Oppo PM-3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones (Black)

The Oppo pm-3, if only i had found this headphone sooner, it would have saved me months of internet searching. I will go into a lot of detail and a Sennheiser momentum m2 comparison. Its been well over a year now with them so I feel ready to give my daily portable cans a proper review.Build quality- 9.5/10- Earcups, the back is made of aluminum, and the sides of the cup are made of a hard plastic, that is connected via a metal pivot to the headband. Very very well built, the ample use of metal is justified for the price tag. Momentum M2 comparison: the ear cups on the pm 3s are designed in a much better way that takes the weight off of the center of the ear cups, and places them on the pivots. (Which have shown no signs of popping off any time soon)-The headband, it is a covered in a soft textured faux leather. No complaints here, but what is inside the headband? I dont know, but ive come to the conclusion that is incredibly hard break through normal use. Not a single tear on faux leather, regardless of the rough treatment it has had. Comparison to M2: The Oppo pm3 headband is much more comfortable, due to the headband distributing the weight of the Pm 3s over the entire headband, compared to the Momentum M2s which rely on an open headband that places the weight on two separate pads.- The ear pads, the oppo pm3 has some of the most comfortable faux leather ear pads ive tried to date. Although they are not removable and need to be sent back to be changed, i dont see the need of changing them for new ones as they have shown no sign of wear or tear. Comparison to M2s: the Pm 3s completely destroy the m2s in ear pad comfort. Okay, Sennheiser tried adding memory form with leather ear pads to their product, but it was just a complete belly flop because it failed to maintain shape. My m2s came with a right ear pad that was flatter than usual on one part of it, because of how it was packaged. Ive verified with friends who also have a pair, and have had a similar problem with the pads. The Pm 3 pads may not be memory foam or real leather, but they are not susceptible to shipping “flattening” or heat and cold changes.- Inside the ear pads, the oppo pm3 has a very slight flaw. I have average sized ears, and the pads are just shallow enough that the tip of my ear touches the right driver. I have heard other people complain about it, and I can confirm that its true. It does not bother me, but if you have unusually large ears, it might be an issue. Comparison to the M2s: the m2 pads keep my ear from touching the pads because of their thickness, but only on the left side. The right side with its deformed ear pad has my ear touching the padding even more than the Pm 3s.- Cable. The oppo pm3 has a 3.5mm connector for the cable. Came with 2 wires, a short wire i picked for apple devices, and a long one with a 1/4 adapter. Perfect. Nothing more need to be said. Comparison to M2s: the m2s fail in this department again. They use a 2.5mm proprietary cable that is rececesed into the cup, so that only a special sennheiser m2 cable can fit into the plug. No wonder i cant find any replacement cables for it that aren’t directly from Sennheiser. Not to mention that the M2cable was kind of thin and flimsy, like they’d stretched out the wiring to make it as cheap as possible.Presentation (box opening)- 10/10- It ships in a gray cardboard box with an additional hard box inside with the headphones. Fairly nicely textured box that reminds me of my hd 600 box, but I wont be storing them in there. The headphones come with the cups flat in a special hard denim carrying case (which i still use to this day), with its cables. THANK YOU OPPO for not messing up the ear pads. Comparison to M2: The pm 3 case was genuinely easy to open, unlike the M2 case that came in a very tight outer box from the store. Inside the M2 box were the headphones, folded up with its cable in soft shell case. The folding aspect ruined the right pad, as it was squeezed against the metal side of the headband connector.Sound- 8.5/10Highs- this is where the oppo pm 3 takes the veiling a bit too far. I get why they would veil the highs, sibilance is by far the worse aspect of music in any sense. But they veiled the highs just a bit too far, which the m2s did not veil. Comparison to the M2s: even though the oppo pm 3 has rolled off highs, the highs are still more pleasant than the M2s. The M2s are outright sibilant, which means that the Ts and Ss sounds on certain songs are incredibly piercing and sharp to the point that it’s annoying. And this is the M2s fault entirely, because even the hd 600s dont have harsh highs.Mid Range- I give this to the PM-3’s with a smooth and refined mid range. This came as a suprise to me because sennheiser is known for their midrange centered headphones. The highs in the oppo Pm 3 do not take over the mid range,neither does the bass. Comparison to M2s: They are on par, but the pm 3 mid range is still more audible because the bass does not enter into the mid range.Bass- The oppo pm 3 takes this one, especially when paired to a HA-2se dac/amp. The bass is controlled, and in songs where there is bass present, it’ll be there in its fullest. And when bass i not present, it wont be. I even prefer the PM-3s bass to that of the Hd 600s. Comparison to M2s: the M2s had bass, but it was unusually muddy, and was either bass light on songs where it should not be, or the bass was not well controlled to the point that it was bleeding into the mid range.All in all, ill be enjoying using these for years to come. As an added side note, the PM-3s were made so that they could be run with a balanced 4 pin XLR. Ill be testing that later down the road.Edit: if you find that something is missing on the PM-3s, sound wise, try the ha-2se. They are made for each other. The bass boost on it adds a very well received boost in the lower region that doesn’t hurt the mid or highs.

