Customer Reviews

Phiaton MS 400 Carbon Fiber Headphones

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

These are the same as the MS 400 in the red trim. I prefferred the look of the black.

They sound pretty good, and are quite portable, and come with a nice eextension for home listening. The wires are a bit thin, in my experience, it is very tough to make this call. Thick wires add weight and can tug the cans around. I see no problem with the wires, and the rest of the build is very nice. Top notch travel (semi hard case) include.

Sound. Treble, a bit of roll off at the top, no way around it, it is noticeable on some music, not so much on other music.

The presence region is a bit forward, it's a personal taste thing, I'm fine with it.
The mids are very nice, and vocals are clear, sibilance is under control (not added or lessened)
Low mids, outstanding. No complaints
Bass, pretty decent, for most all music, with a few heavy bass tracks showing a slight lack of pace and speed, still pretty good.

Sub bass, well it's not terrible, but it's not the strong suit, not as deep as others in the price range. (ATH M50) for example.

However the ATH M50's aren't as portable, and not as sensitive, an Ipod touch will make you ears bleed with volume, although even a cheap amp via LOD sounds better with these. Portability, and pretty good performance push them to 4 stars.

The Bad: I primarily used the ATH M50 from audio technica as my reference. Simialr price points. The ATH M50 to my ears are better in every way to the Phiaton MS400 soundwise (if not not a huge margin) some areas, like mids, clarity are very close. Treble and bass, not so much. M50's not as portable friendly. Verdict For at home listening, the M50's win by a decent margin. Portability, and reasonable SQ will have me keeping this set. That is high praise from me, were it not for the M50's not sure what my verdict would be. Big improvement over many others in this range that are as portable. A natural progression up from the porta pro or Senn PX 100/200. They cost considerably more, but diminishing returns are always at work. And I strongly prefer the overall form factor. Comfy, and well built headphones.

If you haven't got the message by now, comparing these to the ATH M50 was a tall order. I love the ATH M50, and consider them the best bang for buck on the planet. In fact the phiatons served to remind me of this, enough so that I decided to review them (ATH M50) afte long time ownership. I give a small comfort nod to the Phiatons. Nice offering, and giving it 4 stars compared to the M50's is a good thing. Some music won't show much difference in sound, but give it time and the M50's win They always do at under the price point though. I am glad to own both, the Phiaton's will probably get most of my portable use for some time. Recent problems with iem's has led me back to cans. I'm enjoying the adventure.



My comments on cans can be harsh, once past the 100 dollar mark, this review, regardless of how it may read is positivee, falling short of my all time favorite bang for buck can is harly surprising. You may hear it differently. One of the more comfortable cans as well. all in all a good choice if you need portability. And many genres will leave the sonic differences all but lost in the outside world. Progressive rock is great on these, minus a little cymbal energy now and again. Movies are very good. Hope this helps.

These are undoubtedly some of the coolest looking cans out there. The pictures do not do these justice. They are sexy, futuristic, and the contrast between the red leather and the carbon fiber is striking. They are attention getters. They're the only headphones/IEMs I've worn where somebody interrupted my listening to ask me if they could look at them.

Now what about the sound? Audiophile flat? No. Not at all. The highs and the lows are definitely pushed forward with a slight recession in the mids. Not the cans you listen to your Chesky Records on. But, if you're hooked up to an iPod and are on the go you'd be hard pressed to find a better pair with which to enjoy your music. They sound great hooked up to the less-than-stellar amplifier on most portable devices but run through a Fiio E7 or similar portable amplifier they really shine. The difference is notable but if you only have enough room to carry your portable device then don't fret, at 32 Ohms they are easy to run. There is a slight burn in period needed but 60 hours or so should do. The highs smooth out, the mids come slightly forward, and the bass stays nice and tight. They're great rock, pop, rap, and metal cans covering everything from The Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" to "Prowler in the Yard" by Pig Destroyer to "Labor Days" by Aesop Rock and for some reason they really love Massive Attack's "Mezzanine".

The carrying case is fairly standard thick paper walled covered with nylon and it has a nifty little plate in the center that says Phiaton. Compared to most carrying cases it is definitely meant for on-the-go. In other words the cans, 6.3 mm plug, a little extension cord, and an iPod nano or mini will fit. But that's all one really needs, right?

