OPPO PM-1 user looking to upgrade.

[Hanzaway]

Hi. Newbie's second time post in head-fi. Like the title above says, I'm currently looking to upgrade to a new pair of headphones. I don't have a preference towards open or closed back. I usually like my music to be a lot darker with better imaging and emphasizing more on the mids and highs. I like listening to japanese music, rap, pop, rock, classical, jazz and on rare occasions opera music. I would appreciate it if anyone can recommend me a proper direction to go to.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @Hanzaway,

First of all, welcome to headfi, apologies to your wallet in advance.

Based on your preferences, I would suggest the following in no particular order :

Acoustic Research AR 1
Neuman NDH 20
Sony 1AM2
Audio Technica SR 9
Sendy Aiva
Meze 99 Classics (Pad change for comfort is recommended)

By the way, listing a budget would also be helpful.
Also, if you can demo any of the above will also help you a lot as well, remember, good quality, well recorded source, regardless of format makes a lot of difference.

Feel free to ask more when necessary & also feel free to look at my profile if anything else interests you, I will be happy to answer that too.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Hi.
Welcome to head-fi and all the best for you and your wallet. ^^

Looks like a tough journey to start, i guess.

What a budget are we talking about?
Do you want to stay with planars?

Btw, nice headphone.

 

[Hanzaway]

Hi.
Welcome to head-fi and all the best for you and your wallet. ^^

Looks like a tough journey to start, i guess.

What a budget are we talking about?
Do you want to stay with planars?

Btw, nice headphone.

My budget's around $300-600. I don't mind if it's a planar or dynamic.

 

[ksorota]

Hello Hanzaway,

The Oppo PM-1s are a headphone that I wish I had never sold. They are one of the nicest build and easiest sounding headphones out there.

If you can get the Campfire Audio Cascades I think they will suit your sound requests really well. Its a really great portable headphone that has tons of bass and sounds great with digital music. If you are keeping your PM-1's the Cascades would be a great compliment. I recommend the larger pads as being perfect for comfort and sound...better than the stock anyway.

Others to consider would be:
Monoprice M1060C
Audeze LCD 2 Classic
2nd nomination for the Meze 99 Classics. Very good headphone at a great value!

Good Luck

 

[descloud]

It's also my first time posting comments as I'm more active in reddit.

If we sum up your preference:
- darker sounding than Oppo PM-1 (never personally owned one, but I have the PM-3s)
- great imaging (or beter than PM-1s)
- emphasizing mids and highs

I think Audeze headphones (LCD-2) and maybe even some Hifiman (HE-400i but not wide imaging, Sundara or Ananda) may fit your preference.

I haven't heard Audeze's myself, but majority of descriptions I've read may align with what you're looking for.

 

[godkuma]

Koss

 

[rev92]

Am I the only one thinking that the 99 classics would have been a downgrade to the Oppo PM-1? Got the oppo on hand, it's really good and in my opinion sounds better than the 99 classics. It's supposed to do, since it's been a lot more expensive though.

 

[godkuma]

Am I the only one thinking that the 99 classics would have been a downgrade to the Oppo PM-1? Got the oppo on hand, it's really good and in my opinion sounds better than the 99 classics. It's supposed to do, since it's been a lot more expensive though.

Check source tbh, you could just not be powering them properly

 

[rev92]

I think that Feliks Audio Envy is enough for both

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Agree that Meze 99 hold good value, both SQ and build (for the price).

Oppo PM-1 simply better in both SQ and build though.

Hard to imagine any modern headphone is a linear upgrade from PM-1. Butter smooth, balance sound with a bit mid-centric character, very easy to listen to. Perhaps ZMF Caldera or Meze Elite could become the answer (based on my experience had PM-1, and now own Elite/Caldera).

 

[newertype]

If you are still a huge fan of the PM-1, I would recommend trying out new source gear, especially R2R DACs or some tube amps that will add richness and depth to sound. I've personally tried a whole lot of different portable source gear and can't really choose one that I can say is my absolute favorite.

 

[newertype]

For headphones, I think a Hifiman Arya V2 or Meze 109 would fit the bill for a mid priced headphone. The Meze 109 is just so pleasant to listen to and the Arya's have butter smooth mids.