Final A8000 Beryllium Diaphragm Dynamic IEM Comments and Impressions
Feb 6, 2020 at 12:20 PM Post #62 of 817
Feb 9, 2020 at 10:20 AM Post #63 of 817
Received my A8000. So far fit is the easiest more comfortable iem I've have ever worn that is a universal. There is no sharp corners touching your ears.

The body and stem somehow leans into your ear canals and settle themselves. Just like iems with too big a nozzle, but these have a small nozzle. Because of this fit, small tips for deeper insertion works best.

Has very strong subbass with a perfect seal.

The definition of notes comes from the treble extension and not from bass/timbre.

These definitely seem like a U frequency response with good treble extension. More of a cinematic feeling. Definitely is unique with the Why So Serious? track test.

There are no harsh treble peaks.


More much later to see if beryllium needs burn in or not. But the body shape and fit is amazing.

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E5000 case (left) by the a8000 case
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Wow this iem is a rare iem that can actually give a heavy metal song like Future Breed Machine- Meshuggah the presentation it deserves.

https://tidal.com/track/102961786
 

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Feb 9, 2020 at 9:30 PM Post #64 of 817
If you use any cable other than the original cable, fits might be a problem. At least for me, any other cable that is heavier or stiffer than the original cable would alter the angle that a8000 fits on your ear. And as result of This alteration the sharp edges of a8000 would start to cut your ear, which is very painful if you wear it for longer period. It already created a wound on my left ear.
 
Feb 9, 2020 at 10:51 PM Post #65 of 817
The a8000 cable is pretty stiff already. But its thin setup is very good with glasses.

It is a lot like the E5000 cable, but since the A8000 are not bullet-style earphones the microphonics won't bother you.

My softer Linum superbax cable gives the best fit.

But for glasses the original cable does well, and that stiffness lets itself arc around the ear very well ironically.
 
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Feb 9, 2020 at 11:46 PM Post #66 of 817
The a8000 cable is pretty stiff already. But its thin setup is very good with glasses.

It is a lot like the E5000 cable, but since the A8000 are not bullet-style earphones the microphonics won't bother you.

My softer Linum superbax cable gives the best fit.

But for glasses the original cable does well, and that stiffness somehowblets it arc around the ear well ironically.
how is the sonic difference between the original kei cable(same as e5000)compare to your bax cable?
 
Feb 10, 2020 at 12:24 AM Post #67 of 817
Just to make sure to remove it as a factor, I still need to burn in the driver (whether it needs it or not).

I normally don't notice sonic differences. But I having nothing to lose checking for it.
 
Feb 10, 2020 at 12:35 AM Post #68 of 817
Just to make sure to remove it as a factor, I still need to burn in the driver (whether it needs it or not).

I normally don't notice sonic differences. But I having nothing to lose checking for it.

i thought a8k could achieve better transparency through cable upgrade,kei cable is good but not really good enough(resolution wise) for a8k.
 
Feb 11, 2020 at 4:50 AM Post #70 of 817
Out all my sources. Hiby R6 Pro, e1da PowerDac v2, e1da 9038S, Asus Phone RoG 2 headphone out, Sony Zx2, and NextDrive Spectra X.

It seems to sound best with absolutely no bass distortion from my NextDrive Spectra X. Makes a really big difference in presentation. NextDrive Spectra X is the best matching for it and conveniently can be used off my Android phone.

Unless this Spectra x is rolling off the bass and thus eliminating disortion that way. XD
 
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Feb 11, 2020 at 1:58 PM Post #71 of 817
I can do a quick comparison to the Fearless Roland, the Shuoer EJ07, and the Rah.

All have their specializations that I would say they do best.

In terms of frequency response. The Fearless Rolands are made with coherency in mind; they work well with difficult genres like Heavy Metal best. The sound that comes out if them is clear with almost with no extra imaging; they act like a single-driver iems despite having so many drivers. Great timbre and mids.

The EJ07 has more bass weight, it will do relatively worse with heavy metal (only compared to the Roland). But electric bass string and treble are even more satisfying for most music; great energy in electric guitars. The EJ07 also give the psycho-acoustic/Holographic effect you get from multi-driver iems, where some sounds feel
coming from your sides and don't muddle music up. So despite the EJ07 not having a more balanced sound signature like the Rolands, that don't muddy up music too bad.

