[hans030390]

PM3 should have a sizable amount of hard-hitting bass (lots more than PM-1 or 2). Talking about an ~8dB boost around 20Hz that decreases in a linear fashion until it baselines with the rest of the spectrum around 200Hz. If you don't hear this, it's either you're not getting a good seal (seal is critical on these, and I really want to emphasis this - even glasses can ruin it, maybe even too much hair for all I know), you're used to super bass heavy products, or there's some sort of product variation or possible defect to consider.
 
I'll have a full review and measurements up within a week or two. But initial impressions are very favorable. Does the bass-heavy, on-the-go sound right, IMO. Bass emphasis is as I mentioned a bit ago and there's a touch extra in the upper-mids and treble, but tastefully so. It's smooth and cohesive and not aggressive, grainy, or too fatiguing. I can handle the very slight upper-mid/treble emphasis, and in that case, most others should be able to as well. This is coming from a guy that often finds things brighter sounding than most. PM3 is clean, clear, fast, relatively smooth, tuned right for its purpose, etc. Good stuff. More to come later. Can answer questions in the meantime, though.

 

[vlenbo]

   
That's not how I hear things.   

+
 

   
 I was referring to that Australian guy's impressions. I hope Tyll reviews them, because his tastes are similar to mine.

Lachlan did state that it was only a 10 minute impression. He cautioned the viewers to take his comments with a grain of salt.

 

[subguy812]

  +
 
Lachlan did state that it was only a 10 minute impression. He cautioned the viewers to take his comments with a grain of salt.

I heard him say that as well and was wondering why you would even do the review if you are going to say that..barely even an initial impression

 

[good sound]

 

  It's probably not fair to compare the comfort of the PM-3's against some of the open back phones designed for non-portable use. I would hope that anyone who is making any comments concerning the PM-3's comfort it is directly against other portable phones, but this is not always being made clear . With my time with the prototypes I found them to be very comfortable for a closed back portable phone, but right after that I auditioned a pair of HE-560's and of course there was no comparison, the 560's are much more comfortable. It's not fair to expect a portable headphone to compare in comfort to a high end headphone designed specifically for in home use.

 
It's fair to my ears. 

 
 
I compared the PM-3 against circumaural headphones, not just open back phones.   I'm not criticizing Oppo, I'm just stating fact (at least the facts as they relate to my experience).  I understand that the clamping force is higher than normal because they don't want the cans to fall off people's heads.   By reading comments in this thread, I also know that the "discomfort" is not universal.   This is the PM-3 impressions thread, not the "Oppo PM-3: Post Only Positive Impression" thread, right?
 
These are some of the  portables (circumaural) which I found to be more comfortable (on my head...YMMV):
 
Sony MDR-1R
B&O H6
NAD VISO HP50
B&W P7
UE9000
Momentum 1
 
 
None of them (except for the H6) sound as good as the PM-3 though.  If I do return the PM-3, I might try the K545 next...or perhaps I will buy another H6.  I have a feeling the Momentum 2 is still too boomy for my tastes. 

I have no issue with someone criticizing the PM-3's as long as the criticism is fair and justified. Apples to Apples, so to speak. I never said or even implied, in any way, that this thread should be for positive impressions only so i don't know where that came from. I see a lot of the phones you are comparing to the PM-3's are closed phones designed for portable use. Those are fair comparisons. I own the HP50 and I found the PM-3's to be much more comfortable, on my head, even though I don't find the HP50 to be uncomfortable.
 
My comments were not directed at anyone specific, it's just that I felt some members were complaining about the comfort of the PM-3's without providing any reference for their opinion, that's all. My main point was that I don't think it's fair too expect the PM-3's or any portable headphone for that matter to attain the level of comfort provided by headphones like the HD 800 or the HE-560. How are we supposed to know if the poster is only comparing the comfort, or lack thereof, of the PM-3's to that of hi-end open back headphones designed primarily for home use, if they don't tell us so?

 

[chailee80]

  Hey everyone been lurking but thought I'd share some thoughts on flying with these for those interested.  
 
1)  I'd estimate they reduce ambient cabin noise (air and engines) by approximately 50%-60%. 
 
2)  They do take the edge off non-ambient noise (cockpit announcements, kids screaming, people coughing & sneezing, etc).  Obviously you aren't ever going to silence these higher frequencies, but it does take the edge off nicely.
 
