Final ZE8000 MK2 review: I tried '8K' sound quality for the first time

I’m a self-confessed music nerd. When I listen to music, I need to know I’m using the best wireless earbuds, because there’s nothing I hate more than lackluster sound quality. I listen to a wide array of genres, from indie, to house, to hip hop, to singer-songwriter, and everything in between, so I want buds with custom EQ that can help every genre shine. So when I found Final’s new earbuds, the ZE8000 MK2s, I was lured in by the Japanese audio brand’s impressive claims: these earbuds have ‘8K’ sound quality. 

I know — what is that? ‘8K’ audio sounds fancy, but essentially it’s a combination of existing technologies including digital signal processing, good design and strong codec support. The result is ‘upscaled’ audio that sounds better with these earbuds than on traditional wireless earbuds that don’t use these technologies. 

The ZE8000 MK2s build upon Final’s previous iteration, the ZE8000s. The MK2s have fine-tuned the sound quality and the company says it improved ANC by 32% through the use of Class-AB amplifiers and PML capacitors to limit audio leakage.

At $349, they’re undoubtedly a premium earbud with premium sound quality to boot. But they lack features I’d expect at this price, like wear detection and adaptive audio. Is the audio quality worth the trade-offs? See what I thought in this Final ZE8000 MK2 wireless earbuds review. 

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Cheat Sheet

• What are they? Wireless earbuds with 8K sound quality.
• Who is it for? People who are really into cinematic audio quality, but don’t care about wear detection or spatial audio. 
• What does it cost? $349, which is pricier than Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and AirPods Pro 2. 
• What do we like? Immersive audio quality unlike anything I’ve heard before. 
• What don’t we like? For $349 I’d expect premium earbuds to come with features like wear detection. 

Final ZE8000 MK2: Specs

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Price & availability

At $349, these wireless earbuds are noticeably pricier than QuietComfort Ultra ($299) by Bose, the WF-1000XM5s ($299) from Sony, and Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 ($249). These are certainly priced as a premium earbud, but they don’t look as premium as Bowers & Wilkins’ Pi7 S2 ($399).

They’re available from Amazon, where they’re often on sale. The lowest I’ve seen is $279.

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Design & comfort

The ZE8000s MK2s come in a rounded oblong shaped case with a swipe-up lid. I really liked the lid, it was fun to swipe up and down like a distinguished Victorian gentleman checking his pocket watch. The carry case is a little bulky, though, and I think it could do with being smaller with the brand’s next iteration. 

The earbuds come with five sizes of silicon tip — yes, five! The sizes run from XS to XL; I found S to be my best fit. Changing the tips is relatively straightforward, but Final has some clear illustrations in the user manual should you need help. 

The earbuds themselves are certainly unique-looking. I’ve never seen earbuds with such an angular, vertical stem before. Maybe the extra-long length of the stem is where all of the capacitors inhabit. The earbuds also come with a filter cleaning stick in the box and replacement covers for the drivers.

Because the earbuds use suction, you have to put them in and take them out slowly. If you’re not careful, they’ll create a vacuum that can really hurt — I learned this the hard way. This means they have supreme immersion during playback, so it’s a small price to pay. They’re not as comfortable long-term as my AirPods Pro 2, but they sound so good, I can’t be mad at them.

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Controls & connectivity

There are a plethora of controls laid out in the user manual. Unfortunately you don’t seem to be able to customize these touch controls in-app, which is unusual. However, if you forget any of the touch controls, a quick check of the Final app will remind you. 

The ZE8000 MK2s use Bluetooth 5.2, which isn’t the latest version of Bluetooth (5.4), and I found the range to be 230 feet in testing. You can connect up to two source devices at the same time, which is great if you tend to switch between a laptop and phone. I connected these to my iPhone 11 and MacBook Air M2 simultaneously with no problems. 

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Call quality

With wind-cut technology, I was excited to test out the call quality with these earbuds. 

