[meemorize]

After having benefited heavily from fellow user's comments and recommendations regarding headphones I figured I would give back to the community by sharing my story with my Alessandro MS-1.

To give the following a little perspective:

1. I was previously using my stock iPod touch buds!
2. This is my first step in headphilia.
3. My sources include an iPod touch 1gen 32GB and a Mac Pro (2008) using both Headphone Out and Line Out.
4. I had previously considered the Grado SR60 and SR80 and had demoed them extensively.
5. The choice to then buy the MS-1 was due to shipping restrictions of the Grados resulting in ridiculous prices in my country.
6. The SR60 vs the SR80 was an easy choice for me, SR80 has greater clarity and a more controlled bass. SR60 felt a little too bass heavy (uncontrolled) with some music.

The following is my personal experience with the Alessandro MS-1 headphone.

I have listened to my new MS-1s for the past 5 days nearly constantly. And I am impressed.
I had previously tried the SR80 which I also liked but the MS-1 has the SR80 easily beat.
In comparison the MS-1 has a fuller and more balanced sound, meaning that the highs are not as piercing as the SR80s and the bass is slightly stronger than in the SR80s.

In terms of sound quality which is obviously something very subjective I would describe the MS-1 as balanced yet bright with tight bass that is well controlled and packs more punch than that of the SR80.

I have tried both pads/cups with the MS-1, comfy (stock) and bowl (grado sr80 stock) and while I prefered the additional clarity of the bowls they got very uncomfortable over long periods of listening.
I switched back to the comfy (stock) and they are as comfortable as their name suggests. I regularly listen over long periods (5 hours +) of time and the comfy pads hold up their end.
Also I should note that the initial comparison between the bowl and comfy pads was done once I got the MS-1 with no burn-in time at all.

The MS-1 do benefit a lot from burn-in! I have spend most day listening to music or watching TV/Movies with my phones and using pink noise to burn them in further over night. With about 80 hours of time spend with them the sound has changed and has become even more pleasant and clearer.
By now the clarity of the comfy pad is equal to the initial sound using the bowl pads while retaining the additional punch of the bass.

Overall I can recommend the MS-1 to you without any hesitation!

PS: There are three additional things I have purchased to go along with the MS-1:

1. Beyerdynamic 'warp around' headband [size=x-small](my head seems to be quite small, i do however get a relatively good fit using the stock headband with the phones smallest/tightest setup)[/size]
2. NuForce Icon Mobile Dac/Amp (still in shipping)
3. NuForce iPod LOD (also in shipping)

I hope this has been somewhat helpful for you or otherwise at least a joyful read.

Thanks for reading.
M.

 

[Oya?]

Congrats on your new toy(s).

That was my first proper headphone and I was thrilled with it (I was lucky and found it very comfy with the bowls), and the value just can't be beat. Unfortunately using it portably was a bit of a hassle so it had to go (went over to a new home, in Australia I think).

 

[nickchen]

I started my my headphone journey with the booom-Sssssh DT770'250 years ago, but the little MS1 taught me that there was something wrong about that appoach.

 

[apatN]

Another happy Alessandro owner. Enjoy and nice little write up!

 

[sadhanaputra]

Happy for you, Meemorize!

Some questions, though:
1. The comparison between MS1 and SR80, was it done with both phones using the same pads? (bowls vs. bowls, comfies vs. comfies)
2. If the price of the SR80 weren't as high, would you still opt for (and recommend) the MS1?

Thanks

 

[meemorize]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sadhanaputra /img/forum/go_quote.gif Happy for you, Meemorize! Some questions, though: 1. The comparison between MS1 and SR80, was it done with both phones using the same pads? (bowls vs. bowls, comfies vs. comfies) 2. If the price of the SR80 weren't as high, would you still opt for (and recommend) the MS1? Thanks

To answer your questions:
1. I had a chance to test both the SR60 and SR80 at the same time. I did not however have either one at the same time as the MS-1. And I was not able to swap the pads in the store I was testing them. So my SR80 impression is with bowls only and the SR60 with comfies only.

2. Hard to say. I definitely prefer the sound of the MS-1 over the SR80 but seeing as I had the chance to listen to the SR80s I would have usually bought what I could test. Nevertheless I am happy and would still recommend the MS-1 over the SR80 in retrospec.
I think for me it is just that I like buying things I had a chance to handle and feel for myself. I did not have that chance with the MS-1 but I took a leap of faith and was well rewarded for it.

Feel free to ask any more questions.

[size=x-small]
PS: I haven't taken the phones outside yet so I cannot really comment on 'portability' one way or the other.[/size]

 

[MaloS]

meemorize - comment a bit on the effect of varying position on the ear with MS1 (I got mine on Friday and found that it has a tendency to change tonal balance a bit depending on where the driver is firing).

