The Final Audio E1000 presents a budget-minded earphone for the masses. But at an affordable $26.99, just what can you expect from this newcomer?
Final Audio E1000 Review
Built on the successful Final E2000, the E1000 comes in almost $20 cheaper. Offering the same great Final Audio internals and forgoing a metal shell for a mostly-plastic one, this earphone proves something inexpensive can still sound inexplicably good.
Design
Design-wise, the E1000 sports some interesting elements. The older cable build that proved a pain with some owners of the E2000 and the E3000 has been replaced. In its place, the E1000 uses a more flexible and heavier-duty Oxygen Free Cable.
In terms of dimensions, this new earphone doesn’t differ too much from its forerunners. But the materials – now mostly plastic – result in an even lighter weight. This, coupled with the same tried-and-true Final eartips, produces a dreamy fit that soon melts away from your awareness.
The earphones come with 5 pairs of eartips and directions telling you how to download the product manual. There’s no mic and remote, or carrying case.
All in all, this earphone comes across as basic, but coming from Final Audio, I couldn’t care less – every headphone I’ve tried from them so far has been dynamite. The E1000, even if it lacks a ton of bells and whistles, should sound equally amazing.
Sound Quality
The low end is lifelike, natural, and not too crazy. For music fans and even critical listeners, these are the perfect kind of lows to feel as much as hear. A bit of warmth prevails in this part of the frequency range. Still, the earphones never lean too dark. Bass has good impact but never seems too boomy or intense. The articulate, purposeful bass adds a slight sense of gravity to sound.
In the midrange, the sound waxes detailed and accurate – surprisingly so for such a cheap earphone. Minor compression appears in upper mids. However, this slight blemish comes with the territory of cheap earphones, and the whole sound seems fantastic otherwise. The E1000 sports impressive tonal balance in the mids, and offers an impressive sound in terms of scope and nuance.
Sparkling with detail at times, the highs exude excellent resolution. The character of this high end is a real treat for vocals or instrumentation. Despite some minor tinniness in the extreme upper highs, the Final Audio E1000 still sounds better than any other earphone at this price.
It bears mentioning that this earphone shows a minor sense of soundstage. Constrained placement can muddle the experience, but the overall sound still features some depth. While not truly spatial, the E1000 still lends some dimension to most of my test tracks.
Recommendations
Unfortunately, the lack of a mic and remote may prevent this earphone from selling in record numbers. Which seems like a crying shame, as people will otherwise love it. Great sound? Check. Great price? Check. The Final Audio E1000 is a gateway earphone to a world of higher-quality sound. If this sounds like your kind of thing, and you can spend a tad more, check out Final Audio’s more expensive E3000 or E3000C (the mic-and-remote version of the E3000). These models will offer the same great sound as the E1000, but with more detail and no compression.
For folks who need maximum bass, skip the E1000 and settle for some JBL earphones instead. Sure, they may not look as nice as the Final E1000, but JBL does offer some decent bass.
If you need a mic and remote, I’d recommend trying the RHA MA390 Universal. While it lacks the exact sound of the E1000, it comes as close as possible while still offering a mic and remote.
Headphone Dungeon Score
Four skulls. Sorry, Final Audio. The E1000 deserves five skulls for the sound, but I’m dinging one skull for the lack of a remote and mic. Maybe that’s a bit unfair, but it’s the only thing holding the Final Audio E1000 back from attaining true earphone awesomeness. If this baby had a mic and remote, everyone and their mother would be rocking one. And loving it.
Snag one for yourself from these esteemed retailers:
Specifications
Housing: ABS
Driver: 6.4mmΦ dynamic driver
Cable: Black OFC
Sensitivity: 102dB/mW
Impedance: 16Ω
Weight: 15g
Cord length: 1.2m
Headphones are losing a skull for not having a feature that is irrelevant to the audio quality? While I very much think it is worth highlighting in the review, I do not think it should reflect the performance of a product. Especially when that product never claimed to have it.
It’s like when people leave a monitor a 1 star review because it didn’t come with built in speakers when it never claimed to. It’s a monitor first, rate it at how well it does the job of what it ADVERTISES THAT IT DOES.
Dinging it for not coming with fluff is really silly.