For a company that became the de facto-standard for physical disc players, they sure are now trying to take the headphone industry by storm. Oppo Digital has just released their third planar magnetic headphone, the PM-3, which is a closed-back model and designed for music on the go.
In the PM-3’s planar magnetic driver, sound is generated by a very thin and light diaphragm which is driven in a symmetric pull-push manner. The magnetic system and conductor patterns have been optimized for maximum sensitivity and consistency. Oppo claims that this allows the diaphragm to generate very stable and linear piston-like vibrations, ensuring phase coherence and high resolution performance with minimal distortion.
The big problem with planar magnetic headphones has been their need for power to drive them to peak performance. By contrast, the PM-3 driver’s smaller size and high sensitivity have overcome the difficulty in driving them while at the same time reducing its weight. The all-new 55 mm diameter round driver is suitable for a lightweight close-back design like the PM-3. Oppo says that the sound signature of the PM-3 is similar to the PM-1 and is tuned to have deep, tight bass with a very natural and balanced sound andy plenty of emotion and impact
The PM-3 is available immediately from OPPO Digital’s web site at a retail price of $399 in your choice of white or black. Each unit comes with two cables, one long cable for home use and one portable cable with an in-line microphone and remote for use with mobile devices.
