Final E3000C review
Throughwork
Final started about 2012, quickly focused on earphones. Their models have simple numbering, and scale according to materials and components. This model is top of the basic range, with a stainless steel body and a phone switch (‘C’ in the model name).
Contents
Build
Outstanding quality, except… The E400Cs have a thin cable, which is soft but can tangle. Everything else is small, neat and well‐considered. The housings are stainless steel drums which stick out, enough to prevent sleeping while wearing them. The tips go deep and should hold well. They seem fundamentally robust. They are good for comfort and easy to insert. The over‐ear tubing seems like a gesture—these are not sports earphones and the tubing is useless. The looks are plain to deliberate nothing—I make them good.
Sound
Only passable volume—they need amplification. The volume range is reasonable. They are only passable for timing, with a rubber‐pudding feel, though controlled. Damped on attack and decay. They have a big lift somewhere in the lowband—a quick EQ suggested 80Hz or so, it’s very intrusive. They blare on trumpets, but are otherwise solid and controlled. The frequency range is reasonably wide. They get color into most bands of audio. Not much detail. Position and scale are outstanding.
On some Android phone setups, the E300Cs can sound broken. For vocals and orchestra, well‐behaved but not informative. For rock, the timing, damping, and frequency rolloffs make them drab. Solo instruments sound wrong in color. Better on pop, but uninspiring. All music exposes the bass lift. Only electronic music is reasonable, smooth if unbalanced towards lowband. The extended listening comfort and control are outstanding for games and soundtracks, where the specifics of sound matter less.
Spec
| mic available? | no |
| cable noise | noisy |
| accessories | 4 pairs silicone tips, ear clips, carry bag |
| support |
Assess
I lack the resources to compare, so this summary is not assured. The E300Cs are everything a single cheap‐driver earphone should be. They are comfortable and the build outstanding—but the cable is thin and noisy. Sound quality is controlled, even and extended. But a rubbery quality and unjustified bass lift blub all instrumental musics. The E3000Cs only come through for games and soundtracks, where the comfort and control are welcome.
The technology is unusual. The E3000C uses a single, dynamic driver. The housing is not closed, but vented out of the back, which frees the driver. I suspected there was frequency modelling in the housing, then discovered there had been. The steel housings probably remove many frequency duff spots. Reviewers praise the E300Cs for smooth response and good ‘tone’, while a few note the noisy wire and praise the lowband lift. The E3000C is a technical gem, but seems to be made for a practical audience—games and soundtracks aside, I can’t think when I would recommend them.