Fortunate timing, as the next in line on the loaner PM1 has received it;hope to contribute here without coloring opinions prematurely.
OPPO PM1 Review - "The KING of Warm"
Thanks again to Chris @ OPPO Digital
Highlights - Very balanced tonality / Exceptional build quality / Efficiency is good
Can be ... - Uncomfortable with time / Lacking the lowest freqs
With that said, the PM1 is the most well-rounded headphone I have yet to spend time with. The quibbles as outlined above, can all be chalked-up to personal preference, and individual anatomy.
Having somewhat large-ish, Scandinavian ears, the comfort issue is with that alone, the pads simply are not overly deep, and the squared-oval openings are not a natural fit for me.
The Sound - I am a life-long bass head, owning the vaunted JVC 2k bass cannons, and while I was not expecting anything such as what they can deliver below 40Hz, I found that the output potential was well short of what was possible in a $1000+ set of cans. The X2's in comparison, carry more heft with deep drum beats, and most synth work, but the total bandwidth, and even tonality do eventually win you over in the OPPO.
I did most of my listening with the X2 and BossHifi B8 as a comparison, and having sold my Sine's (wayyy too small), HE400's [orig.], and various Sennheiser cans, I had clear definitions and impressions of what I was looking for.
It takes a top-tier set like the PM1 to highlight shortcomings in an otherwise great product like the X2. Before the OPPO had arrived, I had generally regarded the X2's as open and clear in detail, well, the more intimate sound from the OPPO's made my Fidelio's sound very much lacking in comparison. It did not take long to notice the tilted top end, lightly scooped midrange, and uneven (still hard to believe) lower registers. Sure, there were points where something would stand out as lacking with the planar's, but a flip of the switch on my Sescom box would soon distinguish this as either an exaggeration with the dynamics, or a difference in timbre between the two.
Midrange presence is on another level. The X2, while neither purely veiled, nor having 'obvious' holes, sounded thin and lifeless in comparison. The B8 was very close in reproduction, the angled driver and Beryllium construction make for a very potent combination, voicing is also excellent. In the final tally though, neither could unseat the OPPO.
Top end -- as the titling above suggests, the HF roll-off makes for very easy listening, and just seems to wrap you in a warmness that I myself do tend to prefer for the long term. With such an easy and flat presentation, EQ work will shape the sound in any way you desire, without injecting an artificiality to the sound.
Driving the beast
Amplification came in three forms, a Little Bear B4, Schitt Fulla, and iFi Micro iDSD. It was with the higher drive levels that I ran into the LF wall of the PM1's. If it were not for my somewhat exaggerated need for sub 40Hz content, these could be my desert island cans. The only issue I had in powering them, was when they were jacked directly into my LG V10. They certainly do scale nicely, and I imagine there was still a good 10% in detail retrieval to go, as my set-up, Toshiba laptop>JRiver MC22>iDSD is probably not the most revealing chain out there.
Fit-and-finish are top notch, to borrow from a press review of the PM3's, these too seem to be the life-work of someone, or a very focused and deliberate effort by a team of very competent engineers.
That covers most of my time with the OPPO's, and typing this on-the-fly on my V10 is wearing thin
If there are any points that I can highlight further, or fill-in, feel free to PM me. Again a big thanks to Chris and Co. for providing this
opportunity, and I do see an impending purchase for a set of PM3's, if for no other reason than to capture some of the lightning I experienced, and to support OPPO in their efforts.
/Matt/