I wondered if the wind-cut technology would rival Jabra Elite 75t ($199) and the impressive wind-shield on the Galaxy Buds Pro 2 ($229). In windy conditions, I called my partner without wind-cut enabled, and he reported being able to hear a lot of wind and traffic. Then, I enabled wind-cut mode, and my partner immediately said my voice sounded clearer and magnified, and I no longer had to say the same thing (“I’m going to have soup for dinner!”) four times. 

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Sound quality

I’m hard to impress when it comes to sound quality. The only product I’ve reviewed that has completely blown me away was the JBL Xtreme 4. But my, oh my, Final has really put me through my paces here. 

Final achieved this by crafting a really tight, satisfying seal that prevents sound leakage and immersion. That’s paired with a digital signal processor that encodes audio data transferred from your phone or audio player. Bluetooth, even transmitted over its highest-rate codecs like aptX HD, is still more lossy than a CD or wired headphones. But, for true wireless headphones like these, it still sounds great. If you have a high-res streaming service like Tidal (and a supported device, sorry iPhone users) you can experience the ZE8000 MK2’s aptX Adaptive audio and Snapdragon Sound codecs for an ultra high-quality audio adventure. 

As usual, I tested these earbuds with a genre-bending playlist, ranging from indie, to house, to ‘70s glam rock, to hip-hop, to classical. The rich, evocative voice of Paul McCartney transmitted such overwhelming emotion in ‘Women and Wives’ that I found myself a bit overcome in the office. Even the older McCartney track ‘Temporary Secretary’ (albeit remastered in 2011) oozed charisma, even if the aged recording did pinch a little in the treble. Not a fault of the ZE8000s, though, more an occupational hazard of listening to 40-year-old songs with premium earbuds.

As it turns out, ‘I’ve Always Liked Grime’ by Mall Grab, which is a bassy electronic track, has an epic thumping bassline under the main bass notes I’ve never noticed before. Or, at least, never noticed to this extent. Hungering to discover more previously unnoticed motifs, I put on one of my favorite songs of all time — ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ by Wolf Alice. The lead guitar licks were pronounced amongst the heavy bass, and lead singer Ellie Rowsell’s voice was crystal clear. I realized I was slowly falling in love with the depth of these earbuds. 

Before I switched genres, I played ‘Bloodsports’ by Drenge, which starts with an enraged, unstoppable guitar riff on the left side. This guitar motif pounded through the left earbud with the brazen confidence you’d expect from $349 earbuds, and as soon as the verse kicked in, I was irrevocably in love with the ZE8000 MK2s. I thought, do I have to take these off? 

In Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, I also noticed bass notes I’d never heard before. The booming diss track sounded just as ferocious as Lamar intended it through these small-but-mighty earbuds. The ‘90s-inspired sun-soaked acid house track ‘I Can’t Lose You’ by Confidence Man is one of my favorite singles of the year so far, but through the ZE8000 MK2s, I couldn’t get enough. Both the chorus and verses were vibrant, dynamic, and made me want to get up and dance in the office (but I won’t subject my colleagues to my horrendous lack of rhythm). 

To properly utilize the ZE8000 MK2s, I played a couple of songs through the office’s high-quality FiiO player. Using the ZE8000 MK2s aptX Adaptive technology, I listened through Tidal, known for being the streaming service with the highest quality output. And I was blown away. ‘I Want You’ by Moloko was so intimate and layered, with Roisin Murphy’s commanding voice leading a cacophony of grooving guitars, twinkling percussion, squelching bass, and storming synth notes. 

The ZE8000 MK2s are a serious contender for the best sound quality I’ve ever experienced on wireless earbuds. ‘8K’ might be nothing more than a fancy marketing technique, but the sound quality on these earbuds is truly a marvel. You have to listen to them.  

