AccessoriesAP FavouriteHeadphonesTuning/Modding

final Sonorous Earpads Review – Easy Rec

Final Sonorous Earpads are the original final audio earpads for their Sonorous headphone series. They available in 7 variations, and I tested 4 of them on my Sonorous-II and Sonorous-III models.

Final Sonorous-II and Sonorous-III are in my opinion the absolute best closed back headphones you can buy for less than 500$ (either costing much less than that actually). You can find them stuck on our Wall of Excellence, and reviewed here.

At-a-glance Card

PROsCONs
Significantly help finetuning Sonorous headphones presentation to one’s own preferenceNot inexpensive (yet not unaffordable either)
Good build quality
Easy to swap

Why and how

Ear pads – their internal structure, size, thickness, and external fabric – do change headphones sound even more than what eartips do to IEMs. And final Sonorous Earpads are no exceptio.

First and foremost, the distance between the actual sound transducers and the ear modulate low frequency sound pressure, which obviously significantly influences the presentation. Based on this fact, final Sonorous earpads are filled with sponges of different thickness and consistency. Their external material is synthetic leather featuring equal horizontal and vertical flexibility. Finally,

Another important aspect when it comes to closed-back earphones is avoiding sound appearing “muffled” due to lack of backside venting. Final accomodates for this by carving small apertures on the inside and the outside of the pads “donuts”, achieving superb results in terms of sound clarity.

audioreviews
https://snext-final.com/en/products/accessories/detail/earpads.html

Lastly, final Sonorous Earpads feature a quite ingenious system to facilitate swapping. By direct experience it does work. You may want to take a look at the final’s official quick tutorial video to get an idea.

The range

As I mentioned, final Sonorous Earpads are avaialble in 7 different variations. Here are the lineup specs, directly taken from final’s website.

ModelSurface MaterialSpongeFilterStock onPicture
Type Asynthetic leatherthick, strong standard type spongesingle layerSONOROUS VI, IVaudioreviews
Type Bsynthetic leatherthinner/softer sponge compared to Type Asingle layerSONOROUS VIaudioreviews
Type Csynthetic leatherW-shaped sponge combining Type A and Type B types3 layerSONOROUS X, VIIIaudioreviews
Type Dsynthetic leatherthick, strong sponge3 layerSONOROUS IIIaudioreviews
Type Esynthetic leatherthick, strong spongesingle layerSONOROUS IIaudioreviews
Type FPolyurethaneexpanded foam body
with superior breathability and special polyurethane fibers
n/dD8000audioreviews
GPolyurethane + Toray Ultrasuedeexpanded foam body with superior breathability and special polyurethane fibersn/dD8000 Proaudioreviews

My direct experience

Final of course issues a number of pairing recommendation for each of such models. You can find the entire story here.

That said, I only directly tested the 4 models which are recommended for my 2 Sonorous headphone models (II and III). Here is a recap of my opinions.

ModelApplied onto Sonorous-IIApplied onto Sonorous-III
Type BBass is faster than stock (E) and even faster then (C). Mids are similar but highmids get some adrenaline. Trebles stay vivid and sparkly. Overall sensibly brighter compared to stock, might be excessive for some users, and definitely for some genres.Mids are more recessed than stock (D) and furtherly back compared to (C), while still very well defined and detailed. Bass is even faster. Highmids become the star of the show.
Type C
More bodied bass and mids compared to stock (E). More evidently polished / tamed trebles which come accross less sparkly. Definitely more balanced.Darker than stock (C). Mids are recalled from full forward position. Some air is lacking.
Type D
(Sonorous-III stock)
Bass is very similar to stock (E). Mids add some body. Trebles get a bit polished. Overall more a “balanced bright” rather than “netural bright” effect. Still very good for jazz and probably overall ever more loveable than stock pads.
*my personal preference*
Obviously midcenteric. Fast-ish bass. Good trebles.
Type E
(Sonorous-II stock)
Neutral-bright. Fast detailed bass. Good mids, not a specialist for vocals. Very nice detailed and quite airy trebles. Love this.Faster bass compared to stock (D), mids pushed a bit back and made faster and more precise, sparklier trebles.
*my personal preference*

So the aftermath is… I could have saved the money for Type C and B, and just swap stock pads between Sonorous-II and Sonorous-III to reach my preferred configuration on both. But how could I have known it without trying? 😉

Conclusions

final Sonorous Earpads significantly contribute to alter and finetune Sonorous headphones.

They are not inexpensive – retailing from ¥ 5810 / € 44 to ¥ 9300 / € 70 a pair – but their build quality is ace and they are a more than solid recommendation for any Sonorous user.

Disclaimer

All the earpads I tested are my own property, they did not come from the manufacturer or a distributor on review/loan basis.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

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Author

  • Alberto Pittaluga (Bologna, Italy)

    Head-Fier “Hooga” since 2020. Alberto is a part-time music and audio lover. He’s got limited time to concede himself to listening to music, and that’s why his primary focus is min-maxing his audio enjoyment sessions. To make things further complicated, due to family compromises he stays away from airing music on room speakers and dedicates himself exclusively to in- or over-ear drivers. A technology enthusiast since he was a kid, Alberto is not overly attracted by novelties for the sake of themselves, he’s indeed not a compulsive gear roller, and is interested in understanding why and how a given piece of equipment produces better or worse results. His articles are about sharing his experience with the hope that it may be useful to others on the same quest. In real life he is Italian, in his mid fifties, works as a sales&marketing executive, and his other main technical competence is IT.

Alberto Pittaluga (Bologna, Italy)

Head-Fier “Hooga” since 2020. Alberto is a part-time music and audio lover. He’s got limited time to concede himself to listening to music, and that’s why his primary focus is min-maxing his audio enjoyment sessions. To make things further complicated, due to family compromises he stays away from airing music on room speakers and dedicates himself exclusively to in- or over-ear drivers. A technology enthusiast since he was a kid, Alberto is not overly attracted by novelties for the sake of themselves, he’s indeed not a compulsive gear roller, and is interested in understanding why and how a given piece of equipment produces better or worse results. His articles are about sharing his experience with the hope that it may be useful to others on the same quest. In real life he is Italian, in his mid fifties, works as a sales&marketing executive, and his other main technical competence is IT.

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