I am currently burning in the Oppo PM-2 Headphones before writing my review. “Burning in” is the audio term for the number of hours required of playing music through the headphones before they sound awesome. Some headphones need 20 hours, some 100 hours, but the Oppo PM-2 need a minimum of 200 hours. The easiest way is to leave them plugged in playing music for a week and a half non stop.

The Oppo PM-2 Headphones are part of a range of 3 headphones by Oppo. They sell a more luxurious PM-1 and their new recently released PM-3. All of these headphones are different to your normal headphones as they feature “Planar Magnetic” technology.

Oppo uses their proprietary planar magnetic technology which uses a unique 7-layer diaphragm, double-sided spiralling coils, and an FEM-optimised magnet system.

Oppo explain this technology as follows –

“The OPPO PM-2 utilises a planar magnetic driver that sets it apart from the majority of headphones on the market. Sound is generated by a very thin and light diaphragm whose entire surface area is evenly driven. The diaphragm is driven in a symmetric pull-push manner, and the magnetic system and conductor patterns have been optimised for maximum sensitivity and consistency. This allows the diaphragm to generate very stable and linear piston-like vibrations, ensuring phase coherence and high resolution performance with minimal distortion.

Unique to OPPO planar magnetic headphones is the use of a double-sided diaphragm, which allows us to place twice as many conductors within the magnetic field and eliminate any passive return zones where the conductors do not work. This results in the use of 100% of our conductor length, which in turn results in greater efficiency. In addition, our flat conductor pattern eliminates inductance-related intermodulation distortion, common with dynamic headphones, and the OPPO PM-2’s purely resistive impedance means that sound quality is unaffected by a headphone amplifier’s output impedance.

The OPPO PM-2 combines high sensitivity with low weight, allowing it to be used freely with portable devices without requiring additional amplification. Its circumaural, open back design provides the best in sound quality and comfort, and the overall rugged construction ensures that the headphones can withstand mechanical and environmental stress.

These aspects of the OPPO PM-2’s design combine to provide a transparent, highly dynamic sound that exhibits well-balanced tonal qualities with very little distortion, resulting in a listening experience that is both free of fatigue and capable of communicating every nuance of your favorite music.”

Let’s be honest, who can wait 200 hours without having a brief audition. Well, I managed to hold off until 100 hours had passed. And the verdict, well you will just have to wait until next week, but suffice to say the sound reproduction is something really special.

For more information on these are the PM-1 and PM-2 – http://www.oppodigital.co.uk/ecommerce/product/PM-2-Planar-Magnetic-Headphones.aspx