[BlueWindNoise]

I wonder if anyone who has fitted the brainwavz pads could write or do a video of instructions how to fit them to the pm3 as the original pads seems to be fitted to a press-on plastic holder before being pressed onto the headphone?

Same here. I like the idea of it but probably want a few more details before giving it a go. Especially if messing them up is now an even more permanent problem with the lack of future production.

 

[megabigeye]

Anyone have some eq settings they feel worked well with the pm3s?

The FR curve charts at Inner Fidelity are a good place to start.
The settings I use in UAPP are:
31Hz = -2.3dB
63Hz = -2.3dB
125Hz = -2.3dB
250Hz = -1.3dB
500Hz = -0.3dB
1KHz = -2.3dB
2KHz = -2.3dB
4KHz = +2.2dB
8KHz = +2.2dB
16KHz = +2.2dB

If I'm on the go and want a little more bass, I'll bump 31Hz-63Hz to -0.8dB. I've always found the PM-3 to be a little dark and these adjustments bring them a little closer to what I prefer. If I weren't so lazy, I might make more nuanced adjustments to the 4KHz+ region, though. Sounds just slightly off to me.

Whatever your adjustments, remember it's better to cut frequencies than to boost. E.G., if you want more treble, it's best to lower all the other frequencies and then turn up the volume/gain to compensate (simply boosting can cause distortion, hiss, other ugliness). Or you can do what I did and split the difference: I wanted +4.5dB from 4KHz up, so I cut everything else by -2.3dB and then only had to boost the treble +2.2dB.

All this said, I'm wondering if anybody has tried the PM-3 with the Schiit Loki? I'm kind of imagining it'd get me part of the way to where I wanna go, but not the whole way.

 

[435279]

Same here. I like the idea of it but probably want a few more details before giving it a go. Especially if messing them up is now an even more permanent problem with the lack of future production.

There isn't too much risk of breaking anything Oppo I would say, my main worry was messing up the brand new angled pads I'd just brought, £24 is not too much of a loss but once I'd cut the new pads to fit they couldn't be returned.

I was very careful removing the old Oppo pads from the plastic rings and got them off without damage, they are worn out really but I would say the original pads could be reattached to the plastic rings quite easily if I wanted to reverse the mod which I don't.

 

[BlueWindNoise]

There isn't too much risk of breaking anything Oppo I would say, my main worry was messing up the brand new angled pads I'd just brought, £24 is not too much of a loss but once I'd cut the new pads to fit they couldn't be returned.

I was very careful removing the old Oppo pads from the plastic rings and got them off without damage, they are worn out really but I would say the original pads could be reattached to the plastic rings quite easily if I wanted to reverse the mod which I don't.

Good to know. Thanks for the info. This is still on my list...

 

[FastAndClean]

oppo is out from the headphones game, very sad, my first planar was the PM3

 

[Satir]

In recent phone contact sensed something unspoken was afoot with Oppo. Now we know.

 

[Fra D]

Shocking, absolutely shocking news. Who saw this coming? The end if a dynasty. Think I might purchase myself a UDP-205 or two and put them away for a rainy day.

Indeed sad news, and, why?

https://oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

Get your Oppo players/headphones while you can!

 

[alphanumerix1]

The FR curve charts at Inner Fidelity are a good place to start.
The settings I use in UAPP are:
31Hz = -2.3dB
63Hz = -2.3dB
125Hz = -2.3dB
250Hz = -1.3dB
500Hz = -0.3dB
1KHz = -2.3dB
2KHz = -2.3dB
4KHz = +2.2dB
8KHz = +2.2dB
16KHz = +2.2dB

If I'm on the go and want a little more bass, I'll bump 31Hz-63Hz to -0.8dB. I've always found the PM-3 to be a little dark and these adjustments bring them a little closer to what I prefer. If I weren't so lazy, I might make more nuanced adjustments to the 4KHz+ region, though. Sounds just slightly off to me.

Whatever your adjustments, remember it's better to cut frequencies than to boost. E.G., if you want more treble, it's best to lower all the other frequencies and then turn up the volume/gain to compensate (simply boosting can cause distortion, hiss, other ugliness). Or you can do what I did and split the difference: I wanted +4.5dB from 4KHz up, so I cut everything else by -2.3dB and then only had to boost the treble +2.2dB.

All this said, I'm wondering if anybody has tried the PM-3 with the Schiit Loki? I'm kind of imagining it'd get me part of the way to where I wanna go, but not the whole way.

Thank you very much!

 

[megabigeye]

No problem! Hope those adjustments are useful!

