[Dobrescu George]

So I don't play a ton of modern games, but today I plugged my A8000 into a PS4 controller directly (BLASPHEMY! BURN HIM!) and played a couple of hours of Ghosts of Tsushima. I WAS TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY. I expected to be annoyed by crappy compression over the bluetooth connection, but IT JUST WORKED. I kept stopping and just listening in areas with particularly interesting ambient sound. Really, seriously impressive- positional sound, the timbre of the instruments in the music, and just environmental sound in general were spectacular. I'll probably play as much of the game that way as possible.

The A8000 is great for gaming.

I AGREE

I tried the A8000 with Eternal Hour, and it was amazing

https://store.steampowered.com/app/734910/Eternal_Hour_Golden_Hour/

 

[Mercuttio]

Ah man, I think you are tipping the scale for me and I think I’ll probably order the A8000 in the morning. I may even need to get a mojo again for ease of use for music & gaming

I actually got my replacement Mojo today (the first one had a bad battery from the factory) and I'm enjoying some Supertramp on it while I work tonight. It's a very nice little combo. It's just so mindblowing that you can have THIS kind of holographic sound with only three pieces of equipment (source / mojo / A8000) and it's portable. I'm still not 100% on the Mojo's user interface, but there's no denying its sound quality as a DAC.

I AGREE

I tried the A8000 with Eternal Hour, and it was amazing

https://store.steampowered.com/app/734910/Eternal_Hour_Golden_Hour/

I'm just going to use mine for everything now, especially since I don't even notice them in my ears at this point. There was definitely a period of adjustment to wearing IEMs for 8+ hours a day, but something about the venting on the A8000 avoids that whole "punched in the sinuses" feeling I got from the Campfire IEMs I tried.

I have also taken a new liking to the aluminum / rubber case that they come with. I've gotten quicker at winding the cable up in it, and have been using it more regularly than the Campfire IEM case I bought. It's very nice how low profile it is, and how well it slips into a pocket. Seems like I'm more likely to bring it around the house with me.

 

[jwbrent]

I actually got my replacement Mojo today (the first one had a bad battery from the factory) and I'm enjoying some Supertramp on it while I work tonight. It's a very nice little combo. It's just so mindblowing that you can have THIS kind of holographic sound with only three pieces of equipment (source / mojo / A8000) and it's portable. I'm still not 100% on the Mojo's user interface, but there's no denying its sound quality as a DAC.




I'm just going to use mine for everything now, especially since I don't even notice them in my ears at this point. There was definitely a period of adjustment to wearing IEMs for 8+ hours a day, but something about the venting on the A8000 avoids that whole "punched in the sinuses" feeling I got from the Campfire IEMs I tried.

I have also taken a new liking to the aluminum / rubber case that they come with. I've gotten quicker at winding the cable up in it, and have been using it more regularly than the Campfire IEM case I bought. It's very nice how low profile it is, and how well it slips into a pocket. Seems like I'm more likely to bring it around the house with me.

When final first started using the silicone cases where both sides opened up, I thought it was too fiddly. The case that comes with the A8000 is a big improvement, and I like the aluminum/silicone design. The silicone flap also keeps the A8000 securely tucked away so the casings don’t get scratched up.

 

[Mercuttio]

When final first started using the silicone cases where both sides opened up, I thought it was too fiddly. The case that comes with the A8000 is a big improvement, and I like the aluminum/silicone design. The silicone flap also keeps the A8000 securely tucked away so the casings don’t get scratched up.

I think mostly I was worried about the metal components of the earphones scratching each other, but I've sort of stopped caring about that now. Any character these develop is just a product of what they are- 侘寂 I guess. The utility of the included case is quite good, and I'm glad I went back to it.

Also, man, these really have gotten better with time. I do think they were a little hot in the treble at the start, but that is gone now and all is smooth.

