Final Audio Design Impressions and Discussion Thread

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

Good point. Yes, they do a lot. The type-E TWS tips the a6000 come with are the second worst pair in final's history (they negative winner here are fusion G paired with S5000, which is a horrible shame).

I tried various options, in the end the good ol' Type E (black) seem a good compromise to me for A6000

I actually think the Type E TWS are among the best and most underrated tips around if you want something wide bore and extremely comfortable. I use them on many ieems.... But not on the A5000

I haven't tried the elotech baroque but they seem to follow the same philosophy of having very thin silicone and wide bore.

The type-e tws do have the disadvantage if lacking in outside nose isolation compared to other thicker tips, but the benefit of that is when you have bloaty bass and need to make it more linear which still having a full seal, the E tws do that well

All that being said... If the A6000 sounds anything like the A5000 I do agree that the regular narrow bore Final E tips are better for attenuating the bright treble.

 

[Hooga]

I actually think the Type E TWS are among the best and most underrated tips around if you want something wide bore and extremely comfortable. I use them on many ieems.... But not on the A5000

I haven't tried the elotech baroque but they seem to follow the same philosophy of having very thin silicone and wide bore.

The type-e tws do have the disadvantage if lacking in outside nose isolation compared to other thicker tips, but the benefit of that is when you have bloaty bass and need to make it more linear which still having a full seal, the E tws do that well

All that being said... If the A6000 sounds anything like the A5000 I do agree that the regular narrow bore Final E tips are better for attenuating the bright treble.

We are on the same page.
Yes the Type-E TWS are a very interesting variation. In the large bore category I still tend to prefer either the Spiraldot or the Sedna Earfit Light Short, for some reasons the main one being Type-E being a tad too soft to be able to keep most of the IEMs firm in place in my ears, unless said IEMs have some external positioning help (e.g. Akoustyx S6).

A6000's tuning compared to A5000 is less V-shaped so their treble is even less "counterbalanced" by the bass line. Even if said (A6000's) treble is indeed technically better refined, A6000 like A5000 do not need any "brightening" tips. Hence my initial comment, a few posts above: E-TWS paired with A6000 is one of the worst choices final opted for in recent times, being second only to the even more horrible S5000-FusionG match.

For the record, I also tried FusionG + A6000 and I don't like how they "change" the bass in this case.

Lastly: one viable alternative to Type-E black I found for A6000 are the INAIR foams. As all foams, these tend to cut some of the thinner "franges" off the treble and that may be welcome in A6000 case.

 

[rkm7]

@Hooga , I know you are a big advocate for A3000. From your impressions, if I were to assume that A6000 is technically superior A3000 with a bit more bass, would that be correct?

 

[Hooga]

@Hooga , I know you are a big advocate for A3000. From your impressions, if I were to assume that A6000 is technically superior A3000 with a bit more bass, would that be correct?

Very simply put, yes.

 

[rkm7]

Very simply put, yes.

Thanks. That's a great reference and probably exactly what I am looking for.

 

[Telefunky]

Yesterday I did an easy mod on my A4000.
I've had some mmcx cables laying around from my Campfire audio iems, and decided to use them on my A4000.

I've ordered a 2pin to mmcx adapter, and everything worked flawlessly.

The ballanced campfire smoky litz cable, sound perfect.

Just thought i'd share, because a lot of people had problems with the original cable.

 

[Hooga]

Thanks. That's a great reference and probably exactly what I am looking for.

Be careful though as the other important difference is on the high mids. What makes A3000's "clarity" not too excessive is their dampening on the 3KHz more or less. A6000 have a more classical behaviour in that region so their highs are on one end more complete and expressive (especially female vocals) on the other hand you might find the overall brightness unforgiving.

Yes, I'd have to set aside some time and write a complete review on those...

 

[cagix]

Smoky litz cable. I have upgrade from campfire ara cable to fiio lc repro and never think about campfire cable again. Re pro is another level. Best cable i have.

