Description
Final Audio Pandora (Sonorous) Hope VI Headphones - Superb Condition, With Box. I bought these headphones new for around £700 in 2015 as my first pair of high-end closed-back headphones, and I immediately fell in love with the Final Audio house sound - these were their first full-sized headphone model and were made in Japan. Theres a lot of information out there about the Final Audio sound, their build quality, and on this model in particular (Final Audio changed the name of the model to Sonorous VI for some reason, so some reviews are under that name). Ive included in the photos Ive uploaded a couple of screenshots of reviews that I found on the web recently. As youll see, these headphones are very highly-rated by audiophiles. The reviewer on Audiophile On (audiophileon.com) describes them as my all-time favourite piece of audio equipment, and says these headphones enhance your music, presenting it in a way that makes you shut up, listen, enjoy it, feel it and be part of it. In a brief chance to use them next to the HD800 from Sennheiser, I still preferred the presentation and tuning of the Pandora which was less bright and more laid back. Have a look at that review on the web, as in addition to Sound Quality (10/10), it also rates these headphones Packaging (10/10), Accessories (9/10), Looks and Build (10/10), Isolation (6/10) and Fit (9/10). To me, the sound of these headphones is precise and detailed but not too analytical, and is more organic than other very precise but dry headphones Ive listened to (like the Sennheiser HD800s). These have a fun, musical sound, so you focus on the music rather than the individual notes, but are still very detailed. They arent basshead headphones in the Beats category though (but they do have a controlled, taut bass with plenty of weight, but not the bass bloat of Beats). In my opinion, they are suited to many types of music including rock, pop, electronic and acoustic, but are particularly suited to music where the vocal performance is key - the mid-range on these is fantastic. (If you mainly listen to EDM or hip-hop, these probably arent the headphones for you!) Ive only used these headphones for about 50 hours in total, so theyre burnt in to that extent (which some people think is a necessary process for audiophile headphones to sound their best) but they havent been used a lot. The reason for that low amount of use is that I liked them so much that I quite quickly upgraded to a pair of Final Audio Pandora VIIIs. So these VIs just arent getting enough use from me to justify keeping them. But even though the Pandora VIIIs cost over 3x more than the Pandora VIs, I cant honestly say Id be able to tell the difference between them in a blind test. As for their build-quality, Audiophile On says undeniably this is one of the most gorgeous audio products I have ever held in my hand. Every part of it screams quality. The headband and earpads are some of the softest I have ever felt and are stitched beautifully. The stainless steel accents combined with the cups just look elegant and classy. The whole thing feels absolutely rock solid and is finished to the highest standards. Final Audio have really outdone themselves here producing, in my mind at least, the best-looking headphone on the market by quite a considerable margin. Im not going to disagree with that! I should mention that from new the the earcups on the headphones were slightly loose on the sliders and had a slight tendency to slide down when I was wearing them. I solved that though, by sliding a small rubber O-ring up each slider under each earcup, which added enough resistance to stop the earcups sliding down, and because they are black they are barely noticeable. Ive included a couple of pictures of those O-rings on the headphones, and will include 2 new pairs of these O-rings in the sale (and Amazon also sells boxes these for about a fiver). The accessories are also extremely high-quality. The cable is removable/replaceable and each metal jack (engraved L or R) locks into its earcup with a twist and lock mechanism. The Y-splitter is also engraved with the final logo as shown in the pictures. The cable is terminated with a 3.5mm jack, which means these headphones can be plugged straight into a phone or a portable music-player for on the go listening, and Ive read that these headphones can easily be driven by phones and other portable devices due to their low impedance. Ive only ever used these headphones indoors through a high-end headphone amp using a 6.35mm adapter though, and in my set-up these sounded fantastic. Even the box is incredibly luxurious, being uniquely octagonal and lined with faux-fur as you can see from the photos. As you should also be able to see from the photos - which form a key part of this description, so please look at those carefully and feel free to ask me any questions about anything you see in those - Ive kept these headphones and the accessories in immaculate condition. The stainless steel on the cups still looks great and has no scratches at all as Ive looked after them very carefully. The cable and jacks are also pristine, and so is the box. Ive even kept the instruction booklet, warranty card and the ziplock bag that the cable came in, plus the foam packaging for the cable jacks as pictured, and will include all of those in the package. The only sign that these headphones have been used at all is some very minor wear to the underside and a small crease to the top of the headband, which are just about visible in the photos and which are probably from where I hung the headphones on my headphone stand. As the headphones, box and accessories are in such immaculate condition, they could be given to the audiophile in your life as an as new gift. The earpads pictured on the headphones are a very nearly-new pair of Final Audios Low Repulsion pads (which I think cost around £55 new) with their own original box and packaging as pictured, which Ill also include in the sale. The earpads can be swapped out for different Final Audio models (there are at least 3 different types as far as I know, probably more) which can be used to fine-tune the sound of the headphones to the users liking - again, theres plenty of info on the web about how the pads can be used to tweak the sound signature of these headphones. Apologies for writing such a long description of these (particularly if you already know about Final Audio headphones) but I thought it worth including as much information as I can give - any other questions though, please do just ask. As mentioned, these retailed for about £700 when I bought them, but Im starting this auction at less than a third of that amount so grab a bargain way of entering the high-end Final Audio headphone world! This is a 7 day listing. Good luck if you do decide to bid for these - Im sure you wont regret it - just be prepared to get bitten by the Final Audio bug!
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