Sennheiser HD600 vs. Oppo PM3

[Puma Cat]

Part I: Intro
The Sennheiser HD600 has been a reference standard among headphones for 20 years now. Famous for it's reasonably neutral, accurate and easy to listen to attributes, it's been the "gateway drug" for many first-time or budding headphone enthusiasts. Very affordable at around $285, its affordable for the entry level, but good enough to be "end game" for many, many listeners.

The HD600s smooth frequency response and somewhat polite but airy presentation worked well much in the same manner as the Large Advent or Maggie 1.7 loudspeakers. Not the easiest to drive, not the most transparent, the most resolving or the best imaging transducer on the planet, the bottom line is the HD600 just "makes music".

As Tyll Hertsen's puts in his Inner Fideiity review: "Despite the love/hate relationship the headphone community has had in the past with these headphones, they are widely recognized among enthusiasts as the most important headphone in the world of headphone hobbyists."

Like these speakers referenced, the HD600 it's had its crosses to bear: it's a bit shy in the lowest bass registers, and the very top end is not perfectly extended and neutral, which might have contributed to the myth of the (in)famous "Sennheiser veil". The HD600 has a high impedance at 300 ohms, so to be at it's best, like the Maggies, it needs a really good amp to drive it so it can "bloom". Specifically, output transformerless triode-based tube amps have had particularly good success driving all the HD-series.

The bottom line, though despite it's flaws, the HD600 capable of providing a completely engaging and beguiling musical experience, which at the end of the day, is that really matters.

Oppo has been making a very nice line of headphones for the last few years, a set of planar magnetics, starting with the highest end model, the PM-1, then moving downmarket to the PM-2 and in 2015, the PM-3. The PM-3 is a very affordably priced planar magnetic at $399 with the distinct advantage in that can be easily driven by mobile phones and portable music players, unlike the PM-1/2, which need a proper amp to drive them. The other notable distinction about the PM-3 is that it is a closed-back design unlike the PM-1 and PM-2. Like all Oppo products, the PM-3s exude quallty and are very well made and nicely packaged, it has brushed metal surfaces for the cans (drivers) and brushed metal swivels with pleather covered earcups and headband with easy click adjustments. The drivers are on the smaller side for easy travel, and fold flat for easy carrying in a supplied selvage denim case. Nice.

The headphones in question: Sennheisers on the left, the Oppos on the right.


Part II will compare and contrast these sonic qualities of these two headphones.