[HiFlight]

I don't know whether it's a coincidence or not, but somehow, most of people here (in my place) who love FA Lab1 usually also love PM-1 so much. So now i'm curious if anyone in head-fi who love Lab1 but hate PM-1 does exsist?   

I don't think it is a coincidence as I find that they are far more similar in SQ than different.

 

[moj0]

After reading all this, I'm going to the local store to listen to the PM-1.
Also it's EISA headphone of the year.

 

[pataburd]

The Oppo PM-1 with alternate lambskin earpads are clear winners in terms of sheer upper-mid and treble resolution/transparency of an exceptionally fine and nuanced quality.
 
The layering and dynamic "bloom" of the instruments--emanating like bursts of fireworks--on John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy (SONY 1990) are remarkable.  Definitely a BIGGER sense of everything--at least for me--with these alternate pads.
 
The PM-1's resolution and detail [easily] bettered the AKG K812 on these tracks, IMHO.  Track 7, "The Asteroid Field", is a thrilling/captivating listen with the Oppos!
 
Good Stuff!!!
 

 

[x RELIC x]

The Oppo PM-1 with alternate lambskin earpads are clear winners in terms of sheer upper-mid and treble resolution/transparency of an exceptionally fine and nuanced quality.

The layering and dynamic "bloom" of the instruments--emanating like bursts of fireworks--on John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy (SONY 1990) are remarkable.  Definitely a BIGGER sense of everything--at least for me--with these alternate pads.

The PM-1's resolution and detail [easily] bettered the AKG K812 on these tracks, IMHO.  Track 7, "The Asteroid Field", is a thrilling/captivating listen with the Oppos!

Good Stuff!!!

Ha! Great musical reference!

 

[Smarty-pants]

The Oppo PM-1 with alternate lambskin earpads are clear winners in terms of sheer upper-mid and treble resolution/transparency of an exceptionally fine and nuanced quality.

The layering and dynamic "bloom" of the instruments--emanating like bursts of fireworks--on John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy (SONY 1990) are remarkable.  Definitely a BIGGER sense of everything--at least for me--with these alternate pads.

The PM-1's resolution and detail [easily] bettered the AKG K812 on these tracks, IMHO.  Track 7, "The Asteroid Field", is a thrilling/captivating listen with the Oppos!

Good Stuff!!!

Just yesterday I was telling a friend about having mixed experiences with the alternate pads.
On one hand, when I listen to music that is not mastered and mixed as well as it could be,
or it is compressed into a lower resolution format, the alternate pads sound very bright and even gives the music a fake or unnatural sound at times.
Even with just rock/pop music in general, it can still sound unnatural sometimes.
With those situations, I find that when I switch to the original earpads, they sound much better for that type of music.

However, when I then switch to some very well recorded and mixed classical and jazz music,
I find the complete opposite result to be true.
When that type of music is being played, the original pads sound too dark when compared to the alternate pads.
When using the alternate pads with this type of music, it's as if a heavy veil is lifted and the sound becomes more clear with better fidelity.

So I am stuck in between recommending either pads as a best solution 100% of the time.
I think the original pads are better for 'rock" and maybe even "blues' too, but it would depend on what particular style of blues. 'Classical' and 'jazz' are better with the alternate pads.
Don't ask me about 'country' or 'rap' as those aren't my usual listening preference, and much dance and modern heavy bass music is so muddled in the mix anyway,
I don't think it matters which pads you use for those genres, but the alternate pads may be slightly better just to keep the low end clearer when possible.

As another option, IF your playback device has a decent EQ that can be applied to your music,
then using the alternate pads 100% of the time is doable within my scenarios listed above.
You can use the EQ to tame the hard brightness of some of the most compromised recordings.
Likewise, I like to use it to give a very flat EQ but with a pinch of a boost in the low end... just my personal preference.

 

[pataburd]

I like the original velour ear pads for older "classic" Rock recordings, the new alternate lambskin ear pads for orchestral music and the original lambskin ear pads for basic all-rounders.

 

[pataburd]

Whoever claims that the PM-1 lack resolution/transparency aren't listening to the same headphones that I am with the Oppos.  Even my HE-6 could not equal the degree of low level resolution that the PM-1 deliver "in spades".

 

[Chip B]

I agree, and last night i started listening to the PM-1s via DAC/AMP as opposed to straight up, and I agree the detail and the visceral-ness of the sound, the low end detail, the staging, is remarkable.  It's like my old familiar music sneaks up on me, and I'm surprised by what I hear, "nice!"  My HD 800s and Sh 846, and T5P, do much of this too, but not in such an easy,  comfortable, format.  I think that any weaknesses of the PM-1, despite measurements are opinion.  I read the study last night that said people can't tell the difference between high res files. The article that reported that a range of novice, expert and musician's can't tell the difference between file resolutions, much beyond 50/50.  However with the above phones, I know I can.  So all this made me think about something Rob Watts has said, in developing the Hugo.  Many of the things that are discussed in high-end audio are beyond the limits of human hearing.  However the unheard resolutions, frequencies, contribute to phasing of audio waves, as the brain perceives them, and the phasing of the waves, a three dimensional brain process, allows the music sound more or less accurate, i.e. with less distortion.  When Igor Levitsky, developed the PM-1 design, he was concerned about the phasing of the sounds, coming from the wide area of the planar magnetic field, and this is why he created the mandarin hole for the driver to port to.  So at the expense of sounding un-scientific, I would say that there are 2 high end designers, Rob Watts with the Hugo, and Igor Levitsky with the PM-1, that are focused on the way digital audio is either handled or phased, as being critical as to how sound is perceived.  So to me, when someone says the PM-1s sound incredible; despite what some others report, I think you are only affirming, 2 different engineers, who realize the the perception and appreciation of audio is more complex, than a frequency response curve.  And with the PM-1s, you have an expression of or refinement of the Planar Magnetic driver, a new generation and   I think the sound is absolutely stunning! in the low end, and extended low end, especially.

