ZE3000

I have enjoyed a number of Final's IEM offerings, and was very interested to check out their wireless model. I have been consistently impressed by their build quality, price-performance, and sound quality, and was hoping that this would continue to translate into a really solid wireless model. Out of the box, these are instantly impressive. They are well packaged, in a relatively standard folding carboard box, and are visually quite arresting. The textured finish looks really smart in real life (I don't think photographs do it justice) and the non-smooth surface is also really good for limiting unsightly fingerprints. The overall look is on the larger side, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I also really like the angular styling. Taste is personal, but I think it looks very cool. The carrying-case is a really nice example. Nicely sized, and very pocketable, it retains the buds with magnets, in the standard way. The included USB cable is... a USB cable... and there is a small selection of replacement tips. Battery life is quoted as a very respectable 7 hours, and I have not gone close enough to verify this, but battery life seems absolutely fine to me. Comfort wise, the tips were initially a little small for me. My first listening with these was carried out with my baby son sleeping on my chest, so changing out the tips was more fiddly than it had any right to be, but subsequently I have had no issues with fit or comfort. The ZE3000 do come with a little touch-control area on the back, for play-pause and volume control. I know that others may find this useful, but it is not my preference. I am far more likely to be wanting to adjust my fit, or pull an earbud out briefly, than I am to want to use the earbud controls, so it isn't the most useful for me. Once tips were sorted, I did find that I had to play a little bit to get a really secure fit and good seal, but once that was found I had no problems at all. Haven’t found the need to fiddle with the fit when wearing; while I wouldn’t say they “disappear” in my ears, they aren’t too far off. Connectivity has been great with these. They paired straight out of the box, and I have had no subsequent issues with dropout in normal use. Interestingly these (unlike other TWS IEM's I have used in recent years) do not come equipped with an app to change EQ or any other settings. This is, however, only really an issue if you are finding a fault with the sound signature, and I did not. At all. The bass response is really solid for these. I haven't felt lacking in punch or drive in any track I've listened to, and the bass textures are vivid and distinct. The midrange, however, is where I feel these really shine. The instrument separation is absolutely fantastic, with the various parts of a track sitting separately in space. Even listening to some solo-piano music that I know very well, James Rhodes' "Razor blades, Little Pills, Big Pianos", I heard the various melodic and accompanying lines weaving more distinctly than I had noticed before. I don't think they are necessarily giving me more *detail* than other IEM's, but the detail they are giving is presented with less "chaff", so that it is more clearly distinct. High frequencies are exceedingly well balanced on this IEM. I am sensitive to sibilance, and find any headphones which are "peaky" or harsh to be quickly annoying. I had no such issues with the ZE3000. Audibly as comfortable as they are physically comfortable, I can wear these for extended periods without feeling excessive fatigue or discomfort. And this, without sounding too rolled-off or overly warm. Something like Sufjan Stevens’ vocals on Carrie & Lowell, which have a lot of high frequency, are a good example of a sound that could become harsh, but don’t on these. Soundstage is pretty fair for IEM’s. That is to say, it’s a pretty reasonable head-stage, but if you are looking for huge wide expanses then I don’t think IEM’s are for you in general. That said, and I do want to stress this, within that not-very-wide expanse, the instrument separation is really satisfying. In all, these are a quality product, and well worth a look at if you are in the market for wireless IEM's.

