Final Audio E3000 Review – Old Is Gold
Pros
Light and comfortable.
Superb imaging and instrument separation at sub $50 price point.
Excellent soundstage.
Natural timbre.
Non fatiguing.
Balanced and sublime mids.
Comes with Final type E (black) tips! (ironically these black Final E tips are not a good pairing with this set, as they may muddy the Final Audio E3000’s treble actually).
Cons:
Noodle thin, non detachable, microphonic cable.
Requires a powerful source to shine.
Poor isolation.
Midbass on the slow/nebulous side, with lack in subbass extension.
Rolled off treble, not the most detailed treble (may be a pro or con depending on your treble sensitivity levels).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Final Audio E3000 is a good example of old is gold: sometimes older gear may be better sounding than some newer (almost weekly) CHIFI budget releases, with the Final Audio E3000 sporting a warm mild V shaped non fatiguing tuning, with excellent soundstage, imaging and instrument separation at the sub $50 region. Mids are quite sublime and well balanced. It requires amping to shine though, and the noodle thin non detachable cable may be a deal breaker for some. But if one can look past the cable issue, subdued treble and a slow bass, I can see this being an end game budget DD set for those that like a warm and thick sound signature.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Driver Unit: 6.4mm dynamic driver
- Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW
- Impedance: 16ohms
- Cable: non detachable
ACCESSORIES
In addition to the IEM, it comes with:
1) Final Audio E black tips – these are one of my favourite tips that I use on many other IEMs, especially brighter IEMs as they tighten the bass and tame the treble, and are very comfortable too. In fact, I know some audiophile friends that bought the cheaper Final Audio E500 and E1000 just for the Final E tips, as a pack of Final Audio E tips retail around $15 USD or so by themselves. Myself, I bought a cheap Kinera Tyr at second hand recently primarily for the Final Audio E tips that came along with the Tyr, so I look at it as buying the Final E tips and getting a free IEM along with it. (I think the Kinera Tyr is in a drawer somewhere, sound is pretty meh, but their tips are being utilized daily on a myriad of my other IEMs).
The Final Audio E3000 is already quite treble shy especially at the higher treble, so these black Final Audio E tips ironically aren’t the best pairing with the Final Audio E3000. These stock tips lower the treble further, so trebleheads or those wanting an extended/airy treble may not like it. Personally, I found that something with a wider bore boosted the treble and lowered the midbass hump a bit, giving a somewhat more extended treble, but as usual YMMV as we have different ear anatomies and sonic preferences (I’m not a treblehead to begin with, and I already thought the Final Audio E3000 was a bit subdued in the treble).
For the purposes of this review, I persisted with the stock tips on the Final Audio E3000, as probably most lay consumers will not be doing tip rolling and just listen to it OOTB with these tips. However, I find that tips are a very underrated aspect of an IEM, they can literally make or break an IEM (see example of the BLON BL-03 with crap stock tips giving poor fit). Hence, if you have some spare tips lying about, no harm tip rolling to see what suits your sonic preferences for the Final Audio E3000.
2) Silicone Ear hooks
3) Pouch
BUILD/COMFORT
The Final Audio E3000 has a metal bullet shape shell, and is very comfortable and light, I can wear it for hours with no issues. I didn’t detect any driver flex.
The biggest bugbear of mine is that the cable is noodle thin and is non detachable with no strain relief at the housing insertion. This may be a potential issue for longevity for this set, it is one awkward yank away from being a white elephant. Some of us may also want a detachable IEM so as to use balanced aftermarket cables or wireless/BT adapters. In fact I’m in the anti nondetachable cable camp, I’ve had a few non detachable sets fail on me at the cable in the past, and it is a dealbreaker for me to buy any IEM or earbud more than $40 USD with nondetachable cables. Despite good reviews, I hesitated on buying the Final Audio E3000 for a year cause of this, and only FINALly (cough cough) bought the Final Audio E3000 at $29 USD from a local secondhand shop as it was cheap. At full price of $50 USD, I honestly wouldn’t have bought it due to the cable, but YMMV.
The cable is unfortunately also a bit microphonic, but I found that wearing it over the ears (or with a shirt clip) may lower the microphonics, though I’ve had a few curious stares from passerbys when I was using the Final E3000 over the ear. And in view of the lack of strain relief in the non detachable cable, I’m not sure if wearing it over ear for a long period may stress the cable at the point it bends into the ear.
ISOLATION
I brought the Final Audio E3000 for a spin on the subway, it failed my subway test unfortunately (sorry I’m a bit anal about transit isolation for protection of hearing health). The Final Audio E3000 has poor isolation due to the semi open back design, but I guess that very design gives it an excellent soundstage (which we will speak about later), so it is a double edged sword.
As usual, YMMV, I know some friends of mine purposely want less isolation for safety reasons when going outdoors, but there’s a danger in jacking up the volume due to the suboptimal isolation to overcome traffic noise (which can hit 85 – 90 dB sometimes), so that’s not safe for hearing health in the long term.