The shopping process has changed and occasionally, when I feel a product is outstanding, I like to "Pass It On". . I almost didn’t buy these as a negative review about comfort concerned me. I took a leap of faith after reading reviews and web audio magazines and I am so glad I did. I chose the mid level expedited shipping as I have a time limit on a possible return of my Shure 1540s- for the extra 6 dollars, I received my headphones in 3 days cross country.The box they came in was well packed and the inner product box has a nice presentation. I opened it to find a compact rigid denim like case with the headphones folded to their sides. The headphones is handsomely designed with black brushed aluminum covering the sides of the ear cups, constructed of high impact plastic, steel arms and synthetic leather covers the headband and ear cups. The look is elegant. The build seems solid. I attached the long cable, almost 3m which is a bit unwieldy but I suppose may come in handy if pacing around while listening. I wound up attaching the much shorter 1.2m iPhone cable, which is included in a separate package in the box.My primary source is an iMac , and i also use my iPhone. I know these are portable but in my opinion nothing beats a pair of quality IEMS for travel to work. They are fine for travel though with their folding ear cups and case.The sound quality is slightly north of neutral or natural as there is oomph to the bass extension as well as the treble. The midrange is sweet on vocals. So much for my technical analysis. I was hoping they wouldn't sound "flat" after all the reviews I read about the natural sound, but they are far from that. I don't know about a "fun" sound signature, but I am having fun with these.They don't require an amp to drive with a low impedance of 26 ohms. When I attached a Fiio A3 amplifier, I was pleasantly surprised at how the bass was lifted and the overall sound was warm and full. I was immersed in sound going directly into my brain. For a closed headphone, the soundstage seemed "relatively open" I won't say wide. They have relatively natural for a closed headphone. The passive isolation is excellent. You can tell I am a technical expert. I do know good sound.I bought them two weeks after buying the Shure 1540’s, which are also an excellent headphone. In a short time It became apparent the Shure’s bass seemed to "crack" at louder volumes and on bass heavy songs. I'Il hate to part with the Shure as they too sound terrific at normal listening volume, but when I want to "crank it up" I don't want to be limited. After using my head as an A/B switch from song after song, the bass on side two of Abbey Road - "Mean Mr. Mustard" and the vocal's of "Because" and then to the brass of Frank Zappa's Grand Wazoo and Chicago to the strings and full orchestration of Beethoven, to the full orchestration of Queen. The Oppo PM-3 mastered all genres.I like buying from Amazon Prime, as I know I can get a refund if a make a unwanted purchase. Though I went to a large audio store with a wide selection of headphones, I could not even audition the Shure 1540-I had to buy it to try it. I hesitated with the Oppo as a third party seller. I know many of my purchases, especially things like headphones are based on reviews and feedback, not actual trial. But Oppo has a fine reputation and I took that leap of faith and I am glad I did. I though about pressing that cancel button more than once as thinking of the sometimes arduous process of returning with the extra burden of having to work with a third party seller's RMA and shipping costs etc...I've been spoiled, but I heard so many good things about the PM-3 so much "I went for it".I started this review mentioning I was almost swayed by a reviewer that found these uncomfortable. I did my homework. I found the cup size fit my ear- the first question in the "Questions" section above. I find The Opposite PM-3 easy to wear, comfortable and relatively light. Oppo claims to have a "calibrated clamping force" and I believe their system works. These are the lowest cost headphones in the Oppo family as they have experience-crafting headphones that cost over $1000. And those are highly rated as well.They are very comfortable, I have worn them for the past 3 hours prior to writing this. Comfort is critical in a headphone as no matter how good the sound is, if you can't wear them- they get dusty.If you are a total "Bass Hesd" or enjoy Beats, Oppo may not be for you. There is plentiful bass, mids & highs if they are in the music- the PM-3 will play it. They also seem slightly bass elevated to me but that is my subjective opinion. I think anyone can learn to love these cans. I really get listening pleasure from the Oppo PM-3. Pass it on!Pros- Sound, build, accessories, comfort.Cons-Non removable earopads, must send back to Oppo to replace..Update Nov 2018: What a difference a year makes- my sometime hobby of headphone exploded into a daily musical experience. The Oppo are my lowest price wired headphone among those I active listen to but the sound has just gotten better with time. If you are fortunate enough to finds a pair of PM-3's at a reasonable price- grab them. The sound just gets better with time and the build is solid and gorgeous. My other coxed headphones are not portable and much higher priced but the Oppo were a steal at $400 and next to Mr. Speakers Aeon Flow, these are the best headphones I have been able to find and I actively listen to everything I can get on my ears. I don't regret this purchase. Wish I had bought a white pair for my wife. She will just have to live with Sennheiser HD1s, poor thing.

They sound great right out of the box. The base seems fine to me but listen mostly to acoustic. I am returning them immediately. They are made for someone with a small head and very small ears. I have to crumple my ears like a piece of paper to get them on and sounding OK. If I sit them on top of the back flange of my ear, not only do they feel awful but they sound awful. And because they are intended for a small head, the padding is completely compressed and the structure of the inner speaker rests on my ear. The plether cushion covers don't breath at all and within a few minutes my ears feel like they're cooking. My head is 23 inches around just above the ears. Too bad, the least expensive part ruins the rest.It would be unfair if I did not also note that the overall quality of the headphones is very high. They are nicely made. Just small.

Really awful headphones. I spent a lot of money buying it and one is constantly fiddling with it to find a sound balance..they have killed the entire experience of sound and music , just ordered a different set .