Final Audio Design Muramasa VIII

elton7033

500+ Head-Fier
Pros: in my humble opinion, when it comes to trible, muramasa's silky smooth treble is one of the best if not the best in the world
Cons: little sound stage compare to other open back headphone like the HD800/ 850g is too damn heavy for a headphone / high price tag
For sound quality i will rate it very good compare to my other high-end headphones like my SR009/R10/L3000/K1000/HD800/TH900 etc. But lets just be clear on this that the MURAMASA VIII is not better than the SR009 nor the R10 (bass light ver) in my opinion. However the mid and treble response and extension of the MURAMASA is where the points goes. Its silky smooth treble reminds me of Audio Technica house sound. But defiantly better treble response than ATH-L3000 or W3000ANV where i own them both. It have a bright tendency in my tease, mid-range is awesome but not as perfect as SR009, however the MURAMASA lack of bass quantity but deep bass extension (quality) is present like in the R10 bass light. But if you expect a super large soundstage then you better go get a AKG K1000 rather than any other headphone.This headphone come with a detachable 7N Cable terminated in 3pin balanced XLR (this is the original cable from Final audio) a 3pin XLR to 6.3 converter cable by Oyaide is also included in the package. For the test, I have SR009 with KGSSHV (500V ver) and SONY R10(Bass Light) / Forstex TH900 / Audio Technica L3000/ AKG K1000/ Airbow modded HD800S / with Luxman P700U amp doing AB comparison side by side with the MURAMASA VIII and what I can say is it all have it own advantage against each other and they are all good headphone. But nothing come close to the 009 and KGSSHV combo. 
 
THE SETUP I USED TO PLAY WITH MURAMASA VIII IS LUXMAN D08 SACD PLAYER -> LUXMAN P700U -> MURAMASA VIII 
The cable I use for the test is Crystal Cable Reference Diamond XLR and RCA, power cable for my amps are CARDAS CLEAR power cable.  
 
Also worth to mention is this headphone weights 850g and is uncomfortable when you ware it for longer period of time.
 
The MURAMASA headphone comes with a headphone stand and a black hardcase.
elton7033
elton7033
although most people including myself often complain about its weight, however it sound so awesome where i didn't even think when I decide to buy it back then.
cb3723
cb3723
Beautiful looking headphone for sure, if not exotic. It gives the impression similar to a new brand of supercar, impractical, ostentatious, and ridiculously expensive - all the perfect reasons you'd buy this headphone with your heart and not your head.
MDKrinkles
MDKrinkles
A lot of people are talking about the crazy weight which, to be fair, is insane, however no one seems to be addressing the fact that these headphones were $8,000. My dream set up is cheaper than that! I feel like with options such as the audeze LCD XC and, if you really want style, the ultrasone edition 10 out there why would you pay such an exuberant amount for what looks to be such a painful headphone. Even the Stax Amp + earspeaker combos are cheaper than this crazy thing.
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