I’d imaging the HPA-1 would be a very good match for it.
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For sure…its a stellar amp.
Hope to see these early next week, coming direct from the distributor…
Sunday and out for delivery!! Super Fathers Day surprise!
First Impressions:
I just received my Final Audio D8000 Pros, Black. I purchased these from Todd the Vinyl Junkie Guy in
Three Forks, Montana. Todd’s a really decent guy that’s been around and is a pleasure to deal with.
I have been doing this for a long, long time and have listened to many headphones and tons of amps. My stable is down to an HD650, Focal Clear MG Pros, Meze Empyreans, HEDD Headphone and now these D8000 Pro’s. I have several other lesser cans and have had the chance to audition many others. So I am self qualified to be a resident expert in my own right “for me”…lol.
I have gone thru the charts, graphs, test reports, cable testing and God knows chasing NOS tubes etc…and I have come to the conclusion that the only thing that counts is when you put those cans on and you smile, you don’t want to stop listening.
When its “that” good you know it. With the D8000 Pros you indeed “know it”. They are that good IMO.
I dont do charts, graphs and pay much attention to reviews anymore. Buy and Try…then “I” know. Simple. Period.
So what lead me to buy these very expensive headphones?
A friend that had the Meze Empyreans and the D8000’s that liked both and we had similar sound preferences and he convinced me to try these knowing what I like in headphones for performance.
Accuracy, neutral, fast transient response, i.e. SLAM, wide dynamic range, tone, timbre, easy to drive, excellent resolution, and above all the ability to make me feel like I am missing nothing.
My Meze Empyreans come close to me, but they are at times a bit warm and full on the low end. But this is not a bad thing for me and they work with a variety of music of differing recording qualities. Excellent soundstage wide and open. Exceptional headphones IMO.
The D8000 Pros (never heard the D8000) are much like these Empys, but the low end and bass is more tight and accurate with almost the same amount of “heft”…actually the Empys sound a tad “boomy” in comparison. Nothing really ugly and I hate to even state this but the comparison in the
low end is stark for me. The soundstage on the D8000’s aren’t as wide as the Empys, but its really close and not a detriment here.
Listening to Cowboy Junkies 20 yr old Trinity Sessions, the low end on most headphones are lacking…just not there like in the real world. With the D8000 Pros its there in it honest fullness…just really very very well done. You feel the low end almost like being there…its that good.
Really good. Classical music with low organ notes come across in all there glory. Deep guttural sounds…tight, taunt, mesmerizing.
But not as a sacrifice to the mids or high end…its a very well balanced presentation. Well done Final.
One thing these newer 8000’s brought is their uncanny resolution…compared to the Utopias by some as being close, to me they are very close. Detail monsters in their own right, but not to the point of being harsh…Its cliché to state that old adage each time we buy a new set of headphones “I am hearing things I have never heard before…” But this time around this old fart is indeed hearing things I have never “experienced” before.
Nothing is missing. But if its not there, its not there !
At times folks state that my cans don’t have enough bass etc…with the capability of the D8000 Pro if the bass is there its displayed sonically in the amount, texture, volume and speed that was in the original recording…If its not to your liking with these, then its the recording stupid!! (smile). Simple as that.
But, but part of the “I am hearing or “experiencing” things I have not heard before is slightly transformed into " I am hearing things in a different way than ever before”…
What?? Yes, the imaging, soundstage with these cans is so good you hear how the recording was made, how the mics were placed…its like your there in the studio watching the artists perform…if the mic was in the 2nd row center, then your hearing what that was like. If a guitar or drum is closely mic’s you are going to hear what that was like…simple. Period.
Listening to the Bob Reynolds Quartet’s cd “Quartet” the low thump of the bass drum, the tonality of the saxophone, the delicate entering of the drum sticks on the edges of the drums is heard, In the right depth…depth and layering. EXCELLENT and EXCEPTIONAL. Nothing is smeared or crushed together… (This CD is definitely a test demo cd for me. 10/10).
You will be made aware of all the delicate things in a recording…things that get hidden at times with lesser resolving headphones.
These headphones resolution is so good they will let you hear all the other “wort’s” in your chain. Good or Bad. They come with two sets of cables, one is a 1/4 plug with some fancy silver coated wire of significant gauge. Long. Pretty. A $600 option by itself. Would I buy it if it were not included, probably not. But it isn’t hurting anything for sure and you cant buy these without it…the other is a smaller size that I will never use. Shorter for DAPs etc.
