Final D8000 DC Pro Edition

Final D8000 DC Pro Edition: Final’s open-back planar headphones rebuilt from scratch

Final has applied to its flagship headphones the instruction that da capo gives a musician: start again from the beginning. Seven years after the D8000 Pro Edition, the Japanese manufacturer has redesigned the planar driver, the grille surrounding it, the ear pads and the housing. The resulting open-back headphones weigh less and let the ears breathe more freely. They retain tuning geared towards listening at high volumes, as in studios.

Seven years on, a D8000 rebuilt piece by piece

The D8000 Pro Edition, with more than 2,000 units sold in Japan and abroad, had until now topped the D series. Rather than refine it, the Kawasaki team started everything afresh: diaphragm manufacturing, the perforated metal grille that controls its movement, magnet placement and ear pad thickness. The headphones retain the hallmarks of the range: full, airy bass combined with refined treble. The soundstage becomes wider and each sound stands out more clearly. The DC Pro Edition shares this foundation with the D8000 DC. The two headphones differ in their tuning, cable and finish, with matte silver for the Pro version.

Air film damping, revised right down to the perforations

A planar magnetic driver vibrates a very thin membrane carrying a conductor, placed within a magnetic field. Its lightness gives it great responsiveness in the treble. In the bass, however, the membrane’s excursion increases to the point where it risks touching the structure. Most manufacturers then raise the driver’s lower frequency limit and seal the ear pads to compensate. Final’s AFDS (Air Film Damping System) restrains this movement through the viscosity of the air held against a perforated metal plate, allowing the diaphragm to reach lower frequencies without striking anything. On the DC, the hole diameter, spacing and pattern have been redefined. The plates in front of and behind the membrane are no longer perforated in the same way, giving the bass more volume and openness.

The membrane itself is made by etching a very thin sheet of aluminium, so the conductor forms an integral part of the film. There is no longer any need for a connecting wire attached to the diaphragm: the moving assembly’s mass drops to around one-third that of a conventional planar design. A lighter membrane starts and stops faster, giving the treble its refinement and attacks their crispness.

One less magnet in front of the ear

On the original D8000, a magnet placed in front of the diaphragm, on the ear side, created small peaks and dips in the response. Final has removed it. The open area in front of the driver increases by around 70%, treble is reproduced more cleanly and each source is positioned more precisely.

Many so-called open-back headphones seal the space around the ear to obtain bass that their driver cannot produce alone. Here, AFDS lets the driver reach low frequencies on its own, allowing the ear pads to remain breathable: airy foam covered in smooth, durable Japanese paper. Their thickness has been increased to one and a half times that of the previous ear pads. The volume of air between the driver and the ear increases, widening the soundstage and softening vocal reproduction.

Machined housing, washi paper and 431 grams

The precision required by AFDS is reflected in the housing, crafted from a machined aluminium-magnesium alloy and then hard-anodised. The alloy provides the rigidity needed to hold the driver firmly and prevent unwanted resonances. The Japanese paper used on the ear pads also covers the headband and withstands moisture well. The headphones weigh 431 g without the cable, compared with 523 g for the D8000 Pro Edition, and the headband’s clamping force has been readjusted. During a long listening session, the head feels neither squeezed nor enclosed.

Pro tuning, tailored to listening volume

The human ear does not perceive tonal balance in the same way at low and high levels: the higher the volume, the more prominent the bass seems. The DC Pro Edition carries over the D8000 DC’s refined reproduction while taking this phenomenon into account. Its balance is adjusted for high-level listening, as favoured by sound engineers who mix loud and listeners who like to turn up the volume. The choice between the two versions therefore depends primarily on your usual listening volume. The D8000 DC remains the other option in the range for more moderate listening. Final has also improved the driver’s handling of high power levels: the unwanted vibrations that could be audible on the original D8000 at high volumes have been reduced.

