Discussion in 'Ask The Experts' started by pigerwoods, Jul 13, 2015.
Guys, I am looking for a little advice please. I am pretty new to the whole higher end music thing, I am by no measure an audiophile and don’t know the correct terminologies, so please be patient with me. I will try to explain everything as best I can. Recently my ipod classic crashed on me so I bought a Fiio X5 2nd generation player, which I am more than happy with, currently all my music files are MP4 (any advice?) as I just dragged them from my itunes library. While in the store, I also made an impulse buy of a pair of OPPO PM3 headphones. It seems I made a little bit of a rookie error and didn't really spend as much time test driving them in the store as I should have. Now, don't get me wrong, there is no doubt that these are great headphones but to be honest, I am finding the sound a little disappointing for my taste and expectations. I like my music loud(ish) with some base but not overwhelming. I also like to be "immersed", probably with a fuller, warmer sound. What I am finding with the current set up, is that although it is very accurate and certain vocals or instruments sound amazing, the sum of all parts together feels a bit thin, detached and quite linear. I am finding my ear concentrating on an individual instrument as opposed to feeling “wrapped” in the whole song. At volume, It feels to my ear quite shrill and almost synthetic and emotionless (but not distorted). It’s a weird thing to say but it almost feels that the depiction of some instruments is so accurate and pronounced, that they don’t gel with other instruments and almost sound out of tune. The sound all seems to be foreground with little in the way of depth and background…Crazy I know but I am just trying to explain as best I can.
The other frustration is that when I am listening to some tracks where I know there is a lot going on in the background (for example the strings on Street Spirit by Radiohead or the little background riffs and soft drumming on a lot of MUSE tracks) but they just aren’t relayed. I know they are there but they are not being projected… The same goes for big emotional piano or string sections (again Muse tracks or Roads by Portishead) I am left feeling like the headphones have a lot more to give…but don’t. I am even finding myself sometimes reverting back to my crappy old 40 quid Sony MDR-XB500’s…like an old comfort blanket. I have played with the gain and equalizer on the Fiio but still don’t really get what I am looking for.
Will a portable amp help with the issues that I have (badly) described? If so, do you have any recommendations (not too pricey or bulky) please? Do the headphones need time to settle in? Are my expectations too high for the setup? Again, sorry for the length of post but I am trying to decide whether to go down the road of a portable amp or just call the job a bad one and look for alternative headphones. Any help greatly appreciated thanks.
Guys, I am looking for a little advice please. I am pretty new to the whole higher end music thing, I am by no measure an audiophile and don’t know the correct terminologies, so please be patient with me. I will try to explain everything as best I can. Recently my ipod classic crashed on me so I bought a Fiio X5 2nd generation player, which I am more than happy with, currently all my music files are MP4 (any advice?) as I just dragged them from my itunes library. While in the store, I also made an impulse buy of a pair of OPPO PM3 headphones. It seems I made a little bit of a rookie error and didn't really spend as much time test driving them in the store as I should have. Now, don't get me wrong, there is no doubt that these are great headphones but to be honest, I am finding the sound a little disappointing for my taste and expectations. I like my music loud(ish) with some base but not overwhelming. I also like to be "immersed", probably with a fuller, warmer sound. What I am finding with the current set up, is that although it is very accurate and certain vocals or instruments sound amazing, the sum of all parts together feels a bit thin, detached and quite linear. I am finding my ear concentrating on an individual instrument as opposed to feeling “wrapped” in the whole song. At volume, It feels to my ear quite shrill and almost synthetic and emotionless (but not distorted). It’s a weird thing to say but it almost feels that the depiction of some instruments is so accurate and pronounced, that they don’t gel with other instruments and almost sound out of tune. The sound all seems to be foreground with little in the way of depth and background…Crazy I know but I am just trying to explain as best I can. The other frustration is that when I am listening to some tracks where I know there is a lot going on in the background (for example the strings on Street Spirit by Radiohead or the little background riffs and soft drumming on a lot of MUSE tracks) but they just aren’t relayed. I know they are there but they are not being projected… The same goes for big emotional piano or string sections (again Muse tracks or Roads by Portishead) I am left feeling like the headphones have a lot more to give…but don’t. I am even finding myself sometimes reverting back to my crappy old 40 quid Sony MDR-XB500’s…like an old comfort blanket. I have played with the gain and equalizer on the Fiio but still don’t really get what I am looking for. Will a portable amp help with the issues that I have (badly) described? If so, do you have any recommendations (not too pricey or bulky) please? Do the headphones need time to settle in? Are my expectations too high for the setup? Again, sorry for the length of post but I am trying to decide whether to go down the road of a portable amp or just call the job a bad one and look for alternative headphones. Any help greatly appreciated thanks.
This needs a one-on-one consultation with an expert. It's too broad to answer in a forum like this one.
An amp could improve the sound for you but I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make. The X5 shouldn't have a problem with powering the PM3 - something like the FiiO E12 might help as it will deliver a lot more power to the headphones and it has the option of a bass boost.
Personally I think that the PM3 is the best closed back a its price point - it could just be a case of you getting used to their sound and giving them a bit more time to burn in.
The other option is to go for a different headphone - something like the B&W P7. It is around the same price and the sound quality might suit your tastes more.
The B&W P7 may be the best thing - it wouldn't be mistaken for "thin and detached" as the OP described.