Themega-widefrequencyresponse and neutral listening environmentare great formonitoringvocals. Verdict When it comes to the KRK KNS 8402, whether you should or shouldn’t buy it ultimately comes down to exactly what you are using them for. Overall these are a well designed, comfortable, and sonically accurate set of monitoring headphones. If you like your headphones to have synthetic hyped bass response that rattles your skull or if you normally monitor with a cranked up subwoofer, you will likely be disappointed by these cans. If you're like me and monitor with a pair of decent nearfield monitors and are looking for headphones that will replicate your normal monitoring experience, then look no further.

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. Compared to a lot of other options that force you to treat your headphones like babies, these very much gave off the feeling of being a “DJ tool” rather than something particularly delicate.

KRK KNS 8400 - Technical Overview

This finally brings us to the low end, which is where I think most of us will have mixed feelings about the KNS8400. I found them to have the lowest bass response out of the headphones that I’ve mentioned so far in this article, and that could be both a good and a bad thing. When KRK says these cans are designed to have the closest response as possible to their monitor speakers, they aren't kidding. This gives youoptions to swap cables as per your needs. You can opt for the ATH-M50xBT, which is the Bluetooth version, but this version can result in lag or latency.

I’m also very particular about earpieces because I wear glasses whenever I work long hours in front of a computer, which is essentially what happens in production these days (for better or worse). Most headphones I’ve used squeeze my glasses temples off of my ears, which is very annoying. The KNS8400 did not do that at any one point in all the hours that I’ve used them, which to me is absolutely fantastic – I can practically produce for a longer period of time, better.

The sound stage is wide and you can differentiate instruments as you record and monitor vocals. Verdict For the longest time, I didn’t have a pair of studio monitors. My only pair of speakers was a home theatre system and that was good enough for me to mix my music with. This is an important distinction for the KNS8400, and also the reason why I think it’s a great budget pair of home studio cans: Having used them for hours on end means they’ve passed muster, and in a side by side comparison, the Shure SRH440 was indeed overly brighter, even shrill, compared to the more subtle KNS8400. Granted, the upper mids and highs are a bit bumped here, but not hyped like a pair of headphones you’d use at a gig. Too flexible headband so need to attach steel strip on foam rubber on ties. Phones now pressed to head firmly and no low end sound pressure is lost. First Impressions / Setting up The earcups swivel for transport, and while they may feel flimsy at first because they’re so light, they’re quite hardy. These are also some of the most comfortable headphones I’ve worn – those memory foam earpads are something else!

They ship with a hard-shell case, a Velcro cable tie, two cables (1.4m straight and 5m coiled), as well as 3.5 and 6.35 mm adapters. The bulky design, although comfy, can trap heat and cause sweating in warm/hot environments. However, there are nocomfortissues if you wear them for extended periods with timely breaks. I also tried the Sennheiser HD 280s –these are supposed to be flat, but I find they have a lot more bass then the KRK 8400s and I get the same problem – thin, tinny mixes. So I only use them for casual listening. The KRK 8400s are also lighter and more comfortable then the Sennheisers. I bought them and they are about as good as the ATH-50's were, except less the headband is indeed uncomfortable, but the pads are moreso than the 50's. In terms of sound, they are mostly equal to the 50's, i.e. the best you can get for this price, which is to say, very near perfection, but you can tell there's some dulling of sound due to the weaker hardware components. The headset has a snug fit and chunky frame. The leakage is negligent and the padding makes it comfy enough for long periods of use and the coiled cable is robust but heavy, which is why you won’t see these too often on the subway.

Often compared with

At 230g, the KNS 8400 islightweight, provides good isolation, and is comfortable for long sessions. When I bought my 8400's, I did not have a headphone monitoring solution and instead relied on my Ultrasone HFI-780's if I needed cans. Don't get me wrong, I love my 780's for any sort of entertainment, but the response is far from flat and it can do more harm than help when trying to mix bass-heavy electronic music. On top of that, I live in an old apartment building with thin walls, and I didn't want to have to worry about bothering neighbors in the middle of the night. I was looking for a solid pair of headphones that would give me accurate response, while still leaving me with enough money to go broke on a synth later Utilizing the latest in acoustic memory foam technology ensures class leading performance in both reproduction and isolation.

TheShureSRH1540 is an amalgam of clever design, detail-oriented workmanship, and super-modern materials. Here’s my simplified answer: no, it won’t totally replace actual studio monitors – but it’s good enough to start with. If you’re making music of any sorts from a home studio (whether just hip hop beats or complete songs with vocals on it) then I’m sure you already know the importance of having studio monitors for mixing your songs. The problem? I didn’t have enough cash to pay for a decent pair of monitors. And because of that, I decided I needed a compromise. The mids are easily what I like most about the sound of these headphones: Focused and clear, they’re great for listening to vocal-heavy music. Some songs that I’ve listened to for ages now reveal vocal harmony nuances, along with some very subtle production touches coming from synths and percussion. It may sound like I’m diving too deep into details and esoteric stuff here, but I really do think that the main purpose of monitoring headphones is to present a very detailed picture without blowing it out of proportion through a hyped sound.Everyone needs a reliable pair of studio headphones torecord vocals. The good news is the online market boasts a range of headphones you can consider. bump on the low end range gives very good approach but doesn't allow to estimate level of low end in the mix correct These cans may not be right for you if you don’t enjoy the sound of KRKmonitors. But if you do, these headphones are accurate enough – sonically speaking – torecord vocals. Verdict The headphones ship with two sets of cables, a zippered carry case, a 6.3mm gold-plated adapter, a replacement dual-exit cable, and an additional pair ofAlcantaraear pads. It wasn’t a perfect process – once I get a good enough mix on the speakers, I would export the file to my phone and run down to my car to give it another test, which would often reveal a lot of flaws in my mix.