[jwbrent]

After 2 months of waiting, finally I got my E500 from Drop today!

I was a bit scared of its QC control for this model since the Korean blog and crinacle graphs were showing a bass imbalance on their graph, but mine is perfect:

-- The gray graph is blocking the rear vent with blu-tack, as you can see it leads to a roll-off at the bass. I wonder if for those people with bass imbalance isn't just the vent clogged or something similar.

My first impressions are rather positive, I've got the E500 mostly for the tips but what struck me right away is the organic mid-range and smooth sound, so effortless. The sub-bass extension isn't that deep but the bass overall has a warm tone and honestly, I don't miss any punch for my metal. Treble is polite so I can listen to this set for hours without any fatigue.

Somehow it has some nice imaging for its price, I can pin-point instruments and some spacial cues easily. The only down-side for me so far it's kind of power-hungry to really shine, off my cellphone it's not that good but feeding through my amp, it's impressive, even more for its price. At $20 it's a bargain if you're into neutral towards warm tone.

I was so surprised about the E500, really a great buy. I agree, the E500 needs some power to sound its best. Binaural recordings sound really good.

 

[Hooga]

Has anyone done a comparison of all of the Final E IEMs? Basically, I’m wondering what the particular strengths of each one is, not necessarily a detailed writeup.

I can tell you about the ones I own

E5000 - Superb bass presentation - just "incredible" detail joined with a quantity that in just about ANY other IEM I ever auditioned would bring to bloat, mess etc. Very lushy and "thick" mids, free of bass veiling or whatever. Highs are tamed in terms of power, nevertheless within that they are very articulated, I would say "brilliant" although certainly not "airy". Soundstage is very remarkable. Immune to sibilance (at least in my experience).
Attention: it's seriously hungry. Underpowering produces muddy or veiled, read crappy, output. Forget driving it with a phone, or even a good dongle like Meizu.
The cable it comes with is nice but totally overpriced imo. Much better buying the H version (i.e."housing only", shipped without the cable) + add a good SPC cable, possibly balanced.

E4000 - Superb mid presentation, full, detailed, intimate, just wonderful. Very good basses, less prominent than E5000 but also less dry. They also don't veil the mids however. More prominent highs ve E5000, while it still cannot be called bright at all. No sibilance normally, but you can "create" some if you insist with sibilant-specific test tracks (not so on E5000). Overall it's more balanced and neutral compared to E5K. Soundstage is still good but less ample vs E5000. Less power hungry than E5000, can "barely" be driven by a Meizu dongle. Again, cable value is not on par with the rest of the product imo: good quality but too expensive. Again I recommend the H version.

E1000 - on a totally different league ofc (price included). Quite neutral presentation all over, on the bright-ish side. Sub-bass rolled off, yet bass is well articulated wherever hearable, fast, relatively punchy. Highs are more prominent than E4000, less articulated then E5000 but nice nonetheless, smooth but lively, "good" in a word but prone to sibilance. Soundstage is very nice, wide, and imaging is not bad at all too. No "big" amping requirements but - to give an idea - if plugged on a Meizu dongle you need to bring volume to 45-50% to get the same sound pressure out you get at 20-25% on a TIN T4. Besides less SP underamping E1000 produces a thinner, duller sound.

E500 - on "normal music" it's very similar to E1000 except on the highs, where it is more relaxed and "brilliant" but stays south of sibilance. The real difference is the sensitivity to 3d cues - listen to binaural-recorded or -mastered tracks with an E500 vs any other Exxxx and you hear a world of imaging difference

 

[bhima]

I can tell you about the ones I own

E5000 - Superb bass presentation - just "incredible" detail joined with a quantity that in just about ANY other IEM I ever auditioned would bring to bloat, mess etc. Very lushy and "thick" mids, free of bass veiling or whatever. Highs are tamed in terms of power, nevertheless within that they are very articulated, I would say "brilliant" although certainly not "airy". Soundstage is very remarkable. Immune to sibilance (at least in my experience).
Attention: it's seriously hungry. Underpowering produces muddy or veiled, read crappy, output. Forget driving it with a phone, or even a good dongle like Meizu.
The cable it comes with is nice but totally overpriced imo. Much better buying the H version (i.e."housing only", shipped without the cable) + add a good SPC cable, possibly balanced.

E4000 - Superb mid presentation, full, detailed, intimate, just wonderful. Very good basses, less prominent than E5000 but also less dry. They also don't veil the mids however. More prominent highs ve E5000, while it still cannot be called bright at all. No sibilance normally, but you can "create" some if you insist with sibilant-specific test tracks (not so on E5000). Overall it's more balanced and neutral compared to E5K. Soundstage is still good but less ample vs E5000. Less power hungry than E5000, can "barely" be driven by a Meizu dongle. Again, cable value is not on par with the rest of the product imo: good quality but too expensive. Again I recommend the H version.

