[IAMBLEST]

Are you going to be keeping the el8 considering you already have the LCD-3s?

Yep for sure. LCD3's are a reference piece.

Have you tried the EL-8 with your deskop amp to see if they can scale ?

Not yet. Only got them today.

Will answer any more questions tomorrow when I get up.

 

[reddog]

Dang it, now I have to order the el-8 closed and compare to my oppo pm-3. The only thin I was missing with the oppo was the bass slam.

I am sorry for your wallet lol, but I hope EL-8 closed back scratches your itch for that primal bass slam. I love that type of bass and will most likely get the open back of the EL-8. And I hope the satisfying thud of the bass, drowns out the sobbing lamentations of my wallet.

 

[rmullins08]

This conversation interests me.  My wallet is itching to do something unnecessary.

 

[money4me247]

subbed. good comparisons & enjoyed reading through your posts!
 
just one question: you state that the audeze el-8 has a more intimate presentation, but also state that the el-8 has a larger sound stage.... that sounds to me to be a contradiction. To me, the traditional definition of a more intimate presentation means you are closer to the performers which means the sound stage is smaller. Would love to hear clarification on what exactly you meant by that. 

 

[NZtechfreak]

Be interested to see your thoughts on scaling with desktop set up, the protos I heard scaled only a little going from the HA-2 to very good desktop amps.

 

[Jprod]

Hello from a first time poster! Thank you for a great review. I'm looking to "up my game " in the headphone dept. I started with the p5s and also own the psb 4mu2. I had both of these headphones that you reviewed on my shortlist. Should I go open back el8? Closed pm3 ? I would not like to be too redundant with what I have. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Looking to use mostly at home. I own the oppo ha2 amp/dac. Will hook to it and iPhone and use tidal. Also will hook into a parasound p5 preamp. Rock and blues is what I listen to but also listen to some jazz and classical.
Go easy on a newbie !!

 

[money4me247]

Hello from a first time poster! Thank you for a great review. I'm looking to "up my game " in the headphone dept. I started with the p5s and also own the psb 4mu2. I had both of these headphones that you reviewed on my shortlist. Should I go open back el8? Closed pm3 ? I would not like to be too redundant with what I have. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Go easy on a newbie !!

depends on your budget, primarily applications, and whether you are interested in purchasing additional components (such as amplifiers/dac).
 
If you want an all-rounder headphone to be used with portable usage as well that is a sonic upgrade (do note that despite being a sonic upgrade, it is important to demo or read about headphones you are interested in as the sound signature/frequency response[aka amount of bass, mid, and treble] must match what you are looking for), you should be looking at closed options. My personal recommendations for more neutral-oriented closed backs that I really enjoyed include the $400 PM-3, sub-$200 AKG K545, $300 HP50, and $150-$350 Momentum (either gen1/gen2). People have been saying great things about the $400 BO H6 as well, but I haven't had a chance to try them. For slightly colored closed backs, you can check out the M100 for a bass heavy v-shaped pair of headphones or the MDR-1R/MDR-1A for a mid-focused pair of headphones. There is no need to spend more than $200-$300 for a solid all-around pair of closed headphones... as you go further beyond that price point you will begin experiencing more & more extreme diminishing returns, but the premium may be worth it for you. My two favorites closed headphones right now are the K545 and PM-3.
 
If you want to get as much sound quality improvement for your money as possible and are not planning on using them for portable usage or have another dedicated portable pair of headphones already, you should look into an open pair of headphones for home usage. Open headphones will leak sound in & out, but provide a larger sound stage & a more natural sound. do note that the majority of open headphones will require a amplifier at least & a dac optional to maximize your headphone's potential.
 
