The ZE3000 fully wireless headphones are a classic version of the wired model of audiophile-level. It continues the technologies of the wired E3000 and is intended, according to the company's opinion, to "create a sound that is pleasant to listen to." The ZE3000 headphones are protected from moisture according to the IPX4 standard - for this, a special f-LINK damping system had to be developed, which optimizes the pressure in the acoustical space inside the completely sealed case.
Features:
- Unique f-LINK damping system
- Special 6mm f-Core driver
- Sweat and water protection according to IPX4 standard
- Set of specially designed TYPE E Truly Wireless Exclusive Edition ear tips
ZE3000 got its name from E3000, the most widely recognized wired headphones released by the brand in 2017 and winner of ten consecutive gold medals at Japan's largest audio awards, VGP. Final Audio engineers aimed to create a natural sound that intentionally doesn't emphasize any frequencies for the E3000, but rather a pleasant sound based on scientific knowledge in the field of acoustic engineering and psychoacoustics.
f-LINK Damping System is designed to optimize the internal pressure of the acoustic chamber
Wireless headphones have batteries, electronic boards, and antennas that take up a significant amount of space inside the housing. This means that engineers have less freedom in creating the ideal acoustic chamber to achieve high sound quality. Additionally, the expected water resistance usually requires the housing to be completely sealed without any ventilation openings to regulate air pressure inside the acoustic chamber, resulting in overpowering low-frequency sound and deteriorating overall clarity due to the masking effect on hearing. One of the common countermeasures used by manufacturers is increasing the high frequencies to restore clarity, but this leads to fatigue after long periods of listening. To avoid such a problem, by fully utilizing the unoccupied acoustic space inside the ZE3000 and the accumulated knowledge in the field of hydrodynamics, Final Audio engineers have implemented the f-LINK damping system.
This system optimizes the pressure in the acoustic space inside the headphone housing to create sound equivalent to wired headphones, without the need for external ventilation openings. This system achieves both water resistance and well-controlled low-frequency sound reproduction, bringing them close to the natural sound of the E3000 in a truly wireless form.
Today, distortions in audio equipment such as amplifiers and DACs are extremely low, measuring around 0.0001%. In headphones, the distortions created by the driver unit (part of the speaker) inside the headphones typically exceed 3% in the low-frequency range. In other words, during the process of converting electrical signals into sound in the driver unit (part of the speaker) of the headphones, there are more than 30,000 times more distortions. If this distortion is significantly reduced, the sound quality would be greatly improved. That's why we carefully looked into every aspect of the production process when developing the ZE3000, in order to implement the "f-Core for wireless model," a recently developed driver that provides ultra-low distortion. The drivers are equipped with a combined diffuser with a soft suspension, which is manufactured without the use of glue through pressing.
This eliminates resonances and the associated sound distortion. Lightweight copper-clad aluminum wire is used for the voice coils to enhance sensitivity. The driver is loaded into two acoustically matched chambers, front and rear. This allows for high sound pressure levels and impressive bass while working within the limited internal volume of the enclosure. As a result, every tiny detail of each note is revealed, and even the decay of reverberation can be heard from beginning to end, experiencing the breadth of the musical space.
The f-Core driver for Wireless provides ultra-low distortion
Truly wireless earphones often heavily rely on software equalization to fine-tune sound characteristics, which can create issues that may be a side effect and result in tiresome listening. With ZE3000, instead of relying solely on the equalizer, they have improved the fundamental characteristics of the driver units and optimized the acoustic space within the earphones to enhance sound quality, making it pleasant enough to listen to, with the equalizer being used only for precise correction in narrow ranges. However, in order to make the best use of this point correction equalizer, a driver with extremely accurate sound pressure frequency characteristics is required. With a deviation of approximately 3 dB, which is a typical accuracy, equalizer correction will result in unnatural results. To solve this problem, a new driver f-Core for Wireless has been developed, which was made from scratch to achieve ultra-low distortion.
Typically, the headphone diaphragm is made by the method of monolithic injection molding, in which plastic material is injected into a mold with simultaneous formation of the center and circumference. However, in the case of small diameter devices, tangential corrugations are usually added to the surrounding space to stabilize the movement with a larger amplitude, leading to rotational motion of the diaphragm, which causes distortion. In the case of f-Core for Wireless, the center is made of a special resin that is both lightweight and hard. The diaphragm surround is made of a special, extremely flexible silicone, which ensures smooth and undistorted movement of the diaphragm. Due to the combination of these two special materials, despite its 6mm diameter, the effective area of its center is equivalent to that of a monolithic diaphragm cast under pressure with a diameter of 9mm.
This also contributes to reducing distortion. Additionally, the special silicone enclosure and center are formed directly together without the use of glue, which improves assembly accuracy and significantly reduces weight, thereby aiding in distortion reduction.
Thanks to careful measures to reduce distortion, it has become possible to clearly distinguish the subtle notes of each sound, which were difficult to hear before. Moreover, even the decay of reverberation can be heard from beginning to end, creating a sense of spaciousness in the musical space.
Compatibility with aptX Adaptive ensures high sound quality and low latency
ZE3000 is compatible with a wide range of iPhone and Android devices and is easy to pair. In addition to supporting the SBC and AAC codecs, the model also supports the high-quality aptX codec. It also supports wireless transmission of 48kHz/24-bit using adaptive Qualcomm aptX.
TYPE E Truly Wireless Exclusive Edition Ear Tips
Improved ear tips, used in Final Audio wired earphones, provide superior comfort, external noise suppression, and excellent noise isolation performance. The ear tips softly fit into the ear canal, eliminating the sensation of foreign objects.
Design and Fit
The ZE3000 ensures excellent fit with its body construction, which was previously used in the wired version. Whether the earphones are comfortable to wear or not depends on how little pressure they exert. At first glance, the ergonomic holding method seems correct, but it always puts pressure on the ear, leading to ear fatigue.
Compared to a shape that is organic and makes large surface contact with the ear, the shape that restricts the contact area aims to provide a comfortable fit without feeling any pressure. The ZE3000 body can be held in three points for secure fitting. The first point is in the concha (pink), the second point is at the earlobe (green), and the third point is at the antitragus (blue), as shown in the diagram below. Therefore, it is suitable for every ear. If there is no feeling of constriction in all contact points, you will feel as comfortable wearing the earphones as if they were made specifically for you.
Convenient touch control
ZE3000 supports touch control, so you can easily control music playback/stop/volume up/down/next track/previous track and call/end call.
The touch point is located on the triangular surface of the headphone's front panel (the side without the logo). This design is intended to prevent accidental actions while wearing them.
Sweat and moisture protection IPX4
The IPX4 waterproof rating makes ZE3000 suitable for sports activities and an active lifestyle. Quickly changing weather conditions won't interrupt your enjoyment of favorite music or other entertainment content.
The Case of the Perfect Shape
In addition to the slim and compact size, the case can be easily opened and closed with one hand. Special attention was paid to the shape during the development process, ensuring a comfortable grip achieved through multiple prototypes and real user evaluations.
Despite the lightweight resin construction of the headphone housing and charging case, they have a soft textured Shibo coating, reminiscent of high-end camera details. Typically, this Shibo coating is only applied to metal surfaces, but the engineers at Final Audio have developed and implemented a special process that can also be applied to resin surfaces.
Package Contents:
- Headphones
- Case
- USB cable
- Type-E ear tips (SS/S/M/L)
- Documentation