Some folks have asked me if the acute resolution affects the musicality…are they too articulate? The simple answer is if you do like the Empys trait for handling most any genre of music you will love the D8000 Pros…very, musical and engaging experience. Like the Empys they make you want to hear all your stuff again. I could cite many examples on how the small minutiae the opening of a letter in the background of a song, the ice cubes in a glass in a jazz club, it goes on and on…its like your really experiencing the music and everything it… its enthralling…
Lets talk tone, timbre etc…OMG its so good…Guitars are so sweet, From Joe Satraini, the Shadows, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, International Guitar Night II…guitars that sound like real guitars in tonality…nylon, steel strings etc…easily discernable…Drum swishes…you can tell the difference in the types being used ! Voices are realistic. Round Midnight with Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Jazz at the Pawnshop, the vibraphones are realistic…like your there in the room nice.
Fit and comfort: These are substantial headphones on the heavy side for sure and you notice them on your head. I can tolerate my Hedds for hours. So these to me are no stranger in weight. The clamping force for me is about right, I use no extensions on the Hedds or these D8000 Pros. The circular ear openings for me are not an issue at all. I don’t touch the pads with my “big” ears at all…
The earpad material is nice, soft and very comfortable. I do experience a slight down pressure and the clamping tension maybe could be a tad tighter? But this is really picking at the small things for me. This disappears for me after a few minutes. Like the Hedds at first then it just melts away as you get into the music.
These headphones have not real sonic flaws for me. None.
Price, well yeah…they are indeed expensive. But, the but here is its your money and there are lots of good choices out there…but for me worth every penny. I would buy these again. Weight, well yeah again, they aren’t light and aren’t Empys in this respect but the sonic difference IMO far outweighs this attribute. The smile on my face when listening with these is worth the slight weight that might bug some folks. No balanced cable, for some this will be “well” a miss, but Final obviously thought not…
If you really like to listen to music, really listen…these are close to perfect that this technology can do…no charts, no graphs, no waterfall charts, no freq response, no nothing…just try and listen and smile.
Enjoy the music while you can!!
Alex
Note: I used my Pass Labs HPA-1 and Schiit Bifrost 2 MB dac, all Flacs via Foobar 2000 or Jriver Music Center. Bitperfect. Redbook all the way.
Used also was a Schiit Jot 1 / Jot 2, Lyr 3, Magni Hersey, Magni 3, RHNP Neve, 6CA7 TUbe amp,
Wayne Colburn Whammy and a few assorted sundry others.
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Do you have interest in upgrading your dac? I’ve found that with these level of headphones and amps, the dac can have a bigger effect than on the lower end side of gear. Would be interested to hear about your experience with this. But ofc that bf2/pass/d8kpro combo would be nice. I had the d8kpro on loan with my Broadway and yggy and pretty much agree with your assessment, though i haven’t heard an empy. The d8kpro has very nice depth and placement that width was a non factor for me.
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Honestly I dont have any super desire to upgrade the dac…the B2 IMO is just fine. I had several other pricey dacs here one was the Chord TT2 and it didnt improve anything for me here and definitly no worth $5495 for it…but thats me.
If i see a good deal on a YGGY 2 I might spring for it…maybe…seeing how they (Schiit) are working on 2 new analog cards…
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Well the D8000 Pros for me are just what I have been looking for…lots of great cans out there and they all are special in their own right…
These are up there in price for sure…but if you add up the cost of all those cans before these…it might have been less costly just to but these up front!!
lol!
Alex
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After weeks of listening with the D8000 Pros…I am selling my Focal MG Clears, Hedds. IMO these cans provide me with what I was looking for in headphone land for years…all around great headphones.
I just plugged in a lesser used amp after using the HPA-1 and Whammy and RNHP amp…the Schiit LYR 3. Its a very nice pairing…enough power to make them really come alive…
Lots of smiles here…3 dimensional soundstage…
I have a few really old NOS 6SN7GT’s from the early 40’s…sweet sound.
If anyone is interested in Focal Clear Pro MG’s (the red earpads) or Hedds send me a PM.
All the best
Alex
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Not the Pro version but interesting nonetheless 
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Final Audio doesnt get the exposure that many other headphones get…they are up there in price for sure.
But recently I purchased a iFI Pro DSD device and the results with the D8000 Pros I have are a 11 out of a ten with good recordings.
Highly recommend if you get a chance to take a listen.
of those good things at a ridiculously low price. Highly recommended.
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D8000 Pro vs LCD-R
Ok, so going back and forth between the LCD-R (on jot A) and D8000P (on my best amp for it), I think they are within the same tier but I think the LCD-R just nudges the D8kp out in the majority of technical areas. This is a bit hard to compair purely because they present so differently though.
