[ostewart]

Final E3000

 

[Herman]

We have both the Heaven VI (me) and the Shure SE-535LE (my son) in the house. Since he has younger and better ears I will ask him for a comparison. My thoughts are that the H6 is extremely spacious and transparant. Perfect for acoustic and jazz. The 535 is more relaxed and has a bit more bass. And there is a price difference H6 €499 Nd SE535 €350

I also own the SE215 which I use on the train because the level of detail the H6 gives is wasted and because it suffers from microphonics.

 

[cocolinho]

I had the chance to demo PF8. I cannot understand how we can drop usd700 in these... I was so close to buy them blind lucky me I did not pull the trigger...

 

[ninaraduga]

You listened to non-burning PF. Without burning, they sound 30-50 percent of their capabilities. When I bought the PF 10, I did not see the difference between 9 and 10 PF. After warming up, the difference became colossal.

I've been looking for headphones "better" than PF for two years. My hands did not reach only Empire Ears Zeus. Everything else is WORSE, some are absolutely terrible (shure 846, akg 3003, sennheiser IE800 and some others).

The third time I repeat, what I already wrote in this topic. PF must be burned for 500 hours. or more. Otherwise you will not understand them at all.

 

[cocolinho]

They were a demo pair drom a store. For sure they don't have 500h burn in since they are not plugged all day long but I don't think they will change from black to white.
I would recommand anyone to try before buying any piano forte. I really do think they have nothing special except the form factor

 

[FranTBW]

Final E3000

Did you get a pair? I want to buy these, but I can't seem to find one online, and afaik their website sells but it only ships domestically...

 

[ostewart]

Did you get a pair? I want to buy these, but I can't seem to find one online, and afaik their website sells but it only ships domestically...

They belong to where I work, some samples came in so got to borrow them They are awesome

 

[CH23]

You don't seem very upset. I'd be pissed if a set of $1000 IEMs came apart like that...

anything i can fix, is not worth getting mad over

Having said this, i will never understand how they came to a $1000 price, without making at least $700 profit.
i'd love for Final to justify this but reality doesn't work that way

 

[Jalo]

I had the chance to demo PF8. I cannot understand how we can drop usd700 in these... I was so close to buy them blind lucky me I did not pull the trigger...

Which part of the PF8 you did not like? Can you be more specific? I find they have a mid to die for, natural, with body, intimate. If I do not have the Lab 2, I will definitely get the PF8.

 

[nc8000]

I loved the PF8 sound, like nothing I've heard in any other headphone, but they were just so unpractical that I ended up selling them

 

[costinstn]

you know…you get in this hobby, and you go through the years listening to tens or hundreds of phones…some you seldom listen anymore, some settle in your listening habbits…And i believe in your collective memory, each of them makes a print….You know for sure the individual strenghts of your gear…

And then i got the SST’s….a little underwhelmed in the beggining…somehow i kept recollecting some individual qualities from the GR10, PF2, Sonorous VI, HE400i, which i felt bested the SST….

And they kept burning, and listening exclusively for the last month and a half….Lately, i started to go back to said phones, in a trial to prove to myself that my collective memory was right….And it was not…I listen now to the GR10, and i don’t find them more open, and way less clear than the SST. I listen to the PF2, and i don’t find them more raw than the SST. I listen to the Sonorous VI, and they are veiled and distant compared to the SST.

Don’t get me wrong…they are not perfect…In some tracks they are sibilant, in some tracks they lack some body….But what they do combined in terms of form factor, isolation, materials, ease of drive, comfort, sound signature, sound emotion, fun, clarity, speed, intimacy……Is far away from anything i’ve heard so far….

 

[cocolinho]

Which part of the PF8 you did not like? Can you be more specific? I find they have a mid to die for, natural, with body, intimate. If I do not have the Lab 2, I will definitely get the PF8.

0 extension in low/highs ends. meuh soundstage, too much distortions --> bad spacial cues

 

[ninaraduga]

0 extension in low/highs ends. meuh soundstage, too much distortions --> bad spacial cues

I had exactly the same feelings when I listened to them from the box for the first time. The only thing that immediately struck me was the vocals. But then the bass and the high frequencies appeared with a burn. But do not expect bass at Sony's XBA Z5 level. "BOOM BOOM BOOM" - this is not here.


As we see on the chart the bass and high frequencies are on the decline. But the mids are outstanding (especially the vocal area - 2-3 kHz.) You have to pay for everything. The great mids demands sacrifice.



crinacle made measurements of the LAB 2. Although I did not have the opportunity to listen LAB 2, but from the measurements I see that they are significantly different from the PF series. The vocal area of LAB 2 is reduced (2-3 kHz), their graph is more like the reference monitor sound of the Etymotic ER-4s. The bass line became more even,but for such a smooth bass FINAL AUDIO had to reduce the vocal area. For me as a vocalhead, I'm sure Piano Forte 10 will be higher than LAB 2. Probably PF10 is the best headphones in the world for vocals.



To my taste, nevertheless, PF 8 is much inferior to 9 and 10. If there is a possibility it is better to immediately skip the PF 8 and buy 9.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

What color is the cord on the Final Audio Design Heaven VIII IEM? I see it as black or as dark brown, depending on which photograph I use. I need to ask someone who actually has them! Thanks.

 

[cocolinho]

Heaven VIII? Gold.
VII are silver or black