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Final Audio D8000 Planar Magnetic Headphone
Mar 11, 2023 at 5:15 PM Post #3,333 of 4,999
GoldenOne said:
Just received a new cable for the D8000 Limited Edition.
This was made in collaboration between Final Audio, Double-Helix Cables and VikingWeaveCables. Damn it's gorgeous

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Where did you find this cable? I can’t find it anywhere. I’m also looking for the 4.4 black stock cable if anyone is looking to sell.
 
Mar 11, 2023 at 5:48 PM Post #3,334 of 4,999
Mar 11, 2023 at 10:17 PM Post #3,335 of 4,999
adrianm said:
Come on, give us more. I was thiiiiiis close to getting the 1266 over the LE. In the end I really didn't want to deal with the positioning hassle.
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vcoheda said:
Yes. Interested in strengths and weaknesses when compared to each other.
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Happy to give some brief insights from my comparison today of the 1266 Phi TC and D8K Pro LE.

Usually my comparisons are quite verbose, but I will keep this one somewhat short as I want to do more direct A/B comparing between these two beasts before fully formulating my thoughts.

Bass/Low-End "Impact/Slam": My belief is that these are both the absolute two best headphones on the market in this category, so it was a real treat focusing on their bass performance back-to-back. 1266 TC brings the more visceral slam, but I was surprised that Pro LE seemingly has tighter bass and better texture, to my ears. The 1266 TC slam, though, is a thing of beauty. Tie, as both are elite here and its a question of what element of the low-end is more important to you.

Mid-Range/"Tone & Timbre": Pro LE has a slightly more natural timbre to it, although there is a recession here that negatively impacts male vocals a bit. 1266 TC is more linear in the Mids, but the tonality is a bit off at times, hard to describe but its a bit artificial or "metallic." Still, I find that 1266 TC is better on distorted guitars and male vocals; D8K excels at female vocals. My preference is the Pro LE's mid-range presentation.

Treble/"Brilliance or Sibilance?": I'm not particularly treble-sensitive and enjoy headphones like the ADX5000, but there are moments where overbearing treble can even fatigue me; neither of these headphones get to that level, although the 1266 TC is a bit peaky in certain areas and the Pro LE is smoother. I think both headphones have enough prominence here to be exciting, neither are dark; overall, Pro LE brings energy in this region but is more balanced here, so is my preference.

Resolution/Detail Retrieval: My expectation here was that these would be equal combatants, but after my listening experience today, it did feel that the 1266 TC actually trumped the Pro LE here notably. Let me be clear, both pairs are towards the top of the heap in this category, but there were some micro-details I picked up on the 1266 TC in certain songs that I wasn't getting on the Pro LE. 1266 TC wins this one.

Staging & Imaging: This is one where there is quite a different style between these two headphones; D8K Pro LE is a more intimate presentation, while 1266 TC is one of the wider/deeper sounding models on the market. D8K brings a "in your head' type of feel, with rather narrow width but good stage height, and accurate imaging. 1266 TC is more "around your head" in its presentation, great width, completed with the stereo image coming from all directions. For true pinpoint-accurate imaging, I'd take ADX5000 over either of these, but the 1266 TC soundstaging impresses me and is the winner here.

Going back to my original post, can't go wrong with either of these. There's no two better Planars on the market, in my view (sorry Susvara.....although I do need to spend more time with Caldera, which impressed me at CanJam).
 
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Mar 11, 2023 at 10:18 PM Post #3,337 of 4,999
Mar 11, 2023 at 10:58 PM Post #3,338 of 4,999
joshUKUSA said:
So I've had my D8000 Pros for about a month now and think I've finally found a headphone that suits my sonic preferences in stock form. I've tried others like the LCD 5 that were more immediately engaging but find the mix of technicality and musicality on the pros pretty much perfect for me. I think I've realised that the hifiman/harman style upper midrange tuning was too shouty for my tastes so the recession the d8000 pros have in that region has been great for me.

So far I've just been running them on a schiit magni/modi stack as I wanted to find the right headphone before splashing out more on source gear. Anyone got any recommendations for DACs and Amps that I should be upgrading to in the future that work well with these headphones?

Also looking to branch out into IEM's so any shout outs for a pair that have a similar tuning to the d8000 pros?

Cheers
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Final A8000
 
Mar 12, 2023 at 9:25 AM Post #3,341 of 4,999
Vamp898 said:
Final A8000
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To me Final Audio A8000 is closer to Focal's( somewhere between OG Clear & Utopia). I haven't heard pro & LE version but D8000 goes slightly opposite direction of what A8000 does. Both are very good, but different use cases for me
 
Mar 12, 2023 at 9:40 AM Post #3,342 of 4,999
hakunamakaka said:
To me Final Audio A8000 is closer to Focal's( somewhere between OG Clear & Utopia). I haven't heard pro & LE version but D8000 goes slightly opposite direction of what A8000 does. Both are very good, but different use cases for me
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That's what I thought by looking at FR charts, sounds like the A8000 is a great iem but potentially not what I'm looking for as far as one with a similar tonality to the d8000 pro. Plus while I'll get to that price point eventually I don't really want to start out at 2k when purchasing my first iem
 
Mar 12, 2023 at 1:14 PM Post #3,343 of 4,999
joshUKUSA said:
That's what I thought by looking at FR charts, sounds like the A8000 is a great iem but potentially not what I'm looking for as far as one with a similar tonality to the d8000 pro. Plus while I'll get to that price point eventually I don't really want to start out at 2k when purchasing my first iem
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From my own experience the closest sound to planars, (not specifically D8000 pro though) is earsonics em10(goes as grace if you take universal and can be found with good discounts used) Very euphonic and buttery smooth performer, yet technically good and with best bass from BA drivers that I've heard. In general wouldn't focus too much to get D8000 pro in IEM form.

Set your priorities first. Do you need good isolation ? Portability & comfort ? These become very important factors as main aim for IEM's is usually portable use.

On budget side with the right tips I haven't heard anything that good for so cheap as Tin T2, the only real downside is bass. Maybe check out their planar driver based offering P2
ThieAudio Monarch a bit on expensive side, but very good performer, the downside for me was the fit as they are quite big.

With IEM you can really find a golden egg on budget, especially within chi-fi offerings
 
Mar 14, 2023 at 1:37 PM Post #3,345 of 4,999
Been mulling over selling my current rig and restarting a new system around the D8KP.
I would keep only my iFi Diablo meanwhile I research and personally test out various amps and DACs..

I personally think my XI Audio stack sounds pretty good with my headphones but I get this feeling that perhaps better synergy can be found. Keeping my Matrix Element M as a neutral DAC reference but I’m curious about going the tube amp route.

Any suggestions on tube amps below $2k? Used is good too.
 
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