[Maxx134]

I'd be happy to get them with just that denim box. Not bothered about a lovely shiny box, just the sound!
$899 sans box?

Great idea, sell it with no case, even just a pouch hehe

 

[swspiers]

Exactly..
Knowing there is a "better" version of quality feel,
And knowing you have the "cheaper" compromised version of it, will keep that upgrade itch in your mind..

That being the case, I did choose the BDP-103 over the 105.  I just new I also wanted other boxes to do fun things, so 'settled' for the 103.

 

[Frank I]

I think the P2 will sell for less and have lesser materials and probably minus the stellar box but be identical and may have an different cable.. I think it will be a big seller at  the lesser price. The build on the P1 is something. Their wa no compromise in designing it properly and built to last.  Still getting better and have more hours. The soundstage is more open and bass is now tight and defined with texture. I will switch back and forth with pads. I like the musicality and it is improving.

 

[olegausany]

I think the P2 will sell for less and have lesser materials and probably minus the stellar box but be identical and may have an different cable.. I think it will be a big seller at  the lesser price. The build on the P1 is something. Their wa no compromise in designing it properly and built to last.  Still getting better and have more hours. The soundstage is more open and bass is now tight and defined with texture. I will switch back and forth with pads. I like the musicality and it is improving.

Since you have both PM-1 and HE-560 please answer easy and simple question are HE-560 light and comfortable as PM-1 are?

 

[bigshot]

Bigshot, very surprised to hear the velours pads don't make any noticeable difference on the sound. Normally, you'd expect quite a bit of attenuation from the mids up when using velours pads.

The pads sit all around and on the opposite side of your ears than the channel the sound goes down into your head. Maybe other folks have ears shaped so it makes a difference, but with me, the sound goes straight down my ear canal. The pads aren't even close to there.

It might make a little difference with isolation, but for listening, it measured the same frequency response for me and my buddy who helped me EQ.

Also... yes, the leatherette pads appear to be perforated.

 

[bigshot]

During beta testing, one of the Oppo folks mentioned that there were some mechanical parts that were very expenisive to manufacture. One of the betas I got had plastic parts substituted for nice shiny chrome around the cup pivot. But no one ever mentioned the PM-2, so I don't know exactly what the difference will be. I think the wood box is a cultural thing. Oppo is a Chinese company, and beautiful presentation boxes are common in China with luxury items like this.

At first, I didn't even think the box was made of wood because the finish was so thick, hard and shiny and the wood was thin (kind of like the wood on the top of a guitar). It's a very unusual feeling box.

 

[zenpunk]

The pads sit all around and on the opposite side of your ears than the channel the sound goes down into your head. Maybe other folks have ears shaped so it makes a difference, but with me, the sound goes straight down my ear canal. The pads aren't even close to there.

It might make a little difference with isolation, but for listening, it measured the same frequency response for me and my buddy who helped me EQ.

Also... yes, the leatherette pads appear to be perforated.

That would be a remarkable technological prowess is somehow they manage to direct the sound straight into your ears while avoiding any reflections.

Thinking about it wouldn't be  so good as misplacing the headphone would lead to no sound at all. 

 

[bigshot]

I don't know about that... Put a speaker ten feet away from you in a room and you're going to get reflected sound, but when you put a transducer right on your ear with a small opening for the sound lined perfectly up with where your ear canal is, it's no great big deal to have minimal reflections.

How much of a difference could a reflection off of soft foam pads covered with slightly different fabric coverings in that tiny little space make? I can't see it being more than a dB at most. That's so close, no one could tell the difference. The response curve of the drivers is what matters. Some things make big differences and other things make negligible ones.

 

[bigshot]

With well recorded music, "accurate" and "realistic" are one and the same.

Getting back to the PM-1s... I would say that these headphones are for people who listen to well recorded music, not folks who often listen to music whose engineering is sloppy. The response of these headphones is very accurate, which with well recorded music translates to realistic. Especially with classical music and jazz which is typically recorded very well. But if the recording isn't perfectly balanced from the start, headphones that can be described as having "fat bass", "detailed treble" or "in your face mids" might correct for the deficiencies in the recordings.

