[reivaj]

They are essentially and they cost 50 dollars less
 
Quote:

the alessandro is supposed to be a smoothed off and less harsh grado sr125 from what i have heard.

 

 

[Wolham]

@Stitch; No, I do not have the option to audition them. MS1 can't even be bought in any swedish stores, and SR80 is very, very rare, and mostly just online stores.
 
@bcasey25raptor; I never intended to order them from anywhere else That webpage is a blessing with their free shipping!

 

[Stitch]

 
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Quote:

the alessandro is supposed to be a smoothed off and less harsh grado sr125 from what i have heard.

That is not necessarily a good thing for metal. Smoothed mids would take a away the raw and agressive touch to the sound. Smoothed highs would be a good thing though, to make the sound less harsh.
 
@wolham; If funds allow it you could buy both and sell the one you dont like. Or keep them both 

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[Wolham]

Funds do very much not allow it. XD
 
I've made my decision, as soon as my payroll comes in tomorrow I'll order the MS1's  ^_^ Since noone could give a comparable alternate way of buing the SR80i's at such a low price, I frankly don't have much of a choice, money wise. Have to buy some other stuff too, as well as put some cash in the university fund I'm gathering.

 

[Chris_Himself]

I just listened to some Darth Beyers today (modded 770's) and I still like Grados more. They were kind of muddy and really boomy compared to my modded 225's.
 
Definitely order the MS-1s, people say they're more neutral, but they're anything but neutral. I still get bright treble I love and I always have to double check to make sure they're Allies. They are a little different but equally good though.

 

[Stitch]

I'm glad you made a desicion! The beginning of the end
Not sure if someone has mentioned it but lets just get it over with;
 
Welcome to Head-fi and sorry about your wallet!
 
This is probably your last chance to turn around and run 

 

 

[Chris_Himself]

Haha that'd be true but thank god he got the MS1, because the MS2's are 299, so it'll be a while until the upgrade bug bites him again
 
Welcome to Head-Fi, my first cans were SR-60's from 2007 that I still have today!

 

[Theogenes]

I'm going to chime in with an apparently minority opinion here in case you haven't actually made your order yet. I have the Sennheiser HD25-1 II headphones for my portable setup and for metal, they are awesome. They have a ton of energy and that punchy, engaging sound that has me headbanging constantly when I probably shouldn't be . Personally, I have not heard the Grados; the constant reports of considerably lower overall sound quality than comparable units from other companies has pretty much turned me off.
 
My major points of comparison are the NuForce NE-700M (for daily use) and the Audez'e LCD-2 (which are my desktop/reference pair). The NuForce are actually pretty solid for metal in that they have a slightly exaggerated bass response that sounds great on death and thrash (Meshuggah goes well with 'em), but you have to keep re-seating them in your ears every few minutes, which does get a little aggravating. The LCD-2s are godly, sound MUCH more realistic, and have loads more detail than the 700M or the HD25, but they also don't have that extra slam and bite that is sometimes what you want with metal. For me, the HD25s deliver that in spades. I was listening to Revocation's Existence is Futile last night, and it SLAYED on the HD25s!!
 
With your budget, if you went with the HD25s, you'd be looking at used pairs, but I've bought literally 3 pairs of them (after I got a pair, my mom and my girlfriend both decided they wanted 'em), all used, and haven't had any problems (knock on wood). Additionally, the Senns are well-known for being very durable, they're portable,  they respond well to less-than-ideal amplification (like an iPod or a smartphone), and they still scale up pretty well with something like the Fiio E11, which gives them even more oomph. 
 
If I were in your shoes, I would DEFINITELY give the HD25s a look at the very least, and I'd be surprised if anything else bested them in terms of headbang for your buck . Best of luck, and let us know what you think about whatever cans you get!!
 
Btw, if you haven't heard Obscura's new album, Omnivium, you oughtta check it out... It's a little more traditional than their previous album (I effin LOVED Cosmogenesis!!), but it's pretty damn good!!! 
 
@Alghazanth: Ha!! Sarcasm duly noted

 

[Wolham]

Theogenes: You really put a buzzer in my head now. Unfortunately, HD25 goes for as much as SR80i in Sweden (approx 175 quids), and by a quick check they are not available for buying second hand over here (probably due to the overpricing).
 
Also, I've been approached by member eyal1983, whom offered me to buy his SR80i for 95$, shipping included. This undercuts the price of MS1, which is at 99$ for MS1 and 109$ for MS1i. Since I was ready to offer the 109$ for MS1i, I don't really care price-wise which. My earlier conclusion to stick with MS1 was due to the price difference; now that it is eliminated, you guys still think I should order the MS1's? I'm leaning that way since I've always been suspicious towards buying things from other persons online without being able to meet them in real life to complete the purchase.

 

[Stitch]

Thats a bit hard to say imo. If you have a warm or darker amp(tubes for example) the highs will be not as harsh. I have not heard both so i cannot add more than in my previous posts.

