[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Yo,
 
Good review. I use my KRK KNS-8400 with my Playstation Vita and it works well for this. I also use my T5p with the Vita as it's more efficient. 
 
I have issues with my 8400 at times such as the treble being pretty hot. I don't have a treble sensitivity at all so it's not irritating, but sometimes the treble itself kills the song. This headphone can be bright, brighter than the 250Ohm DT770 in fact. This brightness can butcher music, at least for me, and I like bright headphones!
 
If I had to describe the 8400 it would be bright, bass lite, and slightly shallow sounding. It's not a bad headphone but it really doesn't have enough meat on it's bones to satisfy me at times.

 
Do you remember the inside of the box you had? Was the headphone inside a clear plastic shell or a white shell with a foam piece attached to the box flap? My best pair had the clear plastic shell.
 
Yours sounds EXACTLY like the first pair I had. Do you have a guitar center in your city? If so you should see if you can demo other pairs to see if there are any differences. Maybe sometime I can loan you mine for comparison.
 
The first was definitely bass light for me, but not this pair. I don't know if I had a lemon, KRK made silent improvements or theres manufacturing differences.
 
With games, my 8400 has more treble than even my Q701. It's only a problem for me mostly in music that's very poorly mastered or just those random garbage tracks.
 
I wonder what 6400 pads would sound like on the 8400. I don't know why anyone would want to do that, but it might decrease the treble.
 
I've found the treble on the 6400 and 8400 quite similar. A little less on the 6400, but just barely.
 
I definitely think the 8400 has more "meat on it's bones" compared to the 6400. You notice this almost immediately in Fallout 3 and Skyrim.
 
I accidentally used my 6400 during gaming thinking it was the 8400 and my reaction was like "what just happened?" everything sounded so much thinner and different. Even the low-bass was just not as present.
 
I remember people saying the 8400 was fuller sounding and more musical and at first I thought they were nuts (now I don't!). I still think the 6400 has more mid-bass and more forward sounding mids (less forward upper mids).
 
I don't know how, but the 8400's soundstage seems larger too. Everything on the 6400 is more closed in a tad. Well, in comparison to my 8400.
 
Oh yeah, what's interesting is that my first 8400 had very relaxed mids. How do you have light bass, relaxed mids and tons of treble? No idea...they were almost at the point of being recessed. Definitely not on this pair.
 
If you read VERY early reviews there is this one guy who claimed the 8400 had scooped out mids

Probably the version I had, but not THAT bad.
 
I preferred the 6400 by far until I heard my third 8400. Don't ask me why this happened.
 
The soundstage of my first pair was quite pathetic too. The soundstage on this pair is so good that it's perfect for even classical.

 

[attic]

Quote "The high on KNS 8400 can be described, as airy, crisp, shimmering, and revealing, exactly like the KRK monitors."
 
That's odd mine are very flat, the high end doesn't shimmer its kinda of crisp but in a dull flat way....mine are not revealing they are flat across the freq range's. I wonder if I have an off pair. I like them but I don't agree with the descriptions I am hearing here. That being said I mix in them everyday and would recommend them as those mix's translate well to other systems & speakers.
 
Edit --- So this is an update ========
You all got me thinking about what I have the KNS 8400s plugged into. That normally being the headphone out on my Motu 2408mk3. So I tested the KNS 8400s on a Yamaha AST-A90M amp fed by the Motu main outs the difference was massive. The sound of them opened up I have the shimmering crisp revealing sound you all are talking about. So now I need to go check my mix's make some edits and see how they are translating to other systems but I can say these headphones are very enjoyable now. So thanks for making me question why I was hearing such different results.
 
One other note. I also tried them on another amp a Yamaha RX-V480 this did not fair as well. The sound was brighter but also not as accurate. The highs became piercing and there were mild distortions. So don't expect all yamaha amps to work well with them. The AST-A90M however sounds great so if you have one try it.

 

[roma101]

I find the highs to be neutral and just right. I wouldn't call them shimmering necessarily, or overly bright in comparison to HPs like the V6 and HD25.

 

[ansmi]

Quote:

Nice review. Like the way you break down everything.
 