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Active Noise Cancellation

As the owner of Apple AirPods Pro 2s, I’m accustomed to an impressive ANC. But I didn’t know just how good ANC could be before I tested the MK2s. Final says these earbuds have improved upon its predecessor by 32%, which is hard to quantify, but the ANC on these is incredible. Because of the advanced vacuum seal on the silicone ear tips, hardly anything can get in. 

When I was wearing them, I could see my colleagues talking in the office, but I couldn’t hear even a whisper of voices. Great for those times when you just want to immerse yourself in sound. Outside, the ANC is so powerful that I often couldn’t hear motorbikes revving past me on the main road (although my partner could hear them through the mic during calls). When I tested these on a train and a bus, I couldn’t hear any engine noises or nearby conversations. The ZE8000 MK2’s ANC is near perfect, noticeably better than my AirPods Pro 2.

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Features

While the sound quality and ANC blew me away, the ZE8000 MK2s are missing the high-end features I’d want to see on something that costs $349.

Unlike the $89 EarFun AirPro 4, AirPods Pro 2 ($249), and Bose QuietComfort ($299), these earbuds have no wear detection. For $349, that’s surprising. I assume Final put more focus on producing earbuds with unprecedented audio quality, but for this price, I’d like to see wear detection. 

Another disappointing omission is adaptive audio/auto volume. Seen on AirPods Pro 2 and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds ($299), adaptive audio increases or decreases your music volume based on your surroundings. So if you’re walking on a busy road, the earbuds will increase volume, but if you’re in a tranquil meadow, they’ll decrease. The ZE8000 MK2s do have four listening modes: ANC, ambient, voice through, and wind-cut mode, but you have to switch through these manually, whereas AirPods change to conversation mode automatically.  

It’s not the end of the world, though, especially if you’re an audiophile. Wear detection is not going to be more important than mind-blowing sound quality. Is it a worthy sacrifice for something with audio quality as pristine and multi-faceted as this? Only you can answer that question. For me, I can look past the lack of wear detection, because I can’t stay mad at something that sounds as good as this. I cannot get enough of the deep, dynamic, delectable 8K audio features on the ZE8000 MK2. 

All that being said, if Final makes another iteration of the ZE8000 range, I would like to see them come with these premium features and 8K sound. 

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: App

Not everything can be perfect. No matter how much we want it to be. And where the ZE8000 MK2 falter a little is with the app. You have to switch on some of the ZE8000s MK2s features in-app, like the 8K audio and custom EQ. You can’t change the touch controls in-app, but it does remind you of the settings if you forget. While not all the time, the app can be a little bit buggy. 

Sometimes it works, sometimes it takes a few minutes to get going, like me on a Monday morning. It’s usable, though, and fine if you have a little patience. 

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Battery life

The battery life here is nothing to write home about. The earbuds last 5 hours on a single charge, which goes down to under 4 hours when you activate ‘8K’ mode. The charging case can hold 15 hours, which is low in comparison to similarly-priced Sony WF-1000MX5, at 8 hours in the buds, 24 hours in the case. 

In testing, these earbuds lasted just over four hours on one charge, and I didn’t need to charge the case for 5 days with an average of about 3 hours listening per day. 

Final ZE8000 MK2 review: Verdict

If you’re a serious audiophile and want the best possible sound with a pair of true wireless earbuds, I think the ZE8000 MK2 are a must-buy. I’ve never used anything quite like these. The ANC on the MK2 is better than the AirPods Pros, and the sound quality is top of the class. Full marks all around for ‘8K’ sound — I have no notes. These are definitely worth the investment if you can take full advantage of their aptX Adaptive codec. 

But they are pricey, noticeably more expensive than the AirPods Pro, the Bose QuietComfort, Sony WF-1000XM5, and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. And with that premium price, you don’t get wear detection, adaptive audio/auto volume, or a massively intuitive app. But you do get earbuds that make you feel like you’re one with the music, so if that’s something you’re into, these are an experience to cherish.