The only downsides I see are the Y cord and the clamping force. The Y cord is a little short and a less thick than I care for. I just don't trust thin cords and the MS 400's cord is definitely thin and about six inches too short. The headphones are comfortable to wear for a bit but after 30 minutes or so my ears start to hurt a little. Granted, I have a head like a bowling ball. I wear between 7 5/8 and 7 3/4 in hat size if that explains anything. They have loosened up a bit since I first started using them so maybe it'll just take some time for them to become second skin.

I've listened to and owned a a large number of headphones and IEMs and I can honestly say that I will never get rid of these. While not my first choice for home listening they are my go-to cans for road trips, flights, and for listening to music at the book store/coffee shop.

Put down the Beats cans and get the MS 400s.

First of all, they are extremely comfortable, allowing me to wear them for hours without any discomfort whatsoever.

Also, the sound is amazing. The highs are crisp, and the bass is the best out of any of the headphones I own.

Overall, this is a great product. I strongly recommend it to everyone.

I got these on a cyber Monday deal on amazon for only $125. For that price, they are amazing headphones, but at the list price of $250 there are probably better headphones for the price (Sennheiser comes to mind). My first pair was defective but I emailed amazon and they responded within a few hours. The next day, the new set arrived in the mail, and this was before I even dropped off the defective product at UPS to be sent back to amazon. Great customer service amazon! The new set works great and I will do a review. I have heard that these change very little after burn in, but I will edit if I happen to be wrong.

Looks: (product links so you can see the headphones I am talking about)
To be honest, I really bought these headphones for the looks. Once in a while I see someone with a pair of Beats by Dre and even though the audiophile part of me cringes at the thought of those overpriced, bass-heavy cans, the rest of me can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy for their looks. All of the other cans I own are for their sound quality and don't look very good. My Sony MDR-XB700 look ridiculous when worn outside the house and the Sennheiser HD555 just isn't very stylish. On the other hand, The Phiatons, with their carbon fiber ear cups and red accents, look plain badass. In my opinion they are much better looking than Beats and almost anything else in the price range (including V-MODA Crossfade LP).

Sound:
I am only an amateur audiophile and I do not have much grasp on the jargon, but I will try to describe the sound as best I can.
Bass- the bass is one of the defining characteristics of these cans, there is a lot of bass, but not so much that it is overpowering. The bass is tight and delivers a lot of impact (as in you can "feel" the bass) without being muddy, bloated, or all over the place (when the bass mixes into the mids and kinda muddles the entire sound up). The bass is great for my electronic and techno music.
Mids- mids are very strong and have a and forward feel. You can clearly hear them, even with the thumping bass, and it works great with my rock music.
Treble- this is definitely the weakest of the three. Treble is there, it is just not as prominent as the others. This is not a problem as the genres of music that I listen to usually are not heavy on treble. An added bonus to this is that this makes these cans pretty much sibilance-proof.
Overall- I find these headphones to deliver a fun, bassy, warm, but colored sound. They may not be good for picking apart studio recordings, but I have yet to find a song or genre that they don't sound good with. I love the sound signature, but as with many colored (as in the sound, not the actual color) headphones it is up to the listener to decide weather a sound signature is "good" or "bad".

Those were the two main reasons I bought these headphones, so I will only review those two points. Feel free to leave comments on anything else you want to know.

Edit: After proper burn in, I notice very little difference in the sound signature. The bass has become a bit tighter and more tame while retaining impact. I did not notice much change in the mids or treble, but the soundstage seems slightly wider for some reason. I also found the optimal position for me to wear them (they happen to be circumaural for me, but this may vary from person to person), so they are very comfortable even for long periods of time.

While they seemed to take a long to time to break in once they did I was very happy with the sound. They have a stronger base sound than the Sennheiser 280's but they don't go to far. They take a small amount of power so no amp is needed. They also fold up small and have a short cord which makes them great for traveling. Isolation is okay but can not come close to a noise canceling headphone. I really like using them at work plugged into my laptop as the short cable doesn't get in the way.

The normal price seems to high versus a lot of the competition so I would wait for sales down in the $180 range.

