[Raptor34]

  10mw isn't much, but thankfully the pm-3 is a wonder of sensitivity for a planar.
google tells me 102db and 26ohm (check if I'm right maybe?) that should give you close to 112db with the volume maxed out(that's for peak RMS not for music actually sounding like 112db loud). to clear an amp I'm used to look if it can do 115db so it's not good, but very close still so it's hard to really call that a fail in driving power. if you don't listen loudly or have mostly modern music, it will work.
 
now from http://headphoniaks.com/blog/sony-walkman-a15-analisis-tecnico-y-review/   they show that distortion goes up to 0.17% into 32ohm and 0.11% into 16ohm, so I would expect maybe 0.15%? at full volume into the oppo. it's not really great TBH. probably because the poor sony is giving up all it can at full volume in that situation.
 
the mdr1r we talked about it but I still don't know the actual specs. one website give 105db 24ohm, another one 105db 48ohm so it's hard to know. still that should be between 113 and 115db(into 48ohm, voltage would be the limit first). so you can expect about the same loudness or slightly less with the oppo(10db difference feels like twice as loud). if I had an impedance curve for the mdr1r I could be sure of this but I couldn't find one. so it's only about right. 
 
my answer to you is , yes it will work, yes it should be loud enough, but yes it would deserve a good little amp to get the best sound possible because having to use the DAP almost at max volume isn't an ideal situation. I hope that gives you a clear idea.

The pm-3 has the same sensitivity as the pm-1.    "Sensitivity 102 dB in 1 mW"    26 ohm.   I'm listening right now with the pm-1's out of the A17 at a 20 level on the volume control and it's plenty loud and the sq is  very good (96/24 album)  At any setting below 19 the sound gets a little thin though.  If the pm-3's are a little hotter on the sensitivity scale then it might be a good match.  
thanks for the input!
cheers

 

[gerelmx1986]

 

 
You used it frequently? I don't use mine so frqeuntly, where it broke in the cable or the actual WM-connector?

I use it all the time at home with my amp. Actually I figured it didn't completely break down... It comes and goes. the wm port connector is too loose. when I first bought it this was not a problem. But now, I have to try a few times to get it right. Probably a few pins don't fit tight or something... 

Ok let's see how much mine does last :s but you are not the only one who has told me that it fails on the actual wm-port thingy

 

[gerelmx1986]

  I bought a memory card micro SD, the file transfer rate of 3 MB but when I insert it in the player it does half of the albums, how to solve this problem? give a link to the program to authenticate micro SD!

try this
 
http://mikelab.kiev.ua/index_en.php?page=PROGRAMS/chkflsh_en
 
used it to test a Kingston SD card which then failed LOL, faulty from factory and claimed warranty...

 

[gerelmx1986]

  As I've said before but out of sheer frustration just have to say it again. What the hell is the point in buying a digital player, any digital player, never mind one as good as the A15 and then connected it digitally to a DAC/Amp ? Stick to mobile phones for this sort of tomfoolery.
 
You are just using it as a glorified USB stick. Why not pull it apart, rip out the amp and dac and fit a bigger battery. Sorry I'm at a loss with this concept.
 
Its like buying a small sports car with a sweet albeit slightly underpowered engine and precise gearbox and using it as a stylish trailer towed behind a great big ugly 4x4. Utter madness and surely some kind of joke from those with more money than sense

Yes i understand your point  the A17 is already good sound, but what if some headphones require some more juice to shine and the A10 can't provide enough, or if you want to prolong th battery life (analogue LOD).... i like how mine drives my headphones to some degree is fine but i wish more esp for the bigger ones i use at home

 

[Change is Good]

I bought this for the sheer purpose of portability, expandable memory, and great sound quality...
 

 

[gerelmx1986]

  I bought this for the sheer purpose of portability, expandable memory, and great sound quality...
 
 

Me too SQ nad expansion and FLAC of course
 
BTW which cable is the one in your XBA-H3?

 

[god-bluff]

Yes i understand your point  the A17 is already good sound, but what if some headphones require some more juice to shine and the A10 can't provide enough, or if you want to prolong th battery life (analogue LOD).... i like how mine drives my headphones to some degree is fine but i wish more esp for the bigger ones i use at home

If I were to use the a25 with demand ing phones like my beyers like you I'd use my amp. It'd just dac/amps I find a step too far

 

[Sonic Defender]

If I were to use the a25 with demand ing phones like my beyers like you I'd use my amp. It'd just dac/amps I find a step too far

Why? I don't see the logic there, hopefully that doesn't sound rude. Why is the DAC in the A series immune from improvement by the end user? If you have a better DAC/amp combo why not use them?

 

[gerelmx1986]

 

Yes i understand your point  the A17 is already good sound, but what if some headphones require some more juice to shine and the A10 can't provide enough, or if you want to prolong th battery life (analogue LOD).... i like how mine drives my headphones to some degree is fine but i wish more esp for the bigger ones i use at home

If I were to use the a25 with demand ing phones like my beyers like you I'd use my amp. It'd just dac/amps I find a step too far

yes agree we only need an AMP not the combo stuff, that are usually more expensive wish some companies like oppo just released stand alone amps not with eh DAC alreeady on it

  in this cae because the DAC of the sony is already so Good sounding... unlike iClassics they need both stuff to sound Good

 

[castleofargh]

 

Yes i understand your point  the A17 is already good sound, but what if some headphones require some more juice to shine and the A10 can't provide enough, or if you want to prolong th battery life (analogue LOD).... i like how mine drives my headphones to some degree is fine but i wish more esp for the bigger ones i use at home

