Symphones Magnum upgrade for Grado SR325 and Alessandro MS2
Mar 12, 2012 at 9:35 PM Post #2,086 of 2,336
would it be justified to try both or should i just be content with the magnums. there is a pair of ms pros on ebay that are tempting me greatly and i am agobnising over whether i should give them a shot on the off chance that i may prefer them. what would you say the difference between the 2 are. are they more similar than different?


Save your money. No point taking a step back. Spend it on a good source.

The Magnum does everything well. But in particular.. to me.. is how realistically hi-hat and cymbals sound. I find that is what most headphones fail to reproduce well. The new "high-end" Grados are un-listenable to me because they fail so miserably at reproducing those sounds.
 
Mar 13, 2012 at 3:32 AM Post #2,087 of 2,336
I caved in and bought the ms pros on eBay. When I get them I'll a/b them with the magnums and go from there. I'm thinking that maybe I'll be letting go my hd650s and keeping both the magnums and the ms pros but we'll see. The ms pros were on my bucket list from the moment I got into this hobby so I think I need to hear them and make a judgement with my own gear and ears. The magnums are definite keepers and I may sell off either the hd650s or the ms pros at the end of all this. Maybe even both.
 
Mar 18, 2012 at 6:43 AM Post #2,088 of 2,336
ok so i've now had the ms pros since thursday and have had a chance to a/b them with the magnums over the weekend and the verdict is  - i love both! the magnums are smoother, more refined and less fatigueing but the ms pros just seem to give me a real "live" feeling to everything i listen to through them. they tend to rock more because of this but i wouldnt call the magnums slouches at rock either, just differnt and more refined. the ms pro are pub rockers to the magnums stadium sound. so there we go - i think im set now - no more headphones for this year - these two should give me enough wow moments to last me 2012 and beyond. i'm gonna hang onto the hd650s atm because this is my second pair of them, i have bought and sold them once already, and they seem to be a headphone i keep coming back to, a comforting headphone - like going home for some of mums lasagne. if i had to choose one of the magnums or ms pros, i would keep the magnums as i find them less fatigueing but i love the energy of the ms pro  - the rs1 would be another step in this direction but i think the ms pros are as bright as i can take and the rs1 would probably fatigue me a lot quicker.
 
Mar 18, 2012 at 9:21 AM Post #2,089 of 2,336


Quote:
 i think im set now - no more headphones for this year - these two should give me enough wow moments to last me 2012 and beyond.

You're not off the hook yet I'm afraid! I bet if you swap out your Grado drivers inside the MS pro with some Magnum V4 they will sound better. 
very_evil_smiley.gif

 
 
 
Mar 18, 2012 at 10:54 PM Post #2,090 of 2,336
Quote:
ok so i've now had the ms pros since thursday and have had a chance to a/b them with the magnums over the weekend and the verdict is  - i love both! the magnums are smoother, more refined and less fatigueing but the ms pros just seem to give me a real "live" feeling to everything i listen to through them. they tend to rock more because of this but i wouldnt call the magnums slouches at rock either, just differnt and more refined. the ms pro are pub rockers to the magnums stadium sound. so there we go - i think im set now - no more headphones for this year - these two should give me enough wow moments to last me 2012 and beyond. i'm gonna hang onto the hd650s atm because this is my second pair of them, i have bought and sold them once already, and they seem to be a headphone i keep coming back to, a comforting headphone - like going home for some of mums lasagne. if i had to choose one of the magnums or ms pros, i would keep the magnums as i find them less fatigueing but i love the energy of the ms pro  - the rs1 would be another step in this direction but i think the ms pros are as bright as i can take and the rs1 would probably fatigue me a lot quicker.


Oh hey, you just got me interested into the MS Pro man... also another day I will try some lasagne too, I have never heard Sennheiser's fullsizes.

 
Quote:
You're not off the hook yet I'm afraid! I bet if you swap out your Grado drivers inside the MS pro with some Magnum V4 they will sound better. 
very_evil_smiley.gif

 
 


You devil :p.
 
Depends on what bookaboo prefer to have: two strong and complementary headphones, or one uber perfect monitor accompanied by another pointless can.
 
Mar 23, 2012 at 2:31 AM Post #2,092 of 2,336
just received mine today, and I'm in love. Gonna do some serious a/bing tomorrow with my grades
 
Apr 8, 2012 at 4:47 PM Post #2,093 of 2,336
Why do I love the sound of the quarter modded hd414s the most? The yellow really looks the least attractive. I bought Ttvj flts but the sound of the hd414 is much more appealing to my ears - maybe I need to get some of those fancy dyed hd414 pads from eBay.the hd414 make the magnums sound so natural to my ears. The timbre of the voices is spot on.
 
Apr 9, 2012 at 1:33 PM Post #2,094 of 2,336
Don't worry, the HD414 is one if not the best pad for sound (comfort too, but that's another story).
 
Bowl is the treble pad, and detailed, can be harsh.
 
HD414 is the mid pad, perfect balance, comfortable sounding.
 
Flat is the bass pad, and musical, can be fatiguing.
 
 
And we all know that the best of the music happens in the middle frequency spectrum.
 
I like to put it as simply.
 
 
I've heard Magnums were neutral... pick your pad according to what you want, but you will bring out of the best of its neutrality, synergically, with HD414 (I use quarter modded, non-reversed)!
 
Grado HP-1000 is also said to be neutral, HD414 is the best pad for it, then bowls, then flats... in my opinion. Personally I secretly use a sandwiched HD414 and bowl combination which I am in love with... it does wonders for Joseph Grado phones, and I can't wait to try it with Magnums, the next headphone I buy.
 
Apr 9, 2012 at 2:01 PM Post #2,095 of 2,336
I've got some green quarter-modded 414 pads back from when I was planning to go Magnum. If anyone is interested let me know, I'd like these to go to someone who actually has a use for them. :)
 
Apr 10, 2012 at 4:22 AM Post #2,096 of 2,336
For the wood limba cups that are dimensioned smaller I understand there is a Sony headband that fits them well.   I thought I had bookmarked a place in canada that sold the sony headband with arms but can't find it ?
 
Apr 10, 2012 at 9:58 AM Post #2,097 of 2,336
I've read through most of this thread and also checked out Currawong's review of v1 & v2 and the orig. 325i.  Is there an in depth review of the v4 magnum yet?
 
Apr 10, 2012 at 3:11 PM Post #2,098 of 2,336


Quote:
For the wood limba cups that are dimensioned smaller I understand there is a Sony headband that fits them well.   I thought I had bookmarked a place in canada that sold the sony headband with arms but can't find it ?


 
Maybe try using google? It is not so difficult.
 
http://www.trewaudio.com/store/product.php?productid=906
 
Apr 11, 2012 at 8:47 AM Post #2,100 of 2,336


Quote:
I've read through most of this thread and also checked out Currawong's review of v1 & v2 and the orig. 325i.  Is there an in depth review of the v4 magnum yet?


I've been slowly writing one. The problem is I end up writing two reviews: One a few pages with a long story explaining what I think of them and the reasons why, along with a lot of background about my understanding of audio. The other review is 3 lines and is really all you need if you don't need the drivel of the other one. 
wink.gif

 
 

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