How much do MS-1's change after burn-in?

[ArmAndHammer]

I am listening to my MS-1's for the very first time since I got them for Christmas. I had my g/f order them with the 1/4" plug as I was planning to use them with my Sony receiver until I got an amp however the right channel is bad in the phone jack of the receiver so I could not use them until my Little Dot I+ arrived, which it did today. For about a week prior to Christmas I have been using and loving my new pair of DT-770/80 Pro's straight out of my PC with the crappy stock soundcard. So anyways, amp arrives today and I get it hooked up and warmed up and plug in the MS-1's and first impressions, I am not sure I like them. Perhaps Grado sound is not for me, maybe they need burned in, maybe the amp needs burned in, new tubes, new opamps, different amp, some combination of all of those maybes? To me they are a bit bright even though the MS-1's reportedly are supposed to be the lesser bright of the Grado lineup. Also there is no soundstage to speak of which I don't know if I can live with, especially after using the Beyers the past couple weeks. While the Beyer soundstage is not huge it is there without a doubt and I really dig that aspect and will be a definite must have when looking for future cans. So what say you? Will the MS-1's improve much with burn-in? I really want to like these but I guess if it isn't there it isn't there.

 

[crumplertm]

Hi I would recommend you to burn them in to abt 100+ hrs. I had mine and was like you did not like them.
I left them to burn in using white noise, they grew better and become more dynamic in its presentation (midbass). Soon after I changed the stock pads to bowl pads, and I am loving it ever since. However I must warn you that the bowl pads are less comfortable in its initial phase, as they need to soften over time.

Enjoy your MS-1, it should do pretty well with the little dot. I tried mine with a darkvoice tube amp and was rather good.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Glad to hear that. I can see a use for the MS-1's for some stuff that the DT-770's don't do as well like the faster harder rock and metal. I just hope they warm up a bit. I was just listening to Enya and she belted out a couple high notes that made me wince in pain...lol, but a lot of that could be the amp too and can probably be tamed with some tube rolling. I'll surely give them some burn in time before making my final decision. I guess I was just expecting too much out of the box. I just gotta learn to be patient.

 

[nickchen]

You'll hopefully find out that the fully burnt in MS1 does lots of things right, especially in comparison with the DT770 (concertrate on the mids section!).

Burning in does not help with soundstaging though. You can convert the MS1 towards top tier sondstage quite easely though, click on the MS1000 link in my sig.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif You'll hopefully find out that the fully burnt in MS1 does lots of things right, especially in comparison with the DT770 (concertrate on the mids section!). Burning in does not help with soundstaging though. You can convert the MS1 towards top tier sondstage quite easely though, click on the MS1000 link in my sig.

Wow, thanks for the info and your link. As you probably expected, you have a PM...lol

 

[charliex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crumplertm /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi I would recommend you to burn them in to abt 100+ hrs. I had mine and was like you did not like them. I left them to burn in using white noise, they grew better and become more dynamic in its presentation (midbass). Soon after I changed the stock pads to bowl pads, and I am loving it ever since. However I must warn you that the bowl pads are less comfortable in its initial phase, as they need to soften over time. Enjoy your MS-1, it should do pretty well with the little dot. I tried mine with a darkvoice tube amp and was rather good.

Ditto above .... I burned in using pinknoise for about 50 hours and they noticeably started to open up and bass tightened nicely. I run them through a Little Dot Mk III - and you may want to use 'reversed' bowl pads which seem to improve overall SQ and range.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Thanks. Yeah, listening to them some more I can hear the great potential but they are just not there yet. So I am hoping that between burning in, tube rolling and maybe the MS1000 mod, these things will turn in to something great. I think that the sound quality won't end up being the issue I have with them if I have any at all. Once I can get warmed up a little to take to bite off the highend, I think that the lack of sound stage is what will get me. But with the promise of wide open spaces after the MS1000 mod, I think I will end up loving these cans.

 

[chillk]

they change alot after burn in, they are much more mellow sounding after 100+ hours of burn in. I have phones that are more expensive, but the ms-1s are still my favorite, just give it time.