Oppo PM-1 Planar Magnetic Headphone Impressions Thread
Jun 4, 2014 at 10:14 PM Post #2,341 of 3,729
i thought the PM-1 was pretty unremarkable on first listen.  it took me a day or so without switching back and forth between my other HPs to appreciate it's presentation.  it has a beguiling quality in the way it presents the music that i find hard to put into words.  from a "hi-fi" perspective, it makes every other headphone sound grainy.  no transducer will suit all tastes.  i couldn't live with the PM-1 only.  horses for courses and all.    
 
Jun 4, 2014 at 10:27 PM Post #2,342 of 3,729
PM-1 is a wonderful headphone. It refrains from producing excess upper mid and top that some people mistake for "clarity".
 
Jun 4, 2014 at 11:46 PM Post #2,343 of 3,729
Well, far be it from me to quarrel with the impression above that the PM-1 sounds like mud, but it's just so different from what I'm hearing that I feel like singing the Christmas song "Do you hear what I hear?".
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 1:20 AM Post #2,344 of 3,729
OK, to make sure I wasn't imagining things about how good the PM1 sounds to me after the earlier criticism of these phones, I went on youtube and listened to this (in 1080 HD):
 
http://tinyurl.com/mrzk98a
 

Carpenters - Live at Budokan 1974 - Entire Concert - 720p

 
Here's the long link if you prefer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvhelIbUlXc&list=PLZeoOesQN24WFQ1GEvMcSj7zQkc8Cl5Nj&index=61 
 
I am using my humble desktop system:
-- Windows 7 Desktop (core i7 box from Puget Custom Computers "Serenity" model)/Verizon FIOS isp;
-- Dragonfly version 1 DAC;
-- Headroom Max amp from 1999 upgraded by Headroom in 2004;
-- Cheap HOSA ofc interconnect cables and plain old power cords and no power conditioning.
That's it.
 
I heard sweet powerful silky vocals, piano with impact and resonance and harmonics, other refined instruments with air around them (clarinet, flute, guitar),
and drums with reasonable speed and slam, and when the bass kicked in it was full of color and not overblown and somehow extremely satisfying.
I just listened the the whole thing and was swept up in the musicality and rhythm of it all (though I am a longtime fan of Carpenters music, and this is nicely historic).
I didn't feel any thing was over-masked or blunted. 
 
I don't have tin ears and have long experience with headphones and I have a high end setup also and several other more expensive phones.
I guess I'm just a fanboy now of the Oppo now and I keep turning to them much more often than I expected.
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 8:18 AM Post #2,346 of 3,729
  Well, far be it from me to quarrel with the impression above that the PM-1 sounds like mud, but it's just so different from what I'm hearing that I feel like singing the Christmas song "Do you hear what I hear?".

 
Some prefer a brighter signature, and sometimes impressions are garnered from a direct comparison to another headphone, rather than to the sounds that are live.
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 9:40 AM Post #2,347 of 3,729
I prefer headphones that sound far warmer than the Oppo PM-1, and I like my acoustic instruments to sound realistic, but the Oppo PM-1 does not sound realistic.  It sounds more like a recording than the real deal because of a lack of clarity.  The treble balance and articulation seems really good though, even though it lacks the last bit of air.  The lower midrange however, is not so clear, and the upper midrange has a funny closed-type timbre to it.  Upon closer listening you get the sense that these have the potential to be resolving drivers, as there are some subtleties that are easy to make out with the PM-1, however the sound as a whole sounds suffocated and grounded.  I'll be going in a little more in-depth when I compare the PM-1 to the LCD-X and 560 in its own thread.
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 10:44 AM Post #2,348 of 3,729
Quote:
It sounds more like a recording than the real deal because of a lack of clarity.  The treble balance and articulation seems really good though

confused.gif

 
Jun 5, 2014 at 11:05 AM Post #2,350 of 3,729
  I prefer headphones that sound far warmer than the Oppo PM-1, and I like my acoustic instruments to sound realistic, but the Oppo PM-1 does not sound realistic.  It sounds more like a recording than the real deal because of a lack of clarity.  The treble balance and articulation seems really good though, even though it lacks the last bit of air.  The lower midrange however, is not so clear, and the upper midrange has a funny closed-type timbre to it.  Upon closer listening you get the sense that these have the potential to be resolving drivers, as there are some subtleties that are easy to make out with the PM-1, however the sound as a whole sounds suffocated and grounded.  I'll be going in a little more in-depth when I compare the PM-1 to the LCD-X and 560 in its own thread.