Two silver-plated balanced cables and an amplifier up to the task

The headphones come with two silver-plated copper cables. The first measures 1.5 m and ends in a five-pole 4.4 mm balanced plug. The second measures 3 m and ends in a 4-pin XLR. At the headphone end, each connects to two locking 3.5 mm mini-jacks, one per earcup. The short cable suits a desktop headphone amplifier or a portable player with a 4.4 mm output. The long one connects to studio amplifiers and home audio components with an XLR output. In a balanced connection, each channel has its own conductors, with no shared ground between left and right.

With an impedance of 50 Ω and a sensitivity of 90 dB/mW, the D8000 DC Pro Edition needs power. Around 100 mW, or just over 2.2 V, is needed to reach peaks of 110 dB. A phone or a small USB adapter is not enough for the high-level listening this tuning is intended for. A dedicated headphone amplifier is the logical partner.

Assembled in Kawasaki, repairable screw by screw

The headphones are manufactured at Final’s headquarters in Kawasaki. The company designs its own assembly tooling there and has developed the machines for the series in-house, such as the press that forms the membranes and the device that measures their tension. It also works directly with its raw material suppliers. Almost every part can be removed by undoing screws, allowing the headphones to be repaired over time rather than replaced. They travel in a lockable hard protective case, with their two cables.

Technical specifications

Overview and acoustic performance

• Type: open-back headphones.
• Specific sound tuning intended particularly for sound engineers and users seeking balanced reproduction at high volume.
  • Compared with the D8000, tuning particularly suited to rock, pop, electronic music, modern productions and recordings requiring excellent separation of vocals and instruments.
  • Clear and precise reproduction of vocals and each instrument, suited to attentive listening and audio work.
• Impedance: 60 Ω.
• Sensitivity: 98 dB/mW.

Drivers and damping system

• Planar magnetic drivers with proprietary AFDS technology: detailed and dynamic reproduction.
• AFDS air film damping system.
  • Developed to address one of the main limitations of planar magnetic drivers: low-frequency reproduction at high levels.
  • Control of diaphragm movement through an air film, allowing extended low-frequency reproduction without the diaphragm coming into contact with the magnets.
  • Combination of planar magnetic refinement and precision with deep, open, particularly dynamic bass offering a strong sense of space.
• Extremely lightweight D8000 diaphragm, designed to promote speed and precision in the reproduction of high frequencies and microdetails.
  • Extremely thin aluminium spiral etched directly onto the diaphragm film.
  • No adhesives that could impair sound reproduction.
  • Precise reproduction of transients, subtle details and treble.

Ear pads and comfort

• Open, breathable ear pads, specially developed for the D8000 Pro Edition to harness the capabilities of the AFDS driver.
  • Non-airtight design preserving natural bass reproduction and improving comfort during long listening sessions.
  • Skin-contact areas made from Toray Ultrasuede, selected for its pleasant feel and durability.

Construction, finishes and manufacturing

• Precision-machined aluminium and magnesium alloy housing, meeting the precision requirements of the AFDS system.
• Available colours: black / silver.
  • Black version: finish inspired by high-end cameras.
  • Silver version: anodised aluminium finish.
• Manufactured at final headquarters, in its factory in Kawasaki, Japan.
  • Control over a large part of the manufacturing process, from component design to final assembly.
  • Production and measurement equipment specific to the D8000 series developed in-house to ensure a high level of precision.
• Design facilitating maintenance, repairs and component replacement.

Box contents and included accessories

• final D8000 Pro Edition headphones.
• Two detachable cables:
  • Black cable: oxygen-free copper (OFC) conductor, 1.5 m length, 3.5 mm jack connector.
  • Silver-coated cable: silver-coated oxygen-free copper (OFC) conductor, 3 m length, 6.3 mm jack connector.
• Dedicated hard carrying case, briefcase-style, with a Travel Sentry-certified lock.

Weight

• Weight without cable: 523 g.