[droopy1592]

I posted this on reddit. I've heard a few people say these don't need an amp but I disagree. I had them packed up and ready to ship to a friend that wanted them. Not anymore. 
 
 

My grado ps500e and sr325 sound great through the macbook pro. PM3 not so much. I was blaming the phones (because my other phones sounded great) and just thought others that had reviewed the pm3s were just happy they had some ok sounding Planar headphones on a budget. I couldn't understand the hype with the Oppos. I didn't know if it was because they were closed (hell, my Momentum 2s are closed and sound great) or just not a great sounding phone.

I had packed the PM3 up to sell because they just didn't float my boat. I tend to like a dark sound but with detailed/airy treble. There was something missing and I never really reached for them much at all except for very specific tracks.

I ordered the modi MB/magni combo as my first headphone dac/amp since 2008 (lost $6000 in hometheater/audio equipment in a flood) and wow. Just wow. The soundstage is way better and the airy/detailed top end is back. I'm a/b-ing with my macbook pro and it is a night and day difference with the PM3. The grados have improved with the M/M stack but only slightly. The PM3s, however, have just come to life. I now see what other users mean when they say some phones need a good dac/amp to get them to sound great. They are becoming neck and neck with the grado ps500e, and dare I say, starting to like them more and more, maybe becoming my favorites.

I've heard others have the same complaints about the PM3s and have read a few bad reviews and I'm wondering if it was just because of the dac/amp.

I'm going to keep them. I love them. I'm being very unproductive today.

 

[howdy]

LOL Oh boy! Actually the reality is always much more obvious. If somebody don't care for the sound of a given headphone than the problem lies with it not something else. Unlike many poor souls who desperate to figure out what could go wrong since this is a highly regarded product, and there is must be something else,luckily I know better.

This HP simply fails of what I THINK it should sound, and that's the end of it. There are plenty of other choices out there for me to worry about it. Oh yeah all of my music is lossless or Hi-Res.

Cheers!!!

 I never implied to you or anyone else that this is the perfect headphone I was stating that throughout this thread I had never seen so many negative impressions. Also, when you say" If somebody don't care for the sound of a given headphone than the problem lies with it not something else. If you have a poor source it will not produce the sound that it was tuned for. Im not saying these are the best out there, far from it, but these are a great headphone. 

 

[LajostheHun]

 I never implied to you or anyone else that this is the perfect headphone I was stating that throughout this thread I had never seen so many negative impressions.

And why is that sound surprising because you think they great? Others might just have different taste and opinion of the same thing, it happens all the time, and not just with audio.

Also, when you say" If somebody don't care for the sound of a given headphone than the problem lies with it not something else. If you have a poor source it will not produce the sound that it was tuned for.

Yeah that's one of those silly myths that lives in the land of audiophilia nervosa but not in the real world.

Im not saying these are the best out there, far from it, but these are a great headphone. 

Noted. and I'm saying they less than good.

 

[Koolpep]

  Hello I'm new to the forums but I wanted to share my first impressions as I received an Oppo PM-3 and HA-2 2 days ago.
I already own a Shure SRH-840 for about 3 years without amplification and the more I listened to them the more I found the sound flat and too neutral.
 
My opinion completely changed when I plugged the 840's in the HA-2, they sound incredibly much punchier, crisp and I'm actually impressed by the sound. The amp gave them air and a lot of dynamic range, I've to say these cans are awesome for the price if you can amp them.
 
Now let's talk about the PM-3's. Well, the build quality is outstanding, no doubt about that. BUT
Whatever I throw at them sounds lifeless, even if the term might be a little excessive here. The bass is very precise and goes deep, mids are one of the best sounding mids I've ever heard (they're a tad bit colored and I like it), the biggest issue is the treble. There is literally little to no treble compared to my Shure 840's. There is no air to the sound even if they overall sound pretty good they lack something that gives some emotion to the music. I enjoy my shure the most there is no doubt about that when it comes to enjoy some music, I'm a little disappointed  about the Oppo's.
 
I think I'll return the PM-3's back and keep the HA-2. This amp sounds beautiful and I recommend it.
 
That was my 2 cents. I honestly don't know why so many people think the PM-3 is so good. It is good, but it lacks something for the price.
The sounds is def  'laid back" as I read on most reviews. I'll try them out a couple days more to be sure to try out some other genres of music. I'm a little confused right now.

 
Lifeless, boring, unexciting - don't worry -  this was the exact same impression I had at first with my PM-3 - however - I don't know what changed - but with a bit of time these became one of my favorite headphones. It might be brain burn in or actual burn in - but after a few days I really enjoyed them tremendously. I also use them balanced from a HM901 mostly (dyson audio balanced cable, very nice) and balanced from my Liquid Carbon and they are just absolutely rocking it.
 
