KRK KNS-8400 Review (Impressive $150 headphone) - Page 6

I think the 8400 probably has treble similar to the K702. It may be bothersome for some. I think though that the treble was a bit more of a problem on the K702 I had compared to the 8400. The treble on the KNS-6400 feels a tad smoother and closer to that of the K601 I have. Maybe this is why the KNS-6400's signature felt more natural to me. What's weird is that when I compared the 8400 and the 6400 side by side, they felt pretty similar when it came to just their treble.

If you're happy with the bass on the K702, I'd say you'll be perfectly happy with it on the 8400. The problem is, is that there just isn't much bass impact and it's hard for some to get used to this. The bass on the KRKs is a bit different than what most people are used to hearing it seems. It seems like the KRK KNS-8400 might have better bass extension than the K702, but maybe not. I'll have to check the graphs.

Overall, the 8400 is close to being bass light, but not quite. Bass light to me is more like the AD700 and RE0. It's not even close to those. I guess for those that complain that the K702 doesn't have enough bass, it's best to stay very far away from the KRKs.

It seems the KNS-8400 may have some mid-bass hump, but I sure didn't hear that on my pair! The KNS-6400 definitely doesn't have one, which is a plus for me.

BTW it seems that the KRKs really do benefit a lot from amps and a good DAC. I was really surprised how much better my 6400 sounded when I got my HRT Music Streamer. Even seems to benefit more than my HD-598 for some reason.

I think going from the HD-580/HD-600 would be quite the shock. At least for me. I think it's safe to say that the HD-600 will give the impression of more bass than any of the KRKs to most people. The HD-580 is also MUCH warmer and much more musical than the KRKs probably (at least compared to the 6400. Of course this will vary).

I think they're still worth a demo if you have any Guitar Centers in your area. Probably not though.

As much as I hate to say it, but the HD-580/600 does seem to have some more engaging mids than the KRK KNS-8400. Honestly, comparing the HD-600 to any of the KRKs is just a very very bad idea. I think comparing the KRKs to a Beyer DT-880  is a better match. Probably closer to the AKG sound maybe.

Have you heard the SRH-940? I must be the only one on here crazy enough to think that it's mids reminded me somewhat of my old HD-600. Could be my amp/dac/cable making it sound the way it does. Who knows... sounded like a weird combination of an HD-600 and maybe a K702 that was closed.

I don't know how on earth a headphone can sound both bright and warm at the same time, but the SRH-940 sounded that way to me

I can see how many people might prefer the SRH-940 to the KRKs.

That's where opinions vary. If you've only the pro900 to compare, it will be quite a different experience. I'm afraid I can't really be of anymore help than just to say: go for something and experience it yourself. My opinion is that they aren't really either. Overdamped might be a correct term, though I'm not too familiar with that factor. 

And no, monitors do not necessarily have to have a completely flat frequency responses. If you want to freak out over graphs, here's one place to do so: http://www.innerfidelity.com/headphone-data-sheet-downloads

Thanks for the comparisons....I think that settles it for me then. I've pretty much gotten used to the hd580 sound signature, so the 8400 is probably too bright and bass light for my taste.
 

It's not bright at all, at least overall. Initially there was something I perceived as a spike, but not anymore. I have some phones on reference and might even safely conclude that it's a burn-in issue! ... I'm not sure I believe this myself. However, now the treble is fast and smooth. I wouldn't call them being similar to the 702's. 

Bass is explicitly tuneful!

Interesting....thanks. Not being similar to the 702 is a good thing!  in some regards anyway. Have you heard the sony v6 or 7506? If so, are the krk's at all like those in frequency response? Those are too bright as well, imo, though they have good mid bass.  
 

Quote:

I have the 7506, the 6400 (sold) and now the 8400. For me the 7506 is not bright but the treble has this very minor harshness, the arise of  treble with 7506 is more abrupt,  in comparison the 8400 treble actually has more energy but at the same time smoother. I am sensitive to bright phones and sold my RS2i because it was too much sometimes, but can handle both the 7506 and 8400. Now bear in mind there are different generations of the 7506 so your impressions may not accord exactly with my pair.