 

[Chris_Himself]

It depends on how much you like the SR-80i buttons and how much you value the SR-125's features (you'll really only notice them at the upper frequencies), because the MS1 is comparable to the SR-125.
 
My 2 cents, you really don't need the "i" model. It does absolutely nothing. 95 bucks shipping included is nice, but international shipping always makes me a little queasy. I always though Allies we're really cool since they were buttonless. If you order from a reputable vendor, you'll get them much sooner. The new "i" models look nice but they're just going to be a smidge heavier with no sonic difference. I always check myself out in the mirror when I'm wearing theses in my room though. (They're pretty cool to me)

 

[Theogenes]

Quote:

Theogenes: You really put a buzzer in my head now. Unfortunately, HD25 goes for as much as SR80i in Sweden (approx 175 quids), and by a quick check they are not available for buying second hand over here (probably due to the overpricing).
 
Also, I've been approached by member eyal1983, whom offered me to buy his SR80i for 95$, shipping included. This undercuts the price of MS1, which is at 99$ for MS1 and 109$ for MS1i. Since I was ready to offer the 109$ for MS1i, I don't really care price-wise which. My earlier conclusion to stick with MS1 was due to the price difference; now that it is eliminated, you guys still think I should order the MS1's? I'm leaning that way since I've always been suspicious towards buying things from other persons online without being able to meet them in real life to complete the purchase.

Sorry if I made the decision harder, man!! I just had to let you know about those bad boys . As far as purchasing online goes, I've purchased quite a bit from people online, and so far I haven't had any bad experiences. Generally, however, I only buy from people on forums I frequent, and I check the feedback they get before I buy. It's no guarantee of a good purchase (but nothing is, really). 
 
Honestly man, get whatever you feel comfortable with now, because I can tell you one thing: this is only the beginning. Once you have a chance to swap around some cans and components and really hear how stupidly awesome your music can sound, you're going to be hopelessly hooked. Grados seem to be generally considered great for budding head-fiers, and they do get a lot of mentions in all the metalhead threads around here, so in all probability they'll be a good starting point for you. I think you'd love the Senns, and you still might... once the you start itching to hear this stuff right when you can't be there live, you'll start working your way up the head-fi foodchain. It didn't take me too long to go from "It might be nice to have a decent set of headphones around" to "the only way to really KNOW which of the three boutique headphone cables sounds best with my Lyr and LCD-2s is just to buy all of 'em and see. Cuz after all, a man can live on Ramen noodles!"
 
Best of luck, bro. Good to see another headbanger making the plunge!!
 

 

[Wolham]

Ordered the MS1's last night, 14-100 days shiping (=__=) but since there are no local representatives selling MS1, I guess it's not that slow comparable to options. Business shipping took 2-5 days but cost 20$ extra, and I'm not really in a rush (though you guys really make me eager to try them out!). Kind of regret it now, actually, 20$ seems less and less the more I think of it (even though it's 15% of the total cost )
 
I might actually later invest in the HD25's in case I decide to get a pair of slightly more expensive headphones, as I like Sennheisers from earlier experience. But, as mentioned, HD25 costs twice as much.
 
As far as I have heard, there is quite a difference between MS1 and MS1i, actually. I recall MS1 not having the SR125 components. I might remember wrong though (I probably do). Since the difference was 10$ I thought it was affordable to take the i model.

 

[Wolham]

I'm quite amazed, I got my cans yesterday. That means shipping took 4 days. And that's with economical shipping. Even though it said it'd take 14 days. Got to love swedish consumers protection laws.
 
Anyway, first of all I'd like to say that I'm actually a bit disappointed. The headphones have very good and clear sound, that I can't complain of. However, they don't seem to pack the punch. I can hear the base drum clearly, but it won't really reach me. It's not enough in my face. It haven't got enough power. Not rich enough. Same goes for snare; I can hear it, but it's not really popping out. It's just there. Compared to my Sennheisers, they are less good at giving you the kick that is oh so ever important when listening to metal. Thus, I can't really say why people recommend them as metal headphones. Sharp sound, perhaps, but aggressive? My ass. I admit, I haven't burnt them in, so to say, still have only used them for about 2-3 hours thus far, but that's my instant reaction to the sound straight from the package. Could also be that I haven't been using a good enough source (my cellphone, though it was good enough for the sennheisers). The sound is good alright, but nothing really special. Not powerful. Not rich. Not "in your face". Not aggressive. And that is why I'm disappointed.
 
Do anyone perhaps know any modifications that can be done in order to improve? Or will it be better just by letting them burn in?

 

[Chris_Himself]

Wait a couple days. People who bought these not knowing what to expect ended up writing novels on how good these things are.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKMN-2Yejh0
 
Give this track a whirl.
 
At the end of the day, if you don't like them, pitch them to the next person! Thats just how this hobby is and you can add another headphone to the list of things you've listened to. I for one, know you'll love these. Just give it a week and you'll get what you paid for.