Woah, Oppo makes headphones now? How is a phone company supposed to compete with Bose or Beats out of nowhere? Why I’m glad you asked. Oppo has actually built many more headphones, all an improvement over their predecessors. Naturally the company built the PM-1 and PM-2 Planar Magnetic headphones, and their recent Speed Metal Bluetooth headphones fared rather well against headphones of the same caliber. But now Oppo released their new top of the line Oppo PM-3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic headphones after some past teasing and rumours to get us excited.
Saving you the jargon, planar magnetic headphones have the advantages of less distortion on different frequencies, and are known for their superb bass response. The downside however is their rather heavy weight. Oppo has done well to directly tackle this problem, and made the headphones as light as 10 oz. That makes these closed-back planar magnetic headphones, the lightest in existence. To put this into perspective, a pair of Beats Studio weigh 9.2 oz. That puts Oppo’s headphones right in the mix with headphones similar to Studios as the weight issue has been largely suppressed.
The Planar Magnetic PM-3 are a huge leap forward if you think back to the PM-1. Not only did the PM-1 cost $1100, but they also weren’t closed-back, meaning that sound isolation wasn’t optimal at all. Now that the PM-3 are on the market for $400 it’s impressive to say the least, considering headphones of this magnitude will generally set you back a minimum of double the PM-3’s price.
The combination of closed-back, planar magnetic, and reduced weight, allows you to take your headphones anywhere without the dramatic sound leaking and everyone knowing what you’re listing to, along with considerable noise cancelation. Keeping in mind their ultra light weight, they’re perfect for just about any scenario, on the move, for at work, or to kick back and relax at home. There really isn’t much to complain about here, but only to gloat when we see the price tag and the superb premium design. For those who owned a PM-1, if you chose to get a PM-3, unfortunately it no longer comes in a nice lacquered wooden box, but it still comes with a protective pouch and has 3 cables, one for Android users, one for iOS users, and a standard headphone cable. Are you looking to purchase a new pair of headphones? Look here to get a better idea of what suits you best.