FedEx delivered a day early, so...
TL;DR: I like these 8402s!
I've been listening to my "evaluation" tracks:
The Soul Cages - Sting
When We Dance - Sting
Set Me Free - Chris Rea
Ruby Baby - Donald Fagen
I.G.Y. - Donald Fagen
Anerley Road - Trevor Rabin
Symphony no. 7, Allegreto (II) - Beethoven
Coffee Break - Johah Nilsson
Paradigm Shift - Liquid Tension Experiment
Leaving Home - John Williams/Superman the Movie remastered soundtrack
These Days - Rascal Flatts
(all FLAC 16-bit 44.1KHz)
I've been swapping between my Shure SRH840s (modified with SRH1540 ear pads) and my stock Audio Technica ATH-M50x, out of my MOTU 2408 through my Mackie Big Knob's headphone outs (which is how I monitor pretty much everything), and I have to say these are really nice, detailed and don't impart any noticeable coloration to the sound.
I think I like them better than my Shures, which have been my go-to cans for a few years. They're slightly lighter than my ATH-M50x cans (247g vs. 285g per manufacturer's specs), but the earpads on the KRKs are thicker (measured firmly from the inside of the headphone to the outside edge) than the ATH-M50x (~25mm vs ~18mm; SRH840s are ~26mm), which means they don't press on my antihelix which for me becomes painful after an hour or so. Also, I measured the weight of all three headphones with my digital kitchen scales, and I came up with the following:
ATH-M50x: 288g
SRH-840: 387g
8402: 245g
... all without cables (of course).
They're not as large as the Shures and about the same as the ATH-M50x, so if you have particularly large ears, these might not be as comfortable as some others.
As far as the sound isolation -- I don't know. I can't really t tell if it's better than my Shures (which have amazing isolation with those other pads), and after futzing around with them in front of a fan, IMO the Shures have an edge in that department. But at 387g, the Shure SRH840s are significantly heaver. These 8402s are hands-down winner in the weight class.
I don't particularly like the "pleather" covering on either the headband or ear pads. And not plugging the Shures, but I purchased the
Shure HPAEC1540 Replacement Headphone Cushions for my three pairs of SRH840s, and they're so comfortable and most importantly, allow my ears to "breathe". After about an hour or so of wearing the 8402s, I started to sweat around my ears which I don't particularly like. If you're bald, you'll probably experience the same on your head where the headband rests. Speaking of the headband, that actually is pretty nice. The earpads and headband cushion seem to be made of a medium-density memory foam, and the headband has a nice thick two-piece pad, which is comfortable enough for me to barely notice.
Conclusion: The KRK 8402s are clean, transparent, detailed, comfortable and lightweight closed-back headphones that (to me) sound absolutely amazing -- they're my new "go-to" cans.