[money4me247]

I think that comparing the PM-3's to the Momentums is an insult to the PM-3. But that's just me.

hahah. sound sig preferences tho

 

[audiobot]

is the fiio e12a a good pair for the pm-3? other than the ha-2, what amp or amp/dac would sound great with these?

 

[AxelCloris]

  is the fiio e12a a good pair for the pm-3? other than the ha-2, what amp or amp/dac would sound great with these?

 
The E12a is FiiO's IEM amp I believe. IEM-dedicated portable amps won't usually drive full size headphones to reasonable volumes.

 

[miceblue]

The E12a is FiiO's IEM amp I believe. IEM-dedicated portable amps won't usually drive full size headphones to reasonable volumes.

But it's a FiiO amp, not just any amp. FiiO's products have a lot of output power, more than the HA-2, and should have no trouble whatsoever driving the PM-3. As for whether or not it's a good pairing, I haven't heard the E12A before, but I don't like the original E12 with it.

Although now that I look at their specs, they seem off.
>420 mW at 16 ohms with <1% THD+N = >2.59 Vrms, >162.01 mA
But the maximum current output on their specs is 113.3 mA, which is less than the HA-2

 

[audiobot]

thanks fellas.

 

[dbdynsty25]

  I think that comparing the PM-3's to the Momentums is an insult to the PM-3. But that's just me.

 
Maybe so...however, I wear glasses and I lose a bit of bass response w/ the pads on the PM-3 that I don't on the M2.  Soooo...it's more a physical thing than a sound sig issue.  That said, I've had a lot of headphones that start out the way the PM-3s have and once they are broken in (the pads, not the drivers), they seal better.  So I'm being patient.

 

[aamefford]

   
Maybe so...however, I wear glasses and I lose a bit of bass response w/ the pads on the PM-3 that I don't on the M2.  Soooo...it's more a physical thing than a sound sig issue.  That said, I've had a lot of headphones that start out the way the PM-3s have and once they are broken in (the pads, not the drivers), they seal better.  So I'm being patient.

Weird, I don't notice a difference, glasses on or glasses off.  Definitely personal preference, head shape, glasses shape and style.  One size sure doesn't fit all.

 

[obsidyen]

  I think that comparing the PM-3's to the Momentums is an insult to the PM-3. But that's just me.

I have not heard the PM-3 but auditioned Momentum 2.0 and they sound pretty great. I prefer IEMs for portable use so didn't buy them (but that doesn't mean I won't) though. Just because it's a planar magnetic doesn't make it automatically brilliant (EL-8 comes to mind). Tyll seems more impressed with Momentum 2.0 than PM-3 judging by his reactions to them. We should wait for full reviews though. That said if you tried both PM-3 and Momentum 2.0, then I respect your opinion of course but if you have not, I wouldn't be so fast to jump to conclusions.
 
Many owners state that they were not impressed by the sound of PM-3 at first but liked it as time passed by and some sold them only to buy them once more. That right there is brain burn-in. I usually decide if I like a headphone or not in the first hour. Because I know brain burn-in will make me get used to something that I don't enjoy particularly. It's just like getting used to your girlfriend that you don't really love. You can't leave her because you're used to having her around and are afraid that you might not be able to find someone better. You don't love her, but you can't part with her. You might even feel regret after leaving her and try to get back with her, only to be locked into the loveless but comfortable relationship once more. Deep inside, you know you'd leave her this instant if you met a very special girl, or in this case, a special headphone.

 

[tolis626]

   
Maybe so...however, I wear glasses and I lose a bit of bass response w/ the pads on the PM-3 that I don't on the M2.  Soooo...it's more a physical thing than a sound sig issue.  That said, I've had a lot of headphones that start out the way the PM-3s have and once they are broken in (the pads, not the drivers), they seal better.  So I'm being patient.

From my (admittedly limited) experience, thick ear cushions do improve with time. A friend had a similar problem with every headphone he used while wearing a pair of huge glasses he owned. The headphones would press the glasses' really thick frame into his skull over the ears, and it hurt quite a bit. Seeing as he's a DJ, it was a problem. I haven't spoken with him in quite a while, but I think he bought a pair of Denon AH-D600 (Aren't those closed?). At first they weren't any better than other headphones, but with time they improved, unlike his other cans.
 
Moral of the story is, give them some time and see what happens.

 

[dbdynsty25]

I took them out to my car for a 30 min. listening session with my HA-2 and My Galaxy S6 and as the pads heated up (it was around 85 degrees out), I could tell the seal improved.  So I've got pretty high hopes for these.  Def a different signature than the M2...so I just have to really decide which one I prefer.  Admittedly, I really like the slimmer, fold flat case of the Oppo so they will be really nice for business trips.  The M2, while it's more portable than the M1, it's still extremely thick and bulky when it comes to the case.  It doesn't slide into my bag nearly as easy.  But then again, it's much cheaper to get a different bag than it is to find a perfect sounding headphone (for me).  So it's still all TBD.  
 
Definitely curious about the difference between my C5D amp and the HA-2 w/ the PM-3s.  The three stage bass boost on the C5D is much cleaner (meaning it really only affects the lower end) than the boost on the HA-2.  I do know I like that better.  So again, once I get home, I'll be able to test all that out.

