Oppo PM-2 - Any Good?

Come again? ;-)

Not according to InnerFidelity's measurements and other users' impressions. I only compared the two at Audio Sanctuary, not at home. Please be more precise.

I wouldn't mind that.

 

Do yourself a favor and listen to the hd600 off a big boy amp. T3 with ccs boards makes them punch hard, or ZDS to take it up to 11. PM-2 are much easier to drive so perhaps that chord product is sufficient.

 

I have very good memory about the PMX2 I had the chance to hear once. Very nice headphones, really. It is a pitty I could never find one used ...
I bought PM2 2 times and sold them twice.... I had the intention to mod the 2nd one following the method posted here but I did not find the time/courage to do it.
They are beautiful headphones, very confortable, well built but sound-wise they were a bit boring to my ears. Lacking dynamics

 

Do you see the pattern here? I was sharing my opinion and not defining absolute facts. And in my opinion the PM-2 handles EQ well, unlike the HD600 that will distort if you want to equalize the bass extension.

Don't take it personal, but I don't know how you measure and thus I will not disregard Tyll's work over yours. I am not the first in this thread who had the impression that PM-2 and PM-1 sounded alike. I was juggling with the LCD-2 and Focal Elear at the same time, so maybe that made me much more aware of the Oppo's similarities. But be it as it may, based on my impressions, I cannot agree with "noticeable differences." Sorry for sharing my impressions!

 

Oppo PM 2 - dull boring really!. I bought mine from a Hong Kong seller in 2020 @ €369. The seller put a b/s price for the Customs and I payed no rip-off EU tax.

Liked them immediately, sick and tired of aggressive treble from my two pairs of Beyers. Years ago I found the Senn 600s boring and flat. On this thread product variation has been mentioned. Very comfortable to use for hours.

With the stock pads I found the bass could have gone a bit lower, the mids were fine, treble did appaer slightly rolled off.

I took onboard the comments about the velour pads, looked everywhere to find them. Eventually I emailed Oppo Europe - whoopee they still has some @ €61,89 delivered to me in France.

As soon as I put them on the difference with the stock pads made me wonder why on earth didn't they make the velour pads as stock - bizarre. The difference was on all levels - bass was clearly defined and natural, mids were much clearer, remarkably so, treble was clear and much better defined as per bass, the sound stage opened up so well in depth and width, it was like listening to a new set of cans.

I bought very cheaply, 10 sets of plugs ( I couldn't buy less) using my own design of oversized FEP tubing with both copper and high purity silver I fully expect another uplift in sound. Only after I have used these cans with my own cables will I then set about modding them - if I need to. I have to say that right now I'm v happy with what I'm hearing. I'm not a bass head I like the bass that the recording engineers settled on.

If a recording is good you will hear it. I only have a CD of Linton Kwesi Johnson, the first and still the best rapper - Forces of Victory, it sounds thin, makes me determined to buy the vinyl version. Natalie Merchant's Ophelia and Tiger Lily, never sounded better, so much more organic detail, she has a voice that screams out for an analogue cut.

It seems crazy that ear pads can make this difference - all my other cans I will sell for what I can. Like my preamp tubes - driver 6F8G Tung Sol RP and Russian mil spec. 1578 output are an end game for me so are these Oppo cans.

 

Does anyone have any experience with aftermarket pads on the PM-2? Both in terms of best pad options and in terms of best practices for mounting them?

I'm planning on getting a 2nd pair of stock pads while Oppo still has them, so I figure the cleanest option is just sacrificing my current pads for the mounting plate. Other option I've considered is non-permanent adhesive to affix new pads, but that feels potentially risky.

 

I can't understand your first paragraph - did you not read my post? Why on earth do you want a second set of stock pads they are total crap and just muffle the sound. Contact Oppo Europe and buy the velours, they transform the Oppo -2 .

 

Yes, I read your post. I like the tonality with the stock pads, though I don't doubt that the velour pads may be an improvement.