There are a multitude of amazing performing open headphones at many different price points from $200-$500 that perform very competitively against much higher valued options or flagship type headphones. My favorite for sound:value is the AKG K7xx from massdrop.com. The some of the classic highly regarded recommendations that outperform their asking price would include the following: Beyerdynamic has the dt770/880/990, AKG has the Q701, K702, K612 pro, K712, Sennheiser has the classic HD600/HD650, Phillips has the X1/X2, and Hifiman has the old HE-400, new HE-400i off the top of my head. Do note they all have significant variations in sound signature, so you will need to demo or research to see exactly what you are looking for.
 
Well-recommended desktop entry-level amp/dac combos include the Schiit Fulla amp/dac combo at $79, Schiit Magni & Modi combo (total $198), or the JDS/Mayflower Odac/O2 amp ($280ish). There are also usb-hub type dac options with limited amping power, most popular one being the Audioquest Dragonfly ($99 for v1; $129ish for v1.2) & other more expensive options from Meridan, Audioengine, HRT streamer off the top of my head (should be more options). Then there is the portable sub-$150 amp/dac category that primarily consists of products from Fiio. The older E07K and E17 are worth considering for valuerice along with their new release the E17K
 
If you want to get the EL-8, I personally feel that the wisest option is to simply get the open version for the best sound performance as they do seem too large for true portable usage unless you require noise isolation at home that the closed version will provide. Do keep in mind that at the $699 price point you are in the upper-upper end of mid-fi headphones. There are a variety of great options at & below that price point and you can even jump over to a flagship option on sale or open box at a very similar price point.
 
hope this information was helpful

 

[Jprod]

Wow! Thanks for the detailed response. You gave me a lot to chew on and a great springboard for research. Thanks again!!

 

[IAMBLEST]

  subbed. good comparisons & enjoyed reading through your posts!
 
just one question: you state that the audeze el-8 has a more intimate presentation, but also state that the el-8 has a larger sound stage.... that sounds to me to be a contradiction. To me, the traditional definition of a more intimate presentation means you are closer to the performers which means the sound stage is smaller. Would love to hear clarification on what exactly you meant by that. 

I mean you are closer to the performers rather than sitting further back - im not a reviewer so maybe what i wrote was wrong.  The Audeze means you are up close and personal, the Oppo you are a little further back.
 
I let some friends try both sets today.  They both passed the smile test.
 
Also, there is minimal sound leak from both sets.  The clasping force on the EL-8s is such that there is so little sound coming out, even at loud volume.  If you are on a plane there would be no sound due to the background noise.
 
I was quite shocked to see how big the EL-8s are when someone else wears them.  they are massive, they seem to cover the ear by a full inch or so either way.  They are heavy too and warm up your ears pretty quick. 
 
The Oppo is so much more comfortable and portable - the sound is very very good as well.  While the audeze got more smiles because of the bass slam, the oppo sits really well with vocals such as Norah Jones when clarity/highs are used more extensively.
 
The other thing my friend said was that it was amazing how you can hear every instrument separately now, like rather than a wall of sound, you can hear the more delicate percussion sounds, drums, vocals and everything seems independent and clear .  Was good to get feedback from outside sources on this.
 
I need to stress again, the Audeze are NOT portable.  From the case you get to the sheer size and weight of the thing, if you are traveling or looking for something to use at the gym or on planes, go for the oppo + HA2 amp which will be the same price as the Audeze by itself.

 

[reddog]

I mean you are closer to the performers rather than sitting further back - im not a reviewer so maybe what i wrote was wrong.  The Audeze means you are up close and personal, the Oppo you are a little further back.

I let some friends try both sets today.  They both passed the smile test.

Also, there is minimal sound leak from both sets.  The clasping force on the EL-8s is such that there is so little sound coming out, even at loud volume.  If you are on a plane there would be no sound due to the background noise.

I was quite shocked to see how big the EL-8s are when someone else wears them.  they are massive, they seem to cover the ear by a full inch or so either way.  They are heavy too and warm up your ears pretty quick. 

The Oppo is so much more comfortable and portable - the sound is very very good as well.  While the audeze got more smiles because of the bass slam, the oppo sits really well with vocals such as Norah Jones when clarity/highs are used more extensively.

