Disclaimer: Heaven VIII came through my studio for a few days thanks to a Headphone Book shoot.

Or, Lady Gaga's Final Heartbeats, whichever is easier to say, is Final's newest high-tier universal BAM! It sounds good. Very good. Strong, but linear bass, very slightly muted highs, and a detailed, but lush midrange. It is, in my opinion, their best-sounding balanced armature earphone.

Unfortunately, it looks the way it does: like a smaller Beats by Dre Lady Gaga Heartbeats. The good news is that it is cool, heavy, and luxurious whereas the Beats isn't. Even Heaven VIII's flat cable is supple, soft, and resilient against microphonic noise. And I've never liked flat cables.

This is a nice earphone.

But the packaging: fake snake skin on the outside, fake beaver on the inside, is hideous. We Canadians love our beaver, but where there's muff, it's got to be real. Not that killing things in order to make an earphone is something I condone. I do not. But putting so much effort into faux materials, especially it at this price is, well... a little bit too Japanese for me. And, the fur shed all over my pine wood flooring. I'm still picking it out of the cracks.

Heaven VIII goes for just north of 70.000¥, and despite its horrible packaging, it is an earphone that weighs heavy on my mind.

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