final - A8000

Final, and if you’re ok with secondhand stuff a Final A8000 can be had for around 900~ I have it and it’s honestly an endgame IEM lol, insane clarity, and a really fast bass

All but one of my sets is less than $1k retail - and that set can trade blow for blow with many well regarded $2000 sets... and out of the hundreds I've heard, it is the only one that I can say that for. It is of course the Moondrop Variations, and they easily sound like a decent $1200 - $1300 set. The only $1k set I own that does not sound like a. $1k set is the Campfire Alien Brain. I'd say 600-700 would be a fair price for these. Fortunately I got them for $500 open box & /they are my out & about set & have the right characteristics for that. My list of others, their retail price & my thoughts as to whether they represent good value. Canpur 622b - $5500 I think this is an INSANE amount of money for a set. I lucked out & bought (technically) secondhand as an unwanted gift & unused. These are so far from my favourite typical kind of set as they have very little sub bass (not that I need to have every set be a basshead set) - BUT - that does not stop them from easily being the most impressive pair I've ever put in my ears. I savour them. I used them twice a week & really make sure I have no distractions & no one is home. For funk/rare groove/soul etc, they are unbelievable. For excellent pop/rock in eg Prince, Queen & MJ, same thing. For the Blade Runner 1982 Vangelis soundtrack - best I've ever heard it & I've heard it a lot. It's really difficult to qualify $5500 as a price for ANY IEM - but if one set does - it's these. Others - Final A8000 - $2000 - absolutely. Most clear & natural anything I've ever heard. For well recorded jazz, absolutely unbeatable. Good with lots of other stuff, too. Empire Ears Raven - $3750 - the best sub bass heavy 'basshead' set that have ever existed IMO. This is basically the dream sound I had in my head as a 'basshead' set & I've been through them all. Absolutely yes - absolutely worth it, but the build quality could certainly be better for that price. Campfire Astrolith - $2200 - the best planar set that exist IMO. Decent value. Incredible proprietary tech. Thieaudio Prestige Ltd CIEM - $1800 - my most used set of all time. All day every day for two years solid. Fatfreq Maestro SE CIEM fully custom - $3500- technically sound, bass is decent but nowhere near the Raven. Still, it's great to have a bottom heavy set that are so comfy, look stunning (my choice of around 200 aesthetic designs + additional options). FiR RN6 - $3000 - the ultimate one & done! Thieaudo Valhalla - $2000 - no idea, haven't arrived yet 😅 I have more but I gotta Run.

Final A8000... Sennheiser IE900 gets all the props as the best high end single DD, but the 8000 absolutely smokes it for me... went to try the IE900 whilst in Japan & all the shop assistants encouraged me to try this. Highs may be a bit bright for some, but not for me (although I do DSP them down if it's early morning & my ears are waking up 😅) - the imaging from 1 DD is absolutely incredible. Better than any IEM I've ever tried. This is their old flagship & was launched at 2000 USD - it was 1500 which was 200 more than the IE900 & for me they sound worlds apart. Annnnnnnd... 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 https://preview.redd.it/40mthsshpcte1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6384a16445209d47fcbbe231411e384cebd70ea8

Final A8000. So simple. So elegant. Pure, understated class. And absolutely beautiful sounding. They're a never sell set for me.

I've had my eyes on the Empire Ears ESR Mark 2. It's around $1000 new and contains 3 sonion BAs and two electrostatic drivers that top the frequency out at 100khz (inaudible to humans ik but I've never seen it that high on an iem ). It's their flattest iem yet I've compared it to the Gaudio Nair, ie600 and monarch mark 2-4 and it seems the ESR mark 2 is more analytical and detailed while still being considered a studio reference tuning. Both float around 1k new. Absolutely looks gorgeous too imo. I'm rocking my Elysian Pilgrims till I can get some sort of payment plan or find them used (honestly hesitant to do without a warranty of some kind at their price). Be warned that these are more reference tuned than the other suggestions given here. Buying these I'd feel the closest to owning a stax headphone within my "feasible" budget hah. The Gaudio Nair is also super-neutral like these yet they are "smoother" sounding as it's not as much of a technical monster/lacks the est drivers. Haven't been able to audition either. Just read up on reviews There's also the Final Audio A8000. A very revealing single dynamic driver that is brighter than neutral. Besides the Esr 2 I've been longing for those also. I do think for my music tastes (prog and alternative) the Esr mark 2 would perform better as an all rounder though

I'm still struggling to understand some of your placements in the iem ranking list were you put Moondrop Solis at rank 128 (number at the far left) and describing it as unimpressive with FINAL SCORE OF 5.4 but on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro you ranked it at 193 (number far left) and complimenting it as a "solid set overall" with FINAL SCORE OF 4.8. WHAT IS GOING ON??? LOL And you put Final Audio A8000 ($2000) of a 4.1 final score but gave CCA CRA a final score of 4.2, one that costs $15 BROOOOOO no offence but it sounds super QUESTIONABLE/SUS lol The frikin same A8000 that majorihifi is comparing to Sony IerZ1R [https://majorhifi.com/sony-ier-z1r-vs-final-audio-a8000-comparison-review/](https://majorhifi.com/sony-ier-z1r-vs-final-audio-a8000-comparison-review/) or am I going insane??? But on another note, I do agree with the top placements as with many other reviewers out there. So heck yea!

Final's so shit at marketin outside of Japan, it's a shame. The A6000 deserves so much more attention. I loved the A4 because of the soundstage, the good level of detail for the price, satisfying bass and incredible imaging. The A8000 wows me because of the insane spatialisation, insane detail that surpasses a ton of flagship I've listened to, and incredibly real timbre it can render. Instrument separation is nigh perfect as well, with incredible transparency. The A6000 is about the best combination of both, it leans more on the bass side compared to the A8 but with almost the same level of clarity, I think it's the main attribute of the A6. Really full sounding, really detailed, really clean. Now I'm wondering how I'm going to manage to snag an A10k, I feel like the redesigned shell and driver is gonna be nuts

I've reviewed over 50 iems and own endgame iems including the A8000, but had the A6 existed back then i would've been happy to stop with judt this. They're stellar for the price.

I've had lots of time with the MEST mk3, and the soundstage is not as good as the final's. It's good but not as natural. The a8000 has the most well rounded and holographic presentation in iems, if it were warm sounding it would be a mini HE-1

Absolutely not, it's detailed and very rich even in the highest of harmonics and reverbs, my hearing is still quite good for a 25 yo and i have zero issues with it. Using sturdier tips with thick stem walms helps the highs ime, so maybe play around with that if it's an issue for you

Final audio makes pretty sick iem for this purpose have a look at their VR Series or A series VR series doesn't have removable cable but A does have removable cables just make sure

Check out Final Audio stuff A Series or VR Series they are pretty sick for fps gaming where you can pin out exact location of foot steps