[good sound]

 

 

For a quick comparison id say the Hp50s have a similar sound sig and quality to my ears, id actually choose them over the pm-3 as they are better value but they are quite uncomfortable which kills them for me.

Momentums have comparable comfort and sound quality with more bass and treble but sound more congested and not as smooth.

T51ps also have a stronger bass and treble. More unbalanced sounding which can make music sound a bit strange at times. Not as comfortable for long time listening due to being on ear.

 


So HP50 is equal or better than PM3 in terms of the sound quality ?

I would say it's about equal in terms of sound quality and has a similar type of sound signature. If the hp50 was more comfortable I would actually have chosen it over the pm-3 due to it being $200 cheaper.

I'm hoping that this is just a personal preference issue and not that the final version of the PM-3, which I have not heard, changed that much form the prototypes that I was able to compare directly against my HP50's at TAVES. In that context, using the X5 as a source, I can't imagine anyone not coming to the conclusion that the PM-3 were superior in almost every aspect compared to the HP50. If your comparisons were performed with higher quality home based amplification components and source material perhaps it is a case of the NAD's simply scaling better than the PM-3's. I could see this as I am surprised how much better my HP50's sound when fed from the headphone jack on my Oppo BDFP-105 Blu-ray player compared to when theyn are connected to my X5 for portable use.
 
I am still hoping that my financial situation stabilizes relatively quickly so that i can purchase a pair of final version PM-3's for myself.
 
BTW, in Canada the MSRP difference between the HP50 and the PM-3 is only $100

 

[chailee80]

Thank you chailee, PM3 is almost $300CAD more expensive in Canada than HP50. Maybe I should keep HP50,

If you are happy with the hp50s sound and comfort then keep them, you are not really missing out on anything.

 

[Canadian411]

If you are happy with the hp50s sound and comfort then keep them, you are not really missing out on anything.

 


I like the mids on HP50 but the comfort is a major turn off so I am not so sure.

 

[chailee80]

I'm hoping that this is just a personal preference issue and not that the final version of the PM-3, which I have not heard, changed that much form the prototypes that I was able to compare directly against my HP50's at TAVES. In that context, using the X5 as a source, I can't imagine anyone not coming to the conclusion that the PM-3 were superior in almost every aspect compared to the HP50. If your comparisons were performed with higher quality home based amplification components and source material perhaps it is a case of the NAD's simply scaling better than the PM-3's. I could see this as I am surprised how much better my HP50's sound when fed from the headphone jack on my Oppo BDFP-105 Blu-ray player compared to when theyn are connected to my X5 for portable use.

I am still hoping that my financial situation stabilizes relatively quickly so that i can purchase a pair of final version PM-3's for myself.

BTW, in Canada the MSRP difference between the HP50 and the PM-3 is only $100

I tested both straight from my iPad and also with my iPad connected to the ha-2 playing 320k mp3s. Both headphones sounded very good to my ears and were very comparable in sound quality. If I had to choose a winner I'd say the pm-3 is marginally better but definitely nowhere near $200 better.

I don't want to make it sound like the pm-3 is a total rip off, I tested it against the akg k267 which I thought also had comparable sound quality and was about equal but costs $100 more than the pm-3 so there are definitely headphones out there that have worse value.

 

[chailee80]

If you are happy with the hp50s sound and comfort then keep them, you are not really missing out on anything.

 


I like the mids on HP50 but the comfort is a major turn off so I am not so sure.

The differences in comfort are night and day between the two. I used the pm-3s on two 3 hour flights today as well as a 2 hour wait in between with no comfort issues apart from my ears getting a bit hot due to us still having hot summertime temperatures here at the moment.

 

[money4me247]

Thank you chailee, PM3 is almost $300CAD more expensive in Canada than HP50. Maybe I should keep HP50,

the hp50 are a solid value in terms of soundqualityrice. very good overall sq too. i do prefer the pm3 personally but of course in this hobby when u start going beyond the $200-$300 mark diminishing returns starts slappin u in the face. rly a personal opinion whether the benefits the pm3 brings is worth the extra money. for me yes, but i kno tat wont b the case for everyone. try to see if u can do an extensive demo slash conparision & rmb ur brain needs time to adjust to a new sound sig. cheers

 

[Canadian411]

the hp50 are a solid value in terms of soundqualityrice. very good overall sq too. i do prefer the pm3 personally but of course in this hobby when u start going beyond the $200-$300 mark diminishing returns starts slappin u in the face. rly a personal opinion whether the benefits the pm3 brings is worth the extra money. for me yes, but i kno tat wont b the case for everyone. try to see if u can do an extensive demo slash conparision & rmb ur brain needs time to adjust to a new sound sig.

cheers

 


How's the mid on PM3 vs HP50 or even TH900 ?
I am looking for a closed headphone with an organic sound like HE6 and forward mids.

