Akg K400 - Page 14

I am giving the collectors on this site a few more days. After that the listing is closed...

"Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle" was much more enjoyable i.m.h.o.

I think I will recable the K400 instead of selling it. After I picked up the Black Cube Linear last week the sonic ability of the K400 has increased significantly. Plus it is still my favorite headphone from an aesthetic point of view. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdogzthmn 

I think I will recable the K400 instead of selling it. After I picked up the Black Cube Linear last week the sonic ability of the K400 has increased significantly. Plus it is still my favorite headphone from an aesthetic point of view. 

You don't ever find the K400's mids slightly fatiguing on any amps? I've got the HRT MS II also. Could be my amp and this DAC causing issues. Maybe a weird combination of that and the cable. I love it, but I can't listen to it very long because of this.

I guess I should try the K601 pads, but this time put the foam in.

This is weird because I'm almost never fatigued by mids at all.

Keep the volume low, make sure you have enough gain to drive the headphone...

I would not consider the mids to be fatiguing to my ears. They are more elevated than the K500 which is crisper and more linear across the board. My biggest surprise is how well these headphones stand against the HD600/HD800.

Yup... (Amplification + source)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RexAeterna 

shhhh! no one is suppose to know. now thanks to you the prices will now sky rocket and cheap person like me won't be able to find them anymore at modest prices

lol

After an auction for them that I won on German Ebay went wrong I thought I'd never find them again so I moved on and bought the AD700 as "substitute." Silly thing to do since 2 weeks later another pair of K400 v.1 came up on US ebay from a seller in California. I jumped for it and won them for $90. They're used but look practically new. 

These things really are amazing with acoustic music but seem quite balanced over all. I'm finding them satisfactory for many other genre's as well. They sound really open in that they let sounds sort of just hang.

The K400 is one of those headphones that just sounds 'right'. That means a lot...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deep Funk 

The K400 is one of those headphones that just sounds 'right'. That means a lot...

Agreed.

I have two headphones from the late 60's and both of them sound off texture wise, like they're dark yet strangely metallic -although I like them. 

These flagships from the late 80's early 90's (my HD560 and K400 EP) just sound so real and natural in a wonderful way. 

With some research going vintage really is a great way to get high sound quality on the cheap. I'm willing to bet these will get noticeably much better with a proper source and amplification. I'm running them out of my desktop's line-out which surprisingly has enough power to run them well and without clipping. Foobar volume is between 18-15 dB for modern recordings (12-10 dB with older recordings; 8-5dB on DVD L-PCM)

I changed the K400 for the K500 again. The difference is striking...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deep Funk 

I changed the K400 for the K500 again. The difference is striking...

Please develop. Are the baffles the same? In my experience different baffles (number of filtered openings) and quality of ear pads (old/new, soft/firm) account for most of the difference between K400 and K500, or indeed beteen different versions of each model. I believe the drivers are the same and the K500 was the upper model beacuse of more "exclusive" headband and trimmings.The strange dome cap of the K500 of course also influence the sound, if it's in place.

I, own both the K500 and K400.  A visual inspection shows that the baffles are the same design between the two versions I own.  The drivers however, are different with the variation between the material of the diaphragm, and the etched ridges on the outer ring of the diaphragm.  These effects certainly cause an effect of the sound which to me translates to better clarity, speed, and neutrality on the K500.  The K400 on the other hand sounds warmer and more mids heavy and reduced upper frequency.

My K400 is either 'middle production' or 'late production'. The headband is made of grey leather. The headband of the K500 is identical but where the driver of the K400 is neatly covered the driver of the K500 is almost completely visible through the 'cloth'. 

Interesting.  Can you share pictures?