This is from currawong he has not pro cable but sound is same basicaly level with alo audio reference 8.
I have the non-pro LC-RE that I've been using with the Ara and original Solaris with very good results. Usually I use the Reference 8 cable, so to find something that is as good with interchangeable plugs has been great.

 

[ADemonW]

so the E4000 is avail for around ~$105 ,is it worth it in 2025 ? ( i have e2000 ) really like the design

 

[medi1988]

Hey headfiers, I just got the Final B1 and there is hardly any low end to my ears. It’s very clear and thin sounding (which is nice for instrumental music though). I was just surprised cause I thought they just tamed down the e5000 driver a bit (and I was reading about full low end in reviews). I began to think that it’s maybe a defective unit (changed cable, dac if I go blue, L&P W2, sound is the same). Can any B1 owner confirm that they are supposed to sound that thin? Appreciate your help.

 

[fidgeraldo]

Can any B1 owner confirm that they are supposed to sound that thin? Appreciate your help.

NO!!!!
Something is wrong!
They are spectacular!
I have B1, B3, A8000... They sound wonderful, all three!

Cheers!

 

[digitalreferee]

so the E4000 is avail for around ~$105 ,is it worth it in 2025 ? ( i have e2000 ) really like the design

Have had these for a few months now, really cool and IMO underrated. I had the E5000 briefly, but I thought they were a bit hard to drive (especially for the form factor, I would expect to bring these anywhere and them to be powered by anything, really) and a tad too bassy, the E4000 is both a lower price and a slightly more neutral-tilted tuning.

The only thing that kind of belies the quality of the package is the stock cable that feels a bit like a cable that would've been on a very mediocre attached-cable earbud years time ago, then again the E4000 was released like what, six years ago? So that can be excused somewhat. Besides, cable is detachable so a nice MMCX would work wonders with it. I haven't gotten a secondary cable for it yet, but I think I would go for a cable that is slightly angled so it can be turned away from the ear canal a bit, as the fit with the right-angled MMCX plugs can be a bit challenging (I wear them with the plugs turned upside down and the cable hooked over the ears).

Sound is fantastic though, very clean, unassuming. They are likely less competitive than they used to be in this regard, I think there are probably many IEMs on the market today that could rival them, but almost none of them have this form factor and design, and the bullet shape is very important to me (that's what I use to sleep with). If you like neutral-ish sound with nice clarity but not overwhelming obsessive detail, I think you'd dig them. The tuning is very easy to like. Also stock tips are great, I currently use a pair of those tips on an EX1000 and I find they actually fit my ears slightly better than the stock EX1000 tips.

 

[Scubadevils]

I have the A6000 on the way, very excited to try them - the A5000 gets regular use as my out and about set, very curious as to how they’ll compare.

Also curious about the B1 - only reading old reviews over the weekend, seems like an interesting and unique set.

 

[fidgeraldo]

I have the A6000 on the way

I am all ears.
I bought B1 last of all the A, B and E series that I have...frankly, to me, they are spectacular as much as A8000.
B3 are slightly different, with a different flavour than B1 and A8000, but that's precisely why I love B3, too.
I lost interest in searching after I bought these three.
Not completely, but I am no longer obsessed with finding the sound that will give me more joy than these three.

Cheers!

P.S. I look forward to seeing a short video, like the last one from the gigs you will visit again.

 

[Scubadevils]

I am all ears.
I bought B1 last of all the A, B and E series that I have...frankly, to me, they are spectacular as much as A8000.
B3 are slightly different, with a different flavour than B1 and A8000, but that's precisely why I love B3, too.
I lost interest in searching after I bought these three.
Not completely, but I am no longer obsessed with finding the sound that will give me more joy than these three.

Cheers!

P.S. I look forward to seeing a short video, like the last one from the gigs you will visit again.

I’ll definitely add B1 to the list!

I’ve been very much drawn back to single DDs lately - also ordered the Shanling MG800 which I’ve been curious about for a long time!

Next gig is Morrissey in May! The only other currently booked after that is 808 State in I think November.