[regal]

Great review. I find the HF-2's lacking in the lower mid-range compared to MS1's. Can you compare these two again and see if you notice it as well? I'm talking about the lower guitar notes and the higher bass guitar notes, it seems that the HF-2s are missing a little here compared to the HF-2's but have much more mid-bass.

 

[chongy5]

A great, thorough review - thanks very much for this.

Also interesting as usually the MS1s are recommended over the SR60/i's almost instantly in all recommendation threads.

If the price difference was larger between the SR60i/MS1s (theoretically), would your preference in terms of bang for buck go towards the SR60i?

 

[MD1032]

Yeah, the HF2's main problem is that the midrange is ever so slightly recessed and it has a slightly "U" shape overall. I don't have the MS-1's anymore to make a comparison but I'm guessing their midrange would be better overall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chongy5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the price difference was larger between the SR60i/MS1s (theoretically), would your preference in terms of bang for buck go towards the SR60i?

I would already go ahead and recommend the SR60i over the MS1i. The MS1i's come with the comfy pads, which IME kill the sound on any model but the SR60 and SR60i. The additional investment of $20 plus the cost of bowl pads probably doesn't justify the upgrade, but then again I haven't heard the MS1i, so I can only speculate based on the SR80i. In this review, however, my MS1's had bowls, and purely from a sound perspective, you will either like the SR60i or the MS1 with bowls because they both have their strengths and weaknesses. My order in my review is in terms of sound...not in terms of what I would buy. What would I buy if I had the choice to buy any low-end (sub-SR225i) Grado today at retail price? The SR60i.

 

[chongy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would already go ahead and recommend the SR60i over the MS1i. The MS1i's come with the comfy pads, which IME kill the sound on any model but the SR60 and SR60i. The additional investment of $20 plus the cost of bowl pads probably doesn't justify the upgrade, but then again I haven't heard the MS1i, so I can only speculate based on the SR80i. In this review, however, my MS1's had bowls, and purely from a sound perspective, you will either like the SR60i or the MS1 with bowls because they both have their strengths and weaknesses. My order in my review is in terms of sound...not in terms of what I would buy. What would I buy if I had the choice to buy any low-end (sub-SR225i) Grado today at retail price? The SR60i.

Excellent news - thanks once again for this thread, nice to see a review of a wider range of headphones rather than just one against another

 

[rodentdog]

To AnalogJ HF-1 and HF-2 were produced by grado and marketed by TTVJ. They are limited edition headphones made for Head-Fi members only and number about 500 each, plus or minus. Each has a sound signature unique in the grado line. I own and enjoy both my HF-1 and HF-2

 

[snakeater]

I chose the MS-1i's over the 60's simply because in the UK Grados retail for a fortune, making the Alessandro's cheaper and not only that but (apparently, according to what I had read) superior as well. The review was very interesting, especially as I haven't had a chance to try out either the 80's or 60's, and am still using the stock comfies, so have no impressions of the other phones in the lower range family.

None-the-less, considering the prices of Grado headphones over here I'm still confident I made the right move. Onwards and upwards!

 

[estreeter]

Managed to find a pair of NOS SR60s in Thailand and snapped them up - plan to do an in-depth comparison with my 325is at some stage over the next week. Agree that the older Grado is darker and I really miss the instrument separation and detail I get with the 325is, but there is no denying that the SR60 is instantly likeable - few respond that way when confronted with the treble of the 325 ! End of the day, Grado make great cans - thats all that matters.

 

[Bilavideo]

I enjoyed reading this thorough review and was intrigued by the seeming paradoxes that were smoothly resolved.

 

[MD1032]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I enjoyed reading this thorough review and was intrigued by the seeming paradoxes that were smoothly resolved.

Oops, what did I do? I freely admit my ability to be ambiguous or even flat-out mix things up. My problem is that sometimes I talk about things in terms of the sound, and sometimes in terms of the price-performance ratio. This review was supposed to be based only on the sound.

 

[Bilavideo]

Hey, that wasn't a jab.

You showed how sound is not necessarily in lock stop with position within the product line.

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I enjoyed reading this thorough review and was intrigued by the seeming paradoxes that were smoothly resolved.

Same with me. This review is an eye-opener about low-end Grados.
Thank you MD1032.

 

[MD1032]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey, that wasn't a jab. You showed how sound is not necessarily in lock stop with position within the product line.

I didn't say it was!

I just know that my weakness oftentimes is communicating online. Sometimes I'll write people e-mails wondering about something and I get back a barrage of attacks because I left one word out of place and they thought I was insulting them.

But anyway, if this review points towards one thing, IMO, it's that someone needs to compare the SR80i and the MS1i. I've not even heard the MS1i but I'm betting that it and the SR80i are at least strikingly similar based on what I heard between the SR80 and MS1, except improved, of course. The most interesting thing for me while doing this was hearing the "improvement" between SR60, SR60i, SR80, and SR80i. It really is an improvement and I can barely find any fault with what John has done, at least at this level.

 

[sjino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The most interesting thing for me while doing this was hearing the "improvement" between SR60, SR60i, SR80, and SR80i.

Excellent point. Therefore, it's logical to assume there will be similar improvement between MS-1 and MS1i, or SR125 and SR125i (on which the MS-1 series are based).

I would love to see a comparison like this between MS-1 and MS-1i, or even between SR-80i and MS-1i as someone already suggested.

 

[glac1er]

I have been comparing the MS1 to the MS1i for 2 days. Just little differences between the two. MS1i is basically just an MS1 with added midbass slam, and a slightly darker and weightier sound. I don't think one is better than the other, they're very close to each other, and not everyone likes midbass slam. However, the MS1i pairs much better with Grado Bowls than the MS1.

 

[doctorcilantro]

I'm searching the forum, but have to ask:

If my 3 year old wears AKG601 with no problem will the Grado 80i seem comfortable to him as they come with flats?

thanks!
Jon