[ext23]

i know there are dozens of these threads already, and i think i've read them all. the reason i made a new one is cause i wanted to make a decision based on my own personal listening habits and preferences.
 
i own sr80s now - not the 'i' model - and they have served me loyally for a few years. but alas, they are beginning to look ragged, worn, perhaps even starting to behave a little bit erratically. the headband is stretched too much. the cable is a little chopped up. the pads are frayed and weak...although i've got some yellow HD414s on the way.
 
anyway, the time has come to replace them. my options are a new sr80s, an ms1, or an sr225. from what i've been reading, it seems the 225s are the clear favourite out of these three. but!
 
i really love the punchy bass of the sr80s. now that i've got a lil' taste of that, i never wanna let it go. i'm constantly chasing that rush, man. so if the 225s (or even ms1s) gave me better separation at the cost of brain-wobbling bass, i would probably just stick with another pair of sr80s.
 
however, i am using a headphone amp, and i'm becoming a lot more picky with my source material. so better overall sound quality is, of course, a good thing. are the 225s doubly as good as the sr80s? how else could i justify paying double the price?
 
the ms1s also get great reviews here, but for the same price, i would probably prefer just to stick to the sr80s that i know and love, unless there is some compelling reason not to. head-fi, give me that compelling reason.
 
i listen, at reasonably loud volumes, to lots of different music. sure, everyone says that. but here's a brief sample of my current playlist: air - virgin suicides soundtrack (french space pop), bag raiders/miami horror (aussie electro-house), ellie goulding - lights (brit techno-pop), comeback kid (canadian hardcore), between the buried and me (insane shred metal), ella fitzgerald (vocal jazz), miles (trad jazz), the stones/beatles (duh), yeasayer (indie), elliott smith/the decemberists (folk/indie).
 
like i said, i love the fun presentation of the sr80s, even though it might not 'suit' some of the stuff i just mentioned. but if the sr225s really are a significant step up, then i could probably be convinced.
 
ps. please refrain, as much as possible, from the all-too-common suggestions, 'just get an RS1!' or 'a new benz!' or 'sell your house and go live in a houseboat on the carribean! sell your car! sell your wife and kids!' i know it's tempting, but it's just not gonna happen.

 

[Kevin Brown]

 If you really like the bass the SR80's have then do NOT buy the MS1i's.  Maybe you saw this already:
 
Quote:

/img/forum/go_quote.gif

As far as sound quality, I find the MS1i's do not sound good at all.  They do not have the bass that the SR80i's, SR125i's, SR225i's, etc, have.  The MS1i's sound like the SR60i's to me.  No bass.  Thin and unsubstantial sounding.  Unauthoritative.  The MS1i's have the same/similar mids and highs that the SR80i's do, not as refined as the SR125i's.  But no bass.  I don't understand anyone who would prefer the MS1i's to either the SR80i or the SR125i if you actually can listen to each model back to back.
 
So now you would naturally think that I am biased again Alessandro headphones.    Nope, my daily listening pair are the MS2i's.  The SR325i's are too bright, but I find the MS2i's to be a further nice improvement over the SR225i's.  A little bit better bass, and little bit better treble, but not shrill and overpowering like I think the SR325i's are.
 

 

 

[ext23]

yeah, i suspected that the ms1s might get ruled out because of the bass issue. but i hear that they can be more well-rounded than the sr80s, for the same price. unless this difference is really great, i think it will come down to new sr80s or sr225s.
 
what difference does the bigger chamber in the 'i' model of the sr80s make?

 

[hotsport]

I havn't heard the new sr80
but for the old sr80
I think ms1 or ms1i bass is comparrable
I mean you won't be missing the bass going to ms1
 
Anyway i suggest you go for the sr225i if you can afford it.
The only reason considering ms1 over sr225 is that you can't stand grado high ,coming from the old sr80 already mean you love grado high

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Quote:

 
ps. please refrain, as much as possible, from the all-too-common suggestions, 'just get an RS1!' or 'a new benz!' or 'sell your house and go live in a houseboat on the carribean! sell your car! sell your wife and kids!' i know it's tempting, but it's just not gonna happen.

damn I laughing so hard when read this statement LOL
 
well, coming from SR80i, I don't think you'll satisfied with MS1i, the different for quality is really subtle, you just change the sound signature (which is MS1i will be more laidback sounding)
 
guess, you have to go straight to SR325i or MS2i then 

 

[Philimon]

I have owned the MS1 and SR225i, and I preferred the MS1 and did not find its bass lacking compared to the 225. However, either set may have not been the norm since there seem to be inconsistencies in Grado phones. I preferred the MS1, because I found the MS1 highs more tame and the phone just sounded a little warmer overall. 
 
Do not buy lower-end Grado based on bass, because you can tweek them to have more bass via mods. Skim through this thread and discover the hole punch mod:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/508459/sr60-mod 
 
Also the MS1 is more versatile. The MS1000 mod is easily reversible, and is great if you get bored and want to try a "different" headphone:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/323271/alessandro-ms1000-and-ms-ultimate-diy-modding-56k-warning
 
There are tons of mods out there worth trying, but you have to read through all the lengthy threads such as the ones above.
 
I didn't find the 225i a worthwhile upgrade. The increase in detail I was expecting didn't seem to be very noticeable at all, though I was only comparing to the MS1 from memory. And since I couldn't detect a large enough difference in refinement, I would pick the one with your preferred sound signature and go from there.
 
I don't think the new MS1i comes with bowls, but I would recommend trying them combined with a mix of mods from Nickchen's MS1000/Ulti and Bilavideo's SR60 threads. 

