Review: Final Audio B Series

Final Audio B Series

Sound

The new B series are designed to appeal to different genres, but of course the higher priced B1 and B3 models have an edge to the B2 in terms of technical performance. All 3 have different signatures so I will try to reflect my impressions as simple as possible like I always do. There isn’t a common presentation in all three models and they all differ from each other.

For sound evalutaion, the Sony WM1A and the Dethonray DTR1 were used.

B2

The B2, as the entry level in the lineup, performs lower than the other two in every area as expected. But in my opinion there’s much more negativity than that. It has a muffled presentation, with a safe-side tuning which I think is too safe. There’s not enough detail and resolution in sound. I suspect Final audio targets the general audience with this model.

The bass is very nice but quite subtle and it doesn’t have much extension. The kick is nice but again it’s somewhat shallow in terms of rumble and texture. The attack is not great as well. Mids don’t have much detail and they lack some resolution and transparency. I think the mids cry from a very small space so they can’t perform well in a very congested overall presentation. Tonality on the other hand is not correct either, with a really muffled way of performance and oddly placed timbre.

Final Audio B Series

Treble shares the same faith with mid area, sounding undetailed with low extension and resolution. They stick out to each other with fast songs as well, so the articulation is not that good. So the minus points about B2 is quite a lot, and I don’t see much positivity about this model.

I switched from WM1A to the Dethonray DTR1 to see if the source is the reason, but it isn’t. It still performed in a very congested sound stage with low detail and resolution. The only thing I found good about this model is the overall coherency.

B3

Now this is a whole different story. The B3 has a balanced and neutral presentation top to bottom. It has good resolution, transparency detail all at the same time. The bass is not dominating and in fact it’s somewhat subtle and it lacks some rumble and extension. However it hits nicely with fast decay, which makes it an ideal IEM for Classical, Jazz, Instrumental genres. Despite the low bass quantity, the bass has good detail and texture which is a very positive point.

Mid range is very very detailed with very good transparency and resolution. The tonal accuracy is on point, and timbre is very nice. The IEM performs colorless in general, which is not a bad thing of course. I really liked its honest and flat performance which perfectly reproduces the original recording without any sauce or coloring.

Final Audio B Series

Treble area is highly detailed as well with good transparency and great positioning in particular. The IEM’s imaging capabilities certainly impress, especially for the asking price. It has an expansive sound stage with great instrument separation. Overall this is a very honest IEM which gives whatever in the recording to you without any addition, with good technical abilities.

I think the B3 sounds like a typical 2BA earphone, but Final Audio have managed to give it a great coherency across the range with very good technicalities for the price.

B1

The flagship B1 has a richer tuning with fuller sound with a bit more color in the mix. Quantity-wise it has more bass but in a very controlled way, which prevents any bloating that may occur. It gives better sub-bass obviously with the help of its dynamic driver with better extension down low. The rumble and kick is richer with more texture and impact. Decay is very nice as well.

Mid range is quite full sounding with really nice timbre. Tonality to me is the best of the three by quite a margin with a really nice musical touch in it. However, mids are just a little bit behind when compared to B3. I think the reason behind this is the lifted bass response with the dynamic driver. So mids take a somewhat mandatory step back. Upper mids are slightly prone to sibilance with high volume levels. That is not an issue with moderate volumes though.

Final Audio B Series

The B1 has a lighter and thinner treble response which to me creates a contrast with it’s bass and mid presentation. When you look at those two areas, it gives a thicker and fuller response than the B3, but in the treble area it’s actually thinner. So that creates a small coherency problem, emerging with certain genres like Jazz but not much noticeable with Pop and RnB. So it all depends on your choices.

Sound stage once again is very good for both width and depth. But to my ears the B3 creates more space between the instruments that creates a sharper stereo imaging. So I think the sound stage magnitude of the B1 is similar to B3, but it doesn’t have that much space between the elements of a song. So for sole imaging and positioning, the B3 performs slightly better in my opinion.

Overall the B1 is more fun and it suits genres like Pop, RnB, Hip Hop and etc. It’s good with Jazz too and I liked its instrument reproduction, but in my opinion the B3 is more suitable for Jazz.

The review continues on PAGE 4 by clicking here using the page numbers below

4.4/5 - (49 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

6 Comments

  • Reply October 22, 2019

    Vincent

    Thanks for the comparison. Wondering how the noise isolation is on the B3? And yeah the naming is confusing.

    • Reply October 27, 2019

      Berkhan

      It’s pretty good with the right tips. Sits flush and blocks some noise.

  • Reply April 12, 2020

    Brett

    If given the option between the B3 here and a Campfire Audio Polaris II, which would you pick? Obviously they are two very different IEMs but which do you favour?

  • Reply March 1, 2021

    Karan Sharma

    Hi
    Can you please give a comparison between B3(B1) and F7200 ?
    Thanks

    • Reply March 3, 2021

      Berkhan

      Hi. I can’t, sorry. Never heard the F7200.

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