E1000 - on a totally different league ofc (price included). Quite neutral presentation all over, on the bright-ish side. Sub-bass rolled off, yet bass is well articulated wherever hearable, fast, relatively punchy. Highs are more prominent than E4000, less articulated then E5000 but nice nonetheless, smooth but lively, "good" in a word but prone to sibilance. Soundstage is very nice, wide, and imaging is not bad at all too. No "big" amping requirements but - to give an idea - if plugged on a Meizu dongle you need to bring volume to 45-50% to get the same sound pressure out you get at 20-25% on a TIN T4. Besides less SP underamping E1000 produces a thinner, duller sound.

E500 - on "normal music" it's very similar to E1000 except on the highs, where it is more relaxed and "brilliant" but stays south of sibilance. The real difference is the sensitivity to 3d cues - listen to binaural-recorded or -mastered tracks with an E500 vs any other Exxxx and you hear a world of imaging difference

In total agreement with you regarding the E5000. I think people that find it too veiled are not giving it enough juice. Also, the soundstage is the largest of any IEM I have heard. When there is atmospheric sub-bass in your music or soundtrack, the E5000 just expands out of the head like crazy. What cable did you end up going with since you bought the "H" version? I'm interested in possibly buying the E5000 again in the future and will probably go with your recommendation on the H and a separate cable.

 

[Hooga]

In total agreement with you regarding the E5000. I think people that find it too veiled are not giving it enough juice.

...and btw this is soooo easy to assess. Just plug it into an amp (you don't need big stuff, something pushing out at least 50mW-60mW @16 Ohm would do) and slowly raise the volume. You will instantly notice that a) up to a certain level increasing the volume significantly does not increase the sound pressure and b) from a certain volume up the sound texture changes dramatically. You must be deaf not to notice it.

What cable did you end up going with since you bought the "H" version?

Sadly, I did not have enough experience when I got the E5000 and I got it in "full version". That said, soon thereafter I put the cable on sale and I equipped just a NiceHCK 16c SPC balanced ended. I also tested a Fiio LC monocrystalline one which does seem to give a tad more spark but I decided I'm happy and content with a 20$ cable vs a 100$++ one.

 

[Infoseeker]

I use my e5000 with a E1da 9038s dongle.

Cold sounding dongle, with no bass distortion and an impedance less than 1. (impedance of e5000 is 14ohms)

And lots of power to get loud....like It was made for this. 550mw @16. (340mw @32)

My cable is Linum Bax mmcx cable terminated in 2.5mm.




Wavelet Android app can further eq for you if want.

 

[kmmbd]

Has anyone done a comparison of all of the Final E IEMs? Basically, I’m wondering what the particular strengths of each one is, not necessarily a detailed writeup.

@Hooga has already given a great description of the E5000/1000/500 and my thoughts align with him on all three of them. I'd like to fill in the gaps with impressions of E2000/3000, also bonus E4000/E5000 impressions.

Final E2000: The staging is what you notice the most when you listen to them. The vocals are slightly recessed (making them a bit V-shaped) and coupled with the open-back nature and mid-bass quantity you get a quite immersive soundstage. The bass response is mid-bass heavy and lacks sub-bass rumble/impact. Midrange is its special suite as the male and female vocals sound sublime. Has the most amount of treble peaks among all E-series IEMs and can potentially get slightly sibilant on some highly susceptible tracks (Under Pressure by David Bowie, for example). Imaging performance is decent, but not the best in its price class or among other E-series stuff. I'd personally rank them the second lowest among E-series IEMs.

Final E3000: The dark horse of the E-series, and also my second most favorite E-series IEM. Instrument separation esp air between instruments is the best among all E-series IEMs, yes, even the E5000. Bass has more rumble and impact than the E2000 but still rolled-off at the extreme end. Midrange is almost similar sounding to E2000 but has less focus on upper-harmonics resulting in an even smoother midrange rendition. Treble is delightful and portrays all the details without ever imposing itself. If the E2000 is cottage cheese, the E3000 is creamy Gouda cheese. Soundstage is massive, falling behind to only two other <$100 IEMs that I've heard. Imaging is also fantastic in the price-class.

Final E4000: Add more sub-bass extension to the E2000, add a bit more vocal-presence and you get the E4000. A very balanced tuning that doesn't excite anyone right out of the gate but you appreciate it the more you listen to it. I usually recommend it to the mature listener, someone who knows his preference well and wants something no-frill that will be solid with most genres at a budget and won't have the imaging/soundstage/fit issue of the Etymotics. I don't like the stock cable though, I'd recommend getting a third-party one if possible.