I also didn't understand the rave reviews at first. But now - I do.

 

[Shunghila]

   
Lifeless, boring, unexciting - don't worry -  this was the exact some impression I had at first with my PM-3 - however - I don't know what changed - but with a bit of time these became one of my favorite headphones. It might be brain burn in or actual burn in - but after a few days I really enjoyed them tremendously. I also use them balanced from a HM901 mostly (dyson audio balanced cable, very nice) and balanced from my Liquid Carbon and they are just absolutely rocking it.
 
I also didn't understand the rave reviews at first. But now - I do.

Man. I was about to post about this.. I don't know what actually happened to my cans/ears. I gave them a chance and I fell in love with the sound sig. Like you said, maybe it was burn in or just time to my ears to accomodate from the shure to the oppo. 
They sound incredibly warm and the mid range is crazy, snares are delicious and these cans feels really balanced overall. They became much more musical after ~4 days of intensive use and maybe they'll become even better with time (I usually don't think burn-in exists but this is really confusing). I keep them, no doubt.

 

[chillaxing]

I think people just expect to much from a product after reading all the hype and raving reviews.  This goes for a lot of hobbies.
 
 
I didn't know what to expect before trading for my mine except that they met my criteria for a travel set.  like many have said before, they are not the best, but they are good for what they are.  You can check my profile for what I compare them to.

 

[jeronim0]

Man. I was about to post about this.. I don't know what actually happened to my cans/ears. I gave them a chance and I fell in love with the sound sig. Like you said, maybe it was burn in or just time to my ears to accomodate from the shure to the oppo. 
They sound incredibly warm and the mid range is crazy, snares are delicious and these cans feels really balanced overall. They became much more musical after ~4 days of intensive use and maybe they'll become even better with time (I usually don't think burn-in exists but this is really confusing). I keep them, no doubt.

I will keep them too, surely not the most musical headphone I used but it has something special.

The PM3 is a love and hate affair, just give it some burn in

 

[JaeYoon]

I just bought Oppo PM3.This is a great HP even though it's right out of the box. It's a lot more comfy than the Audeze Sine I once had. I wear glasses and it's very light on the head.
Isolation is very good.

 

[jeronim0]

I just bought Oppo PM3.This is a great HP even though it's right out of the box. It's a lot more comfy than the Audeze Sine I once had. I wear glasses and it's very light on the head.
Isolation is very good.

Out of the box it didn't sound good to my ears. I gave it a break in of 24hrs on pink noise and voila !

After this short burn in, I can hear an immense soundstage compared to the narrowed one out of the box. I can hear more details in the highs with better instruments separation. The difference is really night and day. I usually don't believe in burn in but it seems to be a must for every planar magnetic

 

[JaeYoon]

Out of the box it didn't sound good to my ears. I gave it a break in of 24hrs on pink noise and voila !

After this short burn in, I can hear an immense soundstage compared to the narrowed one out of the box. I can hear more details in the highs with better instruments separation. The difference is really night and day. I usually don't believe in burn in but it seems to be a must for every planar magnetic

I will leave it on playing then.

 

[droopy1592]

Out of the box it didn't sound good to my ears. I gave it a break in of 24hrs on pink noise and voila !

After this short burn in, I can hear an immense soundstage compared to the narrowed one out of the box. I can hear more details in the highs with better instruments separation. The difference is really night and day. I usually don't believe in burn in but it seems to be a must for every planar magnetic

Same here. Soundstage got a little better

 

[howdy]

Have not used my PM3s in a few weeks and have them plugged in to my iDSD Micro and wow I've missed how great they sound.

 

[JaeYoon]

Also I find it interesting. Someone's review on Amazon said that he loved everything about oppo pm3 headphone but the bass is weak and lacking compared to other headphones he used to have in $100 sub range. He loves bass and was thinking of returning the oppos.

He tried boosting bass on on his AVR with +10.

After some time after adjusting while he lowered the basslevel and started to notice that the low end headphones were artifically emphasising bass that didn't exist.

 

[droopy1592]

Also I find it interesting. Someone's review on Amazon said that he loved everything about oppo pm3 headphone but the bass is weak and lacking compared to other headphones he used to have in $100 sub range. He loves bass and was thinking of returning the oppos.

He tried boosting bass on on his AVR with +10.

After some time after adjusting while he lowered the basslevel and started to notice that the low end headphones were artifically emphasising bass that didn't exist.

these phones don't have the best bass if you wear glasses or a funny shaped head/ears
 
They need a good seal for good subbass

 

[JaeYoon]

these phones don't have the best bass if you wear glasses or a funny shaped head/ears

They need a good seal for good subbass

I wear glasses I might have to forget the bass but I'm fine with that.