[nihalsharma]

I have loved my Final Audio B3 a lot. It has amazing tuning. I am getting a B-stock A8000 for nearly $1100. There is a 3-month warranty on it. I'm just wondering if I should pull the trigger on it. I know Final IEMs are built like tanks and will last forever. I'm just a bit worried if the excess to\\of brightness will be an issue. But I know that can be tamed using foam tips, good copper cables, eq etc. Suggestions.

Thanks, Dave. I am also looking for suggestions on whether I should buy it at this price. Sealed B-stock with a 3-month warranty.

Also, won't a pure copper cable help with a controlled treble? I need clarification on this.

 

[euter]

Also, won't a pure copper cable help with a controlled treble? I need clarification on this.

With good copper cable treble will be less aggressive and lower midrange will be more prominent. I was using A8000 with Plussound Exo Copper cable and synergy was extremely good

 

[Umwelt]

Our friend is deciding on a discounted unit so probably not enough budget for pricy alt cables. IMO if these are for you you should like them with the stock cable first and then "tune" it more with cables if you want (if you can't conveniently do so with software instead).

Thanks, Dave. I am also looking for suggestions on whether I should buy it at this price. Sealed B-stock with a 3-month warranty.

I'd say pass on them and stick with your B3s, unless you're really curious and returns for it are hassle-free. If you try them out and happen to love them, then you might as well keep them. Another option is to wait for a better deal on yahoo auctions, but then if you happen not to like them as much you're stuck with them.

 

[nihalsharma]

By any means, does the A8000 sound thin? Does it have enough tonal weight? Is the bass just okay on it?

 

[DaveStarWalker]

By any means, does the A8000 sound thin? Does it have enough tonal weight? Is the bass just okay on it?

No and no.

But this is an intense restitution : vivid, sharp, crystal clear, no mercy.

This is very accurate and precise, but by no mean lush or something like that.

A lot of slam and power, lightning fast, but no fat.

 

[Umwelt]

To add: slam and power indeed, if you give it enough power. In spite of being IEMs these scale up considerable with power, and ironically you get the most out of them with a dedicated desktop amp compared to most portable amps.

 

[Mercuttio]

By any means, does the A8000 sound thin? Does it have enough tonal weight? Is the bass just okay on it?

The A8000 benefits from burn-in more than any other headphone I've ever heard, in my 15+ years of being into headphones. I would assume that is partially the rigidity of the driver, but I am not entirely sure.

I can say that I find my A8000 to be the most balanced, clean sounding headphone I've ever had. There's a subtle warmth to it that crept in perhaps maybe a year into my near 3 year ownership (so far) and I find the bass to be exceptionally deep and texturally correct. I prioritize texture over quantity, but I wouldn't consider the A8000 to be "bass light" after a good deal of burn in.

Frankly, I'd get a second pair for $1100- I love them that much. I can't think of many other headphones or just devices in general that have been such a positive impact on my listening habits and priorities. I even visited the factory in March because I just had to see where they came from, and got a D8000 on my trip as well, without hearing it first- that is the degree of confidence I have in Final as a company.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

@nihalsharma your paw 6000 should be a great pairing. I enjoy the A8000 a lot with just a paw S2 dongle.

 

[nihalsharma]

@nihalsharma your paw 6000 should be a great pairing. I enjoy the A8000 a lot with just a paw S2 dongle.

I am getting an LPGT in a week. It’s in transit.

 

[Mercuttio]

I am getting an LPGT in a week. It’s in transit.

That thing is intense. I do a lot of my A8000 listening on the Sony NW-WM1AM2. If the LPGT sounds better than the NW-WM1AM2 (and for the price I'd bet it does) then it's going to sound incredible with the A8000.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

anyone have a recommendation for a good streaming dap to pair with the A8000? it's one of my more fussy iems synergy-wise and I've been getting by using mostly dongles and dac/amps like the paw s2, cayin ru6, ifi gryphon, dethonray honey etc

 

[Mercuttio]

As mentioned

anyone have a recommendation for a good streaming dap to pair with the A8000? it's one of my more fussy iems synergy-wise and I've been getting by using mostly dongles and dac/amps like the paw s2, cayin ru6, ifi gryphon, dethonray honey etc

