Final Audio ZE3000 Review

Final Audio ZE3000 Review

Final Audio's ZE3000 is their latest venture into the world of True Wireless earphones. Boasting a slew of impressive specs, and a relatively low price of $149, the ZE3000 looks very promising. The ZE3000 is the wireless successor to Final's well-received E3000 Wired Headphones. I've heard a lot about Final, but haven't had the chance to try their products until now. Needless to say, I'm excited to experience the ZE3000 for myself.

What’s in the Box

• Final Audio ZE3000 TW Earphones
• Charging Case
• Final Type E Eartips (SS, S, M, L, LL)
• USB-C Charging Cable
• User Manual

Look and Feel

The ZE3000 takes on a very futuristic aesthetic. The earphones have a polygonal housing that looks really interesting and still fits in an incredibly comfortable way. The Shibo finish gives it a smooth, matte texture. The charging case is a decent size and easily portable, though I do think the opening flap could use more resistance to assure that it doesn't accidentally open as easily. That being said, the headphone themselves feels very durable and is IPX4 water-resistant. The touch controls are intuitively laid out and have just the right level of responsiveness. Overall, the ZE3000 looks and feels great.

Design

Final developed a special driver for the ZE3000: the F-Core Wireless driver, which they claim works symbiotically with the other hardware to give clear sound and minimize distortion. This 6mm driver utilizes a lightweight resin core and flexible silicone diaphragm, giving it the same power and control as a 9mm driver, while still maintaining economy of space within the ZE3000's housing. It also utilizes Final's new f-LINK Damping System to regulate pressure within the headphone. The ZE3000 supports Bluetooth 5.2 and QUALCOMM QCC3040 for high resolution, low latency listening.

The one thing that might turn some people away is the lack of features such as Ambient Aware, ANC, or an onboard EQ. These are features that are becoming standard in most TW Earphones, so it is worth noting. I don't use these features, so this didn't bother me. On the contrary, I found the lack of bells and whistles refreshing, since I only needed to pair the headphones and focus on the sound.

The Final Audio ZE3000 has a frequency response of 10 Hz – 20 kHz and a battery life of up to 35 hours.

Soundstage

The soundstage on the ZE3000 is wide and encompassing. Lead instruments can feel somewhat cluttered at times, but tastefully. What stuck out to me was the treatment of spatial details and airy reverb tails. While leads were close, reverbs could range from cavernous to small and enclosed, which is a surprising range for TW earphones. Overall, the soundstage impressed me.

Lows

The lows on the ZE3000 are present but tend not to overstate themselves. Some tracks still had percussiveness to subs, but the ZE3000 favors the low-mids for definition in bass parts. While it may lack the impact of some other brands, it gives the ZE3000 a much more relaxed and easy-listening character.

Mids

The mids on the ZE3000 are nearly flat, though there is some slight tweaking to make them sound more pleasant. This is a welcome change that serves the ZE3000's mellow sound character very well. Other than these slight polishes, the midrange remains largely untouched and still retains very good resolution for a wireless earphone. I was especially impressed with the low level of distortion from the new driver technology.

Highs

The highs provide an expansive amount of air and articulation to the sound. This range was also largely untouched other than some light cleaning in the frequency spectrum. Details like cymbals and vocal breaths are especially prevalent. What the ZE3000 especially excels in is reverbs. Washy guitar reverbs such as Pat Metheny's Midwestern Nights Dream sound especially lush and warm. The high range on the ZE3000 exceeds most other TW earbuds I've tried in recent memory.

Overall

I'm glad that the ZE3000 was my first experience with Final Audio's products. I was pleasantly surprised with how these TW Earphones sounded and loved how simple the design is. The ZE3000 is also much less expensive than a lot of TW Earphones that I would compare them to. If you want a wireless earphone that'll get you close to flat sound reproduction, or just want to experience something new for a relatively low price, then the Final Audio ZE3000 is worth checking out. I'm excited to see what Final does to follow this up.

You can buy the Final Audio ZE3000 here