Oppo PM-3 : The Portable Planar - Impressions
Dec 7, 2016 at 1:21 AM Post #4,802 of 6,302
   
The Mojo literally did not impress me at all at that price tag, twice. Probably because I auditioned the Hugo (which is a totally another level) at the same times also :D
To the Groove, of course. I just A/B(ed) them recently and realized that I had not tried the high gain mode on the HA-2SE before, pretty much bettered the Groove in terms of soundstage and realism, particularly on metal tracks or live concerts. Intially I thought with the low impedance, I did not need to put the PM-3 on high gain (especially when I already knew it could sound OK straight out of my phone). Taking my words back for now lol. Btw how do you find the high gain with the battery life? is it much shorter?
 
One more question, anybody here had a chance to compare the PM-3 with the Audio Technica M70x (also highly regarded for the neutral and detailed sound signature)? 

 
ya, even though the pm-3 is efficient enough for a phone, it's at it's best when given power
 
Quote:
If any of you are looking for THEY best amp for the PM3, check out the iDSD micro and the newest addition the iDSD Micro black label. Out of this world synergy.

 
 
I concur.
 
Best pairing of all the amps I have.  I always wondered what people were talking about with "synergy".  I guess the idsd and pm3 does that for me.  I just don't use it as much since its sits as a desktop amp for me now.
 
Dec 7, 2016 at 1:34 AM Post #4,803 of 6,302
If any of you are looking for THEY best amp for the PM3, check out the iDSD micro and the newest addition the iDSD Micro black label. Out of this world synergy.


+1 the iDSD micro makes the PM-3 sound amazing. And if you are on a budget or need to be more portable the iDSD nano works great too.
 
Dec 7, 2016 at 1:37 AM Post #4,804 of 6,302
   
ya, even though the pm-3 is efficient enough for a phone, it's at it's best when given power
 
 
I concur.
 
Best pairing of all the amps I have.  I always wondered what people were talking about with "synergy".  I guess the idsd and pm3 does that for me.  I just don't use it as much since its sits as a desktop amp for me now.


Yes, after the update to 5.2 firmware - the iDSD just rocks with a lot of headphones - I recently tried it with the HE-560 and PM-2 again and man - it sounds soooo sweet with them as well.
 
Dec 8, 2016 at 5:52 AM Post #4,806 of 6,302
Get rid of that fruity blower and get the LG V20. A proper phone that is also a very capable DAC and should drive the PM-3 properly. :wink:

The V20 doesn't. It's fatally flawed in that it doesn't give enough power or volume unless you trick it into high resistance mode.

I was so set on buying that phone, and what I COULD hear was miles better than my iPhone, but it just isn't loud enough.
 
Dec 8, 2016 at 7:04 AM Post #4,808 of 6,302

I don't have the V20, but it is incredibly easy to trigger hi impedance mode physically on the V10 because the jack that goes into the headphone is a standard mini jack. Just make a female mini jack plug on which you solder two 100 ohm resistors.  Plug the jack that goes into the headphones in the female mini-jack, and plug the cable (the other mini jack) in the phone. Then replace the female mini-jack with the headphone without removing the cable from the phone. If you don't want to bother with making the female plug with he resistors, if you plug the cable into the phone without attaching it to the headphone, it triggers the medium impedance which gives a much higher output than the low impedance. I would assume that it is similar to the V20 - someone with that phone might confirm that.

 
Dec 8, 2016 at 8:51 AM Post #4,809 of 6,302
Ling Vu, where did you get it for that price of 200?


209 actually, Richersounds online store just had some pairs listed as refurbished/clearance items last week. It was so cheap that I would not bother with some marks as described, fortunately it was in perfect condition with all brand new accessories (even the seals on the earcups were still there).

Watch their clearance sections, there are some wonderful deals. Cheers, Ling
 
Dec 8, 2016 at 9:26 AM Post #4,810 of 6,302
I don't have the V20, but it is incredibly easy to trigger hi impedance mode physically on the V10 because the jack that goes into the headphone is a standard mini jack. Just make a female mini jack plug on which you solder two 100 ohm resistors.  Plug the jack that goes into the headphones in the female mini-jack, and plug the cable (the other mini jack) in the phone. Then replace the female mini-jack with the headphone without removing the cable from the phone. If you don't want to bother with making the female plug with he resistors, if you plug the cable into the phone without attaching it to the headphone, it triggers the medium impedance which gives a much higher output than the low impedance. I would assume that it is similar to the V20 - someone with that phone might confirm that.


"It's easy, just do this thing that requires extra cables/dongles and soldering/tinkering skills..."

Or......LG could have been smart enough to allow me to control the output.

All that stuff you said? I ain't doin' that.
 
Dec 8, 2016 at 9:45 AM Post #4,811 of 6,302
"It's easy, just do this thing that requires extra cables/dongles and soldering/tinkering skills..."

Or......LG could have been smart enough to allow me to control the output.

All that stuff you said? I ain't doin' that.


We all feel like that. Even if they don't want to make this an "official" feature - just leak an app in the store that can do it and wash your hands in innocence....
 
DO IT, LG!! DAMN IT.
 
biggrin.gif

 
Dec 8, 2016 at 10:26 AM Post #4,812 of 6,302

well - i agree. But they have to live up to regulations in EU. But putting the cable in the phone before you put it in the headphone isn't that difficult, is it? I mean, when the PM-3's are in the box you have to pull out the cable anyway. So instead of putting it in the headphone first, then just put it in the phone first.
Anyway, in high impedance mode, this combination og LG V10 and the PM-3 is really, really good, and definitely worth the little extra work.
 
Dec 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM Post #4,814 of 6,302
There was an app that did it for the V10. Does it not work for the V20? Glad I kept my HTC 10 then...


I cannot root my phone as I need it for testing. There is one app that switches the HiFi dac to always on but not the amp modes.

Anyhow. Back to PM-3.
 

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