I'm starting to think the pair I had for a month was an early pair. Bass guitars seemed off on that headphone. The bass was loud enough, that wasn't the problem. It sounded like the bass didn't move through the air properly or bass players play with extremely dead strings every time they record. I play bass and live with a bassist so part of me thinks I should know what they usually sound like. 
 
Maybe I'll pick up another pair just to find out. I liked everything else about the headphones except the slightly microphonic cable.

Thanks! more reviews to come : )
 
If it's still within 30 days, maybe you should return it and exchange to a new one. Recently I just tried my friend's pair of KNS8400, the early pair. They do sound different to me. Wonder if KRK secretly change the character of the headphone.

 

[staticfi]

Quote:

I find the highs to be neutral and just right. I wouldn't call them shimmering necessarily, or overly bright in comparison to HPs like the V6 and HD25.

 
I remember them being slightly brighter than the V6. I know a few tracks would fatigue me with the 8400, but that never happens to me with the V6. Weird how people hear things differently. Maybe I had a lemon. I still would like to hear another pair.

 

[ansmi]

Quote:

If you read VERY early reviews there is this one guy who claimed the 8400 had scooped out mids

Probably the version I had, but not THAT bad.
 
I preferred the 6400 by far until I heard my third 8400. Don't ask me why this happened.
 
The soundstage of my first pair was quite pathetic too. The soundstage on this pair is so good that it's perfect for even classical.

 
 I guess the soundstage difference is probably the best way to tell the different versions of KNS8400? Talking about sound quality is always a bit arbitrary and personal, the pair that I got from my friend has a weird sound stage too compared to the ones I have.

 

[ansmi]

Quote:

Quote "The high on KNS 8400 can be described, as airy, crisp, shimmering, and revealing, exactly like the KRK monitors."
 
That's odd mine are very flat, the high end doesn't shimmer its kinda of crisp but in a dull flat way....mine are not revealing they are flat across the freq range's. I wonder if I have an off pair. I like them but I don't agree with the descriptions I am hearing here. That being said I mix in them everyday and would recommend them as those mix's translate well to other systems & speakers.
 
Edit --- So this is an update ========
You all got me thinking about what I have the KNS 8400s plugged into. That normally being the headphone out on my Motu 2408mk3. So I tested the KNS 8400s on a Yamaha AST-A90M amp fed by the Motu main outs the difference was massive. The sound of them opened up I have the shimmering crisp revealing sound you all are talking about. So now I need to go check my mix's make some edits and see how they are translating to other systems but I can say these headphones are very enjoyable now. So thanks for making me question why I was hearing such different results.
 
One other note. I also tried them on another amp a Yamaha RX-V480 this did not fair as well. The sound was brighter but also not as accurate. The highs became piercing and there were mild distortions. So don't expect all yamaha amps to work well with them. The AST-A90M however sounds great so if you have one try it.

 
Thanks for your experience Attic!  I guess in the end KNS8400 does respond quite differently from amp to amp. When I plug KNS8400 into my Mbox 3 sometimes it sounds a little bit harsh, but when I use my Practical Device XM6, the high is so smooth and nice. Wondering what will be the best combo for KNS8400 now...

 

[tdockweiler]

I've noticed that when I plug the KRK KNS-8400 to my receiver the highs are much smoother. Here's the thing though..everything sounds like it's coming from a cave. I think it's that the high impedance output of my receivers are messing with something. It's also like the sound is more muffled and way less clear. It's actually a little more balanced sounding, but not how it should sound. My KRK always sounds crystal clear.
 
I don't know the output of my Onkyo receiver, but on this Technics receiver it's 330ohm(!). My DJ100, HD-580 and Q701 somehow all sound great on it. The 8400..not so much. For the 8400 I prefer a portable amp or no amp. It's fine on my Airhead or Micro amp. Even my E9 from what I remember and that has a 10ohm output.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi Travis,
 
I got mine from Nova-Musik here in Milwaukee. They carry Shure, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and various other brands of headphones. So I get to demo a lot of models.
 
The box just had a piece of foam holding them in place. I thought they were used at first as the packaging is odd.
 
I'll have to try the newer versions sometime, maybe yours. Oh and I am uploading a video talking about the KRK KNS-8400 right now. It says it has 30 Minutes to go, so I'll post it once it's done.
 
Quote:

 
Do you remember the inside of the box you had? Was the headphone inside a clear plastic shell or a white shell with a foam piece attached to the box flap? My best pair had the clear plastic shell.
 
