[thefinder]

After a while of lurking and some researching on this forum, I pulled the trigger and bought a pair of MS-2 last week, from www.hifi.com.tw in Taiwan for less than US$250 including shipping. It was a pleasurable experience of doing business with them, btw.

So far enjoying the new can very much. Here's a photo of it:

Well, my question is, are there any tube amps good for MS-2 in particular? Or are tubes not very good for low-Z cans in general? This question is more for curiosty than for any practical reasons, so don't ask me "why you want a tube in the first place?".

 

[go_vtec]

Typical low budget tube amps do have problem with low impedance cans such as Sony's and Grados. Some produce faint amount of hiss/hum AND/OR can sound grainy (especially bass region). I know this will be over your budget (around $500, but Single Power PPX3 was awesome with CD3K. It should get pretty good with Grado as well (Grado SR-225 is less picky about amp than Sony CD3K). ASL Head OTL 32 is also quite nice, but a very small amount of operation noise can be heard between tracks. Most lower prices amp under $350 produced noticeable hums w/ low impedance cans.

BTW nice photo... very shallow D.O.F. yet you manage to capture the letters on headphone and plug very well. Did you purposely place ear cups and plug at the same plane of focus?

 

[thefinder]

Thanks for the answer to my question and the comments about the photo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by go_vtec Did you purposely place ear cups and plug at the same plane of focus?

Yes I did. In original photo (larger) the letters of "GRADO" on the plug are much clearer.

 

[Lippy]

Hey Finder,

On what kind of source (e.g. cd player, discman, mp3 player, etc.) are you currently running your new MS-2?

Are you running them with an amp, or unamped?

If you are running them without an amp, how do they sound?

 

[thefinder]

Currently it's unamped, with Shuttle XPC + Chaintech AV710 as the source. It's already very enjoyable for me without an amp, particularly for my type of music (classic rock, trip-hop etc), but sometime the treble sounds a bit bright to me and the bass not punchy enough (after more than 60 hours of burn-in).

An amp has been on my plan ever since I decided to buy this pair of cans. Any recommendations, say, for under US$300?

The source would be the next one to replace.

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Hi dear thefinder, welcome to the Alessandro family and glad to see you love your new MS-2's and had a good time dealing with hifi.com.tw!

I see your location says central kingdom, are you from China? The photo is pretty, very nice shot, could you send me the original version of it? Thanks in advance!

Greeting from Taiwan,

Shang-Ti

 

[Permonic]

Sorry for off topic, but your photo is simply beautiful. B&W photo is matching with aluminum chambers. Great.

There are not many pictures of MS-2's around. As a fellow MS-2's owner, I think it would be great to have your photo as a wallpaper. Do you think you can do it? My res. is 1280x800.

EDIT: I have to say that MS-2's + B&W = perfect match.

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Permonic As a fellow MS-2's owner, I think it would be great to have your photo as a wallpaper. Do you think you can do it? My res. is 1280x800.

Dear thefinder, please count me in if you could do that... My desktop's resolution is 1600X1200. And could you make more photos of the MS-2 like that for us to enjoy?

Much appreciation...

 

[thefinder]

Hi Shang-Ti and Permonic,

Yes I'm from China, my fellow folks.

It would be my pleasure to send you guys the original photo. But as it seems that the email function of this forum doesn't allow attachments, would you mind PM your email addresses to me?

I happen to have two more b/w shots of MS-2 here if you don't have problems of reading simplified Chinese.

 

[screwdriver]

when i had my MS2 - i used a tube hybrid melos SHA-1 and they have a good synergy . my source is a naim cd 3.5.

 

[Permonic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefinder It would be my pleasure to send you guys the original photo. But as it seems that the email function of this forum doesn't allow attachments, would you mind PM your email addresses to me?

YGPM.

BTW which camera do you use?

 

[thefinder]

Thanks Screwdriver, that's interesting to know.

Permonic, photo sent. It's 1818x1228 (3:2, since it's in film format), resize as you see fit.

Photo equip.: Contax N1 + Zeiss Planar 50/1.4 + Agfa APX100

 

[go_vtec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefinder Thanks Screwdriver, that's interesting to know. Permonic, photo sent. It's 1818x1228 (3:2, since it's in film format), resize as you see fit. Photo equip.: Contax N1 + Zeiss Planar 50/1.4 + Agfa APX100

I figured you were using 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8 for shallow DOF. Can't get that kinda shot with kit zoom lens for sure

 

[Lippy]

Hey theFinder,

Regarding the slight brightness you are hearing on the MS-2, I see that you are likely listening to the phones with the standard bowl earpads.

While the bowl pads can be advantageous for the soundstage, by most accounts on this forum, the MS-2 is best served by equipping them with the Grado Flat-pads available at the following address:

http://www.toddthevinyljunkie.com/pr...uct.php?id=167

Also see the linked review of flat-pads from this page:

http://www.exhardware.com/reviews.php?Id=135

Also, a search on Headfi for flat pads will bring plenty of information to you regarding opinions on sound with the flats vs. bowls.

I replaced the bowls on my Grado SR-225 with the flats and have not looked back. I really like what they do for the midrange and bass, and they tame any note of brightness that some recordings can give you with most of the Grados.

If I finally decide to go ahead and add the MS-2 to my headphone repertoire, I won't hesitate to add flat pads to them.

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Dear thefinder, I've sent the P.M. too.
By the way, where do you live right now and how old are you?