Review and Impressions - Phiaton MS-400

[Armaegis]

An alternative to cotton/gauze is to use some soft rubber tubing. I've read of this done with a variety of headphons to varied success. There are also four bass ports that you can try covering/uncovering.

 

[steven_1026]

Does anyone know if there's been a revision of the ms400? I got mine used a while back, I think the original owner might have bought it late 2008 or early 2009. It's just that all the reviews I've read doesn't really match what I hear. Of course we all hear differently but something just doesn't seem right. For one, most reviews I've read praise the fantastic bass, but I find it to be really muddy before I covered up some of the bass ports. And I constantly notice distortion on high notes (particularly pianos), and I haven't seen any reviews mentioning that.
 
I believe they've updated the packaging, now they come with an extension cord. But does anyone know if they made changes to the driver/sound?

 

[Armaegis]

I think they made some slight cosmetic changes (the left and right sticker font for example), but I haven't heard anything about updating the headphones themselves. Muddy bass and distorted highs almost sounds like a amplifier issue though...

 

[steven_1026]

I've tried them through a number of sources/amps and I pretty much get the same muddy bass/high distortions. The only time I felt they sounded "right" was when I swapped op-amps in my Xonar Essence card with op-amps that are known to have less bass impact and sibilant highs (but they sounded terrible with my hd580).
 
I've given thought that perhaps it's the poor recordings of the songs, but that means the ms400 is more revealing of sources than the hd580?!?

 

[Armaegis]

It's hard to say... everyone's hearing is slightly different and reacts differently with various headphones; it might just be that the MS400 frequency response doesn't mesh with you.
 
The MS400 has a rather strong upper frequency drop in a couple spots. If these valleys overlap with your ear's natural drops, then you might hear distortion or lack of sound (in my case, the drops correspond with my ear's hearing peaks so it works out very nicely for me). Similarly, you might be getting peak overlap in the bass if you're getting a muddy sound.
 
It's also possible the drivers are damaged... I dunno.

 

[swbf2cheater]

I could call the ms400 bass a little muddy and still feel okay with myself, lol.  The bass is not divine in quality, but its responsiveness is top tier and near unrivaled.  There are a few other sets out there for similar price and even cheaper than have a higher quality bass, like the Denon D1001 and the D1100, Sennheiser Hd 25-ii, as well as the Audio Technica ESW9.  
 
I do not think his set is damaged but it could be possible.  Make sure to check your EQ and tone that bass down as well, that could be the reason, it is a bass heavy set and even a little bass EQ toggling can ruin the sound.  I hope your set is not damaged, but I did get a slightly buddy bass impression, its not GREAT quality, but its got great presence and response.  I did mention it was thick bass and not so clean, I guess I should have said it was a bit muddy to my ears but I had thought using those two terms would imply some muddiness.

 

[WakiDabeast]

Quote:

What a rollercoaster of a post. You are absolutely right - the MS400 was not meant for audiophiles and only offers around the same level of sound quality as the Denon D1001k and other very good $100-150 sets. The rest of the value is made of convenience and pure sex appeal so you can see part of the reason I was so hesitant to let go of them. They really do command a lot of attention but in a good way, without being overly flashy, tasteless, or alien-looking (as opposed to my Ultrasone Pro650, which may well be the chick anti-magnet). Congrats on your purchase and on getting a good price.

so im assuming 130 for them is a steal ?

 

[WakiDabeast]

Quote:

I could call the ms400 bass a little muddy and still feel okay with myself, lol.  The bass is not divine in quality, but its responsiveness is top tier and near unrivaled.  There are a few other sets out there for similar price and even cheaper than have a higher quality bass, like the Denon D1001 and the D1100, Sennheiser Hd 25-ii, as well as the Audio Technica ESW9.  
 
I do not think his set is damaged but it could be possible.  Make sure to check your EQ and tone that bass down as well, that could be the reason, it is a bass heavy set and even a little bass EQ toggling can ruin the sound.  I hope your set is not damaged, but I did get a slightly buddy bass impression, its not GREAT quality, but its got great presence and response.  I did mention it was thick bass and not so clean, I guess I should have said it was a bit muddy to my ears but I had thought using those two terms would imply some muddiness.

 


Quote:

I've tried them through a number of sources/amps and I pretty much get the same muddy bass/high distortions. The only time I felt they sounded "right" was when I swapped op-amps in my Xonar Essence card with op-amps that are known to have less bass impact and sibilant highs (but they sounded terrible with my hd580).
 
I've given thought that perhaps it's the poor recordings of the songs, but that means the ms400 is more revealing of sources than the hd580?!?

i really don't know why but the same thing happened to me the first time i heard them but the second time i pluged em in it went away