Detail: I think in raw outright detail the LCD-R wins, but its detail is also quite a bit more forward. Where the d8kp realy shines in the category though is dynamic range. It renders nearly silent background tracks in an almost ethereal manner that makes them far easier to follow than on the LCD-R, but in heavily congested tracks the LCD-R feels like it has an extra level of clarity that allows for more detail to shine though much more naturaly
Stage and layering: the stage size with both of these is a bit hard to pin down. Its neither small nor massive. They tend to fall in a more of middle road with stage size imo, but both do super low level sounds out from infinity quote well. Where these two differ quite greatly is how they use their stage. The LCD-R is a much more arya like experience with hyper clear imaging layering while the d8kp has a very dynamic stage as well (in that it uses its entire range of distances quite well) but presents the imaging in quite a different way focusing more on track cohesion than outright image clarity. This leads to some astonishingly good ambient music with amazing background mixes becoming quite involving and emotional but can struggle with raw detail in congested tracks. On the other hand the LCD-R can sound comparatively sterile at times rendering you each part of the music separately in its own image but truly excelling at detail in congested tracks.
Punch & slam: tbh, neither can realy shines here but the d8kp hits a bit harder while the R feels snappier and faster. Over all their bass is quite equal in quality just slightly different presentations and stagings.
Texture: this one is a bit of a toss up over all. I think the mid texture is subjectively more to my preference on the d8kp but the bass texture is objectively better with the much faster driver. Micro details in the bass abound on both, but the R just does it ever so slightly better.
Timbre: the d8kp is no slouch but it has to go to the LCD-R here. Its seriously is in a leage of the highest tier in this area.
Complaints: both these fucks like to drive ice picks into my brain from time to time. Seriously wish I could find a darker can at this level…
Overall: they are quite different and, imo, fit will side by side in a 3-4 can collection but in a 2 can one thy are too similar simply due to the FR similarities alone
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Very interesting comparison, a Ribbon vs a Planar.
Good to see you got one of these limited editions LCD 's.
The D8000 Pro here is one of the best all around headphones I have ever heard. To include the Susvaras…just floats my boat here!
The dac pairing here to me really makes a BIG difference.
Never had the “ice” pick experience here…lol
Enjoy the music!
Alex
P6 pro, Hugo 2, and SP1000 alp give me the ice pick. I oersonaly find the amp pairing to be the real issue with some real trebble fatigue going on for me with most amps. I’d love to try a warmer solid state but I don’t currently own one. Just BX2+, Phantasy ii, and mass kobo 428. Plus tbh, I didn’t realy like the d8kp directly out of any of my daps either
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I use a PassLabs HPA-1, its slightly warm and feed it with a new iFI Pro DSD MD dac. Prior to this it was a Schiit Bifrost 2 (was warmer) the ifi is a bit more crisp for me.
With good recordings its a 11 out of a 10 here for me…
I sold all my cans and kept the D8000 Pro’s…for me its the TOTL one.
Don use any DAPS. just desktop at home serious listening for me here.
Fwiw, as a dac, all three of those should be at least on the level of the pro dsd. As far as amps thiugh, yes I am likely lagging behind a bit there. You can only scale so high being portable only
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I was floored at the difference this new dac has made with the D8000 Pros…so much I sold my Empyreans, Focals, Hedd’s and others…feeding it into the HPA-1, I am pretty much at point where its hard to get any better…
Just loving it…
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D8Kpro is on my short list. I want to hear a Diana V2 or Phi and also D8Kpro before I decide on/purchase a new headphone.
The wrench atm is that I am currently auditioning an LCD-24 and honestly smitten by it. I know it’s not the same or a replacement for a D8Kpro or Diana in signature, but still I am liking it alot and it will come down to one of these three in the end that I add to the collection.
RE:D8Kpro
How do you find the comfort - earpads to head - the ear opening looks smaller than the others, do they fit more on ear than over? Also, the weight and clamp, how are those? Do they move around alot on your head?
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I find comfort perfectly acceptable. Not astonishingly comfortable but I would never call them uncomfortable either. Also, they fit all the way over my ears personaly
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I can wear them for hours, they are on the heavy side, the fit for me is they are just a tad loose and I have to put a small cloth between my head and the headband this is with the adjustments all the way up. Looks like its made to fit bigger heads!! lol
That said you can easily wrap the headband with one of the many “warps” and work ok, but then again your head may fit very well.
One great thing is the bass is not picky with having to have a perfect seal…they are designed this way on purpose. so folks with glasses dont loose any of the low end.
I spent three solid hours today of sonic bliss…just exploring sounds and how things are recorded, the are that revealing, the bass is Abyss 1266 like…really close…
They will allow you to discern the other stuf in your chain,this could be costly for you!! lol !
Fit over my ears is not an issue at all for me. Comfort is not a good as my Empyreans but they are really light in comparison…
All in all its not perfect, but the sound, is so dang well done I easily overlook the small wort’s …yes for the price you can argue they should be perfect right from the get go… but its what it is.
For me they made me easily sell my Empyreans, Hedds, Focal Clear MG Pros and others…without really missing any of them…
I could have saved a ton of money if I bought these at first!!
I would still highly recommend these headphones…but like always we all hear differently so you need to try them…
Alex
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