Introduction

The final audio brand is one of the most established in this business, being the house brand of S'NEXT Co., Ltd., which is an offshoot of MOLEX LLC. In the decades since its inception, the company has made waves predominantly with wired consumer and professional audio equipment, but has recently gotten involved in the wireless audio world, beginning with a collaboration entry in the form of the EVA2020 x final TWS before doing its own thing for both wireless in-ears and over-ear headphones alike. I've tested the final ZE3000 and ZE8000 before with a review of the latter being in the works before final decided to surprise and confuse everyone by releasing a successor within months of the original set! So here we are taking a look at the new final ZE8000 MK2 flagship TWS earphones. Thanks to final and its UK distributor for arranging a review sample for TechPowerUp!


The original final ZE8000 came with a lot of new things as well as some marketing materials that could best be described as Japanese quirks. The newer ZE8000 MK2 effectively builds upon the original throughout, be it the so-called 8K sound representation—because clearly sound resolution can be quantified similar to displays—or more tangible aspects such as improved noise cancellation and an increased max volume, which were both issues on the previous set. The ZE8000 MK2 uses final's own large dynamic driver to differentiate itself from most other rebrand/OEM sets and there is an extensive first-party mobile app for further customization. It's not a cheap set in either sense of the word and there is a lot to go over in this review which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The final ZE8000 MK2 ships in a relatively compact box, which seems to be the norm for TWS earphones today. It goes for a white background over the thick cardboard used. On the front is the brand logo and product name in addition to a render of the earphones and a mention of these being in the black color, thus leaving room for a white color version down the line, as final as done with many of its other wireless consumer products lately. We see a note about the final connect mobile app on the back as well as product specs and a list of contents inside. The Snapdragon Sound logo is also good to see for those who have a compatible phone and gain assurance from this certification. A seal on the side helps keep the box closed during transit, and it opens up as seen above to reveal separately packed paperwork in the form of a quick user manual (online copy here) and a note about how a proper seal may feel strange initially. The earphones and charging case are protected by thick foam with machined cutouts to snugly hold them in place, and the accessory box is seen below.


I recall my eyes going wide open when I first saw the ZE8000 and its unique ear tips with the ZE8000 MK2 following suit, albeit with some subtle improvements for a more secure and comfortable fit. These come in five sizes—SS/S/M/L/LL—with size M tips coming pre-installed on the earphones. You will note how these have two sections effectively, with one going over the earphones and the other into your ear canals. We also get the expected short USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable in addition to a set of replacement dust filters and a tool to help install them. This is very nice to see as it will no doubt help extend the lifetime of the ZE8000 MK2, given the filters are part of the tuning and seem restrictive enough to get clogged up quicker than most other such implementations.