[Shang-Ti Chen]

If you plan to buy MS-2 and above headphones I sincerely recommend buying from the Taiwan dealer. They respond and ship phones promptly and the attitude is simply great. All of the Head-Fiers who have bought from them are satisfied with them.

 

[Permonic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim D My only point is that the change control if not supply seems clearly Grado driven. No offense or pot-stirring intended by this conjecture...just one of many pages of conjecture surrounding the Grado Allessandro mysteries. But I figure no more or less a conjecture then the belief that a company that would purposely create (in part or in whole) its own competing variant to be superior in price/performance against its own product line.

You know the biggest Grado's drawback is that they haven't yet realized the potential of Internet. Websites like Head-Fi makes Grado brand becoming global. But Grado acts on the contrary. I don't understand why. Their controversial distributor policy forced many people outside US to look for Alessandro since Grado headphones are way overpriced, especially in EU and Australia. This move might be the reason why Alessandro is currently overwhelmed by orders......

Grado are my favorite headphones but I don't understand their marketing strategy. There're many issues I simply don't get it: the mentioned distributor policy..........the overpriced PS-1's, available only in Germany and US, which existence were even denied....no update about new types (SR-325i, etc) on their website, no press release despite the fact they're already available in shops.
Quote:

But going back to the conjecture at hand...I figure Allesandro to be a small shop being swamped with questions and inquiries or orders. The demand and inquires being far greater than his outfit can handle...

I agree. However Alessandro's website is the only one which sells/is allowed to sell Grado/Alessandro headphones outside US.
Quote:

or wait he is the mythical Avant-Grado manufacturer...

Avant-Grado LOL.

 

[ocluanain]

So now I have begun to question my decision to go with the MS-1s. Initially, I thought the wait would be okay, but I have new concerns about their customer service.

Options: wait for the MS-1s to show up or cancel and purchase a different set SR-60, SR-80 or SR-125. What would you do?

 

[perfektrtw]

Well a month after I ordered them, my Alessandro MS-2s came in on Monday. (And I wasn't home, so I ended up getting them on Tuesday instead! Doh.)

It seems to me, they will send out your order, and you WILL get the headphones, but don't expect any information on if they are backordered or not. Meaning... they could come in a few days, or in a month. No telling. Also, don't expect any sort of fast response e-mail wise.

They are currently burning in, but my first impressions are my MS-2s are BRIGHT! Wow.I have only burned them in for like 10 hours so far though and fake or not, they are sounding better already. They are also a lot more comfortable than what I read on this forum, so that was a nice surprise.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

Would this be destressing????? Apparently the PS-1's have been "destressed", I have no idea what this means but could they be using this same method on the allessandro drivers to give it that sound?

I have no idea but I can say truthfully that even a well broken in pair of SR-125s does not sound as good to my ears as does the "out of the box" MS-1.

It is nothing blatantly there as much as i can listen to the MS-1s for long periods of time and not get listener fatigue which i can and have with the lower to mid Grado cans.My RS-1s are the same thing-listen for hours without the urge to take them off.

In my opinion i place the group like this ;

SR-60-a nice cheap introduction to whatheadphone sound can be.for the average joe the only can they will ever need if they like the Grado sound but seriiously lacking in detail and bass for the enthusiast and would be upgraded to the next level in due time.

SR-80/SR-125-so close in sound it takes an amp and a system that resolves well to tell the difference.a really nice all around can and enough for many without the need to upgrade beyond this point.

SR-225/SR-325/MS-2 : I call these "speacial effects' headphones and for me they are larger than life but not true to life .the perfect headphone for the 20-something who like to rock out at volume.

MS-1 : lays waste to all the above in resolving detail and for sheer musicality.i just like what i hear and could be happy with these for use as my only headphones (unless I need isolation for recoding monitors of course).Straight out of ANY headphone jack they sound good and just get better with a better source and amp.

RS-2 : no clue.Only heard these breifly and can not make an informed statement.

