Final UX3000

With the UX3000, the Japanese manufacturer Final presents an over-ear with Bluetooth 5.0 and noise-cancelling, which aims to offer an affordable price and high sound quality at the same time. The matt black construction made of sturdy, dirt-repellent plastic is straightforward and robust. It is partially screwed together and reinforced with metal elements.

The length-adjustable headband is softly padded with imitation leather. The same applies to the ear pads, but these cannot be replaced. The driver housings themselves can be folded, swivelled and each rotated by 90 degrees for transportation.

The functionality of these headphones is deliberately straightforward: on the right, there are three buttons and the connection for optional cable operation. On the left, there is another button and USB-C connection for the charging cable.

In terms of Bluetooth codecs, the Final UX3000 offers support for SBC, AAC, aptX as well as aptX LL for lower delays between picture and sound. Higher-quality codecs such as LDAC or aptX Adaptive, are not on board.

Thanks to a 700 mAh battery, the UX3000 offer an impressive runtime of up to 35 hours, depending on the volume. With noise-cancelling activated, that is still a remarkable 25 hours. The charging time is about 2.5 hours; the standby time, according to the manufacturer, is 400 hours.

In practice

The Final UX3000 fit quite tightly over the ears. This ensures a secure position and good passive external insulation. Nevertheless, I found that they pinched when worn for long periods.

When switched on, the on/off or pairing button takes over the functions start/pause, accept and end phone calls and calls up the voice assistant. The two buttons on the right are used to adjust the volume. The left button switches the noise cancelling on and off.

The functions are supported in Bluetooth mode by voice instructions, however, these leave a lot to be desired in terms of quality. Speaking of Bluetooth: The wireless link remained stable in our test and covered several rooms. In addition, the UX3000 support multipoint connection, so it is possible to use one device for music playback while a second one takes phone calls, for example.

In wired mode, Bluetooth is completely deactivated. However, noise-cancelling can be switched on as an independent circuit and used in wired mode. However, in this mode, they cannot be used as a headset.

Final say that it has deliberately dispensed with an app for the UX3000. With their straightforward functionality, these headphones are intended to appeal primarily to music lovers.

Noise cancelling

The integrated noise cancelling works with two microphones on each side and creates an enhanced quiet zone at the touch of a button; this ensures an increased level of privacy when travelling by train – even without music and without disturbing background noise from the system itself. It can be activated simply and is indicated by an LED. In addition to passive insulation, the user is shielded from low-frequency and static noise. This insulation is not total, but it is effective. I experienced a slight diving bell effect, and I would have preferred a more subtle level of secondary gradation. Wind impact has a negative effect on the sound circuitry due to the design, and this leads to occasional noise, but I didn’t consider it to be too serious. The Final UX3000 does not have a transparency mode.

Sound

With its dynamic drivers, the Final UX3000 delivered a powerful and fatigue-free sound. And this was still true when used passively with the cable. However, the majority of our test was carried out using the wireless link and with noise-cancelling switched on. The noise-cancelling changed the sound quality and spatiality slightly – the manufacturer suggests that the high frequencies are equalised here.

In the lower frequencies, the bass pushed hard, even in the low bass. There was no disturbing overemphasis. The midrange was also coherent and offered vocals, acoustic instruments and distorted guitars a bed with good differentiation. In the highs, the UX3000 was open and without harshness. However, you should not expect the “brilliance” that you might find with expensive open constructions. The stereo panorama is confidently fanned out, but the depth of the room was rather underrepresented.

In conclusion, the people I spoke to rated the voice quality during telephone calls as low in background noise and clearly intelligible.