Akg K400
May 16, 2015 at 6:40 PM Post #361 of 394
It's amazing that this old headphone still can compete. With a few mods it gets even better. Just listened to some acoustic guitar that sounded very present with resonating strings and an expansive sound stage.
 

 
I've repaired my favourite pair (broken parts, bad driver conncetions) that once was owned by a not very careful person.
 
This is what happens when you try to open the side cap without loosening the screw under the number plate:
 

 
I fixed it temporarily:
 

 
But these fine headphones really deserve a proper part like this:
 

 
I'm looking for one - send me a PM if you can assist.
 
Aug 28, 2015 at 4:06 AM Post #362 of 394
Hi all,
today my K400 arrived and I am completely pleased.
going through the thread just a little I wondered what mods you can do to it
 
I will listen to it without mods for a while now but I am I just wanted to know about them
 
@MDR30 you wrote about a few mods, so I got interested
 
Aug 31, 2015 at 11:12 AM Post #364 of 394
While fairly new to the Forums, I'm a satisfied owner of a K400 myself, and can only agree to tdogzthmn. Mine have 601 pads but the effects are basically the same. Fuller bass and also imho better comfort.

I'd also like to add that according to your Profile, the best way to tune your Little gem is to try out a few amps other than the Little bear. (Also the 340 whould benefit greatly from a better amp) Without getting into technicalities in my experience tubes this size are nowhere near a proper tube amp. the K400 is actually more power hungry and in need of good amplification than it whould seem. You should give a Violectric amp a try even if ist just a V90 and im sure there are threads where they can recommend you a better tube amp as well.
 
Sep 1, 2015 at 7:36 AM Post #365 of 394
well the problem is that I have not listened to a hi end amp yet
all I can say is, that the little bear (again like bravo, indeed etc.) improved a lot while modding.
also a better tube is applied
 
if you are interested you should read tho post #2094 from DefQon:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/444400/bravo-audio-funny-looking-little-tube-amps/2085#post_9657055
 
of course it can not quite compete with a little dot for example, but you should not underrate it :wink:
I'm looking forward to the hifi meet in vienna next month so I can finally compare!
 
Although I got my k400 one week ago, I got stuck right now to my k500 with 601 pads on it, while swithing around with pads
 
Sep 1, 2015 at 9:51 AM Post #366 of 394
I'm sure the Hi-Fi meet will net you valuable experience. Try as many amps as possible and don't forget to bring your favourite songs.
(Also I think you should bring your 340 along with the K400 its said to be one of the hardest cans to drive. But I'm sure you already know that)
 
What I said about the Little dot is just from my general experience with small tubes. They are somewhat like a lambo with a 1.2l engine. It takes you from A to B but so much potential is lost. Also some Chinese stuff comes with serious engineering flaws, but like the little dot some are good base for modding.
 
Also important to note about the post you linked. You shouldn't believe everything you read on Forums (Oh the irony :D )
I don't know about the Fostex but what the poster is saying about the AKG 70x is just not true in my experience. I've heard an AKG 701 with a Fiio E10 and it was less than stellar. I think he/she mistakes a high volume lever for proper amping. While you will surely find out on the meet that proper amping is about less distortion/loss of detail on high or low volumes. The sound "opens up" more with a good amp and I'm not writing about synergy and amp characteristics here.
 
As I got my K400s I had to drive them from the built in jack of a DAT player I used as a dac/amp and it was loud on 1/4 volume. Also I almost sold the cans because the sound was so disappointing. Now on my current amp I sometimes listen on 3/4 vol but the music is a joy to listen to.
 
Sep 1, 2015 at 11:56 PM Post #367 of 394
I've owned my K400 for 6 or seven years longer than anywhere headphone. I've tried it with various amps over that time but the one that has kept me the most satisfied is my Bottlehead SEX 2.1 amp which has more than enough power for my K400 and does a great job with the K240 DF which has very different requirements for an amp.
 
Drop Stay updated on Drop at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/drop https://twitter.com/drop https://www.massdrop.com/?clickid=3QR3Ib27lyA-VkBRJwyGuQJeUkhUQvX5r0tLzQ0&utm_term=252901&utm_content=VigLink&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=impactradius&irgwc=1
Nov 25, 2015 at 10:47 AM Post #368 of 394
-solved
 
guys.. I have a problem,
Please do not tell me, that i shouldn't have done this, because that's something i know.
While not playing any music or anything, I turned up the volume of both, my dac and amp, there was no problem.
But now, after turing turn both volumes, while listening to music, there is something "vibrating" on the left driver.
Sounds like something is thouching the driver, but I can not see anything..
Did I just destroy my right driver?
frown.gif

 
I posted my problem in this thread because it is a k400
If you think I should post it anywhere else, pls tell me.
regrads
 
edit1: only happens at low freqs
         maybe there have been freqs that I was not hearing but too loud though when turning up the volume...
edit2: IT'S GONE! I was listeing for 30 min to music with almost no bass (afterwise I would hear that vibrating noise) and when I tried more bass again that noise was gone
         I'm quite happy right now ^^
 
Feb 2, 2016 at 11:32 AM Post #371 of 394
Hi !
 
I'm very interesting by the K400, because of its wonderful midrange, according what I can read about it.
But I have the K612, and I find it to be sometimes « splashy » in the Upper-mids, more especially between 1-4Khz, where the female voices can become acidic, agressive (the « iiii » sounds).  Moreover, it doesn(t have the same attack as my Ultrasone in treble, and sometimes I would have more treble. (My K612 is plugged into the Zhilai H10, or BlueBird U6, not the biggest amplifiers so...)
Do you know if the K400 is sibilant ?  If it create big " SHHH " sound, like Q701 ?   If the female vocals become acidics, like on the K612 ?
 
Edit : sorry for my English, if sometimes it's wrong...
 
Feb 7, 2016 at 10:12 PM Post #372 of 394
If the k612 already hast too much treble for you, i would recommend you to try the k702 or k712. These are bassier and a little bit less treble happy but not by much. The k 400, k401, k500, k501 do have even more treble energy than the k612,so i can not recommend any of them for you. You may consider leaving the akg train and try sennheiser, most people who find the beyers and akgs too treble happy are more satisfied with sennheisers.
 
Feb 8, 2016 at 7:49 AM Post #373 of 394
Actually, the problem is not the treble !  The treble of the K612 is right, may be too smooth for me, even !  
But this is the female vocales that I don't very like sometimes, with a pic at 2.5-3Khz. 
If the treble of the K400 has much better intensity and clarity, and if it's not too sibilant, this headphone is for me !  ^^  My question is about upper-mids, more especially the 1-5Khz range !
Thank you for your answer !
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top