Oppo HA-1/PM-1

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
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Sarasota, FL
Well, I decided to take the plunge and buy a decent pair of headphones and a headphone amp. I heard this combo at RMAF and quite liked it. I was going to go with the Audeze LCD-3, but felt the PM-1 was a little more fatigue free listening overall.

No, I don't get the whole headphone thing, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I felt the Oppo stack was the best bang for the buck that I heard at RMAF.

If it doesn't work for me, thankfully Oppo has a 30 day money back guarantee.

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[video]http://www.digitaltrends.com/hands-on-videos/oppo-ha-1-headphone-amplifier/#ooid=hoeXIwbjo799PGQbhtuWVMIeh6ZhM4hG[/video]

[video]http://www.digitaltrends.com/hands-on-videos/oppo-headphones/#ooid=1hc28wbjqW_2d4rB_u6irowypGBV1yGp[/video]
 
Excellent Mike! I'm in the queue for the PM-1 one week trial that Oppo are running in another forum. Can't wait.
 
I'm an PM-1 owner, driving them with Auralic Vega/Taurus. I've never heard them with the matching Amp. While headphones will never match speakers in some aspects, they can compete in others. Best not to compare the two, different experiences. I use my headphone setup at the office where a full setup is a non starter.
 
I listened to the Oppo set recently and found them to be quite pleasant and excellent value. I would be happy to find a place for these.
 
Hi Mike. Have you had a chance to listen to the PM-1s much?

I have been listening to a loaner pair all week and I'm really enjoying them. I like that the bass response sounds quite flat to start with so you can EQ it up if you need to but you're not stuck with any boom.

The highs sound nicer than I've heard in headphones as well.

Gus
 
gusgranite said:
Hi Mike. Have you had a chance to listen to the PM-1s much?

I have been listening to a loaner pair all week and I'm really enjoying them. I like that the bass response sounds quite flat to start with so you can EQ it up if you need to but you're not stuck with any boom.

The highs sound nicer than I've heard in headphones as well.

Gus
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Yes. Last night. They sound smooth. Totally fatigue free.


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How are you finding these. I am considering these, the PM2 and the Senn HD800 OR HD700.

Steve
 
Womaz said:
How are you finding these. I am considering these, the PM2 and the Senn HD800 OR HD700.

Steve
Click to expand...
No clue where you are located. I ordered mine right from OPPO https://www.oppodigital.com/products.asp

I still like my Audeze LCD2 which seemed to me to have better bass, a nice soundstage more open and a little warmer than the PM-1 and to me it felt more comfortable to wear with more room inside the cups. . The PM-1 a little clearer or lush in the mid's and highs, nice bass but the soundstage seems lack depth. Both are non fatiguing. I use the Woo Audio WA6-SE the dac used was a Hugo as well as the HA-1. ps: the PM-1 sounds really good through the Woo. Can't go wrong with the Oppo setup. We kept the PM-1's but sent back the HA-1.
 
I finally got to see and somewhat hear the Oppo HA-1 in person last weekend (not to mention seeing Schiit stuff for the first time and meeting Jason Stoddard).
The Oppo HA-1 is an absolutely beautiful amp/dac! Just about the prettiest out there. While I’m not in the market for a headphone amp nor do I need one. The Oppo HA-1 is too expensive for my use patterns, but I had to see it anyway after reading about it and staring at the pictures, that’s how nice it is. I only had about 4 minutes with it though. It was at a high-end headphone event and while I would have liked to ask more questions and get to know it more, especially on the dac side of things, I did not want to take the rep’s time up since I could not purchase one and did not want to take time away from anyone who would be purchasing.
I did get to plug in my headphones (Just Sennheiser HD518s) for a few minutes. They sounded terrible with the Schiit amps (surprisingly to me, but not to the Schiit reps). However, the Oppo HA-1 seemed to actually make a subtle improvement to my HD518s. It seemed to bring out a tiny bit more of the mid-highs which is just what the HD518s seem to lack a little bit. It had an overall very pleasing sound that had an anti-fatigue quality. The source by the way, was a macbook playing apple lossless files.
I wish I could afford one of these babies, but I also have no room for it in my cabinet anyway. The HA-1 is a class A amp and they run a bit on the warm side. I felt it placing my hand on the top vent area and it was pretty warm. Nothing that would make you take your hand away quickly, but I imagine it without at least 12 inches if room at least from the top and a fan would result in shut-downs and eventually damage.
I did not get a chance to try the PM-1,2 or 3 headphones they had there.
I do hope to own an Oppo product someday though.


~Eric
 
MusicDirector said:
I finally got to see and somewhat hear the Oppo HA-1 in person last weekend (not to mention seeing Schiit stuff for the first time and meeting Jason Stoddard).
The Oppo HA-1 is an absolutely beautiful amp/dac! Just about the prettiest out there. While I’m not in the market for a headphone amp nor do I need one. The Oppo HA-1 is too expensive for my use patterns, but I had to see it anyway after reading about it and staring at the pictures, that’s how nice it is. I only had about 4 minutes with it though. It was at a high-end headphone event and while I would have liked to ask more questions and get to know it more, especially on the dac side of things, I did not want to take the rep’s time up since I could not purchase one and did not want to take time away from anyone who would be purchasing.
I did get to plug in my headphones (Just Sennheiser HD518s) for a few minutes. They sounded terrible with the Schiit amps (surprisingly to me, but not to the Schiit reps). However, the Oppo HA-1 seemed to actually make a subtle improvement to my HD518s. It seemed to bring out a tiny bit more of the mid-highs which is just what the HD518s seem to lack a little bit. It had an overall very pleasing sound that had an anti-fatigue quality. The source by the way, was a macbook playing apple lossless files.
I wish I could afford one of these babies, but I also have no room for it in my cabinet anyway. The HA-1 is a class A amp and they run a bit on the warm side. I felt it placing my hand on the top vent area and it was pretty warm. Nothing that would make you take your hand away quickly, but I imagine it without at least 12 inches if room at least from the top and a fan would result in shut-downs and eventually damage.
I did not get a chance to try the PM-1,2 or 3 headphones they had there.
I do hope to own an Oppo product someday though.


~Eric
Click to expand...

One thing I can say about OPPO, they have in book, great customer service. I've owned the 83, 93, 95, 103D, 105 players and now the PM-1
 
Some great replies thank you. The problem with buying headphones is it's difficult to hear them before you buy. The PM2 are a lot cheaper and get really good reviews
 
Womaz said:
Some great replies thank you. The problem with buying headphones is it's difficult to hear them before you buy. The PM2 are a lot cheaper and get really good reviews
Click to expand...

Indeed! Where I live only one store in one location carries headphones that aren't Beats or ear buds. Unfortunately though, they do not allow demos. So there is but one opportunity per year with a headphone show that comes to town. However, your limited to what the exhibitors bring and they don't bring much as far as headphones go. I went to it a couple of weeks ago, but only found three headphones to try. There were a few others, but not on my list and either too uncomfortable or too pricey to consider. Unfortunately for me though, the phones I tried I could really only try for comfort mostly because I could not work any of the sources they had which were digital players, tablets or other strange things I've never seen up close. Unfortunately, the exhibitors don't help you much with them either. Everybody is way ahead of me on that stuff, but I also have no interest in it.

Yes, purchasing headphones is a gamble and personally at a certain price point I'm not comfortable with rolling those dice.
 
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