 

[noplsestar]

I wonder if anyone who has fitted the brainwavz pads could write or do a video of instructions how to fit them to the pm3 as the original pads seems to be fitted to a press-on plastic holder before being pressed onto the headphone?

thanks

d

That would be good, I've done mine already so can't make a video. It is a bit of a fiddly process, removing the old pads is simple enough but I didn't realise it was necessary to trim some of the pad new away, the part that fits over the plastic clip ring to make them fit properly, but it all looks and sounds very good to me now.

Same here. I like the idea of it but probably want a few more details before giving it a go. Especially if messing them up is now an even more permanent problem with the lack of future production.

There isn't too much risk of breaking anything Oppo I would say, my main worry was messing up the brand new angled pads I'd just brought, £24 is not too much of a loss but once I'd cut the new pads to fit they couldn't be returned.

I was very careful removing the old Oppo pads from the plastic rings and got them off without damage, they are worn out really but I would say the original pads could be reattached to the plastic rings quite easily if I wanted to reverse the mod which I don't.

In fact you don’t have to cut or break or glue anything. You just clip off the original pads, then you pull the leather/synthetic leather over the whole capsule. You maybe need to stretch the new pads a bit when putting them over. The original plastic clips are not needed for the new pads anymore. But as you see, it’s completely reversible in just a minute. Because the new leather earpads are completely pulled over the capsules of the PM3, the only thing that changes a bit is the looks. I guess that’s why steveoliver did it the way he did. Anyway, if you do it the easy way as described above, there is - as already said - no gluing, cutting etc. needed and it just sounds exactly the same as steveolivers mod, except that his looks afterwards like the original.

 

[435279]

except that his looks afterwards like the original.

Exactly why I did it the way I did. Anybody who wants to do it the way you describe is welcome to, it is worth the effort to do it the cut/glue way though the result looks very good and more "stock".

 

[stilleh]

Anyone know if there is anywhere to buy just the plastic clip ring for the earpads? My original pads are in great shape so I don´t want to ruin them. Just need the plastic clips so I can mod Brainwavz nicely.

 

[big_scot_nanny]

I went ahead and did the full mod with the angled leather brainwaves EarPads, cutting and gluing them to fit. Thanks to those who tested this out previously. It is exactly as others have said: slightly wider soundstage, a little brighter in the mids (but maintaining bass), a little less isolation, and a heck of a lot more comfortable for my big ears and warm head

Process (sorry, no photos):
1) I clipped the old pads off (used a flat, blunt knife to pry them up at the clips very carefully. Was not able to do it with fingers alone). I found it quite tricky to clip them back on again, clips need lined up well and quite a lot of pressure to get the ‘snap’
2) Cut off the old pads with a sharp modelling knife, leaving just the plastic ring
3) trimmed the new pads inner circumference to fit over the ring but not obstruct the clips
4) Glued in place, weighted the pads for a couple of hours to ensure good contact
5) Clipped the new pads/old ring back onto phones (this was even more difficult than with stock pads, as the extra padding and width makes locating the clips correctly and pushing at appropriate point rather tricky)
6) Donned the upgraded phones with some trepidation
7) Danced around the house with glee whilst listening to the new ‘The Magic Gang’ album

I had already bought a spare pair of complete pads from Oppo as a backup som time ago, so this was a relatively low risk procedure. I am happy I did it, was not too difficult except the re-clipping, just needs care and precision.

Fire away folks, nothing to fear!

PS - and bye bye Oppo digital *sniff, sob*

 

[BlueWindNoise]

Thanks for the step by step @big_scot_nanny! I may give this a shot today. I managed to get the old pads off last night but left it at that.

Just to confirm, the old pads are ruined after doing this, correct? And what type of glue did you use?

My only hesitation is not being able to get them back to stock, should the need arise. I suppose I could order an additional set of pads from Oppo, but I expect that won't be the case for that long. It's not like I'm planning on selling them anyway. I'm a big fan of the PM-3s.

 

[big_scot_nanny]

Yes, the old pads are ruined.

First, the faux-leather is already glued to the inside ridge of the ‘clip-ring’ as you may have noticed, so this needs slicing to get the pads off. Secondly, the thin membrane that covers the driver, in the center of the pad, is quite firmly double taped to the ring also, so pulling that off makes a fair old mess of the old pads (well, it did in my case).

Glue was just a general purpose glue without any solvent from the kids art supplies - it doesn’t need much.

I might suggest you practice re-attaching the pads a few times before you start making the mod, for me this was by far the most difficult bit.