If I were to use the a25 with demand ing phones like my beyers like you I'd use my amp. It'd just dac/amps I find a step too far

DAC or amp or headphones, you can always imagine that one may be superior to the other (audible or not), and some people will desire that theoretical upgrade. of course we have to avoid being foolish and replacing an ok DAC by a crap one wouldn't be very clever, just like plugging any external amp into any DAP isn't automatically an upgrade. I'm thinking maybe a nx1 into a X5, when the x5's amp section is actually superior in a few domains. so it's a good idea to know a little about the products we plan to switch using an analog out or a digital out ^_^.
 
in most situations I agree with you that a DAC is a DAC and they are almost all pretty much transparent nowadays(at least they should) so changing is a waste of time. but for the A10, it was already pointed out that the output is pretty weak, 0.245v instead of up to 2v on most desktop DACs. meaning that depending on the DAC you will use you could get the total loudness 18db louder just by picking another DAC. for people using non portable headphones those 18db may come in handy to avoid having to get a monster amp.

 

[gerelmx1986]

 

 

Yes i understand your point  the A17 is already good sound, but what if some headphones require some more juice to shine and the A10 can't provide enough, or if you want to prolong th battery life (analogue LOD).... i like how mine drives my headphones to some degree is fine but i wish more esp for the bigger ones i use at home

If I were to use the a25 with demand ing phones like my beyers like you I'd use my amp. It'd just dac/amps I find a step too far

DAC or amp or headphones, you can always imagine that one may be superior to the other (audible or not), and some people will desire that theoretical upgrade. of course we have to avoid being foolish and replacing an ok DAC by a crap one wouldn't be very clever, just like plugging any external amp into any DAP isn't automatically an upgrade. I'm thinking maybe a nx1 into a X5, when the x5's amp section is actually superior in a few domains. so it's a good idea to know a little about the products we plan to switch using an analog out or a digital out ^_^.
 
in most situations I agree with you that a DAC is a DAC and they are almost all pretty much transparent nowadays(at least they should) so changing is a waste of time. but for the A10, it was already pointed out that the output is pretty weak, 0.245v instead of up to 2v on most desktop DACs. meaning that depending on the DAC you will use you could get the total loudness 18db louder just by picking another DAC. for people using non portable headphones those 18db may come in handy to avoid having to get a monster amp.

Anyways i don't fully understand what you say

, i am talking power to drive demanding cans, not necessarily the DAC which has nothing to do with the amp section
 
For me DAC--> SQ     AMP--> ability to drive certain cans

 

[gerelmx1986]

Don't know if the guys from Ultrasone used binaural recordng for their Demo CD but it sounds better at imaging than the Dr. cheskys that comes with fiio x3

 

[Sonic Defender]

 
DAC or amp or headphones, you can always imagine that one may be superior to the other (audible or not), and some people will desire that theoretical upgrade. of course we have to avoid being foolish and replacing an ok DAC by a crap one wouldn't be very clever, just like plugging any external amp into any DAP isn't automatically an upgrade. I'm thinking maybe a nx1 into a X5, when the x5's amp section is actually superior in a few domains. so it's a good idea to know a little about the products we plan to switch using an analog out or a digital out ^_^.
 
in most situations I agree with you that a DAC is a DAC and they are almost all pretty much transparent nowadays(at least they should) so changing is a waste of time. but for the A10, it was already pointed out that the output is pretty weak, 0.245v instead of up to 2v on most desktop DACs. meaning that depending on the DAC you will use you could get the total loudness 18db louder just by picking another DAC. for people using non portable headphones those 18db may come in handy to avoid having to get a monster amp.

I love the sound from the A17, but it is a little warm and that might be the amp or the DAC, or both so if somebody wanted to alter the characteristics of the sound a DAC change may achieve that goal to some extent. I don't think all DACs sound the same and the analogue output stage is a factor so a decent DAC section as seems to be in the A17 can most certainly be a target for improvement when you don't simply think about the DAC chip in isolation, consider the DAC as a whole. Not to mention, the chips can sound different, just ask the DAC designers.

 

[gerelmx1986]

I love the sound from the A17, but it is a little warm and that might be the amp or the DAC, or both so if somebody wanted to alter the characteristics of the sound a DAC change may achieve that goal to some extent. I don't think all DACs sound the same and the analogue output stage is a factor so a decent DAC section as seems to be in the A17 can most certainly be a target for improvement when you don't simply think about the DAC chip in isolation, consider the DAC as a whole. Not to mention, the chips can sound different, just ask the DAC designers.

Don't bother with castle, he hears with his eyes... literaylly, who cares about if the LO is 0.254v, or who cares about those fancy graphs like FR and so on, impedance match meh!.
 
Let you ears be your ears and they are your best judges in the panel, they decide which amp or heaphone passes and which Not.
 
I already love the sound of my A17, is phenomenal, the "concert" sound iwas looking for years after attending classical music concerts and hearing the reality vs on an iPod or even older walkmans, but yeah We want amp to drive our needy cans to their asking level
 
That doesn't say i will risk the sound of my A17 by plugging it in to an external DAC, but unfortunately i must do so risk a purchase because in emxico there are hardly any shops forhi-end audio so i can't test drive some gear i wnated to

 

[Change is Good]

  Me too SQ nad expansion and FLAC of course
 
BTW which cable is the one in your XBA-H3?

 
Logitech UE900 cable