Final Sonorous III Impressions
I've been using the Final Sonorous III for almost two weeks now, and it's time to share some first impressions.
Accessories:
Barebones. You get a moderately long 3.5mm terminated cable and a 6.3mm adapter. The cable has a unique "locking" mechanism and is super stable once connected. The cable itself is very supple and doesn't form kinks and loops too easily. It does have some microphonics but I personally use it on a desk for the most part thus that's not an issue for me. However, a carrying case/pouch would have been very welcome.
Build:
Build quality is superb, as expected from Final. The housing is made from rugged ABS material and the headband/yoke is a single piece of stainless steel. There is a gimbal-like mechanism for the cups to swivel freely along the X and Y axis. This makes fine cup-adjustments a breeze and is definitely a unique design element of the Sonorous series as a whole.
The headband-pad is very plush and soft and helps immensely to distribute the rather sizable 410gms of weight across the head. Headband size adjustment is a bit unique since the cups can be smoothly pushed up and down instead of extending/collapsing the headband itself. This is yet another intelligent design cue, though I'd have preferred to have some sort of markings on the inner-side as right now it's basically guesswork (or you can use your measuring tape for fine-adjustments).
Overall, a very solid build quality, and the minor complaint that I have is if you pinch the earcups with enough force, it can creak a bit. Another complaint would be the earpads which, despite being soft and mostly comfortable, are a bit shallow. I would have liked a deeper and slightly more elongated earpad for better comfort.
Comfort/Isolation:
The weight can be an issue for long-term listening as right now I need to readjust after an hour or so. Otherwise, it's fairly comfortable. The isolation is below-average, and there is some sound leakage which is rather surprising due to the apparent closed-back nature of these headphones.
Sound:
The overall sonic presentation can be called mildly V-shaped, but there is a catch.
You won't get boomy mid-bass or skull-rattling sub-bass like the typical V-shaped headphone. The bass here has a slightly boosted mid-bass that gradually falls as it reaches the sub-bass regions. The sub-bass rumble can be felt until around 25Hz and then it's barely heard. The bass impact overall is on the mild side, a no-go for bassheads, but if you prefer some bass-presence without cluttering the lower-mids or the whole soundscape - these will deliver on that front.
The mids are a bit recessed, but not scooped by any means. Male vocals sit a bit farther away which gives the sensation of wider stage. Female vocals are, strangely, even further behind the mix as the upper-mids are further recessed. Thus, If you need up-front vocals, esp female ones, look elsewhere (the Sonorous II for example does that better).
The lower-treble/presence region has more emphasis in comparison, so string instruments aren't as subdued as you may expect. IN fact, the Sonorous III is somewhat of a specialist at reproducing string instruments and keyboards/pianos. The notes are crisp and almost "tactile", as in you can feel the string reverbs. Instrumentals and acoustic pieces thus become the strong point of the Sonorous III and they do it better than any other closed-back headphone I've tried under $500 or so. The timbre especially is very natural.
The upper-treble is a bit strange as the cymbal hits are often up front while sustain instruments are not so much. In general I would not recommend this for fast metal tracks as the treble response is too "polite" and the sub-bass lacks the visceral impact required to fully enjoy double bass-pedals. For more laid-back/slower genres this treble response is rather welcome.
As for the other technical aspects, imaging is precise, soundstage is definitely wider than most closed-back headphones and can rival some open-backs on this regard (e.g. Philips SHP9500). The transients are also fairly fast for a dynamic driver headphone. It's not as quick as the Focal drivers but also doesn't suffer from the slightly unnatural tonality/timbre that the Focal exhibits.
Closing:
To conclude this rather extended impression post, I'd say that for the price - these are a great option if you need a unique mid-range presentation for instrumentals or slower genres. The Sonorous III also adept at movies, though I wouldn't recommend them for games due to the weight factor and polite bass. The wide soundstage (for a closed-back) along with the great imaging is best for instrumentals, live orchestras/performances. Given the price point, I wouldn't expect it to be a jack of all-trades, and it isn't one. What it does well though, it does really well.