I received the Final ZE3000 true wireless Friday not expecting very much for the price of £119. This market is saturated. It seems like every other day there's a new TWS or earphone, mostly from the Chinese, hyped as the best thing and akin to God whispering in your ear. Most of these are average at best or downright awful at worst. There are exceptions in the audiophile world but to most people, these are price prohibitive. The reason I ordered the Final ZE3000? Firstly they are a reputable Japanese audio company that makes high end headphones and since I believe this is their second foray into the TWS world, I thought I would take a listen and then return to Amazon after a couple of weeks. Boy was I surprised! I have had them stuck in my ears since they arrived with very little communication with my partner, much to her annoyance. Today is Sunday and I'm listening to them as I write this review. I'm not a professional reviewer but I am an audiophile with high end headphones, most expensive at £3000 and ear phones, most expensive £1500. I know all the community jargon but to me, it's ALL about the music, and if the delivery system is really good, then the price is irrelevant. Unfortunately, most great systems cost. There are exceptions to the rule and the ZE3000 is one of them. No, you won't hear the whisper of the divine, but what you get for your money is bang for buck. 1) The sound is wide open. Bigger than sound stages in wireless earphones at four times the price. 2) The sound is musical. What I mean about that is that it's not clinical and analytical but fun and engaging. Foot tapping engaging. The treble is sweet and never harsh. The mids are fantastic! I once heard an audiophile reviewer say, "Get the mids right and everything else falls into place", I agree. I listen to lots of vocals from rock to lounge to opera. In all genres of music where a singer is involved, I have never heard of a singer being behind the orchestra or rock band. Not in the concerts I've been to anyway. The singer is front and centre, and that is the case with the ZE3000. The fact is that because of the wide and forward soundstage, singers are out of your head and sit somewhere a foot in front of you. The stage is also wide. Instrument separation to left and right and drums sitting behind, and near placement perfect. 3) The base is good and punchy with mid bass elevation more pronounced than sub base, though sub base is there. Again, it delivers this musically, which is what I look for as opposed to just technical ability. 4) The ergonomics of these earphones are superb. Looking at them I thought this would never fit my ear, too many sharp corners. But amazingly, they just disappeared into my ear canal and looked terrific to boot. The case is small and compact with a lovely texture to it, as do the ear phones, and will slip without notice into your pocket. You get seven hours on the ear phones and thirty five with the case. So far, listening to these for three days, I have not recharged the case. They are marked at IPX4 water/ sweat rating but I've not yet tested this out. The codex is SBC, AAC, Qualcomm APTX adaptive and they have the newest Bluetooth 5.2. True wireless technology is new, and there are the usual suspects, Bose, Sony, Sennheiser etc., and the prices keep accelerating and, as with all tech, it's a case of diminishing returns. But without too much hyperbole, these are the best true wireless earphones I've heard, bar none! I haven't taken a phone call on these yet and if you need apps or noise cancelling, look elsewhere. These are for music and haven't we forgotten, that's what earphones are for? There is nothing else really to say about the ZE3000 because this is not about essays, it's about listening and judging for yourself. Try them, you won't be disappointed and if you are, because Amazon is great at returns, send them back. I hope you have a fun time with these.

This is a very flat sounding headphone and it is great on demonstrates how the recordings sound like in an original taste within the sound . The high has a slight roll off to let the sound to be forgiving. The sub-bass is lean and the mid bass presentation is satisfying. Which made this headphone works on instrumental tracks very well. It offers a relatively analytical sounding and it's very rare to have for this price range. It is a good product for most customers and non die hard hi-fi listener. However , the vocal tracks presentation (mid range) is lacking emotion values. In another word, It is lacking a sense of richness and thickness at mid range which doesn't elicit a heartfelt connection (psychoacoustics) to the listener. So, no matter how good and how unbiased the headphone is. it is not very convincing to keep the headphone by not having emotion connection to the music when listening. By that , I return the item.

I have owned several Final headphones, from their budget E series right through to my favourite ever full-size headphones, the Pandora VI. I know that the brand is synonymous with inventive design and perfect build quality. With that in mind, the ZE3000 did not disappoint. As soon as you open the box, you can tell that this Final product is a step up from most in-ears at this price point. The charging case is formed from a solid, textured plastic similar to that used on the housing of expensive DSLR cameras. This gives me the impression that this case is really rugged but, thankfully, I haven't had to test the durability! I also like that the case is small enough to slip into a pocket or a small bag. The earphones themselves are an unconventional shape, but don't let their angular nature fool you. They are extremely comfortable and I completely forgot I was even wearing them after a few minutes of use. I used the standard eartips but other sizes are included. The simple tap commands to start/stop the music worked well with my phone and I found them extremely simple to pair. In terms of sound, the ZE3000s perform well across a range of genres from different decades. I tested them with the latest remaster of Let It Be, a selection of pop music from the last 5 years, the latest Turnstile album and Kanye's Yeezus. All of which sounded fantastic. What stood out in particular was the wide soundstage and separation between instruments. Everything was crystal clear and very precise. The bass is tight and present without being overwhelming and the earphones never sound overpowered. Vocal harmonies were a particular highlight and I heard subtle details in these recordings that I had not heard before. I did not get time to test the full battery life of the headphones, but knowing the quality of Final headphones, I have no reason to doubt their battery life claims. In summary, these are a great pair of true wireless headphones. They have a classy sound that is a step up from many pairs at a similar price. They also look like a piece of designer furniture, which is a nice bonus!

First thing that strikes you when you open up the box is the textured design (the SHIBO effect) gives it a striking look and true to advertising it is scratch and fingerprint resistant. The case is light and comfortable while not too big in the pocket. In the ear, I admit I was skeptical of the angular design as I have always used round earbuds, yet these were surprisingly comfortable in the ear, as well as being light they were secure. One thing I did find though, the touch sensitive area can have a slight delay, and can be caught accidentally when adjusting positioning in the ear. I connected these with no delay to the bluetooth on my phone and have had no stability issues even when caught in the rain. The connection is stable which some other brands do tend to fall down on. The sound itself has a great balance, what it lacks in bass (I was relieved to be honest. Too many other brands go far over the top with the bass) it more than compensates with a crisp, clean, punchy sound. Be it metal or classical music, the ZE3000 seems to have the right balance with great clarity. Overall very pleased with my purchase, its a brand I have heard good things about, but the first time I have personally given them a try, and going forward I will pay them more attention!