Rah, have the most satisfying bass out of the bunch. And has the best soundstage. They give a timbre for acoustic music from the extra bass like the Ej07. There is also the extra details to notes that can come from high treble extension. They also present the music like single-driver iems, like the Rolands.
They have a treble that doesn't peak/emphasize anywhere, so it is smooth overall nothing painful or extra fun. In terms of how they present sound.

The EJ07 and Rolands have a peak in early treble different than the Rah. So while the piezoelectric Rah has an infinite amount of extension to define notes and even present the air for the best soundstage, the EJ07/Roland have more energy in the lower treble stuff like snare drums. The Rah is better for cymbals crash, etc.

The EJ07 has those high energy presented drums coming from the side which adds another experience to the sound. This is not necessary a good thing, but gives an interesting experience; it could be distracting from an uncanny valley (unnatural) sense for some people.

The single driver like coherency of the Rolands/Rah might be preferred to your taste.

Overall they are all good depending on the genre. The soundstage is best on the Rah, but the huge driver also needs air ports, so it also has the least isolation.

Now, to add my most recent A8000. They are most definitely U sound signatured. They have very strong subbass presence that will distort with bad recordings using purposeful such bass. Similar bass to the Final Audio E5000; also similar air extension feeling. (ive seen Crinacle's graphs, my old e5000 does not roll-off completely, it seems to recover after 10kHz)

Timbre to mids is more like the Rolands than the EJ07. Pretty flat, but mids may seem a step forward.

Treble has no painful peaks for extra energy. But it has a never ending post-10kHz extention, like the Rah for interesting soundstage effects. You can increase the volume with nothing becoming overwhelming becoming painful.

The a8000 has the Final Audio acoustic tuning. So it has a very coherent presentation for music. Vocals don't get surpressed. Music notes can come from the sides remastered music also do not get surpassed by other notes. Most interesting of all they do very well with heavy metal music. Everything in the overwhelming music gets its moment to shine. Despite not having the advantage of multi-BA drivers in other iems.


Rah, would be the real VIP here. An amazing value for a very fun sound like the Ej07 without missing out on mids, and it also includes treble extension. Bass is also more tactile than the EJ07, like the Final Audio stuff, but it is more forgiving in terms of distortion. It is a jack of all trades master of nothing.

Oh, that is right I have my Rah tuned using the black bottom bore, and the blue treble filter module top; with extra wide inner bore silicone tips. You can physically change its characteristics as you wish. I have it set to replace the role of my EJ07.

The A8000 is a ToTL iem if you want a U frequency response, and that's with good post 10kHz extension.
 
Feb 15, 2020 at 4:07 AM Post #73 of 817
My first impressions in 100 words
The bass is the best I've heard from my IEM's. Considering that's from a single driver, that's amazing. They blew the Sennheiser IE800's out of the water. Even without a super wide soundstage.They were almost as good as the JHAudio Roxanne's. I preferred the HiFiMan RE2000 Silver's, even though technically they weren't as good. A8000's are linear; so much so that they can be fatiguing. The build quality is exceptional. The stainless steel shells are shiny but are prone to fine scratches. The shells are heavy. Even with the best fit, the tips want to slide out of my ears. Tuned for the Asian market?
 
Feb 15, 2020 at 7:19 AM Post #74 of 817
My first impressions in 100 words
The bass is the best I've heard from my IEM's. Considering that's from a single driver, that's amazing. They blew the Sennheiser IE800's out of the water. Even without a super wide soundstage.They were almost as good as the JHAudio Roxanne's. I preferred the HiFiMan RE2000 Silver's, even though technically they weren't as good. A8000's are linear; so much so that they can be fatiguing. The build quality is exceptional. The stainless steel shells are shiny but are prone to fine scratches. The shells are heavy. Even with the best fit, the tips want to slide out of my ears. Tuned for the Asian market?

Also had that the tips were pushing out. Iswas able to get good seal with smaller tips than i normally have and now they stay in place
 
Feb 15, 2020 at 7:23 AM Post #75 of 817
Also had that the tips were pushing out. Iswas able to get good seal with smaller tips than i normally have and now they stay in place

I had no problem with them popping out, but I did get the best sound going for a smaller tip with deeper insertion.
 

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