Yours sounds EXACTLY like the first pair I had. Do you have a guitar center in your city? If so you should see if you can demo other pairs to see if there are any differences. Maybe sometime I can loan you mine for comparison.
 
The first was definitely bass light for me, but not this pair. I don't know if I had a lemon, KRK made silent improvements or theres manufacturing differences.
 
With games, my 8400 has more treble than even my Q701. It's only a problem for me mostly in music that's very poorly mastered or just those random garbage tracks.
 
I wonder what 6400 pads would sound like on the 8400. I don't know why anyone would want to do that, but it might decrease the treble.
 
I've found the treble on the 6400 and 8400 quite similar. A little less on the 6400, but just barely.
 
I definitely think the 8400 has more "meat on it's bones" compared to the 6400. You notice this almost immediately in Fallout 3 and Skyrim.
 
I accidentally used my 6400 during gaming thinking it was the 8400 and my reaction was like "what just happened?" everything sounded so much thinner and different. Even the low-bass was just not as present.
 
I remember people saying the 8400 was fuller sounding and more musical and at first I thought they were nuts (now I don't!). I still think the 6400 has more mid-bass and more forward sounding mids (less forward upper mids).
 
I don't know how, but the 8400's soundstage seems larger too. Everything on the 6400 is more closed in a tad. Well, in comparison to my 8400.
 
Oh yeah, what's interesting is that my first 8400 had very relaxed mids. How do you have light bass, relaxed mids and tons of treble? No idea...they were almost at the point of being recessed. Definitely not on this pair.
 
If you read VERY early reviews there is this one guy who claimed the 8400 had scooped out mids

Probably the version I had, but not THAT bad.
 
I preferred the 6400 by far until I heard my third 8400. Don't ask me why this happened.
 
The soundstage of my first pair was quite pathetic too. The soundstage on this pair is so good that it's perfect for even classical.

 

[attic]

I have had a few days now running these on the Yamaha amp (the AST-A90M) and these headphones are so enjoyable now. Before the switch I would get my late night mix edits done and get them off my head. I now find myself kicking back and listening to music and they really sound nice. I may round out my collection with a pair of HD 600s as I like the Sennheiser sound but this will hold me off for a while.
 
So for old school I have a pair of Yamaha YH-100s then a pair of AKG 240s they make my ears sweat and the KNS-8400s.

 

 

[ansmi]

Quote:

Hi Travis,
 
I got mine from Nova-Musik here in Milwaukee. They carry Shure, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and various other brands of headphones. So I get to demo a lot of models.
 
The box just had a piece of foam holding them in place. I thought they were used at first as the packaging is odd.
 
I'll have to try the newer versions sometime, maybe yours. Oh and I am uploading a video talking about the KRK KNS-8400 right now. It says it has 30 Minutes to go, so I'll post it once it's done.
 

Can't wait Zombie! Let us now when it's uploaded! I'm planning to do one soon too ; )

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
I guess the upload failed, though I did upload three other HD videos. I'll re-upload it tonight.

 

[ansmi]

Quote:

Hi,
 
I guess the upload failed, though I did upload three other HD videos. I'll re-upload it tonight.

Can't wait! Is it gonna be on youtube or directly on the forum?

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
It'll be on YouTube and Head-Fi. I haven't uploaded it yet as I forgot.
 
EDIT: It's uploaded! In the video I give my honest impressions of the headphones. Hopefully my pinion on these won't offend or anger anyone.
 

 
Quote:

Can't wait! Is it gonna be on youtube or directly on the forum?

 

[UCLA 15]

Nice review, and always good to hear any form of chatter about these little known headphones.
 
My personal score would be a bit lower, especially on looks (6/10, they just look bad to me), isolation/leakage (7.5/10, definitely good but not 9/10 to me), highs and mids would be 8.5/10 for me instead of 10 and 9. Lows would be 5/10, I wasn't expecting much considering they are monitors, but they just really lack impact.
 
They excel where most people have already pointed out: they are complete detail monsters, have a great soundstage, are very comfortable, isolate well, and are pretty inexpensive. 
 
They have been great for me, but I'll probably sell them soon since I only need 1 pair of phones and I'm looking for something funner that I'd be willing to wear in public.