 

[pataburd]

Am developing more and more of an appreciation for the Oppo PM-1 with the alternative ear pads: pristine, controlled, detailed and expansive.

 

[YtseJamer]

New review: http://www.soundandvision.com/content/oppo-pm-1-headphone

 

[pataburd]

Thank you for providing a link to the review.
It doesnt mention/compare the [third] alternative ear pad option, though, or even sonic differences between the velour and the lambskin. 
What does "voicing too rich for some" mean, anyway?  The PM-1's voicing is one of the most intricately and absorbingly detailed I have ever heard.

 

[money4me247]

  Thank you for providing a link to the review.
It doesnt mention/compare the [third] alternative ear pad option, though, or even sonic differences between the velour and the lambskin. 
What does "voicing too rich for some" mean, anyway?  The PM-1's voicing is one of the most intricately and absorbingly detailed I have ever heard.

having done a direct comparison of the PM-1 against the HE-560s, I can agree that the PM-1 is very rich, smooth, and 'lush.' Much warmer sound signature. Very forgiving with sources and no hint of sharpness even with sharp sounding tracks. Does not really scale with the different amplifiers I've tried with it.
 
It does seem to be warmer than neutral and sacrifices some detail for its sound signature. However, it is a very enjoyable to listen to sound signature and I think most everyone will find it to be pleasing. While I don't really know what voicing too rich means exactly, I do get that kind of sense the PM-1s are tuned in a way that some neutral-heads may find too warm & may miss the treble crispness, micro-details, imaging, and sound stage offered by other headphones. However, the PM-1 actually does a pretty good job with most sonic attributes so unless you do a direct comparison, it is difficult to find any flaws.
 
just my two cents & personal impressions. not looking for an argument with anyone.

 

[arnaud]

just my two cents & personal impressions. not looking for an argument with anyone.

No argument from me: it's pretty much how I remember the pm-1

 

[pataburd]

No argument from me: it's pretty much how I remember the pm-1

With the alternative pads as well?  Hmmm . . . 
 
Even my HE-6 could not come close to the absolute treble resolution--that's treble "resolution" not simply treble "emphasis"--of the PM-1.  When I say resolution, I mean not only extension, but tone, dynamics, timbre and holistic/integrable balance.  For me, it was precisely the "unnatural" or "artificial" quality of the HE-6's treble (with an edgy sizzle peripherally reminicent of the sound of a plasma arc welder) that--as much as I otherwise really liked them--was the HifiMAN's critical downfall.
 
My well-sourced and well-amped AKG K812 even lag behind the Oppos in rendering the micro details in the upper registers.  With cymbal crashes in orchestral work, for example, none of my other headphones can come close to the PM-1 in terms of deep, pure, untrammeled--and even startling--low level resolution.
 
Keep in mind that I am innately a detail-addicted "treble head" as well!
 
Comments/inferences to the effect that the PM-1 offer a "polite", rounded off or even rolled off presentation have me scratching my head and wondering: "Are they listening to the same headphones I am listening to?".
 
For me, the PM-1 challenge  a lot of the built-in biases of the Head-Fi status quo, and with the PM-1 Oppo has truly developed and marketed a seminal and break-through headphone product.  The PM-1 have made me re-examine and even re-think the way I listen to, and what I listen for, in a set of headphones.  And, IMHO, they represent one the best--if not THE best--product that has been released in a good many years.
 
For their first effort, Oppo has succeeded--in one careful iteration--to portray what the well-entrenched "Big Names" with their acknowledged and revered "house sounds" have simply failed to deliver in repeated, semi-decadal attempts. 

 

[Chip B]

I am excited to show my Oppo PM-1 Upgrade cables from Norme Audio.  Based on limited A/B testing over the short /portable stock cable; i am very pleased.  I feel they improve soundstage, definition and Treble extension.  While I find it hard to believe that about cables; the minimum is, they are exceptional quality, durable, strong connection...and frankly a work of Art.  The specs: 6ft cable I selected, as a happy general use length between a 3 and a 10.
Vanquish Series OCC Litz 7-core, modified Type 6 Headphone Cable (first ever multi-core produced in industry)
  - Length: 6 ft.
  - Headphone Type: Oppo PM-1 / PM-2
  - Sleeve Color:

[color=rgb(68, 68, 68)] Flagship sleeve (2 x Brown 2 x Brown with blue tracer).[/color]

  - Termination: *NEW* Eidolic 1/8&qu..
  - Exotic Wood Splitter Type (not required): Makassar Ebony (no e..
  - Connector Heatshrink: *new* Metallic Silve..

 

 

Update 11/5...with the new cable's and the extended connectors, the headphones will no longer fit the denim case, with the cables attached; so i found a reasonable size compromise on Amazon, a case "black Protection Carying case, designed to fit Grado's, sold by AudioEquip, that fits nicely.  Gives a little more extension in the cable area, and with a little tucking will close without undo pressure.