I like mine a ton with the Sony NW-WM1AM2. I use it out of the normal 3.5mm jack, and use my D8000 balanced with the 4.4 balanced. I find that to power both extremely well, and have a very natural sound.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

As mentioned

I like mine a ton with the Sony NW-WM1AM2. I use it out of the normal 3.5mm jack, and use my D8000 balanced with the 4.4 balanced. I find that to power both extremely well, and have a very natural sound.

that's good to know, I was actually thinking about the Sony because I also have the IER-Z1R and it's impressive battery life. I like the A8000 stock cable too, do you find any shortcomings with the single ended jack? I feel like a lot of products prioritize the balanced PO. I do have some flac files but find myself mostly streaming nowadays. would I be missing out on the Sony upsampling and other features mostly utilizing streaming?

 

[Mercuttio]

that's good to know, I was actually thinking about the Sony because I also have the IER-Z1R and it's impressive battery life. I like the A8000 stock cable too, do you find any shortcomings with the single ended jack? I feel like a lot of products prioritize the balanced PO. I do have some flac files but find myself mostly streaming nowadays. would I be missing out on the Sony upsampling and other features mostly utilizing streaming?

Frankly, I'm not sure where Sony really takes over the signal chain. A lot of the system messages the first time you boot it up are about the "aging cycle" (burn in) required for the fancy capacitors inside to reach their true audio potential. I would say that the balanced output is excellent, but there's nothing really wrong with the SE. I know the higher-grade model of the player uses specialty cables for the balanced connection internally, but I have a very hard time believing that 2" of higher grade cable will have a life-changing impact on sound. I use Apple Music in "Lossless" most of the time- I don't actually have a ton of FLAC stuff on my Walkman. It's just much more convenient that way, since I use an iPad as my primary source at my desk and I can keep an organized library between the various devices easily, plus stream to the home vintage HiFi or car stereo from any device easily.

I haven't used my A8000 balanced, so I can't speak to what it gains necessarily from the 4.4 jack. There's definitely much higher gain on the balanced, but I don't think the A8000 needs more than what the 3.5 SE output generates to sound really great. Flipside, that extra gain really pushes the D8000 the extra mile.

Ultimately, you could see the 4.4 jack as a "future upgrade" to push them further, and get a balanced connection down the road. For me personally, I like to use my A8000 with my Switch and Steamdeck occasionally, so the extra power and dynamic range I get from a balanced connection on my D8000 aren't necessarily worth the convenience of having the A8000 as single ended.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

Frankly, I'm not sure where Sony really takes over the signal chain. A lot of the system messages the first time you boot it up are about the "aging cycle" (burn in) required for the fancy capacitors inside to reach their true audio potential. I would say that the balanced output is excellent, but there's nothing really wrong with the SE. I know the higher-grade model of the player uses specialty cables for the balanced connection internally, but I have a very hard time believing that 2" of higher grade cable will have a life-changing impact on sound. I use Apple Music in "Lossless" most of the time- I don't actually have a ton of FLAC stuff on my Walkman. It's just much more convenient that way, since I use an iPad as my primary source at my desk and I can keep an organized library between the various devices easily, plus stream to the home vintage HiFi or car stereo from any device easily.

I haven't used my A8000 balanced, so I can't speak to what it gains necessarily from the 4.4 jack. There's definitely much higher gain on the balanced, but I don't think the A8000 needs more than what the 3.5 SE output generates to sound really great. Flipside, that extra gain really pushes the D8000 the extra mile.

Ultimately, you could see the 4.4 jack as a "future upgrade" to push them further, and get a balanced connection down the road. For me personally, I like to use my A8000 with my Switch and Steamdeck occasionally, so the extra power and dynamic range I get from a balanced connection on my D8000 aren't necessarily worth the convenience of having the A8000 as single ended.

I appreciate the reply, definitely keeping the Sony on the shortlist and doing a little more poking around the dedicated thread. I see you have the ragnorak/BF2, which is obviously extreme overkill for the A8000, but I was playing around with them on my desktop stack of the Bifrost 2/Jot 2 in order to fiddle around the the lokius eq and found myself not enjoying the sound of the A8000 as much. one of the first headphones/iems i didn't like with that combo