[musicman59]

  Reading this thread convinced me to buy the PM-3 and now its convinced me to go balanced.

You won't be disappointed. I have been running balanced out of my AK240 and love them!

 

[Mont mont]

  You won't be disappointed. I have been running balanced out of my AK240 and love them!

I'm looking at a balanced gear to pair with them now.
 

  I was the same way, and I apologize for my involvement :-D
 
In all honesty, I have found that these days more than ever before it's easier to go balanced. I think it's now a negative on the checklist of any headphone if it cannot be balanced without modding the internals. I have even found that seaparating the grounds can have improvements, so even if you dont have a balanced rig, separate grounds is still my preference.

I can't complain. I'm having a blast.

 

[zilch0md]

Technically speaking, balanced connections have to do with equal-impedance wires such that any interference affects both equally. If you have impedance mis-matching, the advantage of balanced signalling becomes less.

Differential signalling is the +/- signals that people often refer to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio#Differential_signalling
Depending on how the amplifier is designed, a balanced audio system may or may not sound better. Often times, people compare balanced amp A with unbalanced amp B and automatically assume any differences between the amps is because one is balanced and the other isn't, which most likely isn't the whole story.

 
Yes, there are a lot of very expensive headphone amps out there that only offer unbalanced TRS jacks and they're being enjoyed by some very experienced people with some expensive headphones. 
 
I personally view balanced connections as valid primarily when using an amp that will provide more power by going to a balanced 4-pin XLR, on the HA-1 for example - but even then, only if the headphone is sufficiently inefficient to actually scale to the additional power. 
 
The OPPO PM-1 is so efficient, I don't hear any improvements when moving it from the HA-1's 500 mW TRS jack to its 2000 mW 4-Pin XLR.
 
The OPPO PM-3 is even more efficient than the PM-1, so I would only go to a balanced connection with the PM-3 if I were using an unusually weak balanced-optional amp, like the Sony PHA-3, where going balanced is pretty much mandatory except for really efficient IEMs. The PHA-3's TRS jack puts out a maximum of 100 mW into 32-Ohms (which is less than half the power of the OPPO HA-2).  Most portable amps with TRS jacks have plenty of power for the PM-3.
 
Mike

 

[kugino]

Tyll has said that the pm3 does not benefit from a headphone amp...

 

[miceblue]

That's right. Instead, it benefits from a speaker amp like pretty much all planar magnetic headphones according to many. XD

 

[lukeap69]

Tyll has said that the pm3 does not benefit from a headphone amp...

Where did he say that?

 

[Lorspeaker]

The isolation on the PM3 is excellent, the salesman tried to tell me about his motherInLaw but i heard zero tidbits.
 
Paired with the HA-2, on high gain...that synergy !!
Tried it a few weeks ago on my FiioE18..not that awaken.
 
Nothing boomy or sibilant...no mids thats distant sounding...balanced...good separation...ENERGETIC.
Scrolled thru all my testsongs of diff genres...passed...passed...passsed...passsed...
(I wont say holographic...but i only expect that quality on my home rig....and i would switch to angledpads   )
 
For portable use at Starbucks or semidozing in the parking lot..
this is very smart, slim 1K combo to own...a winner in my books.

 

[d marc0]

Tyll has said that the pm3 does not benefit from a headphone amp...

Tyll wrote:
" I also noticed when switching from my HeadRoom Max Balanced Amp—which I use for basic comparisons due to its 4 outputs—to the Simaudio Moon Neo 430HA, dynamic impact (and everything else, really) improved significantly. The PM-3 does scale well (respond well to improved upstream gear). The PM-3 also does a very nice job of remaining clean sounding at loud levels."

 

[lukeap69]

Tyll wrote:
" I also noticed when switching from my HeadRoom Max Balanced Amp—which I use for basic comparisons due to its 4 outputs—to the Simaudio Moon Neo 430HA, dynamic impact (and everything else, really) improved significantly. The PM-3 does scale well (respond well to improved upstream gear). The PM-3 also does a very nice job of remaining clean sounding at loud levels."

That's what I read too so I cannot see where @kugino is coming from?

 

[good sound]

 

Tyll wrote:
" I also noticed when switching from my HeadRoom Max Balanced Amp—which I use for basic comparisons due to its 4 outputs—to the Simaudio Moon Neo 430HA, dynamic impact (and everything else, really) improved significantly. The PM-3 does scale well (respond well to improved upstream gear). The PM-3 also does a very nice job of remaining clean sounding at loud levels."

That's what I read too so I cannot see where @kugino is coming from?

And I completely agree, the PM-3 scales exceptionally well.

 

[lukeap69]

And I completely agree, the PM-3 scales exceptionally well.

Yep. I think I've said that or similar in my impressions many pages back even before Tyll had published his review.

 

[Bark Snarly]

I'm jumping aboard the scaling train too, pm-3 sounds much more alive when it's through something with a better dac and a more powerful amp than your average phone imo. Really makes them a lot more engaging to listen to.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Paradisea 3 R2R Tube Dac with the Project Sunrise 3 class A mosfet amp and the pm3s are really singing.

 

[money4me247]

I do personally think the PM-3 noticeably scales with nicer equipment. (whether that sonic change is significant enough for you to upgrade external components will be a personal call). It is easy enough to drive that it will still sound great straight out of the 3.5mm jack (unlike other headphones such as the 250ohm-600ohm dt880s, sennheiser hd600/hd650, or hd800 that drastically improves to a much larger degree as they are all underpowered straight out of a 3.5mm jack).
 
edit: since I use the PM-3 primarily in portable situations, something like the ha-2 is more than sufficient for me. yes, it does sound even better out of my desktop equipment & there may be improvements with balanced terminations (more to do with the amplifier rather than the inherent superiority of balanced in my personal opinion), but that worth it for me to chase additional expenses too far along the line for more scaling. I would recommend the PM-3 + portable amp/dac of your choice & see if that makes a difference to your ears. Then decide from there how to proceed.

 

[nmatheis]

Sorry in advance of this has been covered, but can someone please tell me if the PM-3 earpads have felt inside like PM-1 / PM-2 lambskin and velour pads, or are they sans felt like the PM-1 / PM-2 pleather pads?