 

[r_monk]

I owned the SR80i. Now I own the SR225i and I love them. I find them much better then the SR80i's; in the beginning a bit harsh maybe, but after a while I didn't notice anymore. It has a very nice and direct sound. I like them even for classical. Though the other headphone I own (HD 580) might have a better soundstage, it just sounds so far away. I think the SR225 sounds brilliant nicely amped, with lots of detail. The SR80 sounded good, but a bit flat to me.

 

[ext23]

thanks everyone for some good replies.
 
 
Quote:

Also the MS1 is more versatile. The MS1000 mod is easily reversible, and is great if you get bored and want to try a "different" headphone:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/323271/alessandro-ms1000-and-ms-ultimate-diy-modding-56k-warning

 
 
these mods are insane. there is no way i have the patience or resources to even attempt that. those wooden mods are beautiful.
 
i'll definitely be amping these phones whenever possible. despite two completely opposite viewpoints on the 225s vs ms1s, i've never had the chance to audition any alessandros, so i guess my preferred sound signature as it stands would be with the grados. and i guess this all kinda points towards the sr225...

 

[zero7525]

Here you go

I found this to be quite useful when picking my first grado.

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/250464/ms-1-vs-sr225-a-comparative-review-with-pics/

Here's a bonus 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/354505/grado-rs2-vs-sr225-ms-pro-a-comparative-review-with-pics

 

 

[Aynjell]

Quote:

i know there are dozens of these threads already, and i think i've read them all. the reason i made a new one is cause i wanted to make a decision based on my own personal listening habits and preferences.
 
i own sr80s now - not the 'i' model - and they have served me loyally for a few years. but alas, they are beginning to look ragged, worn, perhaps even starting to behave a little bit erratically. the headband is stretched too much. the cable is a little chopped up. the pads are frayed and weak...although i've got some yellow HD414s on the way.
 
anyway, the time has come to replace them. my options are a new sr80s, an ms1, or an sr225. from what i've been reading, it seems the 225s are the clear favourite out of these three. but!
 
i really love the punchy bass of the sr80s. now that i've got a lil' taste of that, i never wanna let it go. i'm constantly chasing that rush, man. so if the 225s (or even ms1s) gave me better separation at the cost of brain-wobbling bass, i would probably just stick with another pair of sr80s.
 
however, i am using a headphone amp, and i'm becoming a lot more picky with my source material. so better overall sound quality is, of course, a good thing. are the 225s doubly as good as the sr80s? how else could i justify paying double the price?
 
the ms1s also get great reviews here, but for the same price, i would probably prefer just to stick to the sr80s that i know and love, unless there is some compelling reason not to. head-fi, give me that compelling reason.
 
i listen, at reasonably loud volumes, to lots of different music. sure, everyone says that. but here's a brief sample of my current playlist: air - virgin suicides soundtrack (french space pop), bag raiders/miami horror (aussie electro-house), ellie goulding - lights (brit techno-pop), comeback kid (canadian hardcore), between the buried and me (insane shred metal), ella fitzgerald (vocal jazz), miles (trad jazz), the stones/beatles (duh), yeasayer (indie), elliott smith/the decemberists (folk/indie).
 
like i said, i love the fun presentation of the sr80s, even though it might not 'suit' some of the stuff i just mentioned. but if the sr225s really are a significant step up, then i could probably be convinced.
 
ps. please refrain, as much as possible, from the all-too-common suggestions, 'just get an RS1!' or 'a new benz!' or 'sell your house and go live in a houseboat on the carribean! sell your car! sell your wife and kids!' i know it's tempting, but it's just not gonna happen.

 
My experience says the bass comes from grado's via the proximity of the driver to the ear. This being said, if you want to invest further into the SR225, you'll want those 414 pads on them. To me, on my 325i they're the best pad I've EVER used. I've tried all pads but c-pads now. If you use bowls, the seperate occurs because it's further away. The comfy's naturally filter stuff out as well, so it sounds a bit dimmer and less separated as well as having stronger bass. It's not punchy in my opinion, it's more boomy. Punchy is 325i with bowls. What the comfys give is boomy. The 414's are dead center in the middle, and with quarter mod you get best of both worlds in my opinion. I haven't qm'd mine yet but I probably will soon. I heard them at the last head-fi meet and it's one of the best grado mods out there.

 
I say buy the 225i or 325i if you wanna spend some more cash. The 325i is brighter and will provide more seperation and clarity despite the pads. With bowls it can be downright sharp and almost cutting, but with the 414's they're probably one of the best compromises in the grado catalog. The 225i is supposed to be much similar but a bit more laid back and easy to listen to. Less sharp edges, basically... and also considerably lighter. If you buy 225i's, you need to immediately follow it up with the J$ headband. Black J$ + HD414 pads + 225 will probably be VERY enjoyable for you, and have a very pleasing aesthetic. My avatar is what 325i's look like with the 414's and I JUST LOVE the look and the sound is amazing as well.
 
It almost reminds me of the noir aesthetic in early movies. Dark, gritty, very vinylish. At the meet, a guy listened to my 325i's, and noticed something for the first time wearing my 325i's with the hd414 pads and he listened to the same songs on every can he demo'd. They definitely bring something extra to the table, and I don't think you'd be disappointed with the investment and I personally have always loved them since day 1. Some day's they're not my cup of joe, but that's what the SRH840's and HD580's are there for.

 
TLDR: Essentially buy the best well reviewed grado you can afford and pad roll for the sound you want.

 

[ext23]

you can all finally rest easily tonight knowing that i just ordered some 225i's. i found a very reputable seller on ebay and got them delivered, brand new, to japan for US $220. i'm pretty impressed by my own bargain-hunting skills. can't wait to hear them!