[Mercuttio]

Sa5000 is on my wishlist , glad to know they have similarities

The SA5000 was the fastest headphone I've ever heard. I had one for I think about one or two years. Their ultimate issue for me was not their speed in attack, but that their decay was unnatural. Instruments would "strike" and then seem to just instantly fade away. Made some music feel sort of choppy.

The A8000 has the incredibly fast strike and speed, but the decay is natural. Much easier to listen to on a daily basis.

Several months later, and mine still live in my ears for many hours per day- the only time I had to stop using them daily was when my hair got too long to easily pop them in, and I had to beg my wife to cut it so I could go back to using them constantly.

 

[Tornvald]

@Mercuttio Thank you for info. Unfortunately I don't know other ATH phones. I have AWKT form trade and I'm really blow by speed and transparency. I'm more iem guy so I want find it in iem.

I found Final dealer in my country. Maybe they have demo so I could test it.

 

[Mercuttio]

@Mercuttio Thank you for info. Unfortunately I don't know other ATH phones. I have AWKT form trade and I'm really blow by speed and transparency. I'm more iem guy so I want find it in iem.

I found Final dealer in my country. Maybe they have demo so I could test it.

If it's a new pair with under 200 hours on it, don't believe what you hear. They change quite a bit over the course of that first 200 hours. The initial character and layering are there, but they are bordering on shrill and don't have the depth at first.

 

[Tornvald]

Good point. I will ask. Distributor have pair which I can borrow. I guess it's reviewers pair since I saw few reviews online from my country.

 

[mochill]

Hope to find sa5k cheap

 

[Mercuttio]

Hope to find sa5k cheap

I preferred them in direct comparisons to the Qualia 010. I wouldn't pay over $300 for them, though- or for the Qualia 010. A friend of mine had two headbands snap on his 010, which is insane given their price. And yeah, he was measured and sized at the Sony store when they offered that service over a decade ago.

 

[mochill]

I would say $150 should be good price

 

[Mercuttio]

I would say $150 should be good price

Whoa, can you get a pair for only $150 these days? That's a hell of a deal. If you find two pairs, lemme know about the second!

 

[Dobrescu George]

I've always been enthusiastic to see who wins the race for "the best" IEM out there. Final A8000 is a strong contender and happily I had just the right arsenal to compare and put it to the wall, with comparisons with CTM Da Vinci X, Campfire Atlas, Dita Fidelity, and others too!

Pairings with the best sources out there, as well as entry-level ones, to see how it reacts included in today's in-depth written review of the A8000 IEM from Japan's Final Audio!

It is contender, and we try to find out if it is also winner of the best IEM released into the wild so far.

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2...maestro-final-audio-a8000-summit-fi-iems.html

 

[snk8699]

I've always been enthusiastic to see who wins the race for "the best" IEM out there. Final A8000 is a strong contender and happily I had just the right arsenal to compare and put it to the wall, with comparisons with CTM Da Vinci X, Campfire Atlas, Dita Fidelity, and others too!

Pairings with the best sources out there, as well as entry-level ones, to see how it reacts included in today's in-depth written review of the A8000 IEM from Japan's Final Audio!

It is contender, and we try to find out if it is also winner of the best IEM released into the wild so far.

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2...maestro-final-audio-a8000-summit-fi-iems.html

Thanks for the detailed review and comparisons George! I think everyone here on the thread appreciates the A8000 getting some more love and attention. I am still enjoying them immensely a year later!

 

[XERO1]

I didn't see these mentioned here so I thought I'd do so:

It looks like Final and DITA are teaming up to release a (possibly re-tuned) special edition of the A8000 in April.



https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/final-x-dita-shichiku-kangen－糸竹管弦－.24819/
https://snext-final.com/products/detail/SHICHIKUKANGEN
https://www.e-earphone.jp/products/detail/1307319/

They sure look purty!

 

[jwbrent]

I didn't see these mentioned here so I thought I'd do so:

It looks like Final and DITA are teaming up to release a (possibly re-tuned) special edition of the A8000 in April.



https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/final-x-dita-shichiku-kangen－糸竹管弦－.24819/
https://www.e-earphone.jp/products/detail/1307319/

They sure look purty!

I’m ordering a set from Andrew at Musicteck. Since in many ways the A8000 is my favorite IEM, owning a special edition version (500 total being made) with its refined tuning was an automatic buy for me. Some of the feedback I’ve read suggests the Shichiku.Kangen (~$2,800) has a warmer tone in the upper frequencies which many may prefer. I never had a problem with the A8000 being too bright, so I’ll be writing a review on the S.K to compare it to the A8000 at some point.

 

[Infoseeker]

I didn't see these mentioned here so I thought I'd do so:

It looks like Final and DITA are teaming up to release a (possibly re-tuned) special edition of the A8000 in April.



https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/final-x-dita-shichiku-kangen－糸竹管弦－.24819/
https://snext-final.com/products/detail/SHICHIKUKANGEN
https://www.e-earphone.jp/products/detail/1307319/

They sure look purty!

This has already been released. A reviewer put a graph of it up already over here. At this link.

https://banbeu.com/graph/iem/dita-x-final-shichiku-kangen/

It seems to have a higher bass shelf, which evens out the blow of the treble spikes. But still doesn't have treble extension past 8khz. So becomes warmer overall. Loses technicalities. (reviewers words in my conversation)

I think I'd rather EQ my a8000.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

This has already been released. A reviewer put a graph of it up already over here. At this link.

https://banbeu.com/graph/iem/dita-x-final-shichiku-kangen/

It seems to have a higher bash shelf, which evens out the blow of the treble spikes. But still doesn't have treble extension past 8khz. So becomes warmer overall. Loses technicalities. (reviewers words in my conversation)

I think I'd rather EQ my a8000.

Could you share your eq setting for the a8000, please?

 

[jwbrent]