DRIVABILITY/SOURCE
The Final Audio E3000 is one power hungry little beast, despite its specs on paper. It sounds quite meh with just a low powered smartphone, but scales superbly (especially in soundstage, imaging, dynamics) once amped.
Also, as the Final Audio E3000 is a warm IEM, I find that pairing it with overly warm sources made things too hazy and nebulous, so I preferred it with a neutral or brighter/analytical sources.
SOUND & TECHNICALITIES
I know I’ve been hard on the non detachable cable, the isolation and the drivability of the Final Audio E3000. But now comes the good part, in the area of tuning, soundstage and imaging, the Final Audio E3000 not only redeems itself, but surpasses my expectations by a country mile.
The Final Audio E3000 sports a warm mild V shaped tuning with a non fatiguing treble. The tuning is overall very smooth and midbass centric, with excellent coherency especially in the mids. The tuning is not neutral, and is pretty coloured, but it is quite enjoyable for laid back chill and smooth music listening, and actually is my cup of tea tuning wise. The very first word I thought of when I first tried the Final Audio E3000 was “effortless”. Some budget CHIFI artificially boost the upper mids and treble to get a fake sense of perceived details, but the Final Audio E3000 manages to get the details in without these artificial steroids. Those that want a more energetic tuning than the smooth laid back feel of the Final Audio E3000 might need to look elsewhere, but this is a very non fatiguing set that allows one to chill and listen to music for hours for sure.
Technicalities wise, the Final Audio E3000 has one of the best soundstages and imaging at this price point of sub $50 USD. Soundstage is very wide and tall, but not the deepest, and music never felt congested with the Final Audio E3000. With amping, it can sound rather speaker-like even. Instrument separation in the mids are especially well done too. As it has a laid back treble with not the best treble extension, it doesn’t have the best clarity and details compared to some other contenders at the same price bracket, so this isn’t a set for those wanting something analytical to do critical listening, and trebleheads also best look elsewhere.
Timbre is very organic and natural. Note weight is on the thicker side. Vocals are well balanced in the mids for both male and female vocals, and acoustic instruments sound quite legit.
Bass:
The Final Audio E3000 is midbass centric, with subass extension not being the best. The midbass is on the slower side for decay, and occasionally I felt the midbass was a bit too hazy and nebulous. Bass quantity is north of neutral, but not at true basshead levels. Nevertheless, despite the slow bass, there isn’t significant midbass bleed, and the Final Audio E3000’s bass didn’t encroach into the mids/treble frequencies, which is quite a common problem for bass heavy budget sets.
Mids:
The mids are very well balanced on the Final Audio E3000, with male and female vocals not being dominant over the other. Instrument separation is excellent in the mids, coupled with the great imaging and superb soundstage, music and vocals float around effortlessly in the mids. The excellent timbre caps off one of the best mids I’ve heard in a sub $50 set. There isn’t the usual boosted sawtooth upper mids CHIFI tuning that we frequently see at this price range. This set is definitely one for mid lovers, though some folks may find female vocals a bit too laid back/lacking bite due to the tuning.
Treble:
The treble of the Final Audio E3000 is extremely safe and smooth, and perhaps may border on being dark, especially without amping. Treble doesn’t extend as high as the typical CHIFI sets at the same price segment, and has some roll off. Details are not overly emphasized like treblehead sets. As such, the Final E3000’s treble has no sibilance or harshness, and is very suitable for long listening sessions, though I think trebleheads will not like the treble tuning here. It’s a love or hate thing for the treble, I’m treble sensitive and actually appreciate this for chill sessions. As discussed above, perhaps tip rolling may improve the treble extension and quantity a bit, YMMV.
COMPARISONS
As per comparing apples to apples, I left out multi BA/hybrids/exotic drivers from the comparisons, as the different transducers have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Comparing some single DD type sets at $100 and below:
BLON BL-03 ($25 USD; more with aftermarket tips/cables due to the poor stock fit)
Sorry to those from the BLON cult, but I find that the Final Audio E3000 is an upgrade over the BLON in a lot of areas. The Final Audio E3000 eats the BLON BL-03 for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper (and all the snack times) in fit, accessories, soundstage, details, instrument separation and imaging (when amped).
Both sets have excellent timbre, maybe the BLON BL-03 is better in this department, but even in the area of tonality, which is supposedly BLON BL-03’s forte, it loses to the Final Audio E3000. The BLON BL-03 has a too bloated midbass with midbass bleed, and the upper mids get hot with louder volumes on the BLON BL-03 (Fletcher Munson Curve). Both sets have a slower mid bass and won’t win awards in bass speed or accuracy.
The BLON BL-03 has a detachable cable, but the stock cable and stock tips are crap, which necessitates most folks to source for aftermarket tips/cables, which may very well bring the cost of the BLON BL-03 to equal or even exceed that of the Final Audio E3000 ($40 – 50 USD).
BLON BL-03 scales better with amping, but the Final Audio E3000 much more so. Isolation on both sets is poor, but the BLON BL-03 is slightly better, though I personally won’t bring both sets on the subway (to protect hearing health).
