Final Audio A8000 Flagship In Ear Monitors Final Audio

final’s flagship model realizes transparent sound for the uplift that can be gained by listening to music

Development of the A8000 began with reconstruction of physical measurement and subjective evaluation methodologies. Under the subjective evaluation methodology established at the time of D8000’s development, the E Series achieved sound quality highly evaluated by many people and became a best seller. With the A8000, a new evaluation index has been incorporated into that subjective evaluation methodology. Among factors that determine sound quality for earphones and headphones, amplitude frequency response is predominant, but there are some sound impression cannot be explained by it.

For example, the most critically evaluated aspect of classical music recordings is called transparent sound, a sound impression by which sound is very clear even it is localized at a distant location. We believe that the high evaluation of our D8000 headphones owes to the realization of such transparent sound. Until now, we have employed modification of the amplitude frequency response, known as tuning, to modify the sound of our earphones, but because it cannot make a great change to time response, it became difficult to achieve transparent sound through tuning.

This time, with the aim of achieving transparent sound for earphones, final has developed its own proprietary Perceptual Transparency Measurement (PTM) evaluation methodology. As a result of evaluation and improvement of interrelations between principal components analyized by the results of subjective evaluation and data analysis of impulse response that could not be gleaned from frequency response in the past, an ideal diaphragm material that is extremely light and possessing high sound speed comprised of ultra-thin Beryllium foil has been adopted for the A8000.

Truly Pure Beryllium Diaphragm
The A8000 employs a diaphragm made from ultra-thin Beryllium foil (Truly Pure Beryllium Diaphragm), which is said to be an ideal diaphragm material due to its light weight and high sound speed. With a specific gravity of 1.85 and a sound propagation velocity of 12,900 m/s, second only to that of diamond, Beryllium has ideal characteristics for a diaphragm material. The sharpness of sound build-up and the lingering resonance of the sound can be clearly felt, as can the silence between sounds. 

Balancing getting an uplift from a wide range of musical genres with universally good sound
Sound design for these models has been undertaken with attention to the relationship between the spatial impression and dynamic range of music, and the physical characteristics of earphones. We have categorized sound creation on music recordings onto these two axes: spatial impression and dynamic range.

One way of thinking regards the distance perception. Classical and jazz recordings are thought to be performed with emphasis on aspects of spaciousness, such as sense of distance, broadness and reverberation. On the other hand, rock, pops and many of the recent animation soundtrack recordings, spaciousness is not as highly emphasized. There is thought to be greater emphasis on clarity, which brings the various instruments and vocals to the front.

Another approach is dynamic range – in other words, changes in loudness over time. If the dynamic range is wide, naturally it is possible to use the change in loudness over time to achieve a more dynamic expression of music. But, there are some types of music for which narrower dynamic range recordings are preferable to allow each of the instruments and vocals to ordinarily appear before the listener’s eyes.

The superior time response of the A8000 imparts it with sound quality that is capable of providing an uplift from a wide range of music that approaches the extent of the D Series, from the clarity of pop and rock music with a narrow dynamic range all the way to the spatial impression of classical and jazz music with a wide dynamic range. 

The Feeling of a Customised Fit
Based on the IEM chassis design developed for the B series that has become established as an ideal solution, the A8000 realises a superior sense of fit. 

Precisely cut stainless steel chassis with “Tetra-Chamber Construction”
In order to optimize operation of the driver, the inside of the driver unit chassis is divided into four chambers (Tetra-Chamber Construction); the driver ante-chamber and the double construction driver post-chamber and the MMCX connector portion are separated into different chasses. The driver is direct mounted into the ante-chamber of the chassis by a design that suppresses unnecessary vibration to achieve a distinct sound contour. 

Other features include:

• MMCX Connector＆Original high purity OFC silver coated cable
• Ear hooks that alleviate cable touch noise (Incorporates lock mechanism)
• MMCX ASSIST for easy plug removal
• Original earpieces with a color difference between the left and right bushes
• Interchangeable dust filter
• Aluminum & Silicone hybrid carry case