Connection
The ZE8000 is equipped with Qualcomm’s QCC5141 Bluetooth 5.2 chipset. The connection is rock-solid, with no dropouts or interruptions whatsoever. I also found that the earphones perform well across different types of audio codecs, delivering consistently satisfying results. Lastly, I am impressed by the range of the earphones, which is better than average.
The latency with the TWS units is still a problem which hasn’t been resolved. In normal usage scenarios, this doesn’t inflict any issues, but with gaming where milliseconds matter, I would not recommend a TWS, even the ZE8000.
Controls & Layout
The touch sensor on the stems is quite sensitive. A few times, I accidentally stopped playback or skipped a song when I had to adjust the fit or remove the earphones momentarily. However, once I got used to the controls, they were easy and fast to use. Additionally, each earphone has an LED that provides information on battery, charging, and signal status. The case also has four LEDs on the front side that change colour based on the battery level.
Regarding the touch sensors, there are various functions that you can activate such as starting and stopping the playback, moving to the previous or next track, increasing or decreasing the volume, accepting or declining calls, and ending an active call. In case you own an Android phone, the earbuds can summon Google Assistant. Alternatively, if you are an Apple user, iPhone’s Siri can be activated as well. However, to do so, you need to tap the earbud five times which may not be intuitive if you frequently use these services.
Final Connect
Final Audio also provides a controlling application for its wireless products. The app lets you control the modes, and in fact, there are four different modes in the app, whilst you only get two when you use the earbuds without the app. These are Noise Cancelling, Ambient Sound, Wind Cut, and Voice Through. Normally, you can only use the first two modes, but the app provides two more modes to use.
Wind Cut is a mode for removing unwanted wind noise when you’re outside. Voice Through is a mode similar to the Ambient Sound mode, the only difference is you can’t change the volume level, since it’s fixed for you to focus on the environment. Not a meaningful feature in my opinion when you have the Ambient Sound mode in the first place.
There’s an EQ inside the app which is nice to have, and an 8K Sound switch. The 8K Sound mode supposedly gives you better sound quality, but I honestly didn’t hear a significant difference.
Call Quality
The microphones of the Final Audio ZE8000 are located on the stems. As you probably know, the call quality of this design is usually better than the ones without stems. The ZE8000 offers adequate performance in environments such as home and quiet work environments. It’s better than the IEM-type TWS units, but still not the best performance for calls.
It’s not an issue for this unit in particular, I’ve never had any good call quality with any TWS IEM or earbud, so the universal problem is still there. Sound quality is severely impacted by heavy human noise, particularly in areas with lots of low-frequency clutter like airports and shopping malls.
Sound
The Final Audio ZE8000 is a serious attempt at the TWS field and Final has lots of claims about its sound quality. The overall sound lives up to the expectations. The ZE8000 is a very good-sounding TWS unit, with excellent balance, coherency and dynamics. The instruments sound natural and the tonality feels right.
Although the ZE8000 does not emphasize any frequency range over another and offers a good balance throughout the spectrum, I think the treble range is a bit too smooth. Other than that, the sound quality is certainly above ordinary TWS IEMs.
Page 1: Final Audio, ZE8000, Packaging & Accessories, Design, Fit & Build Quality
Page 3: Sound, Technical Performance, Comparisons, Conclusion