TFZ No. 3 ($109 USD)
The TFZ No. 3 is much more V shaped than the Final Audio E3000, and the TFZ No. 3 is a bona fide basshead set with better bass quantity and extension. Quantity is not quality however, and the TFZ No. 3’s bass is bloated, boomy and not precise, with a midbass bleed. The TFZ No. 3 has better clarity due to the boosted upper mids, but by the same token, can get very harsh in the upper mids with louder volumes (Fletcher Munson Curve). Final Audio E3000 is better than the TFZ No. 3 in soundstage, imaging, instrument separation, timbre and tonality. TFZ No. 3 though, has better isolation and has detachable cables, but costs more than double that of the Final Audio E3000.
I wouldn’t recommend the TFZ No. 3 over the Final Audio E3000 unless you are a diehard basshead and listen to mostly bass forward music.
Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 ($69 USD)
CAVEAT: The following comparison is only assuming one gets a true beryllium driver Urbanfun with a working MMCX connector (and this is a BIG if). The Urbanfun has slightly better timbre and isolation. Imaging and soundstage are better in the Final Audio E3000. Details and clarity are slightly better on the Urbanfun. Subbass extends deeper and is of greater quantity on the Urbanfun with the beryllium driver providing fast transients and a more textured bass than the Final Audio E3000.
Mid and vocal lovers best take the Final Audio E3000 over the Urbanfun though, as the lower mids are a bit too recessed in the Urbafun. Those that want a more bassy and “fun” sounding set can opt for the Urbanfun.
There are many reports of bad QC in the MMCX connectors and driver doubt in the Urbanfun, even in newer stock, so between a wonky detachable MMCX connector (in the Urbanfun) and a noodle thin non detachable cable (in the Final Audio E3000), I’ll take the latter any day.
iBasso IT00 ($69 USD)
The iBasso IT00 has a mild U shaped tuning, and it isn’t as laid back sounding, with a better extension at both ends (treble/bass) than the Final Audio E3000. iBasso IT00’s bass is faster, of larger quantity at the subbass, and there is more accurate and textured bass on the iBasso IT00. Both sets are non fatiguing, but the IT00 has better clarity and details. Soundstage and imaging is better on the Final Audio E3000. The iBasso IT00 has detachable cables, but suffers from quite bad driver flex, which is not present in the Final Audio E3000. Accessories are more generous on the IT00, and the IT00 has better isolation too.
HZSound Heart Mirror ($44 USD)
The Heart Mirror is tuned neutralish bright, with thinner note weight, but the Heart Mirror has better timbre for acoustic instruments and vocals. The bass is much more anemic on the Heart Mirror, though the bass is faster. The Heart Mirror has its upper mids boosted, so female vocals are more forward compared to the Final Audio E3000, and it can occasionally get hot in this area with louder volumes. The Heart Mirror has better isolation and treble extension and has detachable cables. Soundstage is more compressed on the Heart Mirror.
Both sets scale better with amping, the Final E3000 more so. The Heart Mirror has much faster transients than the Final Audio E3000 and has better details and clarity also.
They are tuned very differently, but can be seen as complimentary sets for the different sound signatures they bring to the table.
CONCLUSIONS
The Final Audio E3000 is a good example of old is gold. Newer is not always better, and I’m honestly getting fatigued by some budget CHIFI releasing almost weekly sidegrades/marginal upgrades. Or worse still, they treat us consumers as guinea pigs (e.g. when a “Pro” version comes out a few weeks after the first model was released, or even a Pro version of the Pro version LOL? Cough Cough NiceHCK NX7). It kinda feels sometimes like some of these CHIFI companies are throwing stuff on a wall and hoping something finally sticks, and/or using us as beta testers.
Sorry, rant over, back to the review. Anyways, a very good gauge of whether an IEM is stellar, is when after the initial hype has died, there are still folks recommending it on audio forums and using it 2 – 3 years after it was released. The Final Audio E3000, though not a CHIFI, seems to have stood the test of time as such.
The Final Audio E3000 sports a warm mild V shaped non fatiguing tuning, and while the tonality is coloured, it brings to the sub $50 table an excellent soundstage, imaging and instrument separation. Mids are sublime. It requires amping to shine though, and the bass may be too slow and nebulous for some. Of note, the noodle thin non detachable cable may be a deal breaker for some, but if one can look past the cable issue and the slow bass, I can see this being an end game budget DD set for many, other than trebleheads or those wanting a little more energy in their music. Maybe said trebleheads can try exploring with different tips, as the stock Final Audio E black tips may tame the treble too much.
If the audio world’s Santa is watching, my Christmas wish is if Final Audio can release a E3000 version with detachable cables with a slightly tighter bass for about $20 more, it would be a day one purchase for me, and I promise it will be the FINAL (cough cough) single DD set I ever get. (I typed the last part under duress from my wife).
MY VERDICT
You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.
DISCLAIMER
I bought the Final Audio E3000 at a secondhand shop at my own expense, for $29 USD. It can be gotten around $40 – 50 USD usually from physical or online shops.
Our generic standard disclaimer.
You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.
