Final Audio D7000

Verdict

In so many ways, the D7000 are the ideal high-end hard-wired headphones – the sound they make is wildly informative and endlessly entertaining, and the modular nature of their constructions means they’ll be yours for the long haul. Greater dynamism and more cable options could put them right at the head of the class….

Introduction

Even more than most headphone brands, Final Audio covers the waterfront. From ‘so affordable they’re almost disposable’ wired in-ear headphones to ‘so expensive they cost more than my car’ wired over-ear headphones and all wired and wireless points in between, there’s something for everyone in the Final Audio catalogue. 

These D7000 wired over-ear headphones are at the pricier end of the scale. But don’t go thinking Final Audio is operating in isolation here – if the D7000 are going to be counted as a success, they’re going to have to go toe-to-toe with similarly priced alternatives from some of the most credible brands around…

Availability

The Final Audio D7000 planar magnetic over-ear headphones are on sale now, and in the United Kingdom they sell for a not-inconsiderable £2999. In the United States you’ll have to part with $3499, while in Australia the going rate is AU$5899. 

This is pricing that puts the D7000 into competition with some enormously well-regarded designs from the likes of Focal, Grado and Meze Audio – and that’s just off the top of my head. Which means the Final Audio have plenty to do if they’re going to establish themselves as a viable alternative… 

Design 

• Aluminium/magnesium alloy housing
• Washi paper fabric for headband and earpads
• 437g

Fundamentally, there’s nothing at all unusual about the design of the D7000 – after all, one premium over-ear headphone is, broadly speaking, very much like another. But when you examine them closely, you’ll notice some mild and welcome individuality about these Final Audio cans.

Physically, they’re quite big – certainly the earcups (and consequently the earpads) are larger than an all-in weight of 437g might suggest. I’ll discuss in the features section just how preoccupied Final Audio has been when it comes to making the D7000 suitable for all kinds of ear-shapes – but these headphones are not going to suit all kinds of head-sizes. I’m a grown man of fairly average proportions, and the D7000 feel big on my head – so if you’re on the smaller side they may be altogether too much of a good thing.

They’re very comfortable despite the generosity of their proportions, though. The ‘friction bar’ headband adjustment mechanism may not be the most sophisticated but it works well, and there’s enough articulation in the connection between headband and earcups to ensure good ear-coverage. Clamping force is nicely judged, and the D7000 stay reasonably snug towards the sides of the wearer’s head (rather than leaving enough space to pass a tennis ball though, as some competing designs seem to think is necessary).  

The aluminium/magnesium alloy that’s used for the rear of the earcups helps to keep the weight low, and looks good in the any colour you like as long as it’s black finish. Final Audio is understandably proud of the fact the D7000 is manufactured, in its entirety, in-house – in fact, the company goes as far as building its own assembly and measurement jigs to ensure the standard of build and finish is as close to perfect as it’s possible to get.

The comfort quotient is also raised by the use of a fabric for the cover of the earpads and the headband that’s from traditional Japanese paper called washi. It’s durable, offers good moisture control and, according to Final Audio, has anti-bacterial and odour-eliminating properties – which surely can’t be a bad thing. 

It’s worth noting that Final Audio has designed the D7000 to be as serviceable and repairable as possible. Almost every part can be removed if necessary – so the longevity of your D7000, as well as their upgradability, should be guaranteed.

Specification

• Planar magnetic drivers with Air Film Damping System
• Optimised Pinna-Aligned Diffuser
• Present a tricky load to your headphone amp

Final Audio’s intention with the D7000 is to offer the detailed, precise high frequencies of a traditional planar magnetic design with open, substantial bass reproduction more commonly associated with the dynamic driver equivalent. And it’s fair to say it’s gone to considerable lengths in an effort to make it happen.

The problem with planar magnetic drivers where the lower frequencies are concerned is, according to Final Audio, that the diaphragm that’s producing sound can contact the magnets that are driving it when asked to deliver low frequencies – and this is especially true at higher volumes. So a conventional planar magnetic drive unit has relatively restricted bass extension in order to avoid this.