The biggest takeaway from these I get and what very few headphones do is allow for inconsistencies in rhythmic timing to come across. I don't know if it's a response thing based on the driver material or what, but it adds a lot of life. In some very high end headphones from 10+ years ago, that sort of PRAT would often come with unnatural falloff on sounds- correct initial hits, but then odd disappearances. The A8000 doesn't do that- the hit is extremely natural, and then the falloff is as well.

I'm pleased to report that the A8000 sounds really good out of the Elekit TU-8200R I just built. Earlier models of this kit had only one headphone output setting, but at the LOW output, the A8000 works quite well and I suspect that this setting was designed with IEMs in mind.

 

[Leviathant]

The biggest takeaway from these I get and what very few headphones do is allow for inconsistencies in rhythmic timing to come across. I don't know if it's a response thing based on the driver material or what, but it adds a lot of life. In some very high end headphones from 10+ years ago, that sort of PRAT would often come with unnatural falloff on sounds- correct initial hits, but then odd disappearances. The A8000 doesn't do that- the hit is extremely natural, and then the falloff is as well.

Sounds good, if a little over my head. Perhaps I’d need an example of what you mean!

I’ve order a set of A8000s now. May arrive tomorrow, but if not it will be Tuesday (annoying national bank holiday in the UK on Monday!).

I’m planning on testing it out with the Sony ZX2 DAP but part of me worries that it won’t power them to full potential and also that Tidal won’t play higher than 44.1kHz through UAPP. I’m half tempted to re-purchase a Mojo next day delivery and have it here ready in reserve tomorrow!

 

[Mercuttio]

Sounds good, if a little over my head. Perhaps I’d need an example of what you mean!

I’ve order a set of A8000s now. May arrive tomorrow, but if not it will be Tuesday (annoying national bank holiday in the UK on Monday!).

I’m planning on testing it out with the Sony ZX2 DAP but part of me worries that it won’t power them to full potential and also that Tidal won’t play higher than 44.1kHz through UAPP. I’m half tempted to re-purchase a Mojo next day delivery and have it here ready in reserve tomorrow!

So a musical sound, like a hit on a drum or key strike on a piano, may not always occur precisely on-beat. If it is fairly far off, then it's easily perceptible on any equipment. I would be willing to wager that the rigidity of the driver on the A8000 allows for a faster response to a sound, and that in turn will reveal more of what would have been an imperceptible off-beat sound before. I've noticed it in songs I know quite well, and I remember noticing it on the AKG K1000, Qualia 010, and Sony SA5000 a long time ago. None of those headphones I found particularly nice to listen to (they were all a bit grating and bright in my setups) so it was a novelty that didn't have enough other benefit. In particular, the SA5000 had an unnatural way of fading out of a sound- the space and time for a note to linger felt very cut short. The A8000 does not have that issue though, and seems to deal quite well with both the initial impact and also the lingering sound and space created after it.

I'd be very curious to hear a Focal headphone now, to see if they have a similar PRAT.

 

[jwbrent]

Sounds good, if a little over my head. Perhaps I’d need an example of what you mean!

I’ve order a set of A8000s now. May arrive tomorrow, but if not it will be Tuesday (annoying national bank holiday in the UK on Monday!).

I’m planning on testing it out with the Sony ZX2 DAP but part of me worries that it won’t power them to full potential and also that Tidal won’t play higher than 44.1kHz through UAPP. I’m half tempted to re-purchase a Mojo next day delivery and have it here ready in reserve tomorrow!

Congrats! Give your set plenty of play time for them to blossom.