Final E5000: Perhaps the only IEM I have ever rated 5 stars on head-fi. They are objectively not the best IEM and many downright label them as overpriced, but this hits all the right chords with me. I never knew I was a closet bass-head until I listened to them, and the bass on these are world-class, being better than most <$1000 stuff out there barring a certain LegendX, maybe the Hyla CE-5. They are the only IEMs ever that made me fall asleep while listening to Machine Head's The Blackening. The soundstage is cavernous, and while the imaging is hazy the little strums of guitar and intimate pluckings are so well picked out and placed - it gets addictive. The vocals meanwhile make them indispensable for me. I'm a sucker for the HD650 vocals and these are the only IEMs (<$1000 bracket) that get close to said level of precision be it female or male vocals. It's not for everyone, but once you start to appreciate it - it becomes really hard to let go of. The treble has excellent upper-treble extension and while it's not as on-your-face as on the E4000/E2000, it's the most refined treble in the whole lineup once you focus on the attack/decay pattern of cymbal hits and hi-hats.

Finally, my own ranking of the E-series based on their specialty:

Bass: E5000 >>> E4000 >> E3000 > E2000 > E500 > E1000
Mids: E5000 >> E3000 = E4000 > E2000 > E1000 > E500
Treble: E5000 > E4000 > E3000 > E1000 > E2000 > E500
Soundstage: E5000 >> E3000 > E4000 > E2000 > E500 > E1000
Imaging: E3000 (E500 in binaural tracks) > E5000 > E4000 > E2000 > E1000 > E500 (this one really suffers in non-binaural tracks)

And now, my very biased -
Final ranking: E5000 > E3000 > E4000 > E1000 > E2000 > E500 (a specialty item with limited use-case unfortunately)

 

[Hooga]

@kmmbd very nice notes. I'm even more happy I just ordered a pair of E3000

As I see you also own a pair of F3100 would you pls give your short notes about that too? I never auditioned an F-series and I'm so curious about that. What I'm trying to understand is to what genres / applications could they represent a pleasant alternative to the top E's.

 

[kmmbd]

@kmmbd very nice notes. I'm even more happy I just ordered a pair of E3000

As I see you also own a pair of F3100 would you pls give your short notes about that too? I never auditioned an F-series and I'm so curious about that. What I'm trying to understand is to what genres / applications could they represent a pleasant alternative to the top E's.

The F3100 are polarizing. @RikudouGoku hates them (he's his fair share of points), whereas I find them great for acoustic/vocal/singer-songwriter and even some live tracks. They are also very source dependent, I'd recommend pairing with a warm-ish source with low output impedance (~0.5 ohms or lower). They sound grating and harsh out of my phone (LG G7) but the moment I plug them into Questyle QP1R they have lifelike vocals, surprisingly good imaging and incredible string instruments rendition. I even blind-tested it volume-matched just to make sure it wasn't placebo. They are a bit of a specialist so get them for those specific use-cases. Also bass is rolled off by a margin so a no-go if you like bass thump.

 

[Hooga]

The F3100 are polarizing.

thx

 

[jnak00]

@kmmbd Nice write up. I haven't heard the other but I agree the E5000 is a brilliant IEM. They're a little like ZMF headphones - unabashedly coloured, not at all neutral, and exceptionally musical.

 

[IEMusic]

I can tell you about the ones I own

E5000 - Superb bass presentation - just "incredible" detail joined with a quantity that in just about ANY other IEM I ever auditioned would bring to bloat, mess etc. Very lushy and "thick" mids, free of bass veiling or whatever. Highs are tamed in terms of power, nevertheless within that they are very articulated, I would say "brilliant" although certainly not "airy". Soundstage is very remarkable. Immune to sibilance (at least in my experience).
Attention: it's seriously hungry. Underpowering produces muddy or veiled, read crappy, output. Forget driving it with a phone, or even a good dongle like Meizu.
The cable it comes with is nice but totally overpriced imo. Much better buying the H version (i.e."housing only", shipped without the cable) + add a good SPC cable, possibly balanced.

E4000 - Superb mid presentation, full, detailed, intimate, just wonderful. Very good basses, less prominent than E5000 but also less dry. They also don't veil the mids however. More prominent highs ve E5000, while it still cannot be called bright at all. No sibilance normally, but you can "create" some if you insist with sibilant-specific test tracks (not so on E5000). Overall it's more balanced and neutral compared to E5K. Soundstage is still good but less ample vs E5000. Less power hungry than E5000, can "barely" be driven by a Meizu dongle. Again, cable value is not on par with the rest of the product imo: good quality but too expensive. Again I recommend the H version.