The other alternative for those who listen to imbalanced recordings is to start with balanced headphones like the PM-1s and then use an equalizer plugin to compensate for poorly balanced frequency response. The PM-1 have more than enough latitude to correct for even the most imbalanced recordings. This would be a lot more flexible than EQing by buying headphones with specific colorations. Doing that might require a half dozen different cans for the range of different sorts of sloppy recordings.

 

[vkalia]

With well recorded music, "accurate" and "realistic" are one and the same.

Getting back to the PM-1s... I would say that these headphones are for people who listen to well recorded music, not folks who often listen to music whose engineering is sloppy. The response of these headphones is very accurate, which with well recorded music translates to realistic. Especially with classical music and jazz which is typically recorded very well. But if the recording isn't perfectly balanced from the start, headphones that can be described as having "fat bass", "detailed treble" or "in your face mids" might correct for the deficiencies in the recordings.

The other alternative for those who listen to imbalanced recordings is to start with balanced headphones like the PM-1s and then use an equalizer plugin to compensate for poorly balanced frequency response. The PM-1 have more than enough latitude to correct for even the most imbalanced recordings. This would be a lot more flexible than EQing by buying headphones with specific colorations. Doing that might require a half dozen different cans for the range of different sorts of sloppy recordings.

 
Well, I dont want to get into an discussion on whether accurate or realistic are the same, as this is not the thread for that - we can agree that they overlap to a large degree, let's leave it at that.
 
[Speaker talk snipped by mod]
 
Also. could I ask you to comment on the timbral accuracy of the PM-1 when it comes to reproducing things like pianos, violins, etc., especially wrt the leading edge of the sound and the decay, b/c this is what sets GREAT headphones apart from the merely GOOD.

 

[vkalia]

Btw, bump on an earlier question - anyone know if someone is doing online pre-orders for the PM-1?   These sound like they'd be the perfect travel headphones and I'd like to pick up a pair.

 

[Frank I]

Since you have both PM-1 and HE-560 please answer easy and simple question are HE-560 light and comfortable as PM-1 are?

yes

 

[Frank I]

The pads are the easiest I ever had in here for swapping. Brilliant design make sit so easy to swap them in and out. Switched amps and using the GSX MK2 today and little less open than my WA5 but using them single ended in the GSX MK2 as it does not need the power. I need to get a 4pin XLR adapter to try it balanced in the GSX MK2 does not need the power though and sounds better but curious if it will open up the soundstage stage more with additional headroom . Have to find one and see if it does. Then velour pads are like silk

 

[bigshot]

[Speaker talk snipped by mod]

Also. could I ask you to comment on the timbral accuracy of the PM-1 when it comes to reproducing things like pianos, violins, etc., especially wrt the leading edge of the sound and the decay, b/c this is what sets GREAT headphones apart from the merely GOOD.

[Edited by mod to bring this back to the PM-1 talk]

When it comes to realism in acoustic instruments, that isn't related to decay. It's a function of frequency masking. Slight imbalances in the wrong spot can cover up frequencies an octave above... this means that a boost in the fundamental can obliterate the upper harmonics that make acoustic instruments sound like acoustic instruments. The other aspect of the PM-1s that make violins and pianos sound good is the amazing lack of distortion in the midrange. That is because of the planar design. The dynamics in the PM-1s is punchy and direct too. But distortion and dynamics are much less of a problem in most reasonably good transducers than frequency response. A balanced response makes anything sound better. I'm sure a good equalizer can make the PM-1s sound pretty much the same as any other good brand of headphones. They have a lot of latitude and a very broad range of frequency extension.

 

[swspiers]

  Yeah, isn't it Science and Engineering that brings us Headphone, DACS, Amps, etc. that we enjoy whinging about?
I'm hoping that some store in NYC will carry the PM-1 in stock soon, so I can give them a listening to.

Oppo is usually direct sales, with some online vendors.  Are there actual brick and mortar sales outlets?