Studio recording and mixing ain't child's play.There's no place for cheap tricks,because standarts(see some AKG K240 or Beyerdynamic DT150) have been already there for decades,and newcomers are overlooked with some suspicion.
KRK Systems have been into studio business for more than 20 years,and their distinctive yellow-black monitors are well known to anybody in studio recording.What's new here is their new headphone line,the KNS-6400 and KNS-8400.
The KNS-8400 is a closed professional headphone intended for studio and monitor use.It's street price is around 150$,and it's claimed to sound as close as possible to KRK studio monitors,which are,by the way,quite linear and neutral sounding.
The headphone comes in a nice box,in witch you'll also find a nice carrying pouch,cleaning cloth and a volume control extension cable.While looking somewhat clumsy and heavy on picture,the headphone is much nicer to look at in person.Careful engineering is present,and the KNS-8400 is surprisingly light and well-made.They're nothing of fancy or extraordinary design,just durability and usability.I know you guys love pics,so here they are:
The cable is detachable,very light and quite unmanageable.It just loves to tangle around.
The cushions are made of soft memory foam with synthetic leather:
And the gold-plated jack:
You can screw on the provided 6.3 mm adapter.
Comfort is a rather personal thing,and I find the headphone somewhere in the middle for me.The headband pushes the top of my head a little bit harder,but it's not annoying.
Enough drooling,now...Sound!
Just to clarify,I'm not the "how-it-sounds"poet,and I cannot describe sound with funny adjectives.I just like it or not.Nevertheless,I will try my best to explain the KNS-8400.
The setup is M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and a DIY headphone amp(something like pimeta,system THD is lower than 0,001%).
What jumps at you right out of the box are the highs,especially the 10 kHz region.After some burn-in they get tamed,but nevertheless they high frequencies of this headphone are very clear.You can hear the drummer hit the cymbals and any little click or clap.Be warned as this headphone is very unforgiving.You can hear the musicians breathe.You can hear artifacts or accidental noises in the studio or concert hall.If your tracks have some hiss,it will be very apparent.Older tunes(e.g. vinyl rips) may become impossible to listen to.Overall,detail goes to extreme levels.
Mids sound very close and detailed.Vocals are clear and,well,not exactly forward,but just where they should be.Completely natural tone.Overall,very pleasing.
Lows are not rolled off as the community opinions states.They are just laid back and very relaxed,not hitting very hard,but you hear the constant rumble with all it's texture,not just hard hits.That's my opinion with this headphone,I have no complaints with bass here.
Overall the sound is very pleasing to me.The result of the above is realistic vocals,much of detail and true bass.Some may find this boring though.Decide for yourself whether you like balanced neutral or HiFi sound.
The isolation is great,nothing I hear,and nobody hears me at normal levels.The clamping force of the headband is absolutely normal.
At 36 ohms impedance,the headphone can be driven from almost any source,including things with batteries.Amping proves beneficial,but it's not completely necessary.
If you already bought it,I hope you enjoy your purchase like I do.Personally I'm very pleased with the sound and feel of KNS-8400,and I'll keep it.