Thanks for clarifying. Hopefully they'll grow on you, but it sounds like you prefer a darker tone and greater emphasis on detail.
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 11:40 AM Post #2,351 of 3,729
  I prefer headphones that sound far warmer than the Oppo PM-1, and I like my acoustic instruments to sound realistic, but the Oppo PM-1 does not sound realistic.  It sounds more like a recording than the real deal because of a lack of clarity.  The treble balance and articulation seems really good though, even though it lacks the last bit of air.  The lower midrange however, is not so clear, and the upper midrange has a funny closed-type timbre to it.  Upon closer listening you get the sense that these have the potential to be resolving drivers, as there are some subtleties that are easy to make out with the PM-1, however the sound as a whole sounds suffocated and grounded.  I'll be going in a little more in-depth when I compare the PM-1 to the LCD-X and 560 in its own thread.

 
I sorta know what you mean.   The Oppos sound really nice but there is something about them that falls one step short of the degree of realism, or presence, of the Audezes.    
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 5:17 PM Post #2,353 of 3,729
   
I sorta know what you mean.   The Oppos sound really nice but there is something about them that falls one step short of the degree of realism, or presence, of the Audezes.    

I love the Oppos and find them musical and addictive and resolving, but I do know what you mean vs. the Audezes (LCD3 in my case that I own).
Similarly, the Audezes (and HD800s for that matter) fall one step short of the Stax SR009s (that I own) in the area of "liveness" and "being there".
 
But personally realism and presence for me is not the only factor that determines musical enjoyment.
And even I myself am surprised that I feel this way.
It seems there are different roads to musical pleasure, and I think it pays to have an open mind about what's good for you.
 
For some reason, the Oppos hit some important pleasure center in my brain, and I'm thinking this is true for others here too, along with the gushing reviewers.
The Oppos seemed designed from the heart and by ear, not by an abstract engineering design model.
(I think this dichotomy is why they are causing such polarizing opinions here, and so much attention.)
 
In that sense, they are doing something very right, and have a unique set of sonics, and therefore I think that qualifies them as (overused adjective alert!) awesome.
I think they are a breakthrough headphone.
 
If any other headphones you can think of were designed much more from the heart than the head, I'd be curious to hear what they are (maybe this topic should have a thread of its own).
(Believe it or not, I think the original Sennheiser 414 --yellow pads, toy-like construction and all-- may be in this camp.)
 
Senn HD414 photo:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-hd414
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 6:29 PM Post #2,354 of 3,729
  I love the Oppos and find them musical and addictive and resolving, but I do know what you mean vs. the Audezes (LCD3 in my case that I own).
Similarly, the Audezes (and HD800s for that matter) fall one step short of the Stax SR009s (that I own) in the area of "liveness" and "being there".
 
But personally realism and presence for me is not the only factor that determines musical enjoyment.
And even I myself am surprised that I feel this way.
It seems there are different roads to musical pleasure, and I think it pays to have an open mind about what's good for you.
 
For some reason, the Oppos hit some important pleasure center in my brain, and I'm thinking this is true for others here too, along with the gushing reviewers.
The Oppos seemed designed from the heart and by ear, not by an abstract engineering design model.
(I think this dichotomy is why they are causing such polarizing opinions here, and so much attention.)
 
In that sense, they are doing something very right, and have a unique set of sonics, and therefore I think that qualifies them as (overused adjective alert!) awesome.
I think they are a breakthrough headphone.
 
If any other headphones you can think of were designed much more from the heart than the head, I'd be curious to hear what they are (maybe this topic should have a thread of its own).
(Believe it or not, I think the original Sennheiser 414 --yellow pads, toy-like construction and all-- may be in this camp.)
 
Senn HD414 photo:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-hd414

Thanks for the interesting evaluation as I am interested in the Oppos 
Interestingly the Senn HD414 were my first set of headphones years ago and were awesome and quite comfortable.
 
Jun 5, 2014 at 7:19 PM Post #2,355 of 3,729
I love the Oppos and find them musical and addictive and resolving, but I do know what you mean vs. the Audezes (LCD3 in my case that I own).
Similarly, the Audezes (and HD800s for that matter) fall one step short of the Stax SR009s (that I own) in the area of "liveness" and "being there".

But personally realism and presence for me is not the only factor that determines musical enjoyment.
And even I myself am surprised that I feel this way.
It seems there are different roads to musical pleasure, and I think it pays to have an open mind about what's good for you.

For some reason, the Oppos hit some important pleasure center in my brain, and I'm thinking this is true for others here too, along with the gushing reviewers.
The Oppos seemed designed from the heart and by ear, not by an abstract engineering design model.
(I think this dichotomy is why they are causing such polarizing opinions here, and so much attention.)

In that sense, they are doing something very right, and have a unique set of sonics, and therefore I think that qualifies them as (overused adjective alert!) awesome.
I think they are a breakthrough headphone.

If any other headphones you can think of were designed much more from the heart than the head, I'd be curious to hear what they are (maybe this topic should have a thread of its own).
(Believe it or not, I think the original Sennheiser 414 --yellow pads, toy-like construction and all-- may be in this camp.)

Senn HD414 photo:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-hd414


Grados
 

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