[TheMiddleSky]

For me subtle sound different is different, though I'm totally understand if anyone want to consider it as totally the same. I think there's a chance it's just matter of perception.

 

[ab initio]

Someone studied it a while back and wrote an article for InnerFidelity....can't remember the title of the article but most of the uncertainty is in the high frequencies. It was with an HD 800 though so placement doesn't make much diff in the lows.

With the Oppo I'd say theres some uncertainty...maybe a two-three dB. They're somewhat insensitive to position as the pads are designed to leak, but just today I was measuring the PM-1 with various pads and sensed that sometimes the bass would be better than others for no reason I could detect.

So I agree, you can read too much into the measurements. 

This article? 

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/expert-tests-innerfidelitys-headphone-measurement-repeatability-and-reproducibility

Thank you and thank you! That is exactly the article I was trying to remember!

Cheers

 

[n3rdling]

Funny, those graphs sure don't look "flat as a stone".  lol.

 

[TMRaven]

They're not compensated.  All uncompensated graphs have gain at 3khz.

 

[n3rdling]

I'm aware...it says raw right there on the graph.

 

[JML]

Tyll's review has this statement from the PM-1 designer: "PM-1 has two types of ear pads. They sound different even though some people say that they should sound the same in mid and bass since FR are close. I think that those who want a bit more HF resolution may use velour since it has lower peak at 2-3 kHz but a bit more energy at 4-6 kHz."  Another reviewer said "There was a minor, but evident difference in tone and bass texture when swapping between them. The lambskins seemed the more pure of the two and the velour seemed a bit darker, offering a bit more bass quantity."  Yet another said, "The velour pads also alter the sound a bit, bringing a hint of more subtle warmth to the response."  And that's not even from going over the thousands of postings on Head-Fi.

 

[PerfectHiFi]

  Here we go:
 
1.  The fronts are virtually identical except for a few hole missing on the inner sides.  You can pick and choose which one is stock and which one is alternate.
 
2.  The missing felt ring can be clearly seen on the alternate pad.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Can anyone in this forum (with "big" ears) help me regarding the fit of these pads? According to OPPO's very friendly support, the inner dimensions are roughly 2 3/8", 1 1/2" and 7/8". My ears are about 2 3/4 inches long, unfortunately a bit too long to fit into these pads (wish I had HD800 pads for these cans

). How good can the sealing of these pads being achieved when they do not completely cover the ear? According to hans030390, these cans would even sound better when not totally sealed and leaking a bit... Any issues (or non-issues) regarding the sound quality for "big" ears? Can someone tell me anything about the comfort (clamping pressure) when these cans are worn partially "on-ear" instead of "over-ear"? Will it be annoying? A no-go? Thank you!!!!

 

 

[bahamot]

The clamping isn't a problem. Sometimes I didn't bother to fit it properly as my ears are almost the same size as the earpads.

 

[hans030390]

Don't worry, they should work just fine. Clamping isn't a problem, but if you have a big head like mine, there is the potential to get a bit more air and detail by lessening the clamp (more clamp = ears closer to drivers = further reduced treble respone). The Oppos do well with or without a perfect seal, which is actually a characteristic I really like about them. They don't give you a whole lot of fuss with fit and seal for proper sound. In some cases, a bit of a break in the seal can actually be desirable without necessarily reducing bass, though this comes down to personal preference. "Angling" the headphones over your ears (small opening in pads behind ears) produces an interesting effect to the sound, but whether someone prefers that or not will come down to personal taste. Too much and you will kill the sound.

 

[Justin_Time]

Can anyone in this forum (with "big" ears) help me regarding the fit of these pads? According to OPPO's very friendly support, the inner dimensions are roughly 2 3/8", 1 1/2" and 7/8". My ears are about 2 3/4 inches long, unfortunately a bit too long to fit into these pads (wish I had HD800 pads for these cans

). How good can the sealing of these pads being achieved when they do not completely cover the ear? According to hans030390, these cans would even sound better when not totally sealed and leaking a bit... Any issues (or non-issues) regarding the sound quality for "big" ears? Can someone tell me anything about the comfort (clamping pressure) when these cans are worn partially "on-ear" instead of "over-ear"? Will it be annoying? A no-go? Thank you!!!!

 

 


The solution is not minding the pain! That is the price for having bigger ears and thus better hearing than most of us!

1. If you use the pads ON your ears, even just partially, my experience is that you will eventually feel pain--based on using the Ultasone Edition 8 during long flights.

2. I found that if my ears are about the same size as the cup-holes which was the case with the UE 8, I could wiggle the ear-cups a little--but not my ears as I do possess that talent--to make the ears just fit inside the cup-holes. That is far less painful than wearing the ear-pads on your ears, even partially.

3. Even with my smaller ears, the PM-1 stock leather ear-pads do not seal perfectly and the velour ear-pads have even more leaks. I do not know how much this affects the sound as I have no idea what the PM-1 sound like with perfect seal. But I know that these cans DO NOT require a perfect seal to sound good.

4. For comfort, you may not want a perfect seal anyway, especially with leather, because without some leaks for the air to circulate through--and for some even with the leaks--the inside of the ear-pads could become hotter and more humid than a tropical rain forest.

5. With the possible exception of the LCD3 with lambskin pads and the Stax 007 (unexplained seal), I thinks all my headphones have some leaks through their ear-pads.

Hope this helps.

 

[PerfectHiFi]

  Don't worry, they should work just fine. Clamping isn't a problem, but if you have a big head like mine, there is the potential to get a bit more air and detail by lessening the clamp (more clamp = ears closer to drivers = further reduced treble respone). The Oppos do well with or without a perfect seal, which is actually a characteristic I really like about them. They don't give you a whole lot of fuss with fit and seal for proper sound. In some cases, a bit of a break in the seal can actually be desirable without necessarily reducing bass, though this comes down to personal preference. "Angling" the headphones over your ears (small opening in pads behind ears) produces an interesting effect to the sound, but whether someone prefers that or not will come down to personal taste. Too much and you will kill the sound.

When you talk about "big head like mine", are you talking about 5", 6", 7" or even more (ear-to-ear). My head is about 6.5" (incl. ears) wide (for comparison only)

Thank you for your help, highly appreciated!

 

[hans030390]

Hm, can't say I measured that until now. Also seems hard to do accurately! I appear to be somewhere around 7-8", plus or minus a half inch...haha

 

[rgs9200m]

'got the Oppo balanced cable, so now running balanced. Things are definitely more lively (1st impression). 
(This is with the Velour pads. I have the newer pads but haven't tried them yet-- I like what I'm hearing now.)

 

[lukeap69]

Tyll's review of PM-2 is up at Innerfidelity http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/portable-luxury-lower-price-oppo-pm-2. He also compared the 4 pads both on PM-1 & PM-2.

 

[rgs9200m]

I hope the reviewers retry the Oppo phones balanced. It's a nice step up to me in resolution and clarity without glare. (I hesitate to say a major improvement because I just got the cable a few days ago, but fwiw, I had a long listening session and felt that I couldn't stop listening,
much more so than with the single ended cable.) I have a PM1.