I bought these a bit before last Thanksgiving and have had them for a year now, and I don't regret my choice at all. I do a bit of amateur mixing/dj-ing but I bought and use these for casual listening and, to be frank, the sleek red leather. I currently and have previously owned Grados, Sennheisers, AKGs, Audio Technicas, and Ultrasones, but I'm extremely partial toward my MS-400s, especially if I wear them in public.

Highs: Out of the MS-300s, 400s, and 500s, the highs are probably the weakest for the 400s. This is likely because the lows and mids are strong and the highs just leave you wanting a bit more. Sometimes for

Mids: Clear, warm, probably the strong point of the phones. Nothing left to want here.

Lows: Very thumpy and strong. It's not as pinpoint as some would like it, and spills over a little though not enough to dilute clarity. I personally like the bass this way because it really contributes to the phone's warm sound.

Impedance: do not need an amp at all, and performance isn't really all that enhanced with an amp. The MS-300 sounds better amped.

Soundstage: like most closed headphones, the soundstage is very small, and combined with the warm sound of the MS-400s, very intimate. Depending on the type of music you listen to, this could be good or bad. I was very happy with how these work with pop, electronica, and beat heavy music, but they're not my favorites for jazz or classical where I want a concert hall-like sound stage. Still, very versatile and you can always tweak the equilibrilization.

Comfort: Nothing quite beat the comfort of my Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Open-air Dynamic Audiophile Headphones, but I can't wear it in public since it's open-air and admittedly looks a bit ridiculous. Like any closed-air cans go, there's a minimum amount of clamping force the phones will have on your ears in order to create that leak-free seal. The earpads are very soft and comfortable, and sit just around your ear (my ears are average sized and don't get cramped, though they do get warm after an hour of wear). After an hour, you will probably get a bit of a jaw/clamp ache, but compared to some other phones like Ultrasones and Grados, Phiatons are very very comfortable. In general, it's one of the more comfortable closed-air phones I've tried, and it's very light, which is a plus.

Build: On first glance all the plastic could make these seem cheap, but after a while you'll realize these are of quality build. The leather pads and headband are soft and has shown no sign of deterioration after a year of use, and the earcup sides which are see-through and show the carbon microfiber are highly scratch resistant. My only concern is the 3.5mm jack, which are connected to very thin wires. These resemble how Apple iPod earbud jacks are, and those always peeled and got destroyed for me. I wrapped the end with rubber bands and it's never had damage. The cords are a bit thin and yes, I would have preferred a single to a double cord, but unless you're going to put it through really rough usage it shouldn't be a liability issue, and I find myself liking the symmetry and lightness of the thin cords more and more.

Portability: Folds awkwardly in the provided case which is just big enough, and the wires have to be twisted a bit weirdly to fit, but the case is sturdy and the phones are extremely portable (though not as much so as the MS-300s).

Bang for buck: I bought this before the price decrease to $200 (it was $240 previously) and even back then I thought the price was very fair for the quality of the product. I think now, it's an outstanding choice for the price.

Misc: The earpads are easily removable if you need to clean them or something. There's also plenty of space behind the earpad to stuff something like cotton balls if you want to dampen/adjust the sound (which I personally did and like the sound afterward more). As others have said, the red really screams "WEAR ME" and I have no hesitation wearing these in public because they look NICE. Though there's no electronic noise cancelling hardware, the nice seal and "carbon nanofiber" technology does a really nice job blocking out noise - I really have no need for high-end Bose noise cancelling, and these do just fine if I need a bit of quiet to study and I even wear these on planes and have had much better naps on international flights than before. I can crank my iPod to half the full volume bar and no one in a quiet library will hear a thing.

Overall: The MS-400s biggest selling point is their styling on top of high-performance. I've never liked Beats because of the sloppy bass sound and that I could buy much better sounding headphones at a much lower price, but most audiophile quality headphones aren't exactly lookers (how often would you want to wear air-traffic Grados in public?). The MS-400s are an outstanding compromise to both factors. Soundwise they're very competitive against similarly priced closed-air headphones from top brands like AT and Sennheiser, they're more portable, and they look great. It has a very warm though not militarily precise sound that I personally like, and now that they're $200 bucks, I think it's all the more reason to consider a pair.

