Japanese audio brand Final has officially announced the DX10000 CL, a new flagship closed-back headphone that aims to push the category into true reference territory. The new model goes on pre-order from 9 July, with the first 150 units being offered as a limited Collector’s Edition.
The Collector’s Edition is priced at $8,999 / €8,999 / £7,999, while the standard version will retail for $8,499 / €8,499 / £7,499.
The biggest talking point is the newly developed 40mm True Diamond dynamic driver. Final says the driver uses a genuine diamond dome created through a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process, where a crystalline diamond layer is grown before the supporting substrate is removed. According to the company, the material’s high rigidity and damping properties help reduce distortion and improve transient response, particularly in the more demanding environment of a sealed headphone design.
Rather than relying on aggressive tuning to compensate for the usual drawbacks of closed-back headphones, Final says it approached the DX10000 CL as a complete acoustic system. The company focused on minimising internal reflections and resonance through a combination of the new driver, a rigid aluminium-magnesium housing, carefully controlled damping, specially designed earpads and an airtight construction.
Supporting the diamond diaphragm is a redesigned driver assembly featuring a lightweight polyimide voice coil, a new polyurethane surround, free-floating lead wires and an N55 neodymium magnet. An aluminium shorting ring and internal damping system are also used to help control unwanted vibrations inside the enclosure.
The housing itself is precision-machined from an aluminium-magnesium alloy using 5-axis CNC machining. Final says stiffness and airtightness were priorities during development, as even small amounts of vibration or air leakage can affect the performance of a closed-back headphone. Internally, excess material has been removed to reduce weight before the remaining cavities are filled with acoustic damping material.
Another interesting detail is the earpad design. Instead of using fully sealed pads, the DX10000 CL uses Ultrasuede with carefully controlled air permeability. Final says this approach produces a more natural tonal balance without needing to artificially boost the treble to offset increased bass pressure inside the ear chamber.
Long-term serviceability has also been considered. The headphone uses a 12-point screw-fastened construction rather than adhesives, allowing it to be disassembled for maintenance and replacement of wear parts when necessary.
The first 150 units will be available as a Collector’s Edition featuring gold-coloured accents. Buyers will also receive a traditional Japanese paulownia wood presentation box, a handmade Shingen Pouch made from Tango Chirimen silk and a CNC-machined aluminium headphone stand. The standard model swaps the gold accents for silver and includes Final’s regular D Series carrying case instead.
Final is also including two premium silver-coated OFC cables developed with Japanese cable specialist Junkosha. One is a 1.5-metre cable terminated in 4.4mm balanced, while the other is a 3-metre cable with a 4-pin XLR connector. Two adapters are included for compatibility with 6.3mm headphone outputs.
The DX10000 CL has a rated sensitivity of 92dB/mW, an impedance of 20 ohms and weighs 543g. Like Final’s other flagship products, it is manufactured in Japan.