Final Audio unveils "world's smallest earphones" and 3D-printed headphones

Japanese high-end brand Final Audio isn't hanging around when it comes to knocking-out new sets of headphones. Following on from the more affordable Sonorous II and III over-ears, come some new in-ear models.

With a driver housing measuring mere millimetres, Final Audio claims the F7200s are the smallest earphones in the world. They're also also incredibly light, weighing just 2g.

That super-small size ensures a good seal to help deliver a solid bass and improve noise isolation. There is also a choice of eight tips (five silicon, three foam). The in-ears can sit at the entrance of your ear canal or deeper inside your ear, claiming to offer a slightly different sound depending on the position.

The rigid stainless steel housing covers a full-range balanced armature driver, which is made in-house by Final Audio. There's a new, silver-coated cable made from wiring developed for use in the Japanese supercomputer ('kei' or K computer), allowing Final to make some bold claims about transmission speed.

Due in July, the Final Audio F7200 will cost around £330 ($480). There will also be F4100 and F3100 models, costing around £195 and £125.

Also on show at High End 2016 were the Lab II 3D-printed headphones. Sporting an intricate titanium housing that looks more like a piece of jewellery, the headphones' design is shaped by a 3D printer and laser-fused from titanium powder.

They use a new 15mm driver that's designed to be as light as possible to counter the weight of the casing. The earphones weigh 14g in total.

Due out in limited numbers in August, the Final Audio Lab II will cost £2700.

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Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is Content Director for T3 and What Hi-Fi?, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for more than 15 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).