E1000 - on a totally different league ofc (price included). Quite neutral presentation all over, on the bright-ish side. Sub-bass rolled off, yet bass is well articulated wherever hearable, fast, relatively punchy. Highs are more prominent than E4000, less articulated then E5000 but nice nonetheless, smooth but lively, "good" in a word but prone to sibilance. Soundstage is very nice, wide, and imaging is not bad at all too. No "big" amping requirements but - to give an idea - if plugged on a Meizu dongle you need to bring volume to 45-50% to get the same sound pressure out you get at 20-25% on a TIN T4. Besides less SP underamping E1000 produces a thinner, duller sound.

E500 - on "normal music" it's very similar to E1000 except on the highs, where it is more relaxed and "brilliant" but stays south of sibilance. The real difference is the sensitivity to 3d cues - listen to binaural-recorded or -mastered tracks with an E500 vs any other Exxxx and you hear a world of imaging difference

Thanks so much for such a detailed comparison. I’m definitely interested in the H version of the E5000, but don’t know where to get it in the US. Approx. how much is the H version?

 

[IEMusic]

@Hooga has already given a great description of the E5000/1000/500 and my thoughts align with him on all three of them. I'd like to fill in the gaps with impressions of E2000/3000, also bonus E4000/E5000 impressions.

Final E2000: The staging is what you notice the most when you listen to them. The vocals are slightly recessed (making them a bit V-shaped) and coupled with the open-back nature and mid-bass quantity you get a quite immersive soundstage. The bass response is mid-bass heavy and lacks sub-bass rumble/impact. Midrange is its special suite as the male and female vocals sound sublime. Has the most amount of treble peaks among all E-series IEMs and can potentially get slightly sibilant on some highly susceptible tracks (Under Pressure by David Bowie, for example). Imaging performance is decent, but not the best in its price class or among other E-series stuff. I'd personally rank them the second lowest among E-series IEMs.

Final E3000: The dark horse of the E-series, and also my second most favorite E-series IEM. Instrument separation esp air between instruments is the best among all E-series IEMs, yes, even the E5000. Bass has more rumble and impact than the E2000 but still rolled-off at the extreme end. Midrange is almost similar sounding to E2000 but has less focus on upper-harmonics resulting in an even smoother midrange rendition. Treble is delightful and portrays all the details without ever imposing itself. If the E2000 is cottage cheese, the E3000 is creamy Gouda cheese. Soundstage is massive, falling behind to only two other <$100 IEMs that I've heard. Imaging is also fantastic in the price-class.

Final E4000: Add more sub-bass extension to the E2000, add a bit more vocal-presence and you get the E4000. A very balanced tuning that doesn't excite anyone right out of the gate but you appreciate it the more you listen to it. I usually recommend it to the mature listener, someone who knows his preference well and wants something no-frill that will be solid with most genres at a budget and won't have the imaging/soundstage/fit issue of the Etymotics. I don't like the stock cable though, I'd recommend getting a third-party one if possible.

Final E5000: Perhaps the only IEM I have ever rated 5 stars on head-fi. They are objectively not the best IEM and many downright label them as overpriced, but this hits all the right chords with me. I never knew I was a closet bass-head until I listened to them, and the bass on these are world-class, being better than most <$1000 stuff out there barring a certain LegendX, maybe the Hyla CE-5. They are the only IEMs ever that made me fall asleep while listening to Machine Head's The Blackening. The soundstage is cavernous, and while the imaging is hazy the little strums of guitar and intimate pluckings are so well picked out and placed - it gets addictive. The vocals meanwhile make them indispensable for me. I'm a sucker for the HD650 vocals and these are the only IEMs (<$1000 bracket) that get close to said level of precision be it female or male vocals. It's not for everyone, but once you start to appreciate it - it becomes really hard to let go of. The treble has excellent upper-treble extension and while it's not as on-your-face as on the E4000/E2000, it's the most refined treble in the whole lineup once you focus on the attack/decay pattern of cymbal hits and hi-hats.

