Pairing and Customization

Pairing the final ZE8000 MK2 is simple, given they turn on in pairing mode the first time you open the case and take them out. I had no problem getting my phone/laptop to detect the earphones and, by default, these connect using the SBC or aptX Bluetooth codecs depending on what your device supports—LDAC and/or LHDC would have been nice. Those on iOS will find themselves using the ZE8000 MK2 with AAC as usual. At least you do get the battery level directly visible on your phone with more precision than what the LEDs offer though, and you don't need to use any app for this. Likewise, there is multipoint connectivity on offer, but you may have to turn it on in the app first if you don't see it available.


Speaking of which, the final ZE8000 MK2 gets first-party mobile app support in the form of the final CONNECT app available on Android and iOS platforms alike. When I first used it with the original ZE8000 there were some stability issues, with the app occasionally not recognizing the earphones, but final has worked consistently on the app to make it more stable and reliable to use. The home page gives you a quick look at the earphones and battery level, albeit not with actual numbers. The hamburger menu on the left helps pull up the product manual as well as device-specific settings which you usually don't see available on other TWS earphones. For example, you can turn off the touch controls entirely if you have no need for them—I've never even thought about this being a user-defined option. Going back to the home page, we see lots of toggles for the various relevant functions available here. Noise control is all about customizing the extent of active noise cancellation with the ZE8000 MK2 and this is definitely a big improvement over the original ZE8000. Not only do you have different levels to choose from, including an ambient mode, they actually work as advertised!


I will also give props to final for putting in helpful tips throughout so that you know what the various app items do. This is especially handy with final's PRO Equalizer which is a four-band EQ with +/-3 dB range, but you have a choice of 15 different frequencies to choose from. You can then set up a custom EQ and save as much, although the app needs to be in the background for this to work. As such, this is not as convenient or customizable as many competing solutions, but it's a good start for final. Another very useful feature is the volume step optimizer allowing you to not blow up your ears from the ZE8000 MK2 and also have a more usable range of volume control from the phone once set. Lastly, you can turn on or off the 8K Sound+ mode, which I really didn't see making a difference to anything but battery life, and you can check for any firmware updates here in the app itself.