KRK KNS 8400 Studio Reference Headphones

Product Information

I'd highly recommend these headphones to anyone else that's looking for an affordable headphone monitoring solution. Their accurate frequency response, excellent stereo imaging, and consistent KRK voicing means that you can rely on them for the most critical listening applications. Whether you are listening to some tracks, or tracking your next recording, the KNS6400 gives you the famous KRK sound independent of your monitors. Isolating memory foam in the ear cushions delivers improved low end response and because they gently conform to your unique head shape you'll be comfortable wearing them all day.

The earpieces rotate forwards through 90 degrees for storage or packing, though this doesn't really make the phones any smaller.In essence, they sound pretty good, and are certainly better tuned for mixing, mastering or general listening. I'm not a bass head and find that many headphones over-emphasize the bass, so take that into consideration. With a maximum SPL of 124 dB, they’re capable of providing all the level you’ll ever need while remaining clear and detailed sounding, with very low distortion.

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. Other than that these KRK’s are good, there isn’t much bad to say about them, but they don’t really excel in anything either. One thing I've noticed with KRK's is less fatiguing mids/highs at higher volumes, something the 7506's plagued me with at times. Excellent ambient noise isolation means they won't bleed into the mics when recording, and you won't be disturbed by external sounds while listening. Comfort wasn’t an issue for any of the testers so while KNS8400 are not the most comfortable studio headphones out there, with short breaks they can be worn for hours.

Each model is best suited to different tasks, but the added comfort and overall fidelity of the KNS 8402 make it our preferred choice. 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. In fact they've held up better than most studio equipment I've owned, so perhaps once again I'm reminded of the old adage, appearances can be deceptive. 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 purports to be a frequency response chart in eCoustics review of the 8402's here: https://www.