 

[miceblue]

The three stage bass boost on the C5D is much cleaner (meaning it really only affects the lower end) than the boost on the HA-2.  I do know I like that better.  So again, once I get home, I'll be able to test all that out.

The HA-2's bass boost is between the C5D's medium and maximum bass boosts actually in terms of total boost. The frequency is slightly different though.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/755879/oppo-ha-2-portable-headphone-amplifier-dac-discussion-thread#post_11343168

http://blog.jdslabs.com/?p=722

 

[dbdynsty25]

The HA-2's bass boost is between the C5D's medium and maximum bass boosts actually in terms of total boost. 

 
Yeah, it sounds about right.  To me, the C5D is just cleaner, and it doesn't affect the rest of the spectrum as much.  That said, I don't have my C5D w/ me to test side by side at the moment so it's all from memory.  Tonight will be the real test of course.  W/ the PM-3...you know, to keep the thread on track.

 

[daphen]

 
I have not heard the PM-3 but auditioned Momentum 2.0 and they sound pretty great. I prefer IEMs for portable use so didn't buy them (but that doesn't mean I won't) though. Just because it's a planar magnetic doesn't make it automatically brilliant (EL-8 comes to mind). Tyll seems more impressed with Momentum 2.0 than PM-3 judging by his reactions to them. We should wait for full reviews though. That said if you tried both PM-3 and Momentum 2.0, then I respect your opinion of course but if you have not, I wouldn't be so fast to jump to conclusions.
 
Many owners state that they were not impressed by the sound of PM-3 at first but liked it as time passed by and some sold them only to buy them once more. That right there is brain burn-in. I usually decide if I like a headphone or not in the first hour. Because I know brain burn-in will make me get used to something that I don't enjoy particularly. It's just like getting used to your girlfriend that you don't really love. You can't leave her because you're used to having her around and are afraid that you might not be able to find someone better. You don't love her, but you can't part with her. You might even feel regret after leaving her and try to get back with her, only to be locked into the loveless but comfortable relationship once more. Deep inside, you know you'd leave her this instant if you met a very special girl, or in this case, a special headphone.

I prefer the EL-8 to the PM-3's actually. And yes, I've heard both and I would say the M2 is a bass head phone all the way. I found it very bloated. I returned it after 4 days.
It's not just because the PM-3 is a planar. It's just that I think it's better at everything. There's no area that I would say the M2's do better in. And I say this with quite the margin.
Tyll sure does like his bass though.
I find myself disagreeing with him more often than not now adays. I was a bit of a bass junkie myself for a while and then I praised him like a god amongst men, since we shared our opinions pretty precisely.

 

[audiobot]

  I prefer the EL-8 to the PM-3's actually. And yes, I've heard both and I would say the M2 is a bass head phone all the way. I found it very bloated. I returned it after 4 days.
It's not just because the PM-3 is a planar. It's just that I think it's better at everything. There's no area that I would say the M2's do better in. And I say this with quite the margin.
Tyll sure does like his bass though.
I find myself disagreeing with him more often than not now adays. I was a bit of a bass junkie myself for a while and then I praised him like a god amongst men, since we shared our opinions pretty precisely.

Is the EL-8's sound worth the +$300 over the Oppo PM-3? From impressions, it doesn't seem so. Maybe the 560 at +$400 is worth it over the Oppo's, but then again, it's an open back.

 

[money4me247]

Tyll seems more impressed with Momentum 2.0 than PM-3 judging by his reactions to them. We should wait for full reviews though. That said if you tried both PM-3 and Momentum 2.0, then I respect your opinion of course but if you have not, I wouldn't be so fast to jump to conclusions.

Many owners state that they were not impressed by the sound of PM-3 at first but liked it as time passed by and some sold them only to buy them once more. That right there is brain burn-in. I usually decide if I like a headphone or not in the first hour. Because I know brain burn-in will make me get used to something that I don't enjoy particularly. It's just like getting used to your girlfriend that you don't really love. You can't leave her because you're used to having her around and are afraid that you might not be able to find someone better. You don't love her, but you can't part with her. You might even feel regret after leaving her and try to get back with her, only to be locked into the loveless but comfortable relationship once more. Deep inside, you know you'd leave her this instant if you met a very special girl, or in this case, a special headphone.

"Oppo PM-3 - Frankly, I think this is their best headphone yet. Another one on the review short list." quote by Tyll Hertsens. Link here.

That is a really strong positive endorsement considering Oppo's only other headphone models are competing with flagships and retail at $699 and $1,099.

If you read Tyll's Momentum Gen2 review (found here), you will see in his concluding remarks there is a qualifier: "best" for mid-fi bluetooth headphones while previous gen passive Momentums perform better. I personally thought the old Momentums are solid, though definitely not $400-good. Their current $300 and below sale price is mich more reflective of their sonic performance in this category.

Frankly though, I could care less what Tyll says. I do my own personal listening impressions and recommend others to do the same.

lol at your long-winded gf analogy, but to throw it back at you, it is really more of a lust vs love type thing. A colored v-shaped sound sig is like a girl w a fun personality and a big bASS. Fun & exciting to 'try on,' but might not be someone you actually want to marry. A headphine with clean well-balanced sound sig is like a girl who keeps it real. Might not seem impressive at first, but value will become more and more apparent in time. A girl/headphone like that is much harder to find.

ymmv