[Joshua Bernstein]

Hello everyone,

My name is Joshua Bernstein, I am a college student in at the University of Florida and I am new to the forum.

I have been interested in high quality audio my whole life, but generally could not afford anything decent. About 4 years ago I bought the audio-technica m50x's and was satisfied for a while, but in the past year or so I have been looking for a better setup.

After doing some research i pulled the trigger on a couple of items:

• First an oppo pm3, I am a stickler for build quality, and these appear to be top notch. I like for my items to have a nice weight to them. I needed them to be portable which the closed back seemed good for.
• Second a fiio e17k dac/amp, i need the portability and the reviews i found were very positive.

I will be listening to this setup on my Samsung galaxy s9 and a macbook pro, using Tidal. I get a discount on tidal as a student, and i can hear a difference in the nuances of the music between tidal and spotify (even with m50x's) especially with cymbals and overdriven guitars.

I should probably note my reasons for looking to upgrade and what I am looking for. My main problem witht the m50x is that is just kind of sounds both 'soupy' and slightly harsh at the same time. The separation is just okay and the sound stage is very narrow. Mostly it just sound sloppy/unnatural and not super clear to me. I had been reading about planars for a while and they seem like they will be a substantial upgrade from the m50x. The ability to be able to take the setup with me is a must as well as I frequently study at the library and need to be able to bring the headphones with me. This is the main reason I have picked the oppo as they are closed back, as well as my choice for the dac/amp.

Now that I have ordered these things, I am wondering if this will be a respectable setup?

Thank you for your time and all opinions are welcome and appreciated!

 

[ricksome]

HiFiman has well documented quality control and customer service issues. That makes it a no go for me but maybe not for you.

. I had been reading about planars for a while and they seem like they will be a substantial upgrade from the m50x .... you are correct about this.

 

[Joshua Bernstein]

I had been reading about planars for a while and they seem like they will be a substantial upgrade from the m50x .... you are correct about this.

This is very good to hear, I look forward to listening for the differences!

HiFiman has well documented quality control and customer service issues. That makes it a no go for me but maybe not for you.

After writing this, I actually found an oppo pm3 in the for sale section of the forum and took the plunge on those, and will cancel the massdrop order! I will edit the original post now as well. Thank you for your response!

 

[serman005]

The only thing about the PM-3 for me is that it is kind of vanilla, sort of a bit boring, to me, at least. Have you listened to them? If so, then you are all set. If not, then I will be interested to see what you think of them. You might love them.

 

[Joshua Bernstein]

The only thing about the PM-3 for me is that it is kind of vanilla, sort of a bit boring, to me, at least. Have you listened to them? If so, then you are all set. If not, then I will be interested to see what you think of them. You might love them.

I've not listened to them yet, as in my area there is basically no chance of trying any high quality audio equipment, beyond just headphones (instruments, recording gear, stereos, etc). I have read similar things that they are 'vanilla' but I have also read that for some people they are outstanding. The main thing that pulls me to them is that they are both planar and closed back, and the closed back is a must for me, despite the fact that there seem to be more high quality open back choices. I will definitely report back after I try them!

I just gave the e17k about 30 minutes of listening, and even through the m50x i can tell there is a substantial improvement over the built in dac on my phone!