Akg K400 - Page 16

I'll be sending purrin some of my vintage akg's for measuring. It will in interesting to see the technical differences between generations and how that translates into the sound we've come to cherish.

 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I guess you get better connections if you solder them, but the driver voice coil leads could disconnect from the heat, and the headband steel wires need a very good soldering iron. I would stick with the clips.

Edited by MDR30 - 7/7/12 at 5:43am

Guys, instead of posting such a specialized item in the "For Sale" section, I though I'd give those who follow this thread first crack.  I have a pair of AKG K400's that I'm thinking about selling.  I'm the original owner and I purchased them sometime in the 90's (I think mid-90's).  Cosmetically, they're in excellent condition.  However, they do have a couple of issues.  First, the right driver has the infamous rattle, mainly on lower-end bass notes (the left driver operates flawlessly).  They're also missing the 1/4" screw-on headphone adapter, which was lost years ago.  The elastics are stretched, but still maintain some firmness.  They fit my head without issue, but those with smaller heads may need to replace them.  These K400's would be ideal for those who are looking to mod, replace drivers, etc.  

 

Feel free to PM me with offers.  Pics available upon request.

Just bought the Asus Xonar Essence STX and it drives the K400 well on medium gain. The bass isn't massive or anything, but it's strong yet distinguished, with good warmth and impact. Of course the STX won't bring out the "AKG Magic" like a great receiver from its time will, or even like something modern but more high-end will, but I can finally listen to them like this. Large sound to say the least; very great with acoustic guitars, and exciting
 

Edited by Sylverant - 9/6/12 at 7:24pm

My K400 has the rubber/plastic headband as well.  I believe the earlier version of this headphone have the plastic headband and the latter production models did use leather.  I can't comment on the sound variations between these versions but I think there is mention about it earlier in the thread.  I can happy say I still get a kick out of listening to the K400 now and again.

I got my old K400 back (traded for it) and it sounds a bit better than before. The amp is the same, but I switched out the HRT MSII for an ODAC. That weird upper mids weirdness is gone. There is now more detail and a clearer sound. Sounds crystal clear. I found the MSII to be too warm and lacking a good enough soundstage.

 

There is still nearly non-existent low bass, but no big deal. I guess it's there, but not just barely. I need to get some K601 pads, but I do have 65th anniversary pads (for my Q701) on order.

 

Yesterday they didn't sound smooth in the treble at all, but now they do. I don't know what changed, but maybe my ears were fatigued yesterday.

 

They don't sound as warm as the K601 or Q701, but I still like it. The mids are just plain addicting. Especially the massive soundstage. The mids sound more forward than my Q701, but not too forward to be annoying. They're about as forward as my Koss Pro DJ 100 (has my favorite mids).

 

Sometimes when you have a massive soundstage things sound too distant. That's not the case here at all. Acoustic music just blows me away with these headphones. It's like these were made for acoustic music! Female vocals are great too.

 

These have a larger soundstage than my Q701 for sure. Larger than the HD-598 as well of course.

 

I'm using them with a Headroom Micro Amp (which is perfect for ANY AKG) and ODAC. They're also good with the Schiit Magni. Harsh tracks are kind of bothersome, but not too badly. They're certainly not forgiving with my setup. Of course the HD-650 is made less forgiving with my ODAC too it seems.

 

These came with a weird recable. Not sure if it has any effect on the sound (due to thickness etc). It's "Cordial" brand wire from Germany. I imagine these were purchased in europe a long time ago. They have a plastic headband. I bet a lot of other Head-Fiers had this pair! Still in good shape though.

Been doing some comparisons between my K500 and K400 on my new Bottlehead SEX amp and I'm getting a clearer picture of the differences between these two classic headphones.  

 

The K400 are darker, warmer and more impactful on the mid to lower frequencies.  Music sounds very present with the K400, putting me in the space where the recording happened.

 

The K500 are brighter, more neutral and tips more towards the upper frequencies.  The K500 is more airy with more separation between elements in the recording, resulting in a more clinical sound much like the HD800.  I can see this being a benefit with complex classical arrangements and situations where you want to do critical listening.

 

With the K400 I get a more cohesive sound which is wonderful for sitting back and letting the music just wash over you.  

Has anyone tried the 65th Anniversary pads on the K400 or K501 yet?

I have the 65th pads which are made out of memory foam and they work really well with the K400!! To my ears they're better on the K400 than the Q701. As you may know if you use the 65th pads on the Q701 it supposedly turns it into the K702 65th Anniversary edition. I didn't care for the sound really.

