Seal flows
The ear-tips sit at
the opening of the ear
canals, instead of having
to be shoved in deep.
You can almost forget
you’re wearing
them.TESTED EVA2020 X FINALTrue wireless earbuds in the style of anime
cyborgs tasked with saving Tokyo from the
bad guys? Makes perfect sense to us...
QThe EVA2020 x Finals could be
the nerdiest earphone collaboration
ever, bringing together Japanese
personal audio gurus Final and
legendary animators Studio Khara
to produce a trio of wireless buds
based on EVAs – the giant cyborg
battle-thingies from anime classic
Neon Genesis Evangelion.QFinal has done an impressive
job of translating the EVA styles
and colours into earbud form, and
we’re delighted not to have to test
more boring black blobs of audio.
The case looks cool too, if huge,
but then it is hiding an absolutely
massive battery (see below left).QThe case might be the size of
a cyborg’s gonad but the buds
are small, light and delightfully
comfortable. We wore them for
hours on end without fatigue,
something the competition needs
to consider more, plus they come
with five tip sizes to choose from.QEach earbud houses a single
dynamic driver serving up
precision and scale we’d typically
associate with pro in-ear monitors.
They’re clean too, with superb
instrument separation and detail,
but compared to the similar-priced
Sony WF-1000XM3s they are
lacking in the fun department.QSetup and connectivity are solid,
and we love that First Lieutenant
Maya Ibuki talks us through the
pairing process. It’s a sweet touch,
even if our early sample was still
in Japanese. Control comes from
a single button, which needs quite
a firm prod to wake up.Until Cambridge Audio brings us a Danger Mouse DAC, the EVA2020 x Finals will remain
our favourite audio/animation collaboration. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a cult classic
with a loyal fanbase, but Final has delivered with a product that faithfully recreates its
original style without compromising its own ability to build excellent earphones. They’re
not the last word in audiophile quality, but the battery is massive and they fit snugly.The styling is
cartoonish but
the sound is
anything but
Chris HaslamEarholes and villains
STUFF SAYS An impressively executed collaboration in both sound and style ++++,
Connectivity Bluetooth 5 aptX,
USB-C Battery life Up to 9hrs,
up to 63hrs with case
Weight 2x 5g, case 78gQ Serves up
The case contains a chunky
950mAh battery that can refuel
each bud eight times. Combined
with 9hrs of wireless playback
that means a total of 63hrs, long
enough to watch all 26 episodes
plus both movie spinoffs.Q God only glows
Audio kit always claims to let
you “hear the music as the artist
intended”, but here you get to
see it too, with the designs using
the colours of the Evangelions:
the purple Unit-01 (above), red
Unit-02 and blue/orange Unit-06.£199 / stuff.tv/EVA2020Tech specs