[daphen]

  since you already had a chance to demo the el-8 and decided to purchase them, I honestly wouldn't worry too much about other market options. there are a ton of really good and unique headphones out there & not many everyone has the opportunity to try them all. as long as you found something you like, that's really all that matters

Yeah, this is the approach I was taking as well.  
People are a bit too obsessed with what other people may think about what you like and seems to form their opinions based on what's "considered" good by others.
It kind of bothers me.

 

[money4me247]

  Yeah, this is the approach I was taking as well.  
People are a bit too obsessed with what other people may think about what you like and seems to form their opinions based on what's "considered" good by others.
It kind of bothers me.

mmm... really other people's opinions are the most helpful when they have the same preferences as you and judge headphones in a similar manner as you. I do think that recommendations and value judgement from people with an extensive experience trying out a lot of the different options on the market can be very helpful. but at the end of the day, it's going to be your headphones on your ears. only important how they sound to you.

 

[daphen]

  mmm... really other people's opinions are the most helpful when they have the same preferences as you and judge headphones in a similar manner as you. I do think that recommendations and value judgement from people with an extensive experience trying out a lot of the different options on the market can be very helpful. but at the end of the day, it's going to be your headphones on your ears. only important how they sound to you.

Of course.
How has your time with the EL-8 closed back been so far?

 

[money4me247]

  Of course. How has your time with the EL-8 closed back been so far?

hahah it's chill. actually had some time to do more critical listening with them today. I am still not sure how I feel about the EL-8. They were better than I expected from all the negative feedback on the EL-8 thread, but there is quite a bit of coloration and I personally think it is a bit hard to justify its MSRP price tag with the other options available on the market. I am planning on measuring its frequency response curve again after they get a lot more play time to see if there is any truth to the burn-in claims.

 

[daphen]

  hahah it's chill. actually had some time to do more critical listening with them today. I am still not sure how I feel about the EL-8. They were better than I expected from all the negative feedback on the EL-8 thread, but there is quite a bit of coloration and I personally think it is a bit hard to justify its MSRP price tag with the other options available on the market. I am planning on measuring its frequency response curve again after they get a lot more play time to see if there is any truth to the burn-in claims.

Cool, I'm doubtful anything will change but let me know how it goes.

 

[money4me247]

  Cool, I'm doubtful anything will change but let me know how it goes.

hahah me too, but who knows. just figured I'd test it for myself.

 

[robm321]

Originally, I was interest in the EL-8s when Mercer was hyping them up like mad. But after the audio show , it was clear that the PM-3s were a hit, and the EL-8s were a bust. That ended my interest in them.

 

[s0ckpupp3t]

hahah. sound sig preferences tho

My 2c on the M2 and PM-3.  I think the following 2 tracks best illustrate for me the differences in sound signatures between the two.
 
First off is Bubbles from Yosi Horikawa (https://soundcloud.com/yosi-horikawa/bubbles).  This song was made by sampling the sounds of bouncing ping pong and other balls.  I think this song highlights PM-3's strengths in instrument separation and imaging.  The sound of each ball dropping (out of hundreds) is distinct from the others and has impact, like you can actually feel the balls dropping near you.  The M2 is not quite as resolving and lacks some of the impact of the PM-3 but the overall sound is more cohesive.  One the M2 the sound of the balls dropping feel more like they're an integral part of the music whereas on the PM-3 they sometimes feel detached from the music and separate.  
 
Next up is Tamacun by Rodrigo Y Gabriela (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vULsGEm4x4s) which is an incredibly fast paced acoustic guitar duet.  On the M2, this song has a fairly wide and airy sound where the music definitely feels like its coming from outside your head, especially at the 1:30 mark.  On the PM-3 the soundstage on this song is pretty narrow to the point of feeling congested with all of the music firmly originating from in between the headphones.  That said, PM-3 picks up an amazing amount of detail and has no trouble keeping up with the pace of the individual notes.  The M2 is a bit slower in this regard so the sounds blend into each other somewhat. However, I think this slight blending on the M2 brings the music together.  There are times on the PM-3 where it did too good a job of separating the sounds and it felt like I was listening to 3 distinct components (rhythm, percussion and melody as separate discrete parts) rather than a unified whole.  
 
Wish I could have linked to a higher fidelity version of Tamacun.  I think the effects that I'm describing are a bit harder to discern due to the crappy youtube version.
 
In conclusion, I'm impressed by both headphones.  However, I prefer to have headphones that help me kick back and relax so my preference goes toward the M2 which is more musical although it falls a little behind the PM-3 on technical ability.  If my headphone enjoyment came from critical listening and being able to pick out details from the music, my hat would go off to the PM-3.