 

[jwbrent]

So a musical sound, like a hit on a drum or key strike on a piano, may not always occur precisely on-beat. If it is fairly far off, then it's easily perceptible on any equipment. I would be willing to wager that the rigidity of the driver on the A8000 allows for a faster response to a sound, and that in turn will reveal more of what would have been an imperceptible off-beat sound before. I've noticed it in songs I know quite well, and I remember noticing it on the AKG K1000, Qualia 010, and Sony SA5000 a long time ago. None of those headphones I found particularly nice to listen to (they were all a bit grating and bright in my setups) so it was a novelty that didn't have enough other benefit. In particular, the SA5000 had an unnatural way of fading out of a sound- the space and time for a note to linger felt very cut short. The A8000 does not have that issue though, and seems to deal quite well with both the initial impact and also the lingering sound and space created after it.

I'd be very curious to hear a Focal headphone now, to see if they have a similar PRAT.

I owned the Utopia for a couple years, and I do believe you would find the attack to be on par with the A8000, perhaps better due to the advantage a headphone has over an IEM.

 

[Mercuttio]

I owned the Utopia for a couple years, and I do believe you would find the attack to be on par with the A8000, perhaps better due to the advantage a headphone has over an IEM.

I'd be horrified if the Utopia or the Stellia didn't have obvious advantages to the A8000. I expect to pay a lot more for the same performance in an IEM as in a headphone- but maybe the A8000 is an exception since there aren't many headphones drastically cheaper with Beryllium drivers?

 

[jwbrent]

I'd be horrified if the Utopia or the Stellia didn't have obvious advantages to the A8000. I expect to pay a lot more for the same performance in an IEM as in a headphone- but maybe the A8000 is an exception since there aren't many headphones drastically cheaper with Beryllium drivers?

Beryllium seems to be attracting a lot of attention these days, and many IEMs have coated substrates, but that certainly won’t give you the full benefit derived from pure beryllium drivers. The Luna uses a pure beryllium driver, too, not sure if there are any others ...

 

[Mercuttio]

Beryllium seems to be attracting a lot of attention these days, and many IEMs have coated substrates, but that certainly won’t give you the full benefit derived from pure beryllium drivers. The Luna uses a pure beryllium driver, too, not sure if there are any others ...

What's interesting is that Master & Dynamic seems to claim their drivers are all made out of Beryllium, but don't provide much information about the actual construction.
https://blog.masterdynamic.com/article/know-your-sound-tool-beryllium-drivers/

No mention of "pure" or "coated" etc. I'd seriously doubt they're pure.

 

[jwbrent]

What's interesting is that Master & Dynamic seems to claim their drivers are all made out of Beryllium, but don't provide much information about the actual construction.
https://blog.masterdynamic.com/article/know-your-sound-tool-beryllium-drivers/

No mention of "pure" or "coated" etc. I'd seriously doubt they're pure.

Something about the pure foil drivers is very costly to make. DUNU had a company based in the US make its drivers for the Luna. This company is heavily involved in the aerospace industry and processes beryllium for NASA and other such organizations. I wouldn’t be surprised if final sources its drivers from the same company, but maybe not.

 

[Mercuttio]

Something about the pure foil drivers is very costly to make. DUNU had a company based in the US make its drivers for the Luna. This company is heavily involved in the aerospace industry and processes beryllium for NASA and other such organizations. I wouldn’t be surprised if final sources its drivers from the same company, but maybe not.

I spoke to Jude about this recently, and he said they were made by Materion, both the DUNU LUNA and the A8000. I think he mentioned he'd talked to Materion about it specifically.

 

[jwbrent]

I spoke to Jude about this recently, and he said they were made by Materion, both the DUNU LUNA and the A8000. I think he mentioned he'd talked to Materion about it specifically.

yep, that’s the company, the pure beryllium experts.

 

[Mercuttio]

So if anyone in the future ever Googles Final A8000 and Elekit TU-8200R, please set your output to "LOW" as the build manual states. It is the correct setting. I've been listening to the A8000 and Chord Mojo all day on tubes that started with less than 8 hours, and the combination is beautiful. I cannot wait to see how they change over time together. It's such delicious overkill to use an amplifier that can put 8W into 4 ohms and carries enough electricity to kill someone with IEMs.