On the K400 there are more subtle changes.

On the K400 it makes the sound a bit fuller but does sacrifice your impression of a soundstage. It's still quite large though but warmer sounding headphones always seem to have a smaller soundstage.

With the 65th pads it's not quite as good for acoustic music but not too bad.

The upper mids are slightly less forward but barely audible.

I would say that the biggest change other than how much fuller everything is, is that the sound is much smoother. My K400's upper mids and treble were a bit bothersome (but not too badly) but it's so much better with 65th pads.

Right now it sounds smoother than my Q701 and HD-598. About as smooth sounding as my HD-650 but with more treble and more forward upper mids perhaps.

These are actually quite capable of some good bass but it's very limited with stock pads it seems.

Of course the pads are $73 so it's probably a waste of money unless the K400 is your favorite headphone in the world.

Right now I'm loving the K400 with 65th pads.

It reminds me of a Q701 sort of but with even smoother treble and a larger soundstage. More neutral upper mids. The mids are nice and full sounding. Nothing too thin really.

I'd love to have someone measure this with the 65th and stock pads.

Right now I'm using the Headroom Micro and Schiit Modi. The K400 definitely needs more volume than any other headphone i've ever had.

Hopefully someone can try the K400 with 65th pads! Really blown away by the sound and I'm not even a fan of the stock K400 all that much.

I think it sounds better with the 65th pads than the actual K702 Anniversary Edition. Maybe even the Q701!! If you think the K400 lacks bass you have to try them with the 65th pads!

 

I also added in the Q701's driver foam.

Right now it sounds as warm and full sounding as the HD-650 but with a soundstage size larger than that of the Q701 (no doubt there). Female vocals and acoustic music sounds amazing.

 

I offered to send them in to Tyll for measurement but I think he didn't get my email or is not interested. Hopefully someone can eventually measure some of the older AKG headphones with the new memory foam pads. I think they will sound best on the K400 and K702. I'm not a fan of them on MY Q701.

 

I think the memory foam pads would be awful on the K601, but maybe not...

 

BTW the soundstage size of the Q701 sounds a lot smaller than that of my K400. Weird. The K501's soundstage was massive.

 

EDIT: I swear that the K400 and K601 have better imaging than the Q701 and Annie. Huh?! How?! I remember the Sextett having good imaging too.

I think the 2nd best thing about the K400 is it's soundstage.

 

My idea is that it's improved by a warmer sound signature and less treble. I know that sounds weird.

 

I swear the sound of this K400 65th is so dang addicting. I was going to go watch a movie and now I don't want to pull myself away from the computer!

Edited by tdockweiler - 4/4/13 at 6:27pm

 

Do send another e-mail to Tyll, it would be very interesting to see graphs of the K400 with old and new pads. The K400 and K500 headphones are ingenious devices, and pads are just one way of tuning them. I'm presently doing some experiments and will probably report om my findings in a month or two.

 

Photo courtesy chicolom.

 

I sold my K500 but still have my K400. I did pad swaps on both and liked the K400 pads on the K500. I do plan to get a different set of pads for the K400 and it sounds like the 65th pads are a good way to go. It would be great to get measurements on the K400 which is still one of most pleasurable sounding headphones I've ever owned.

Which headphones are you all getting good results with?  My SEX amp is a fantastic match for the K400, and noticeably better than my previous amp the Crack.  

My K400 pads became so loose so I have cut them off the plastic piece that locks onto the headphone. I then put on some Hifiman pleather pads on them. Sounds fantastic and feels very nice too :)

 

The best part of the story is that, now I can fit virtually any ear pads on them: Denon, J$, Beyer, Hifiman, Shure, Stax etc etc...

You know what's funny?

 

If you switch between the stock K400 pads and then the Anniversary pads it's like you went from something rather thin and fairly bass light to like an HD-650.

It's really amazing what pads can do for a headphone. I had this same thing happen once when I turned my DJ100 into a bass monster with XB500 pads.

 

65th pads are nice, but less treble, less upper mids and everything is almost TOO warm (on the K400!!) and muffled. The K400 becomes very full sounding though.

 

I think i'm going to order some K702 pads since I'm sick of removing them from my Q701. Those seem to make improvements without messing with what I like about the K400.

I imagine K601 pads are more expensive or else i'd just use those.

 

I also have the stock brown K400 pads. The K400 is kind of thinner than I'm used to.

 

Welcome to my world. This is why I stopped trying to get too detailed about the old Kx00/Kx01 headphones. So many variations to start with, then the pad differences.. ugh.