Momentum Wireless / Oppo PM3 / Shure 1540

[AlexHolsgrove]

Hi,

I am upgrading from a pair of ancient AKG K271 headphones and am looking for a new closed-back pair to be used for home and work. I listen to flac 16/24bit audio (a variety of genres), currently playing through the computer, but soon to be played via a Raspberry Pi & IQAudio PI-DAC+.

I've been reading several good reviews for all three pairs, and am looking for some advice, especially for anyone that has been able to compare any of these against one another.

So far, I have a pair of Oppo PM3s and a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless to try. The Oppo's are about the most comfortable pair I've every tried, but they don't sounds quite as good as the Sennheiser's to me. The Momentums don't fit quite as well, and the headband is much more noticable on the head. The wireless feature and active noise cancelling is useful for use in the office.

I've not been able to try the SRH1540, but these are apparently very comfortable and have similary good reviews.

I know a lot of this is down to personal choice, and how they sound on my ears, but I welcome any advice please.

 

[sa2013]

Hi,

I am upgrading from a pair of ancient AKG K271 headphones and am looking for a new closed-back pair to be used for home and work. I listen to flac 16/24bit audio (a variety of genres), currently playing through the computer, but soon to be played via a Raspberry Pi & IQAudio PI-DAC+.

I've been reading several good reviews for all three pairs, and am looking for some advice, especially for anyone that has been able to compare any of these against one another.

So far, I have a pair of Oppo PM3s and a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless to try. The Oppo's are about the most comfortable pair I've every tried, but they don't sounds quite as good as the Sennheiser's to me. The Momentums don't fit quite as well, and the headband is much more noticable on the head. The wireless feature and active noise cancelling is useful for use in the office.

I've not been able to try the SRH1540, but these are apparently very comfortable and have similary good reviews.

I know a lot of this is down to personal choice, and how they sound on my ears, but I welcome any advice please.

I demoed all three and preferred b&o H6 to all these headphones. My only issue with H6 is I find ear pads too small for me but that aside they are almost perfect.

It all comes down to personal preference, for me, in summary; shure way too much bass, momentum slightly boomy, Oppo not comfortable. H6 very clean, with just the right amount of bass with one caveat, they need amping. I use them with Onkyo dp-x1 and prefer them to much more expensive headphones.

 

[AlexHolsgrove]

Thanks for your comments. Interestingly I did also consider the B&O H7 as I like the bigger ear pads. Perhaps they are a contender if they are as good as the H6s? Perhaps in my ignorance I disregarded them along with Bose headphones as just paying for a name.

I'm surprised that the Oppos were not comfortable, as I found them to be incredibly soft and with a very well padded band. Of course, this is just personal preference.

This will be my first introduction to using a DAC / headphone amp. Although this would be best in another post, but I think that the PM3 and Momentums wouldn't need the amp as they are low impedance (designed for portable use) but the DAC would be a good upgrade from relying on the computer's inbuilt processing. I hope the Raspberry Pi / IQAudio DAC is as good as people say for the money.

So don't rule out the B&O H7s then?

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks for your comments. Interestingly I did also consider the B&O H7 as I like the bigger ear pads. Perhaps they are a contender if they are as good as the H6s? Perhaps in my ignorance I disregarded them along with Bose headphones as just paying for a name.

I'm surprised that the Oppos were not comfortable, as I found them to be incredibly soft and with a very well padded band. Of course, this is just personal preference.

This will be my first introduction to using a DAC / headphone amp. Although this would be best in another post, but I think that the PM3 and Momentums wouldn't need the amp as they are low impedance (designed for portable use) but the DAC would be a good upgrade from relying on the computer's inbuilt processing. I hope the Raspberry Pi / IQAudio DAC is as good as people say for the money.

So don't rule out the B&O H7s then?

I have the P7 and H6, and my graphs of their sound is on my website under photos/audioforge. They fit very differently.

 

[sa2013]

So don't rule out the B&O H7s then?

Can't say anything about H7, I didn't hear them.

 

[AlexHolsgrove]

Dale, thanks for pointing me at your reviews. I couldn't get the YouTube video links to play as the videos didn't seem to be available any longer?

I've been listening to the Oppo PM3s a bit more, and whilst I absolutely love the design and feel of them, the sounds seems really lacking. I'm comparing them to an ~£80 pair of Shure SE215s which seem to have a far better mid range. I am by no means an audiophile, but the PM3 didn't sounded a bit flat, and for £350 I'd expect them to sound far better than the SE215.

I had packed up the Momentum 2.0 Wireless as they seemed to be a bit "boomy", but have just got them out again to compare. Am now back to square 1 - no idea what to pick!

I'd like to try the B&O / B&W offerings (over ear / wireless), but so far the SE215s IEMs are winning! I'll be keeping them regardless, but still want a full sized pair of headphones.