 

[lukeap69]

  My 2c on the M2 and PM-3.  I think the following 2 tracks best illustrate for me the differences in sound signatures between the two.
 
First off is Bubbles from Yosi Horikawa (https://soundcloud.com/yosi-horikawa/bubbles).  This song was made by sampling the sounds of bouncing ping pong and other balls.  I think this song highlights PM-3's strengths in instrument separation and imaging.  The sound of each ball dropping (out of hundreds) is distinct from the others and has impact, like you can actually feel the balls dropping near you.  The M2 is not quite as resolving and lacks some of the impact of the PM-3 but the overall sound is more cohesive.  One the M2 the sound of the balls dropping feel more like they're an integral part of the music whereas on the PM-3 they sometimes feel detached from the music and separate.  
 
Next up is Tamacun by Rodrigo Y Gabriela (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vULsGEm4x4s) which is an incredibly fast paced acoustic guitar duet.  On the M2, this song has a fairly wide and airy sound where the music definitely feels like its coming from outside your head, especially at the 1:30 mark.  On the PM-3 the soundstage on this song is pretty narrow to the point of feeling congested with all of the music firmly originating from in between the headphones.  That said, PM-3 picks up an amazing amount of detail and has no trouble keeping up with the pace of the individual notes.  The M2 is a bit slower in this regard so the sounds blend into each other somewhat. However, I think this slight blending on the M2 brings the music together.  There are times on the PM-3 where it did too good a job of separating the sounds and it felt like I was listening to 3 distinct components (rhythm, percussion and melody as separate discrete parts) rather than a unified whole.  
 
Wish I could have linked to a higher fidelity version of Tamacun.  I think the effects that I'm describing are a bit harder to discern due to the crappy youtube version.
 
In conclusion, I'm impressed by both headphones.  However, I prefer to have headphones that help me kick back and relax so my preference goes toward the M2 which is more musical although it falls a little behind the PM-3 on technical ability.  If my headphone enjoyment came from critical listening and being able to pick out details from the music, my hat would go off to the PM-3.

Thanks for the comparison. 

 

[LastSaiyan]

I just got mine in today soon as I get home it will be time to spend some quality time with them!

 

[daphen]

Originally, I was interest in the EL-8s when Mercer was hyping them up like mad. But after the audio show , it was clear that the PM-3s were a hit, and the EL-8s were a bust. That ended my interest in them.

The Pm-3's are definitely easier to like. They're more "normal" and kind imo. With that said, I thought they were a bit too normal if that makes sense? There's just nothing special with them.

 

[howdy]

I get these next week as part of the tour and I'm considering buying them already. Would anyone give any opinions on how much better these are than the M100s and if they are close to the HE400i as these are what I have now.

 

[money4me247]

I get these next week as part of the tour and I'm considering buying them already. Would anyone give any opinions on how much better these are than the M100s and if they are close to the HE400i as these are what I have now.

biggest difference against the M100 is that the PM-3's sound sig is more neutral and balanced while the M100 has a v-shaped sound signature with a pretty emphasized bass. Notes will be faster and cleaner on the PM-3.
 
against the HE-400i, the open HE-400i should have a larger sound sound stage (though I haven't done direct side-by-side comparisons). Hard for me to compare the sound signatures as I only demoed the HE-400i and never had a chance to do a side-by-side comparison. both planar magnetics are really high performing headphones that do well above their respective price brackets.

 

[miceblue]

I went to a local meet yesterday and I got to compare the Geek Out with a 16-bit MHDT Labs Paradisea 3 R-2R DAC with the PM-3 and Project Ember.


With the Paradisea 3, the shouty response of the PM-3 was definitely toned down. The Paradisea 3 just sounded a lot smoother with the PM-3 compared to the GO but it also made it sound a lot bassier, especially the upper-bass/lower-midrange area.

 

[howdy]

biggest difference against the M100 is that the PM-3's sound sig is more neutral and balanced while the M100 has a v-shaped sound signature with a pretty emphasized bass. Notes will be faster and cleaner on the PM-3.
 
against the HE-400i, the open HE-400i should have a larger sound sound stage (though I haven't done direct side-by-side comparisons). Hard for me to compare the sound signatures as I only demoed the HE-400i and never had a chance to do a side-by-side comparison. both planar magnetics are really high performing headphones that do well above their respective price brackets.

 

Thanks for the input! So do you think its worth the upgrade as far as a portable headphone is concerned. I would end up selling my M100s if I were to but this.