3)  The above statements are *without* anything playing.  I'd be pretty amazed if anyone that values audio first would complain about these headphones in an airplane once their music or movies are going.  Short of a screaming kid next to me I don't see myself having a complaint in the world once music gets going. I can still hear a dull roar with music playing, but not so much so that I feel I *must* to listen to music any louder than I do normally.  I think on softer music (i.e. classical/piano) I'd probably bump it one notch higher on my iPhone, but rock and roll no adjustment required.  I think my B&W IEM's with foam tips do a bit better job of isolating, but I enjoy the audio of these more.
 
4)  I think Oppo really missed with the case for these.  I think having to plug and unplug the cord several times each day is a bit annoying for a "portable" headphone.  Maybe you think I'm nitpicking, but I wish they released a little longer case with perhaps some type of foam slot where the cable could slide into existed.  It's not the end of the world, but it would have been so easy to design a case around knowing you are catering to portable use cases.
 
5)  If cabin silence is your most important goal you should probably just buy Bose and be done with it.  I only fly one week out of the month so having a headphone that can tackle the rest of my life is more important to me than airplane silence.
 
P.S. As for clamping pressure, I extended the headphone one notch and very carefully bent the headphone cups out.  The internal metal that slides into the headband is pretty malleable, and by having the headphones barely open you get a little leverage to be more precise.  I bent them maybe 1/32nd of an inch each - not very much at all.  HUGE difference though in comfort.  You can get a sense for how much you've bent them by closing the headphones all the way and checking the gap between the metal of the cups and headband.   They still close fine, they fit in the case fine, and they sit on my head fine (even in portable uses).  Obviously this might scare some people, but I would have no fears doing this each and every time.  (i.e. highly skeptical if you would break them unless you totally lack "finesse" in your toolbox).  

I use the oppo remote cable with my pm-3 and they fit just fine into the case with the cable still plugged in. The remote cables plug is slightly shorter which allows it to fit in.

 

[elvergun]

  I have no issue with someone criticizing the PM-3's as long as the criticism is fair and justified. Apples to Apples, so to speak. I never said or even implied, in any way, that this thread should be for positive impressions only so i don't know where that came from. I see a lot of the phones you are comparing to the PM-3's are closed phones designed for portable use. Those are fair comparisons. I own the HP50 and I found the PM-3's to be much more comfortable, on my head, even though I don't find the HP50 to be uncomfortable.
 
My comments were not directed at anyone specific, it's just that I felt some members were complaining about the comfort of the PM-3's without providing any reference for their opinion, that's all. My main point was that I don't think it's fair too expect the PM-3's or any portable headphone for that matter to attain the level of comfort provided by headphones like the HD 800 or the HE-560. How are we supposed to know if the poster is only comparing the comfort, or lack thereof, of the PM-3's to that of hi-end open back headphones designed primarily for home use, if they don't tell us so?

 
I don't think it really matters if they are less comfortable compared to hi-end open back headphones.  If the user finds them uncomfortable, they are uncomfortable.   I don't think a list off all the headphones he finds more or less comfortable is needed.    All you can really do is comment that you don't find them uncomfortable.
 
BTW, I found some portables - such as the MDR-1R and the H6 - to be as comfortable as open back headphones.   I don't find the PM-3 to be uncomfortable...they are just not as comfortable as I hoped they would be.  Does that make sense?

 

[vicegrips]

 
I use the oppo remote cable with my pm-3 and they fit just fine into the case with the cable still plugged in. The remote cables plug is slightly shorter which allows it to fit in.

It does work, but it seems the angle you have to take the cord to allow it to wrap inside the case will more than likely cause early failure.  Maybe I'm wrong though.  I just haven't had a ton of success with headphone cords in the past that aren't pulled at "somewhat aggressive" angles like this.  I guess worse case try it for some time and buy a replacement if that day comes..

 

[JML]

  PM3 should have a sizable amount of hard-hitting bass (lots more than PM-1 or 2). 

Not for me.  The PM-3 bass is fine, but it does not go down as deep as the PM-1.

 

[chailee80]

 
It does work, but it seems the angle you have to take the cord to allow it to wrap inside the case will more than likely cause early failure.  Maybe I'm wrong though.  I just haven't had a ton of success with headphone cords in the past that aren't pulled at "somewhat aggressive" angles like this.  I guess worse case try it for some time and buy a replacement if that day comes..