Mine has yellow pads with holes cut in the middle (I have comfies but don't feel like putting them on since I hated them when I tried SR-60).

 

[pdelagar]

Hi, I have a set of SR80 and I was thinking on upgrade them. Is it worth to go to the MS1 or should I save for SR225?

 

[charliex]

I LOVE my MS1, and although I don't have the SR80, only have the SR60, I would tell you to go for the SR225, or perhaps even wait for the 325i

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdelagar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I have a set of SR80 and I was thinking on upgrade them. Is it worth to go to the MS1 or should I save for SR225?

 

[meemorize]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif meemorize - comment a bit on the effect of varying position on the ear with MS1 (I got mine on Friday and found that it has a tendency to change tonal balance a bit depending on where the driver is firing). Mine has yellow pads with holes cut in the middle (I have comfies but don't feel like putting them on since I hated them when I tried SR-60).

To be honest, I cannot hear much of a change between positions apart from the obvious change due to the driver being further away from the ear canal.
This may be because A) I'm not an experienced head-fi listener (MS-1 is my first phone) and I don't know exactly what to look for or B) your pads have a more dramatic change than my stock comfies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdelagar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I have a set of SR80 and I was thinking on upgrade them. Is it worth to go to the MS1 or should I save for SR225?

I would not spend the money on that particular upgrade, while I prefer the sound of the MS-1 over that of the SR80 the difference is not significant enough to me to justify that upgrade. I would save my money until I could afford a more serious upgrade such as the SR225 or 325.

 

[Duke309]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliex /img/forum/go_quote.gif I LOVE my MS1, and although I don't have the SR80, only have the SR60, I would tell you to go for the SR225, or perhaps even wait for the 325i

I have some Ms1s, and since you already know how these style of headphones fit, I would have to agree and say get at least the SR225s.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

I just sold my MS-1's. I guess the Grado sound is just not for me. The clarity was great but the highs were painful to my ears and lack of sound stage drove me crazy. I thought about doing the MS1000 mod but said heck with it. Might give them another try sometime later but for now, time to move on since they never got play time. Glad you are liking yours though. I also think that the MS-1's are just a bad mix with a noisy 2 year old running around the house...lol

 

[Oya?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meemorize /img/forum/go_quote.gif To be honest, I cannot hear much of a change between positions apart from the obvious change due to the driver being further away from the ear canal. This may be because A) I'm not an experienced head-fi listener (MS-1 is my first phone) and I don't know exactly what to look for or B) your pads have a more dramatic change than my stock comfies.

With regards to driver positioning, I've generally always followed the tip on Dr. Meier's site, here. Thought you might be interested in that (it's the second tip from the top).

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oya? /img/forum/go_quote.gif With regards to driver positioning, I've generally always followed the tip on Dr. Meier's site, here. Thought you might be interested in that (it's the second tip from the top).

I found that to be true with my DT-770's. I get better sound if the cans are touching the back and top of my ears which places the drivers low and in front of my ear opening. Cool to see that article says the same thing that I figured out by playing with mine.

 

[sadhanaputra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meemorize /img/forum/go_quote.gif To answer your questions: 1. I had a chance to test both the SR60 and SR80 at the same time. I did not however have either one at the same time as the MS-1. And I was not able to swap the pads in the store I was testing them. So my SR80 impression is with bowls only and the SR60 with comfies only. 2. Hard to say. I definitely prefer the sound of the MS-1 over the SR80 but seeing as I had the chance to listen to the SR80s I would have usually bought what I could test. Nevertheless I am happy and would still recommend the MS-1 over the SR80 in retrospec. I think for me it is just that I like buying things I had a chance to handle and feel for myself. I did not have that chance with the MS-1 but I took a leap of faith and was well rewarded for it. Feel free to ask any more questions. [size=x-small] PS: I haven't taken the phones outside yet so I cannot really comment on 'portability' one way or the other.[/size]

That will be all, meemorize

I don't think my MS1 is portable at all, FWIW.. It's not even transportable, unless you can find a strong carrying case to put it in..

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif meemorize - comment a bit on the effect of varying position on the ear with MS1 (I got mine on Friday and found that it has a tendency to change tonal balance a bit depending on where the driver is firing). Mine has yellow pads with holes cut in the middle (I have comfies but don't feel like putting them on since I hated them when I tried SR-60).

Hey, I experience the same thing with my MS1's. But the position of the driver has to change quite far for the change to be observable..

So far my favorite position is slightly down-forward, I think it gives the best color.. But I didn't find any increase in soundstage, as mentioned in the Meier website, from which I got the inspiration to try putting the driver slightly forward and down..


Re: MS1 vs. SR80:
The MS1's laid back signature sometimes makes me want to tell the singer to sing louder, as the instruments tend to overwhelm his/her voice..
I wonder if this problem persists with the SR80 with the more forward sound..