I bought these headphones after reading a number of favourable reviews by users on various forums. I already own several high end headphones (akg k701 & q701, sennheiser hd600, beyerdynamic dt880 600ohm, hifiman he400, audeze lcd2) and wanted to see if these german maestros lived up to the hype. They arrived in a fairly nondescript cardboard carton with no carry case and the headphones themselves looked cheap and nasty – the sort of £5 throwaway item you might give your kids to play with. They are made from a cheap glossy plastic and are very lightweight. The cable attaches to both earpieces but is fixed which is a pain as i like to experiment with different aftermarket cables. It terminates in a mini jack but comes with a screw on adapter for the 6. On first listening i found these headphones had a thin, reedy, weak sound which was very unappealing. On looking at the specs i discovered they had a high 300 ohm impedance and were fairly insensitive. I use the open source o2 amplifiers and odacs which have plenty of power.

I purchased the gmp400 to be used as a mix down tool in the studio. Mostly they have been used for sound production, but i also do a bit of video editing. The construction is very strong and lightweight (a useful combination), which makes them capable of everyday use. The velour earpads are very soft and the floating earcup design means there is no pressure on the side of the head. I can comfortably wear these headphones for hours at a time. Sound is accurate, with bass and treble being nicely balanced and is not fatiguing. I found that they needed to decent quality headphone amp (or mixer with a good headphone output) to get the best out of them (they have an impedance of 300 ohms). Overall, the gmp400 is a well engineered headphone that i am sure will last me many years to come.

GermanMaestro GMP 400 Open Back Headphones

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• Suitable for music lovers and professional music production
• Open design for natural, uncoloured sound reproduction
• Sandwich diaphragms with copper-plated aluminium voice coils
• Unique ‘Cardamatic’ suspended earcups for perfect individual fit
• Handcrafted in Germany with 3 year manufacturer warranty

I had my first pair already back in 1999 and thought these were really great. I went to a local hi-fi shop and told i wanted the best open headphones they have and they offered me these. Back then it was an mbquart product, had never heard about them, but later found out they were a legendary car-audio maker from germany. Really loved those but managed to break them, so i ordered a second pair around 2010 which had improved cord (prevents the cord from breaking if you step on it, has a little springy thing in-between). These are the most comfortable phones i’ve tried. I’m not really an expert on the sound but these have never disappointed me, sound is almost too clear and the open design adds nice space to it. There’s adequate bass and treble and they just sound really good. I compared these with some top-of-the-line sennheiser’s that cost more and those always sounded muddy to me. I think grado’s come at par with these (and surpass them depending on the model) but those are uncomfortable to wear and expensive. I’m about to buy third ones for my office so i can enjoy music sometimes while working.

GermanMaestro GMP 400 Open Back Headphones :