 

[chailee80]

the hp50 are a solid value in terms of soundqualityrice. very good overall sq too. i do prefer the pm3 personally but of course in this hobby when u start going beyond the $200-$300 mark diminishing returns starts slappin u in the face. rly a personal opinion whether the benefits the pm3 brings is worth the extra money. for me yes, but i kno tat wont b the case for everyone. try to see if u can do an extensive demo slash conparision & rmb ur brain needs time to adjust to a new sound sig. cheers

It was pretty extensive overall I would say, I spent 6 hours comparing the pm-3 against all would be challengers and I have owned the hp50 before so I think I have a fairly good impression of both. I'm not a super critical listener by any means so if that's you or anyone else then disregard my opinions, I just know what I consider to be a good quality, enjoyable sound and both the hp50 and pm-3 really hit the spot.

 

[good sound]

 

the hp50 are a solid value in terms of soundqualityrice. very good overall sq too. i do prefer the pm3 personally but of course in this hobby when u start going beyond the $200-$300 mark diminishing returns starts slappin u in the face. rly a personal opinion whether the benefits the pm3 brings is worth the extra money. for me yes, but i kno tat wont b the case for everyone. try to see if u can do an extensive demo slash conparision & rmb ur brain needs time to adjust to a new sound sig.

cheers

It was pretty extensive overall I would say, I spent 6 hours comparing the pm-3 against all would be challengers and I have owned the hp50 before so I think I have a fairly good impression of both. I'm not a super critical listener by any means so if that's you or anyone else then disregard my opinions, I just know what I consider to be a good quality, enjoyable sound and both the hp50 and pm-3 really hit the spot.

So, just for the sake of confirmation you did not compare the HP50 to the PM-3 directly, is that correct?

 

[money4me247]

So, just for the sake of confirmation you did not compare the HP50 to the PM-3 directly, is that correct?

if u r asking me, no direct comparisions against the two. hence no direct comments abt their relative performance against each other. all i can say is that the hp50 is an excellent pair of headphones & a solid recommendation at their price point for me personally. cannot comment on longterm comfort for the hp50 either.

i do personally prefer the pm3s over the hp50 as i only end up keeping headphones that i really enjoy. totally subjective in that aspect. ymmv

 

[good sound]

 

So, just for the sake of confirmation you did not compare the HP50 to the PM-3 directly, is that correct?

if u r asking me, no direct comparisions against the two. hence no direct comments abt their relative performance against each other. all i can say is that the hp50 is an excellent pair of headphones & a solid recommendation at their price point for me personally. cannot comment on longterm comfort for them tho.

No I was asking chailee80, sorry i should have deleted your portion of the quote.

 

[redogfizbal]

Has anyone pitted the pm-3 to the pm-2? I understand there's a pretty big difference in price and usage scenarios. I'm just curious.... I've been itching to get an open back headphone for a while now, but do to lifestyle it would have limited usage. Is the sound so much better that I would look for time to spend with them?

 

[lukeap69]

PM-2 has more bass quantity, hits harder, warmer, and more resolving. The mids is slightly yummier. The highs of PM-3 is s tad smoother which I prefer with some recordings. IMO of course.

 

[chailee80]

So, just for the sake of confirmation you did not compare the HP50 to the PM-3 directly, is that correct?

Yes, even though i have owned the hp50 before i included it in my fairly vast list of headphones to compare with the pm-3. That list included the b&o h6, beyer cop, akg k267, sony mdr-1a, ath-m70x, b&w p5/p7, momentum v2 and aedle vk-1 to name a few.
The headphones that i thought were fairly equal overall with the pm-3 were the b&o h6, kef m500 and akg k267. The hp50 and spirit classic were equal soundwise but not for comfort.

 

[SilentFrequency]

omg, there is like a million new posts on this thread since I last checked, so can I just ask if there are any reviews off members who maybe own or have heard this headphone already?

Thanks!

SF