Hello all - I'm fairly new here and wanted to post some thoughts about the new KRK KNS 8402 headphones, which have received very little coverage here. These are an update to the KRK KNS 8400 phones that have been around for the past decade or so. I've been looking for a pair of neutral closed-back reasonably-priced headphone to replace my NAD HP50 phones, and thought these might fit the bill. I listen mostly to instrumental classical music. The list price on these phones is $149, but they are currently (March 2022) available for $86 if you search online. I broke in the phones with about 72 hours of random noise before doing any serious listening.
Build quality: The best way to describe the feel of these phones is "utlitarian." They're made of plastic, they feel cheap but they also feel sturdy. If you're looking for audiophile jewelry, stop reading now. These phones appear to be structurally similar to the KNS 8400, which was designed for pro studio use and abuse. By all accounts I've read online, the 8400's stood up well to heavy use, and I'd assume the 8402's should do the same. Most importantly, the ear pads and headband pads are replaceable and KRK sells reasonably-priced replacements. This is a huge plus, so far as I'm concerned. I had to give up previous headphones because factory replacements were not available (or in the case of the NAD, the factory replacement turned out to sound quite different from the original pad) and I don't like treating headphones as disposable items.
Comfort: Outstanding. There's really nothing more to say. These things are as comfortable as my old Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro's, which were the most comfortable headphone I've used. There were some complaints about the headband on the 8400, which uses two separate pads which some people complained could cause pressure points. On my head, at least, this simpy is not an issue with the similarly-designed 8402 headband.. Clamping for is just right, the seal is excellent, and the headphones don't seem sensitive to placement on one's head. I wear glasses and they seem to have no effect on the sound quality.
Sound: The headphones I currently own are the NAD HP50 andAKG K371 [edit: AKG K167]. I loved the sound of both when they were new, but both now have worn or 3rd-party earpads that mess up the sound (no bass, over-emphasized treble). For reference, I listen to my well-set-up ProAc 1SC speakers allied with a small subwoofer to get clean bass down to around 35hz. I'm not a bass head and find that many headphones over-emphasize the bass, so take that into consideration. I should also emphasize that I've never heard the KNS 8400, so I can't compare their sound to the 8402 based on my own experience.
For the price, the 8402's sound very good. They seem accurate, neutral and have excellent transient response. The sense of space is good for a closed-back phone, but nothing special. The 8400's have reputation for being highly accurate and revealing (again, they were designed for studio use); the 8402's seem fine in this respect but I'm not suddenly hearing all sorts of details that were previously hidden. This is what I'd expect; I'm used to listening to my ProAc speakers that are themselves highly revealing and provide a great deal of detail.
There are some online complaints that the 8400 lacked bass, or had good bass extension but lacked quantity. The bass on the 8402 sounds great to me. It goes down deep, it's tight, clean, and it seems well-balanced with the higher frequencies. I can't imagine anyone wanting more bass, but as I said I'm not a bass head.
Compared to what I hear through the ProAcs, there is something very slightly off with the timbre of acoustical instruments heard through the 8402's - male voices and mid-range piano notes can sound slightly hollow and lacking in body. Listening to the ProAcs, it feels as though there are live performers playing in the room, and I remember having something of this feeling listening to the NAD HP50's when they were new. Through the 8402's, I'm more aware that I'm listening to recorded instruments. This is partly because the ProAcs create a wonderful sense of instruments suspended in space (they really excel at this), something no closed-back headphone is going to match. But I think this may also be related to the way instrumental timbre is reproduced. Listening to sweep warble tones through the 8402's, it sounds as though there's slight dip around 400hz, and I wonder if this is in part what I'm hearing.
A number of online comments concerned the treble of the 8400's - many people described it as "rough" and fatiguing, and there are some frequency graphs out there that showed a somewhat messy high frequency response. The treble of the 8402's sounds fine to me, but sometimes I find the phones a bit fatiguing after an hour of so of use. Listening to the sweep warble tones, there seems to be substantial peak around 2000-3000 hz, and I'm wondering if this over-emphasis is also contributing to the slight hollowness I'm hearing in the sound.