Final Audio’s solution is the AFDS – Air Film Damping System. A remarkably involved and complex system involving perforated metal discs suspended on either side of the diaphragm creates a literal film of air between the diaphragm and its magnets – this braking system allows the diaphragm to generate the desired low frequencies without the risk of contact with the magnets around it. The diaphragm itself is thin and light even by planar magnetic standards, and has a super-thin aluminium coil etched onto it in a spiral pattern.

This arrangement results in a headphone with sensitivity of 89dB/mW and impedance of 50Ω – which is, it’s safe to say, a trickier load for a headphone amplifier to deal with than many alternative designs at similar money to these Final Audio. It seems unlikely in the extreme you’re considering spending £2999 on some headphones to connect directly to the headphone socket of your laptop, of course – but these numbers make it a complete no-no for the D7000.

Elsewhere, the company has gone to similarly exhaustive lengths to deliver a diffuser to sit ahead of the planar magnetic driver arrangement that’s appropriate for as many customers as possible. That the shape of the outer ear – the pinna – can vary significantly from person to person isn’t going to come as any kind of shock – but the idea that the shape of an individual’s pinna might profoundly affect their headphone listening experience might.

Final Audio has conducted exhaustive listening tests, using both simulations and the ears of actual people, in order to create what it reckons is a diffuser shape that is optimal for every user no matter the shape of their pinna.

The D7000 are supplied with a single three-metre length of oxygen-free copper cable. It’s split at the headphones end, as each earcup must be wired using a twist-and-lock 3.5mm connection, and at the other end it’s terminated in a 6.3mm unbalanced socket. This is all well and good as far as it goes – but for my money it doesn’t go far enough. At this sort of price I’d expect both the option of a shorter cable and a 4.4mm balanced connection too – especially as a balanced termination might help a headphone amp drive what’s a fairly unhelpful load. 

Sound Quality

• Detail and insight to burn
• Spacious, well-defined and thoroughly enjoyable sound
• Could use a little more dynamism

Some high-end headphones have a definite attitude. Some are born entertainers, and sacrifice insight in favour of enjoyment. Others go the other way – they examine your favourite recordings as if they were an X-ray unit, but sometimes forget that listening to music is meant to be a captivating experience. The Final Audio D7000, though, can do a little bit of everything.

Certainly they can tease out the finest details from a recording, and give them just the right weight and emphasis in the overall presentation – if there’s information in a recording, don’t ever doubt the D7000 will find it and hand it over in the proper context. They have a beautifully judged tonal balance – from the top of the frequency range to the bottom, they sound natural and neutral. They’re entirely unwilling to stick their oar in, and much prefer letting a recording express itself on its own terms.  

Frequency response, too, is nicely even. At the top of the frequency range there’s proper bite and attack to treble sounds, but sufficient substance to balance them out. At the bottom end, all Final Audio’s hard work seems to have paid off handsomely – the D7000 dig respectably deep and hit respectably hard, and control their low-frequency activity so carefully that rhythmic expression is always convincing.

The midrange is so articulate and informative that a vocalist with the chops of Björk during Stonemilker sounds deftly eloquent, alive with character and utterly direct. And at every stage of the frequency range, the facility with detail retrieval the D7000 demonstrate means recordings are alive with variation in tone, in texture, you name it. 

The soundstage the Final Audio can create is large, particularly on the left/right axis, and it is so carefully laid out and controlled that even an element-heavy recording like Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin having at Stravinsky’s The Firebird is coherent and easy to follow. Every performer gets sufficient elbow-room, but at the same time every performer relates to every other in a unified and consistent manner.

In fact, it’s really only where dynamic potency is concerned that the D7000 are anything less than assured and impressive. They have no problem describing the minor harmonic variations in a recording even if, as is periodically the case with Stavinsky, every participant is playing at maximum intensity. But it’s the broad strokes of dynamism, the big shifts in volume or intensity, that are described rather tentatively by the Final Audio. 

The headphones seem disinclined to track the big shifts in emphasis with any positivity, and only allude to big dynamic events where some alternative designs are able to describe them in full. Sometimes good taste can be shorthand for lack of commitment, and when it comes to a full-scale symphony orchestra gearing up for the final attack, the D7000 don’t quite have what it takes.  

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