Finally, my own ranking of the E-series based on their specialty:

Bass: E5000 >>> E4000 >> E3000 > E2000 > E500 > E1000
Mids: E5000 >> E3000 = E4000 > E2000 > E1000 > E500
Treble: E5000 > E4000 > E3000 > E1000 > E2000 > E500
Soundstage: E5000 >> E3000 > E4000 > E2000 > E500 > E1000
Imaging: E3000 (E500 in binaural tracks) > E5000 > E4000 > E2000 > E1000 > E500 (this one really suffers in non-binaural tracks)

And now, my very biased -
Final ranking: E5000 > E3000 > E4000 > E1000 > E2000 > E500 (a specialty item with limited use-case unfortunately)

Thank you! Great comparison. I‘m most interested in the E3000 right now, and possibly also the E5000 if I can find them w/o the cable. I’ll probably get the E500 some time b/c they‘re unique and inexpensive.

 

[lifeinabox]

I can tell you about the ones I own

E5000 - Superb bass presentation - just "incredible" detail joined with a quantity that in just about ANY other IEM I ever auditioned would bring to bloat, mess etc. Very lushy and "thick" mids, free of bass veiling or whatever. Highs are tamed in terms of power, nevertheless within that they are very articulated, I would say "brilliant" although certainly not "airy". Soundstage is very remarkable. Immune to sibilance (at least in my experience).
Attention: it's seriously hungry. Underpowering produces muddy or veiled, read crappy, output. Forget driving it with a phone, or even a good dongle like Meizu.
The cable it comes with is nice but totally overpriced imo. Much better buying the H version (i.e."housing only", shipped without the cable) + add a good SPC cable, possibly balanced.

E4000 - Superb mid presentation, full, detailed, intimate, just wonderful. Very good basses, less prominent than E5000 but also less dry. They also don't veil the mids however. More prominent highs ve E5000, while it still cannot be called bright at all. No sibilance normally, but you can "create" some if you insist with sibilant-specific test tracks (not so on E5000). Overall it's more balanced and neutral compared to E5K. Soundstage is still good but less ample vs E5000. Less power hungry than E5000, can "barely" be driven by a Meizu dongle. Again, cable value is not on par with the rest of the product imo: good quality but too expensive. Again I recommend the H version.

E1000 - on a totally different league ofc (price included). Quite neutral presentation all over, on the bright-ish side. Sub-bass rolled off, yet bass is well articulated wherever hearable, fast, relatively punchy. Highs are more prominent than E4000, less articulated then E5000 but nice nonetheless, smooth but lively, "good" in a word but prone to sibilance. Soundstage is very nice, wide, and imaging is not bad at all too. No "big" amping requirements but - to give an idea - if plugged on a Meizu dongle you need to bring volume to 45-50% to get the same sound pressure out you get at 20-25% on a TIN T4. Besides less SP underamping E1000 produces a thinner, duller sound.

E500 - on "normal music" it's very similar to E1000 except on the highs, where it is more relaxed and "brilliant" but stays south of sibilance. The real difference is the sensitivity to 3d cues - listen to binaural-recorded or -mastered tracks with an E500 vs any other Exxxx and you hear a world of imaging difference

I recently demoed the E5000, E4000 and E3000 at home and concur with nearly all of what Hooga stated. I ended up keeping the E4000 w/ clear/red E tips. The intimacy and what it does for male vocals is something special, yet, it never feels boxed-in thanks to the soundstage and highs. It's just a coherent and musical sound that I missed to an extent when going to the E5000. The E5000 is solid but I prefer the highs of the E4000 along with the mids especially at half the price. I'm hopeful for what Final can do with the E series going forward.

 

[Hooga]

Thanks so much for such a detailed comparison. I’m definitely interested in the H version of the E5000, but don’t know where to get it in the US. Approx. how much is the H version?

Good question, I don't know. It's being sold on Final's direct shop for approx $190. Then you need a refwd agent like Tenso (I use that, others are available ofc) to send it to you in US. Right now it might be hard as Japan has blocked a number of countries as far as air shipments are concerned.

 

[Hooga]

I recently demoed the E5000, E4000 and E3000 at home and concur with nearly all of what Hooga stated. I ended up keeping the E4000 w/ clear/red E tips. The intimacy and what it does for male vocals is something special, yet, it never feels boxed-in thanks to the soundstage and highs. It's just a coherent and musical sound that I missed to an extent when going to the E5000. The E5000 is solid but I prefer the highs of the E4000 along with the mids especially at half the price. I'm hopeful for what Final can do with the E series going forward.

For whataver reason (probably impulsiveness ) I did purchase E5000 after E4000. And as I said I love them even better under a number of aspects, and I'm in the end happy to have both and I wouldnt do without either.

That said, flipping the coin, should I forcedly have to keep "just one" I would also select the E4000.
More balanced, read horizontally applicable, more easily driveable (which is not a detail after all !). This, in absolute terms.
If you then add E4000 is also sensibly cheaper, its price/performance value vs E5000 is arguably higher.