 

[dalethorn]

Dale, thanks for pointing me at your reviews. I couldn't get the YouTube video links to play as the videos didn't seem to be available any longer?

I've been listening to the Oppo PM3s a bit more, and whilst I absolutely love the design and feel of them, the sounds seems really lacking. I'm comparing them to an ~£80 pair of Shure SE215s which seem to have a far better mid range. I am by no means an audiophile, but the PM3 didn't sounded a bit flat, and for £350 I'd expect them to sound far better than the SE215.

I had packed up the Momentum 2.0 Wireless as they seemed to be a bit "boomy", but have just got them out again to compare. Am now back to square 1 - no idea what to pick!

I'd like to try the B&O / B&W offerings (over ear / wireless), but so far the SE215s IEMs are winning! I'll be keeping them regardless, but still want a full sized pair of headphones.

The youtube problem was a fiasco. I refused to join google-plus, and even though I was moderator on my comments, google was posting many without my moderation. So I started over. On a related note, I changed my default search engine from google to bing, and a plethora of offensive ads and spam just disappeared!

For really good sound, and sometimes not costly, check out the AKG K553, the MrSpeakers Mad Dog, the Shure 840 and 940, Musical Fidelity MF200, and Philips X2. Of all my reviews those are the ones that stand out as near-neutral, with varying amounts of isolation. The Mad Dog and the X2 are probably the warmest, and the 940 and MF200 lean toward slightly bright.

But the thing is, there's been little or no correlation between price and basic sound quality (reasonable neutrality).

 

[AlexHolsgrove]

The Oppo PM-3s are going back because the supplied cables don't stay connected to the headphones. Any slight movement on the wire causes the signal to be lost in one or both ears. Terrible given that I had used them for less than an hour total - also quite surprised that there's no locking or screw machanism (or at least a better 'bite' from the 3.5mm socket). Shame as the rest of the build quality is excellent.

I'm still going to try the SRH1540s, even it is just to discount them as an option.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001781937750]

I own the Philips Fidelio L2's and wanted to see what would be an improvement. So tested them against the oppo pm3 and pm2 and the sennheiser HD600 and HD650. None of them impressed me any more than the L2's. Then recently tried the Mometums, the Shure 1540s and the sennheiser HD700. The HD700's walked it by a counry mile. They'll be my next purchase. I thought the momentums were average at best and the Shures were too bass shy and too hot in the treble. You may find that to get the sound you want means aiming higher than you were expecting. However I've not heard the Fidelio X2's (Dale likes them!). Some people prefer them to the HD700's and they're half the price.

Good luck.

 

[dalethorn]

I own the Philips Fidelio L2's and wanted to see what would be an improvement. So tested them against the oppo pm3 and pm2 and the sennheiser HD600 and HD650. None of them impressed me any more than the L2's. Then recently tried the Mometums, the Shure 1540s and the sennheiser HD700. The HD700's walked it by a counry mile. They'll be my next purchase. I thought the momentums were average at best and the Shures were too bass shy and too hot in the treble. You may find that to get the sound you want means aiming higher than you were expecting. However I've not heard the Fidelio X2's (Dale likes them!). Some people prefer them to the HD700's and they're half the price.

Good luck.

Wow - I wonder if Shure changed the 1540, or their QC is bad. I had the 1540 when it was introduced, and the bass was up and the treble recessed.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001781937750]

Hi Dale

I totally appreciate your expertise. I can only tell you what I experienced. I found the Shures to be very bright and to my ears a bit thin and harsh. Maybe they were brand new and not burned in? I was using a Fiio x1/Fiio E07 combi, so maybe that didn't help. The momentums were the other way round with a rolled off treble and a too prominent bass for me. The HD700s were in another league, opening a window to another world sonically. I know they're a contraversial headphone that suffer in comparrison to their elder siblings the HD800's, but for me they were Goldilocks perfect. I would like to try the X2's though I wonder how different they would be to my L2's

To the OP, always best to try for yourself. Your own ears are always the best judge.

Ta, Cookie

 

[dalethorn]

Hi Dale

I totally appreciate your expertise. I can only tell you what I experienced. I found the Shures to be very bright and to my ears a bit thin and harsh. Maybe they were brand new and not burned in? I was using a Fiio x1/Fiio E07 combi, so maybe that didn't help. The momentums were the other way round with a rolled off treble and a too prominent bass for me. The HD700s were in another league, opening a window to another world sonically. I know they're a contraversial headphone that suffer in comparrison to their elder siblings the HD800's, but for me they were Goldilocks perfect. I would like to try the X2's though I wonder how different they would be to my L2's

To the OP, always best to try for yourself. Your own ears are always the best judge.

Ta, Cookie

The HD800s may be the best, but it really costs... The X2 is just excellent, nearly perfect. If you aren't bothered by the upper treble, it could be a big winner. The FiiO amps wouldn't make a difference with the Shure 1540, so I'd guess it was probably out of spec somehow.