One can say that the frequency reponse of the two are similar, neither would qualify as bass prominent cans, but the subjective listening experience is quite different. The 8400 has this effervescent transparency and livliness to it, provided the up-stream components are up to it. In fact the 8400 is more demanding than 7506 in this regard. In contrast the 7506 is more textured and sound more real to me with some recordings, I just hope that the 8400 will improve in this regard with run-in. One thing I found is the 8400 needs a lot of run-in. It is true that the details are there right from the beginning, but it takes time for it to smooth out and notes deepen. Also it seems to pair much better with solid state amp than tubes.

I was thinking of getting the AKG K271, but wonder if it is still worthwhile to do so.

Quote:

I have the 7506, the 6400 (sold) and now the 8400. For me the 7506 is not bright but the treble has this very minor harshness, the arise of  treble with 7506 is more abrupt,  in comparison the 8400 treble actually has more energy but at the same time smoother. I am sensitive to bright phones and sold my RS2i because it was too much sometimes, but can handle both the 7506 and 8400. Now bear in mind there are different generations of the 7506 so your impressions may not accord exactly with my pair.

One can say that the frequency reponse of the two are similar, neither would qualify as bass prominent cans, but the subjective listening experience is quite different. The 8400 has this effervescent transparency and livliness to it, provided the up-stream components are up to it. In fact the 8400 is more demanding than 7506 in this regard. In contrast the 7506 is more textured and sound more real to me with some recordings, I just hope that the 8400 will improve in this regard with run-in. One thing I found is the 8400 needs a lot of run-in. It is true that the details are there right from the beginning, but it takes time for it to smooth out and notes deepen. Also it seems to pair much better with solid state amp than tubes.

I was thinking of getting the AKG K271, but wonder if it is still worthwhile to do so.

I listened to these for about 4 hours last night. Anything classical sounds about perfect. I wish I had the K550 still just to compare the soundstage size because I think the KNS-8400 gets pretty close. Now it's not like an open headphone, but I find it extremely good for a closed headphone. Female vocals are especially good on these. I'm going to try Skyrim with these today and see how well they do. BTW the mids on the KNS-8400 are much better than those on the K550. KNS-8400 IMO is much clearer sound too, but the K550 probably has more bass. On the K550 the only things that impressed me was the  soundstage size and it's bass. Most don't agree, but with my setup it did have more bass than the Q701.

I listened to these for about 4 hours last night. Anything classical sounds about perfect. I wish I had the K550 still just to compare the soundstage size because I think the KNS-8400 gets pretty close. Now it's not like an open headphone, but I find it extremely good for a closed headphone. Female vocals are especially good on these. I'm going to try Skyrim with these today and see how well they do. BTW the mids on the KNS-8400 are much better than those on the K550. KNS-8400 IMO is much clearer sound too, but the K550 probably has more bass. On the K550 the only things that impressed me was the  soundstage size and it's bass. Most don't agree, but with my setup it did have more bass than the Q701.

This is really bizarre because my last KNS-8400 sounded quite different. It's mids were MUCH more relaxed. Not recessed, just not forward. The mids of this pair seem a lot better and a little bit more engaging. It makes no sense really.

It seems though that on some of my songs some of the sub-bass is a bit hard to hear. On this one song while I'm listening to it, it feels as if someone is breaking down my door outside my headphone. It's barely present on the KNS-8400 for some reason until I EQ the bass (which I never ever do). It seems the graph is about right. It's all there, but not as present as on some other headphones. Just barely audible. The bass on my DJ100 is a bit better, but that's not a studio monitor. I'm going to hook them up to a better amp and see if the sound changes. I do think if they added more bass, it'd sacrifice the sound too much.

I noticed a few weeks ago when I used my KNS-6400 with my new DAC and good amp, the soundstage increased in size. The KRKs really do seem to improve with a good amp/dac. I'll see if the bass improves and I'm sure it will. I haven't burned them in yet, but most likely this will happen while it's on my head.

Thankfully, just like my last pairs these don't tame any bright and harsh music it seems. Keeps it just as it is without making it sound any better. Some people may not like this, but I do. With all the headphones out there, it's sometimes so easy to blame the headphone when it's really just the music's fault for being junk!

These are definitely warmer sounding and have more textured mids than my last pair it seems like. When it comes to an engaging and fun sound, they definitely could be much better competition now to the SRH-940. As a studio monitor the KRKs had the SRH-940 beat I think, but just were not quite as fun to listen to (IMO). At least not my last pair or the KNS-6400. Actually despite the SRH-940 being a bit more fun for some music, I still prefer the KRKs by far.

Today I'll compare the 6400 and 8400 some more and see if I can pick apart some more differences.