Possibly, the angle doesn't seem that bad to me though.
 

 

[Smarty-pants]

^ Seems pretty reasonable to me, but I do see the potential for damage if the the bottom of the case
were to get a lot of impact over and over again.
It might be worthwhile for Oppo to consider designing a different case that is more like a hard case,
and maybe create some kind of specialized compartment at the bottom of the case to keep the cable from getting pinched.
(Sell it as an accessory in their web store.)
Another option might be to flip the headphones around so that the ear cups are at the top,
and while there would still be potential for damage, maybe not as much since most of the impact of the case would
be at the bottom... at least in a scenario where you would be putting them in a bookbag or carryon, or similar transport.
 

 

[chailee80]

Yeh over time i imagine it would probably have some effect, i guess they just assume we'll unplug it most of the time. Personally i'm not too worried, the cables are only like $25 i think so if it lasts a year or so i'll be happy.

 

[money4me247]

  PM3 should have a sizable amount of hard-hitting bass (lots more than PM-1 or 2). Talking about an ~8dB boost around 20Hz that decreases in a linear fashion until it baselines with the rest of the spectrum around 200Hz. If you don't hear this, it's either you're not getting a good seal (seal is critical on these, and I really want to emphasis this - even glasses can ruin it, maybe even too much hair for all I know), you're used to super bass heavy products, or there's some sort of product variation or possible defect to consider.
 
I'll have a full review and measurements up within a week or two. But initial impressions are very favorable. Does the bass-heavy, on-the-go sound right, IMO. Bass emphasis is as I mentioned a bit ago and there's a touch extra in the upper-mids and treble, but tastefully so. It's smooth and cohesive and not aggressive, grainy, or too fatiguing. I can handle the very slight upper-mid/treble emphasis, and in that case, most others should be able to as well. This is coming from a guy that often finds things brighter sounding than most. PM3 is clean, clear, fast, relatively smooth, tuned right for its purpose, etc. Good stuff. More to come later. Can answer questions in the meantime, though.

 
just curious. how did you get the 8dB number? ear test of single tones or frequency response curve? There is a bass boost on the PM-3s, but I didn't think it's that much & I believe my seal is fine. ~8ish to 10dB is about how much the M100s boost their bass overall and that is a much noticeably larger emphasis than the pm3s. I am used the the HE-560, so that is about as flat of a frequency response as you can get, so I can agree that it sounds bass boosted in comparison to really neutral headphones. I did a lot of direct comparisons against the k7xx which have a 3dB bass boost and the pm3s were quite close in bass emphasis even with the k7xx being an open design. In direct comparisons against the audeze lcd-x, the lcd-x actually had more bass quantity despite being open design and I remember the lcd-x's bass is only elevated up to ~5db max. also, the momentums gen1, p7, m50x, m80, m100, and mdr-1r all sounded like they had much more bass quantity to me, though not perfect direct comparisons. I believe the m80 has about a 5dB bass boost.
 
I guess I personally disagree that these headphones are bass-heavy in quantity compared to the competition. I actually think these headphones have their subtle emphasis in the mid-range and that there is a slight recession in the treble and upper-mids. interesting how our impressions differ. enjoyable read! looking forward to seeing your review and measurements

 

[money4me247]

 
Possibly, the angle doesn't seem that bad to me though.
 

 
that angle looks much better than when I tried it. perhaps a bit of fiddling in the case will relieve the strain. i would be comfortable leaving the cable in the headphones if that's all the strain. mine bent at a much sharper angle & i wouldn't recommend leaving the cable in if you get a sharp angle. can cause early failure of the cable.

 

[miceblue]

just curious. how did you get the 8dB number?

Hans has a headphone measuring setup.
Like so:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/oppo-pm-2/reviews/11555

 

[money4me247]

@above. correct me if i can wrong, arent those the pm2s? also, I believe waterfall plots are used to measure transient response, not frequency emphasis.

i went in the review and i do see the overall 8db slope for the pm2s but that doesnt mean that it is a 8db boost from neutral. it will depend on where you set the x axis & relative to the other frequency responses. so if the bass and mids are measured to have the same emphasis, that actually turns to be no bass boost. if you set the mids as the zero, the bass and mids have the same measured amount of emphasis, so that will lead to a neutral sound signature overall with a little bit of roll off in the lower bass... for the pm-2s that were measured. i havent seen any measurements for the pm3s yet.