A8000 With The Amplitude Frequency Response

final’s flagship model realizes transparent sound for the uplift that can be gained by listening to music Development of the A8000 began with the reconstruction of physical measurement and subjective evaluation methodologies. Under the subjective evaluation methodology established at the time of D8000’s development, the E Series achieved sound quality highly evaluated by many people and became a best seller. With the A8000, a new evaluation index has been incorporated into that subjective evaluation methodology. Among factors that determine sound quality for earphones and headphones, the amplitude-frequency response is predominant, but some sound impressions cannot be explained by it. For example, the most critically evaluated aspect of classical music recordings is called transparent sound, a sound impression by which sound is very clear even if it is localized at a distant location. We have been considering the realization of this sound impression to be extremely important for becoming uplifted by listening to music. We believe that the high evaluation of our D8000 headphones owes to the realization of such a transparent sound. Until now, we have employed a modification of the amplitude-frequency response, known as tuning, to modify the sound of our earphones, but because it cannot make a great change to time response, it became difficult to achieve transparent sound through tuning. This time, to achieve transparent sound for earphones, final has developed its own proprietary Perceptual Transparency Measurement (PTM) evaluation methodology. As a result of evaluation and improvement of interrelations between principal components analyzed by the results of subjective evaluation and data analysis of impulse response that could not be gleaned from frequency response in the past, an ideal diaphragm material that is extremely light and possessing high sound speed comprised of ultra-thin Beryllium foil (Truly Pure Beryllium Diaphragm) has been adopted for the A8000.

Adoption of Truly Pure Beryllium Diaphragm

The A8000 employs a diaphragm made from ultra-thin Beryllium foil (Truly Pure Beryllium Diaphragm), which is said to be an ideal diaphragm material due to its lightweight and high sound speed. With a specific gravity of 1.85 and a sound propagation velocity of 12,900 m/s, second only to that of the diamond, Beryllium has ideal characteristics for a diaphragm material. The adoption of pure Beryllium will lead to improved time response that greatly transfigures sound into transparency. The sharpness of sound build-up and the lingering resonance of the sound can be felt, as can the silence between sounds. Crafting thin pure Beryllium foil is difficult. Our engineers had to struggle to make it stable enough for the product, but it can be said to be a valuable material that pays off our hard work. To realize transparent sound through such superior materials, the same high quality has been demanded of the other components of the drive unit as well as the design and manufacturing technology. We have succeeded in leveraging the experience of developing and manufacturing our dynamic drive unit to draw forth the advantages of pure Beryllium. ※ In the past, a Beryllium diaphragm was created by vacuum deposition of a thin coat of Beryllium onto a resin film. This was effective as an improvement methodology, but the characteristics of the film remain predominant. When pure Beryllium is used as the only material for the sound-producing part of the diaphragm, the sound and characteristics are completely different.

MMCX Connector＆Original high purity OFC silver coated cable

The MMCX connector was developed in-company. We’ve used high-purity OFC silver-coated cables that provide a wide sound stage. These jointly-developed cables were originally designed by and are currently manufactured by the well-renowned Junkosha corporation to be used with the supercomputer “Kei” due to their fast signal transmission speed. The insulator film is made from PFA which was also developed by Junkosha who used their extensive know-how through the JUNFLON® brand to create the ultimate in low-permittivity material. The outer tube is made from PVC for maximum flexibility. The user will experience surprising flexibility that both makes the cable extremely easy to use and reduces the likelihood of microphonics. In addition, the MMCX plug and the 3.5 mm mini-plug tend to disconnect so we’ve far exceeded the regular QA pass criteria of a 5,000-time bend test by changing the connection design to one that can withstand more than 50,000 bends. * Junkosha: The Japanese corporation Junkosha develops and manufactures products such as high-speed coaxial cables that boast the world’s fastest transmission speed at 95% the speed of light, as well as cables for demanding fields such as marine and aerospace, healthcare and power generation facilities. These special cables require a high level of technology and centre around fluoropolymers. Junkosha’s cables are often called by the brand name JUNFLON® and have earned the tremendous trust of engineers requiring special-purpose cables.