RS-1 : MY personal benchmark.The sound of these puppies just hits me where i live and sound for me personally closer to what i hear live than any other headphone.there are headphones that make great music but not capture the essence of the performance and that is where I aim.

Just my personal opinion folks and as always YMMV but as with most things,the more information you get the better able you are to make a decision butone thing :

conjecture and reviews are fine as a semi-guidline but you must LISTEN before you can really make a valid judgement as to what you like so you need to take your behind to your local audio salon and do some evaluations or at the minimum deal with companies that have a liberal return policy so you can do the auditions and decide for yourself what you like.


As an add : Support your local high end audio dealers before they go the way of the dinosaur and dissapear from the planet.You may pay a couple more dollars and yes you have to pay taxes but you will really miss having a place where you can do a "hands on" when they close the oors because they don't make enough to pay the bills.

Sermonette ended

 

[Blitzula]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 As an add : Support your local high end audio dealers before they go the way of the dinosaur and dissapear from the planet.You may pay a couple more dollars and yes you have to pay taxes but you will really miss having a place where you can do a "hands on" when they close the oors because they don't make enough to pay the bills.

lol...the high end audio dealers in my area seem to be doing just fine.

 

[rickcr42]

Yeah,the larger market areas do OK but out in the fringe areas not so good and i have seen not a few close the doors.

Plus-most salesman work on a commision plus a piddlng base salary and if they make no sales really can not live on what they make.It is just not cost efficient for the business owner to pay a large salary and carry a big inventory (already payed for BTW) and then have the staff sit around playing cards all day

 

[Twilight]

Hi everyone !

I read alot on this forum before ordering the MS1 on Jan 17th. That's one great spot for information !

Good news, I received an email today saying they should ship shortly because they were B/O.

As for their customer service, I always got answered within the same day by email. The trick is: keep it short, like their answers =) And write at both addresses at the same time (msn.com and earthlink.net).

Cheers !

 

[BigRobb]

Well I just got a reply from them, here it is.

Quote:

From:"hounddogcorp" <hounddogcorp@msn.com> Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book To:"Robbie Parrilla" <bigrobb21@yahoo.com> Subject:Re: Recent Order. Date:Thu, 3 Feb 2005 16:36:21 -0500 Should arrive w/in a week. Quote: ----- Original Message ----- From: Robbie Parrilla To: hounddogcorp@msn.com Sent: Monday, January 31, 2005 7:01 PM Subject: Recent Order. Hello, I recently ordered an Ms-1 on the 30th and I was just wondering if there was anyway to track my order or if I can get some information on the time it will take to be delivered. Thanks, Robbie.

The only thing is is that he says that they will be delivered within the week, but on here it seems that the word is that they are out of a part and they are on back-order.

Well we'll see what the case really is with in the next week.

 

[HiWire]

The communication process may be a bit tricky, but the Alessandros sound oh so good

I am willing to forgive their slow response; your frustration will soon turn to joy when you burn these babies in

It is good to be forewarned about their phone and email delays, however... get your questions and ordering right on the first try, if you can.

Call it greed, but I am contemplating getting MS-2s while I sit here listening to my MS-1s. Fortunately, Rick's opinion holds enough weight with me that I would rather spend on an amp and improved source first.

 

[martyJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRobb I e-mailed them two days ago about my ms-1s i ordered after hearing some people say they were out of stock on here, and they have yet to reply. I was hoping i would atleast get an auto reply, but I dont even get that. Its starting to piss me off cause i want my headphones. So what im just wondering if anyone else has had dealt with alesandro and if they got similar service.

I received a quick reply..several days from Allesandro when I asked about ordering on-line. I then ordered on the phone with the owner a month later (that's another story) . He was busy but after waiting for him to finish his other order from another phone, he took my order and gave me shipment info. He told me he'd send an email to confirm shipment & the credit card was charged.. I never received those emails, but I did get my MS-1's in about a week, quicker than he'd told me.

He gets your oder out no matter what, but getting a reply is like shooting craps..sometimes you hit the jackpot and sometimes it hits you?!

Have Faith, if Grado builds them..they will come!