Oppo Europe directed me to Oppo US, and Oppo US insists they only have the stock PM-2 pads. I reached back out to Oppo Europe to see if they'll sell the velour pads to me directly, but if they won't or cost is prohibitive I might not go that route.

So I'm interested in other pads in case that's not an option and I'm buying another pair of stock pads because $40 isn't bad to have them since my stock pads are starting to crumble and I do like the PM-2s a lot with the stock pads.

 

Seriously if you like the Oppos with stock pads you will not believe how good these cans sound with the velour pads. If you still want to buy new stock pads, I used mine for just a couple of weeks, PM me if your interested, postage shouldn't be much as they are lightweight and don't need rigid packaging.

Just took a look at www.stereophile.com and the review of the Oppo PM-2. Will definitely look at trying different foams and try to make a hybrid with partial closed back work. The Oppo PM x 2 are rather pricey, let's see what some experiments do.

 

Small update for anyone curious. Thanks @Gallic Dweller for the kind offer on your stock pads. I'd already ordered them from Oppo US before I saw your post, otherwise I would have taken you up on it. Still trying to get the velour Oppo pads. Oppo EU said they could sell them to me, but went quiet when it came to sending payment. They warned me that their responses might be slow, so I'm just gonna follow up again soon.

In the meantime, I have done some pad-rolling. Full leather/pleather pads of a couple different types, all non-perforated are a definite no-go. Muddy, congested, boomy. Shure 1540 pads also a no-go. Not as boomy as leather/pleather, but still congested. Might try some non-Oppo velour pads while I'm waiting on the stock velour pads.

 

I had to email them twice before I got a response. The problem with trying to use non Oppo pads is a question of fit. Totally agree about non-perforated pads.

This winter I will begin modding the Oppos. I fancy trying to make them hybrid by partially blocking them from outside just to see if this will improve and tighten the bass response. I remember removing foam in the Senn 650s which gave more clarity, it's all suck and see, what I will not do is make irreparable changes until I know for sure that it is 100%.

 

Velour pads on the way from Oppo EU now, in the meantime I found a pretty good pairing with Shure 1840 velour pads. Much better than the 3rd party pleather/leather pads I've tried. Bass impact is improved vs stock without getting muddier, seemingly without sacrificing midrange clarity with midbass bleed as far as I can tell. I think there's a slight improvement in clarity and focus for the highs, but the different there isn't as big.

 

Yes much like I found as well, with the correct velour pads there should be further improvement.

 

Received the velour pads from Oppo EU yesterday, did a bunch of listening last night and this morning and I can definitely echo @Gallic Dweller on these being a clear improvement over the stock PM-2 pads. Improved bass impact and tonality, clearer and cleaner mids, better defined highs, more sense of soundstage depth. I would say Shure 1840 pads get part of the way there, but overall the 1840 pads leave the sound a little warmer and less defined compared to OEM velour pads.

It's a shame they didn't sell these as the stock pads. I believe the PM-1s came with a set of velour pads in the box, it almost makes me wonder if they purposely gimped the PM-2s to maintain a more clear separation from their higher end offering.

These were already one of my favorite headphones I've had the pleasure to hear, but I would say the velour pads bring them up at least a couple notches. There are definitely headphones out there that beat these for sheer resolution and detail, but I'll be damned if these aren't one of the best in terms of overall tonality and balance.

 

Going to need a list of headphones youve owned otherwise this sounds like damned fotm hype. Im interested in an Oppo but it seems the open PM-2 is much harder to find than closed PM-3. Id rather start with PM-2 and close up if I choose so long as driver is the same.

edit: Seriously though your list of past headphones would help. I read @Hands reviews. He much preferred PM-3 but Id rather an open back.

edit2: I may have jumped the gun on posting. Its been awhile since I read all the OPPO threads so my questions may’ve already been answered. The necro renewed interest.