Nice review, always good to read more impressions and opinions on these wonderful cans.

Great review sir!

Great review! You give the reader a great feel for what the headphone sounds like. I have a feeling I'll be trading in my V-Moda M-100's for a new portable option in the near future!

@moedawg140 - Har har.  
 
@MattTCG - I have a JDS Labs C5 arriving today, but I already sent off the loaner PM-3 and mine aren't here yet.  I'll try to give some feedback on whether the portable amp helps once I have the PM-3 again.
 
@Nekrosov - The PM-3 will be replacing my HP100.  As much as I love the HP100, the PM-3 is on another level.  It's much more detailed, making the HP100 sound muddy in comparison.  The bass is also much more natural, though still with impact, making the HP100's bass sound bloated.  The HP100 has a bigger, airier soundstage and more forward treble.  It's also more comfortable for me (with the Shure 1540 pads).  But yeah, the PM-3 just sounds more natural, more detailed than the HP100.  I still think the HP100 is nearly impossible to beat at its price point, but it can't compete with the PM-3.
 
And to all of you, thanks for the kind words!  It means a lot to me!

Thank you!

Just curious if you've heard a regular production PM-3 and compared it to the review sample. I've read that Oppo review samples tend to sound better than the production ones.

Nice review. How much narrower is the soundstage on the PM-3 as compared to the PM-2. I love my PM-2 and in fact take them with me more than I thought I would due to transportability. But there are times that I cannot use them due to them being open. So, the PM-3 does have some allure for me. But in the end, I would rather have the more limited use-case and better SQ if the PM-2 is significantly better than the PM-3.  PM-2 is already relatively closed for an open can, but to me still sounds open. If the PM-3 is significantly more closed than the PM-1/PM-2 then I cannot see making that trade and I do not want to own both. Rather, I would just stick with my other closed options and use the PM-2 when able to use open cans.

@mrip541 I have no idea which one I heard and, frankly, I'd be very surprised and disappointed if they were giving "better" units to reviewers/loaners.
 
@Colgin I'm sorry, but I heard them a few weeks apart.  From memory, I'd say it's notably narrower.  I don't think you're losing a lot of SQ, though.  As I mentioned, it still separates and images well, it's just shrunken down a bit.

Awesome review bro
 
The PM-3 was quite awesome sounding last time I heard them, may have to look into getting a pair...

I might be asking for something non-sense but can you @Stillhart please compare it to M40x or B&W P7? I use M40x for hours and hours daily and am thinking of upgrading to a better headphone soon for portable (read as closed back 'phone, size no bar).
 
The review is very good, comparison should always be done with headphones that seem to be very well used by most of headfiers

@imran27 Sorry, I haven't heard those.  I suggest asking in the PM-3 impressions thread!
 
Thanks for the kind words to you and @Netforce.  Netflix, you should definitely look into it!

@Stillhart your review is very good, you're lucky to get your hands on the PM-3 so early.
 
Do these headphones resolve and detail the music well? Being a Planar Mag drv the wide freq range and high speed/acceleration is apparent, does it help in resolving and detailing of sound much? The soundstage, you said narrow but how much narrow? Compared to what?
 
Thanks in Advance.

Excellent review.

Nice review! And I couldn't agree with you more about the soundstage. Out of all of my current closed back cans it is clearly the smallest. Which is a shame because they are very very good headphones that sonically can stack up with all the other big boys in the price range but that soundstage is a huge letdown. The isolation is second to none, looks and feel are top tier, mids are silky and bass is strong enough for most. Overall I'm a fan  

I hope it will be somebody who try the Oppos with a HM-801,(as I have one),so as to decide...

I never realized how beautiful those headphones were until I saw your pictures, well done! They really do seem to have excellent aesthetics.
 
These seem to be an excellent contender in my favorite new category of headphones, mid-fi cans with a Sean Olive compensation curve FR. I loved the other two big headphones in that area (the NAD Viso HP50 and the Focal Spirit Pro/Classic), but both had fatal flaws with regards to their comfort, if these have the sound of the other two without the comfort flaws, they'll be a hell of a headphone!

Thank you for this review. I very rarely do anything of this sort, but I have purchased these (on backorder currently) without even listening to them first. Your review was very complete and gave me that extra kick in the pants that I needed to make my decision. I'm looking forward to receiving these beauties soon!

Really good review, thx !

bought this pm-3 about one week ago and i've tried it with mac pro and iphone and also tv, treble is laid back, max volume is just not loud enough for me, explosion scenes in the movie just do not have the impact. In this case, do you think i need an amp? thank you.

Hi @kcboy, I find them pretty easy to drive and I wonder if "loud enough" for you is maybe different than it is for me.  If you would like more volume, though, a nice portable amp really makes them sound a bit better too.  I use a JDS Labs C5 and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, but any decent alternative should work too (Fiio E12, Cayan C5, Oppo HA-2, etc).