The other thing my friend said was that it was amazing how you can hear every instrument separately now, like rather than a wall of sound, you can hear the more delicate percussion sounds, drums, vocals and everything seems independent and clear .  Was good to get feedback from outside sources on this.

I need to stress again, the Audeze are NOT portable.  From the case you get to the sheer size and weight of the thing, if you are traveling or looking for something to use at the gym or on planes, go for the oppo + HA2 amp which will be the same price as the Audeze by itself.

Thanks for your impressions, glad to know the EL-8 are not portable and can be hot on the ear.

 

[frix]

Do the oppos stay cool on the ears?

 

[IAMBLEST]

BTW in terms of both types of sound isolation:
 
EL-8 - You cant hear **** outside when you have them on.  You can hear your own breath/heartbeat kinda thing because all other noises disappear - it covers your entire ears and the clamping force is fairly strong.  Also, when someone is wearing them, you cant hear the music leak out.
 
With the PM-3, same kinda thing but just much more comfortable to wear - much lighter.
 
to me, the EL-8 is the sort of headphone you wear walking around the house to get some alone time, but i wouldnt take it out of the house.  My LCD3's stay at my computer desk as they are obviously tethered to my amp.  So they are semi-portable, but yeah, i wouldnt leave my house with them.

 

[IAMBLEST]

  Do the oppos stay cool on the ears?

yes.  They feel cold to the touch it's odd.  Extremely comfortable.  They are very sturdy and well made.  In white they look exceptional.  They are a "no frills" headphones really - amazing build quality and very functional.  They arent "exciting" to look at, but i cant think of a better bang for buck set. I guess you could say the same for all oppo products - which is why i have the PM, HA2 and HA1 set.

 

[kite]

Wow nice comparisons here!
I've been looking into the Oppo PM-3 a LOT now and still can't decide whether i should get them or not.
 
I need nice Headphones for listening to music at work so they need to be closed back. The Oppos are quite expensive around 530€ with the EL-8 costing 830€. Those are heftly prices, at least to me ^^ and i don't want to make a mistake in buying one or the other..
 
So my questions are.. which offers the best value for its money? Are the Oppos only recommendable as nice portable Headphones?
 
And also it would be really helpful if someone can tell me if those headphones are also recommendable for electronic music? 
(The "Slammy" Bass sounds really nice but i've never had the opportunity to listen to an audeze HP, but i don't know if a lot less comfort and a lot more money is worth the bass alone..)

 

[IAMBLEST]

  Wow nice comparisons here!
I've been looking into the Oppo PM-3 a LOT now and still can't decide whether i should get them or not.
 
I need nice Headphones for listening to music at work so they need to be closed back. The Oppos are quite expensive around 530€ with the EL-8 costing 830€. Those are heftly prices, at least to me ^^ and i don't want to make a mistake in buying one or the other..
 
So my questions are.. which offers the best value for its money? Are the Oppos only recommendable as nice portable Headphones?
 
And also it would be really helpful if someone can tell me if those headphones are also recommendable for electronic music? 
(The "Slammy" Bass sounds really nice but i've never had the opportunity to listen to an audeze HP, but i don't know if a lot less comfort and a lot more money is worth the bass alone..)

Best value for money? Oppo for sure.  You can also reach "similar" bass with the bass boost function from the HA2. Sure it doesnt slam as hard and isnt as responsive but it's still very good.
 
Dont buy from Europe - buy from oppo digital USA.  Oppo Europe pricing is ridiculous and i have no idea why they havent sorted this out.  I got my HA1 from Hong Kong and my HA2 and PM from the oppo usa website - ends up being $400 for the PM3 and $300 for the HA2.
 
Oppo's are pretty neutral and that is fine for EDM.
 
I wouldnt buy either of these without an AMP/DAC of some kind unless you have a decent DAP.