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These are the new version of the Alessandro MS-1 with the "i" in the model name meaning "improved". The main differences are a new thick cable and the size of the housing has been increased as well as the drivers being made more rigid. What this all does to the sound I'm not qualified to say, as I haven't heard the regular MS-1. However, I can say that the MS-1i is a rompingly good headphone.

Sound:
The bass on these headphones isn't really stellar. It doesn't go down super deep, the impact is average, but nothing special. It's tight, but it doesn't jump out as being excellent bass on my Victor Wooten solo tracks like the DT150's did. Nothing special, but then again, nothing wrong. The mids are colored, not in an unpleasant way, but they are forward. The mids aren't fluid nor do they reveal glaring mistakes in the performers ability in vocal tracks, but they do an adequate job of reproducing everything given them. The highs are nothing special either. There isn't really an obvious treble rolloff, but it's not super detailed. They are ever so slightly grainy, but not close to being sibilant or harsh.

Soundstage is nothing special, being of Grado design. In fact, these had less soundstage than a pair of closed orthos I used to have.

Build quality is really unique. I decline to say bad because I haven't actually tested how much of a beating they can get, but they feel exceedingly fragile. They are literally held together by hot glue and plastic rivets, not the most sturdy means of adhesion. The cord is really overly thick and the y-split is crimped as it enters the junction, meaning that there is a lot of extra space in the cables feeding each sided of the headphones.

I list comfort as average because of the variety of pads offered. Having only tried the supplised comfies, I can say that they're not like wearing pillows on your ears. After about an hour and a half, the clamping gets to be too much and I have to give my ears a break. Washing the pads in warm soapy water was quite beneficial to their softness.

With all this being said, one may say, why are they such a good value for the money? Quite frankly, these headphones just sound *good*. No, I can't hear the action of the pedal when Gary Burton is playing vibraphones, but nothing comes close to making the music sound so good. Bass doesn't go down super deep, but listening to Weather Report (featuring Jaco of course) couldn't be more fun.

It may seem like there's nothing good with these cans, but it's actually the opposite. There is nothing bad about them. These are so musical, almost everything sounds good, from electronica to jazz to grunge metal to hip hop. The only thing that doesn't quite suit their style is well-recorded classical. Solo piano is okay, but anything requiring a large orchestra where soundstage becomes VERY important sounds flat.

Amping does help, these aren't really that sensitive despite their low impedance. However, they do sound quite nice without an amp.

Overall, these headphones are excellent, especially for the price. These headphones make we want to groove whenever I put them on and listen to music.