Stunners! I’ve gone through my fair share of Hifi gear, headphones and earphones, so have some idea of the variety out there, and these little buds from final arguably redefine what can be expected from wireless buds at this price. Incredible sound for tws at this price. If you’re primarily looking for all the gadgety bells and whistles (anc, apps etc.), maybe look elsewhere as these are bare bones on that front. If you’re only here for the music, these are for you. Listening to them on my iphone with tidal and both Spotify, and anything (that isn’t fully wired) doesn’t come close under £250 (and probably more). Was aware of the hype, so was keeping expectations in check. Expectations were still exceeded! These definitely show what they are capable of with a higher bit rate source, but still sound great using Spotify. I’ve popped comply foam tips (true grip tw-200-c) on them and it’s given them a touch more firmness/heft in the low end without compromising mid and upper, and enhanced passive isolation. Isolation with comply tips is really good. No need for anc whatsoever. Also tried them with spinfit c360s which worked well if a touch less isolated. Stock tips are also very good too. You may need to play around with ear tips to get everything out of these buds, but once you find the sweet spot, oh boy! For just a bit over £100, they absolutely smash it out of the park. I’ve thrown quite an array at them…..Yes, Meat Puppets, Pantha Du Prince, Deftones, Gerry Mulligan, Fela Kuti, Ganagstarr, Laura Marling, Bach, King Gizzard, Ty Segall, sepultura, John Tejada……the list goes on and on. Worked them solidly across all genres and everything sounds just so on point. Attack on these things is incredible and with the comply eartips the bass is firm and gripped (was wary of the bass given some reviews online…..perhaps those reviewers never actually got the right eartips/isolation balance, because I like a lot of old school hip hop, heavy techo/house, Afro beat, heavy rock and the bass is absolutely there, chunky and gripped). And the mids and uppers are extremely clear and well judged in their tuning for tws. Above all, it’s the imaging that is really brilliant for tws buds at around £100. Heaps of detail and a real sense of space and movement around the music. Not much height, but that’s just not a realistic ask for tws buds around £100. Honestly, final destroys the competition at this price point…..and make a bit of a mockery of many buds priced at least twice as expensive as these. Sonically, these are the standard bearer for c.£100 tws (and probably for anything under £250). They also look pretty cool and are super comfortable for extended listening sessions. Well done, final. Very well done!

I originally bought some sure aonic 215’s but these kept intermittently dropping Bluetooth connection when using my iPhone 14 pro. Sent these back and after reading the reviews thought I’d try these. When you take them out of the packaging they feel quality and the changing case is quite small you could easily put in your pocket. They connect easily to your device and you need to make sure that you fit the best fit silicone tip so it gives a nice seal in your ear or you won’t get the best sound quality. Have to say the sound amazing and I’ve not had any issues with Bluetooth dropping out. I certainly recommend these and they are a very good price for the sound you get

I bought these full of hope that they would give me most of what I needed in a True Wireless earbud - in particular, decent audiophile sound. I knew not to expect active noise cancelling or an app. What I found was that the sound quality was pretty good. But it stopped there. The design make these difficult to physically grasp in your hands, which surprised me with their angles and edges, as, in theory, these should help in getting them out of the case and manoeuvring them into your ears. And because they don't stop automatically when you remove them from your ears they keep pausing and playing as you handle them (if they are supposed to stop when you remove them, the feature clearly doesn't work very well). Bluetooth pairing with my iPhone was hit and miss. A couple of times I had to turn Bluetooth off and on again on the mobile and also a couple of times had to "forget" the ZE3000 in my Bluetooth settings and then re-pair. But worst of all is the lack of an app in English. I knew this was the case, but it's only when I received them and started trying to learn how to use them, that I realised how critical an app is. By default the various combinations of tapping and tapping/holding on the touch sensitive sides is complicated, clunky and unintuitive. Yes, you learn them after a while, but my Sony WF 1000XM4s, for example, were pretty intuitive out of the box. And here's the key thing. With no app, you can't change them. Neither do you know, anywhere nearly precisely, how much charge you have. The LED system of 10-99 per cent being amber is almost useless. The lack of an app as I write, for me, means these are not really useable. I wanted audiophile-grade wireless earbuds (as far as wireless can give you audiophile quality) and was willing to forgo the noise cancelling, but I've realised no app is a real hindrance. They say one is coming. Well, how long is that going to be? And when it comes, such is the nature of these things, it is likely to be riddled with bugs, which Final Audio will try to iron out as people use it. Well, that's going to take even longer, and all this is too long in the consumer electronics business. So, a star for the audio quality and one for build quality, but that's it I'm afraid. As of now, these should be avoided. I hope in a year's time this review will look outdated and Final has will have got its act together. But not right now. They've rushed them out somewhat incomplete. They're being returned.