar to what I think the bowls will do.

That is absolutely wild!! How on earth did you manage to do that!?? I love the stability and comfort of the reversed 414s on my unamped MS-1s and the SQ of the bowls on my amped MS2i, but that set-up looks like it may work for both!!

 

[Abouna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is absolutely wild!! How on earth did you manage to do that!?? I love the stability and comfort of the reversed 414s on my unamped MS-1s and the SQ of the bowls on my amped MS2i, but that set-up looks like it may work for both!!

Just stick em on! Seriously, I've just set those between the comfies and the stand (or my head). If I were going to keep it that way I'd probably opt for some light adhesive.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr. John /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just stick em on! Seriously, I've just set those between the comfies and the stand (or my head). If I were going to keep it that way I'd probably opt for some light adhesive.

Well composed photo!!

Hmmmm.......still might require some further thought! Makes a darned good looking package in my estimation!!

Well done concept!

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr. John /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very nice. Nicer soundstage with tamed highs. Similar to what I think the bowls will do.

That's a very neat mod. I am sure the soundstage will be even better than the bowls because HD414 by itself is already slightly better in giving the impression of space compared to stock comfies.