I know I'm sounding a bit negative, but I actually quite like these phones, and for the price they do a really fine job. I'd be very curious to know how they compare to the AKG K371's (which I crossed off my list because AKG does not sell replacement pads) or other well-regarded headphones under $300. I'd also be very curious to see a frequency response chart for the 8402's; unfortunately, KRK does not offer such a chart, nor have I been able to find any private measurements online.
I hope all this is helpful!
Build quality: The best way to describe the feel of these phones is "utlitarian." They're made of plastic, they feel cheap but they also feel sturdy. If you're looking for audiophile jewelry, stop reading now. These phones appear to be structurally similar to the KNS 8400, which was designed for pro studio use and abuse. By all accounts I've read online, the 8400's stood up well to heavy use, and I'd assume the 8402's should do the same. Most importantly, the ear pads and headband pads are replaceable and KRK sells reasonably-priced replacements. This is a huge plus, so far as I'm concerned. I had to give up previous headphones because factory replacements were not available (or in the case of the NAD, the factory replacement turned out to sound quite different from the original pad) and I don't like treating headphones as disposable items.
Comfort: Outstanding. There's really nothing more to say. These things are as comfortable as my old Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro's, which were the most comfortable headphone I've used. There were some complaints about the headband on the 8400, which uses two separate pads which some people complained could cause pressure points. On my head, at least, this simpy is not an issue with the similarly-designed 8402 headband.. Clamping for is just right, the seal is excellent, and the headphones don't seem sensitive to placement on one's head. I wear glasses and they seem to have no effect on the sound quality.
Sound: The headphones I currently own are the NAD HP50 and
For the price, the 8402's sound very good. They seem accurate, neutral and have excellent transient response. The sense of space is good for a closed-back phone, but nothing special. The 8400's have reputation for being highly accurate and revealing (again, they were designed for studio use); the 8402's seem fine in this respect but I'm not suddenly hearing all sorts of details that were previously hidden. This is what I'd expect; I'm used to listening to my ProAc speakers that are themselves highly revealing and provide a great deal of detail.
There are some online complaints that the 8400 lacked bass, or had good bass extension but lacked quantity. The bass on the 8402 sounds great to me. It goes down deep, it's tight, clean, and it seems well-balanced with the higher frequencies. I can't imagine anyone wanting more bass, but as I said I'm not a bass head.
Compared to what I hear through the ProAcs, there is something very slightly off with the timbre of acoustical instruments heard through the 8402's - male voices and mid-range piano notes can sound slightly hollow and lacking in body. Listening to the ProAcs, it feels as though there are live performers playing in the room, and I remember having something of this feeling listening to the NAD HP50's when they were new. Through the 8402's, I'm more aware that I'm listening to recorded instruments. This is partly because the ProAcs create a wonderful sense of instruments suspended in space (they really excel at this), something no closed-back headphone is going to match. But I think this may also be related to the way instrumental timbre is reproduced. Listening to sweep warble tones through the 8402's, it sounds as though there's slight dip around 400hz, and I wonder if this is in part what I'm hearing.
A number of online comments concerned the treble of the 8400's - many people described it as "rough" and fatiguing, and there are some frequency graphs out there that showed a somewhat messy high frequency response. The treble of the 8402's sounds fine to me, but sometimes I find the phones a bit fatiguing after an hour of so of use. Listening to the sweep warble tones, there seems to be substantial peak around 2000-3000 hz, and I'm wondering if this over-emphasis is also contributing to the slight hollowness I'm hearing in the sound.
I know I'm sounding a bit negative, but I actually quite like these phones, and for the price they do a really fine job. I'd be very curious to know how they compare to the AKG K371's (which I crossed off my list because AKG does not sell replacement pads) or other well-regarded headphones under $300. I'd also be very curious to see a frequency response chart for the 8402's; unfortunately, KRK does not offer such a chart, nor have I been able to find any private measurements online.
I hope all this is helpful!
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