After much research and testing I decided to pick up these headphones and was not let down. Compared to most cans in this price range, the MS400 produces clear highs, solid midtones and quality bass for all types of music. FYI, there is no difference between the Black carbon fiber & the Red trim edition. Personally, I preferred the sleek black look, but I leave that up to you.

I listen to music while I do everything. Working, sleeping, partying, you name it, there's always something playing. I also listen to all genres of music so it was really hard to find a pair of balanced headphones that could handle it all. I'm also very particular about quality of sound -- all of my mp3/m4a's are at 320Kbps. Regardless, everything I threw at it made me love them more.

I personally tested 4 different models ranging from Denon, Bose, Sennheiser, Audio Technica and Technics. Each had their forte, but Phiaton's really stood out from the rest when it came to electronica, hip hop, alternative, house, classical, even audiobooks.

My only caveat was that it fit tight when I first put them on, but after a month or so they feel comfortable and seem to 'break in' over time. Apparently other users have expressed the same. Otherwise it would have been 5 stars across the board. Other reviewers have complained about construction, but I think it's pretty solid in terms of build. It even comes with a compact carrying case and an extension cable.

Some research revealed that Phiaton actually makes products for a number of other companies but not under their name (ie. Apple iPod earbuds, hands-free kits for cell phone companies, etc). I'm glad to see they are finally getting recognition for a quality product and look forward to see what other headphones they have in store.

The sound is really great! I'm not an exactly a hardcore audiophile, but I enjoy the sound of nice headphones.

I can't hear much when I have these on. Its great.

They look sexy. The read leather is remarkably soft to the touch. The fit is very comfortable. I have no problem with my ears being too hot.

Some people complained about the thinness of the cable, but I didn't have a problem with it. The size of each of the cables to the ears after the split is the same size as the main part of the cable on my last pair of earbud headphones. I think they seem small in comparison to the headphones since they are kind of large being around the ear style.

I noticed that a commonly purchased with item is an extension cable and a 1/8 to 1/4 converter, which is stupid because these headphones include both an extension and a converter to 1/4". The extension is the length of my arms spread out plus 5inches. I don't feel like doing an accurate measurement. The cable is a little shorter than my last pair of headphones, but it works for me. I only use my headphones at my computer or with my iPod.

The headphones also include a hardish case. It isn't a soft foam case, but it isn't a hard shell either. I like it, and it feels like it should get the job done. It has a pocket for the extension cable inside. The pocket is velcro-ed to the case and is removable in a very interesting fashion. I would never thought of making it this way, but it works well.

I have never had over the ear style headphones before but the amount of sound that gets out surprises me. This is probably not more than normal headphones of this type. I thought these would be nice to have on flights home, but I don't want to disturb the person next to me on the plane. I have the headphones on my thigh which is maybe a little smaller than my head and at 50% the lyrics are quite clear. They go away at about 25%. My room is quiet though and on the plane flight I think the engine would drown out the leaking and you could use them at almost 50% volume without disturbing your neighbor at all.

This fact isn't prominently displayed on Amazon so I will let you know: Phiaton MS400 goes around your ear, MS300 goes on your ear. I have not used the MS300 but I saw a forum discussing the difference before making a purchase. (Actually I asked for them for Christmas, same thing)

I purchased these headphones on Amazon.

Sound quality is very important to me when it comes to music. The sound quality is amazing. The mids and highs sound outstanding. The low end is above average, but I wouldn't say its excellent. A lot of it has to do with the source. I notice the bass sounds very good with 320kbps vs 128kbps. Very crystal clear.
With the proper source and amplification, these headphones can handle some deep and booming bass for sure.
However, the bass from straight out of the ipod is all right.

The build quality of these headphones are overall pretty good. One small gripe I have is the cord, I wish it was thicker.
There is some sound leakage with these headphones, but that's because I blast my music. I tested these on an Ipod nano. 3/4 the way up the volume meter, it was pretty loud. I did not even try to turn if all the way, because that would've hurt my ears. I don't think an external amp is really necessary. I previously owned Beyerdynamic 770dt, 32 ohm version and these sound better.

When I first took these out of the package and plugged them in. My first reaction was these don't sound that good. I let them burn in for a few hours and they NOTICEABLY sound better.

I've had these for months now and they are awesome headphones. Highs and Lows both sound good. Very Comfortable.