+ outstandingly natural, slightly warm sound
+ transparent and spacious, yet detailed
+ ideal for long listening, never exhausting
- less spectacular, low bass doesn't pop as much
- external amplification necessary for higher dynamics
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Sound: Tonal Balance / Transparency10
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Sound: Bass / Dynamics9
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Ease-of-use / Connectivity8
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Price/Performace9
500 Euro is certainly a lot of money for a passive InEar-earphone, which still needs a corresponding control. But for the Japanese headphone specialist, the Final B-3 only ranks in the middle class. However, if you take the set in hand, you get the impression to get a good value here. Everything feels quality and sturdy – from the tightly woven cable to the earphones’ perceived quite heavy, bead-blasted stainless steel housings and finely graduated earpieces.
The philosophy of whether in-ear headphones should be equipped with a full-range driver or a multi-way system has always divided the high-end minds. Final has several philosophies in its portfolio, and is looking for a happy medium with the B-3. It is true that the B-3 has a full-range driver, in which all audible frequencies are converted by the same diaphragm. However, it is connected to an additional tweeter that runs along the top. Both are designed as transducers known under the name Balanced-Armature. They are similar to the dynamic principle with electromagnetic voice coil and membrane. However, here the electromagnet through which the music signal flows moves with its two ends in two inversely polarized magnetic fields. This allows an extremely low moving mass, and problems with inhomogeneous magnetic fields and resonances are also almost non-existent. A pair of them provides higher sound pressure and reduces the risk of resonances and cancellations in the pressure chamber and the sound channels.
Practicality and intended use
The Final B-3 is a passive in-ear headphone, so it requires a headphone preamp or a suitably potent smartphone with an analog output. In testing, commercially available modern smartphones delivered enough voltage to drive the B-3 to perfectly adequate volumes for pop, rock and jazz. However, anyone who listens to classical music with quiet passages or likes to have a bit more dynamics at the ear should definitely consider purchasing a mobile music player or D/A converter with higher output power.
Only a symmetrically branching cable with a 3.5 mm jack plug is supplied as a connector, so a headset function is not provided. The cables are fed to the capsules from the front and then routed over the ears to the back. A retaining bracket not only makes the construct more stable. It also provides a secure grip when moving, although you can feel the slightly increased weight of the steel case when moving.
The Final B-3 must be placed tightly in the ear canal, rubber earmolds in 5 different sizes are supplied. In the test, each test person found their matching earpieces. Fortunately, the sound channels don’t have to be pushed in too deep, so the feeling in the ear is quite comfortable. At most, test persons with small ear cups can feel the rather angular case slightly resting against the back or top.
This is how the Final B-3 sounds: amazingly warm and audiophile
Right off the bat, the B-3 pleased with an all-around balanced sound that didn’t neglect the ends of the audible spectrum, but didn’t emphasize them either. Unfortunately, this is often the case with in-ear headphones. Compared to the almost overbrilliant, considerably more expensive Sennheiser IE 900, the Final B-3 held back somewhat in the brilliance range with details. On the other hand, voices sounded warmer and more homogeneous than on many competitors, regardless of whether they were on classical, jazz or pop recordings. These often have an emphasis on brilliance in favor of more detail resolution. But this was by no means at the expense of audibility. The B-3 also staggered larger choirs and big bands cleanly and transparently in all details.
The low frequencies blended very harmoniously into the sound spectrum, but remained inconspicuous for the most part. Only with really deep and bass-rich recordings did the B-3 show its low-frequency qualities offensively. It remained true to impulse, even if you may have experienced bass drum hits elsewhere that were harder and richer.
Room imaging is not really the profession of Inear listeners. But at the final, the stage was easy to guess at classical or jazz recordings. The sound image was broad and, as far as possible with this transducer principle, also at an appropriate distance to the listener, largely without the annoying inhead localisation. Especially those who appreciate wide-ranging, diffuse-field equalized over-ear headphones will finally find this sound ideal as an in-ear with the Final B-3.
Conclusion and alternatives to the Final B-3
With its tendency towards slightly warm sound tuning and almost perfect balance of resolution, dynamics and three-dimensionality, the Final B-3 runs somewhat counter to current sound trends. In contrast to him, they tend towards explosive dynamics and resolution. If you’re looking for a high-end InEar with more detailed tuning, there are plenty on the market, such as the Sennheiser IE 300 and the Ultrasone IQ Pro. If you like it warm, spacious and soft, the Final is an excellent choice and even cheaper than the Ultrasone Ruby Sunrise.
- Price: approx. 500 $
- Type: In-Ear
- Transducer principle: Dual BA driver without crossover
- Nominal impedance: 19 Ohm
- Weight: 32 g
- Special Features: MMCX connector, silver coated OFC cable.
- More at: www.final-inc.com
