Audeze MM-100 -Audiophile Performance At Mid-Fi Prices?

Of the rabbit holes I have ventured down, I am most cautious around headphones. Headphones are an item that can cost you far more than you expect if you want to chase perfection. But what if you could get a set of cans that satisfied your audiophile itch but didn’t empty your wallet? Introducing the Audeze MM-100, audiophile performance at Mid-Fi prices! At $399, the competition just got very worried. Let’s discuss!  

Specs

As I stated in the specs, the Audeze MM-100 are open-back design. This design means that sound will leak out from the earcups and are not noise cancelling. They also do not block out ambient sounds, so these headphones are better suited for home use, and not on public transit. You and your seatmate will thank you for that.

In The Box

The Audeze comes packaged in a slick-looking box with minimal branding. Inside sits the Audeze MM-100 headphones, nestled safely inside some serious foam packaging. Underneath the foam is a cloth bag to safely store your earphones, a braided (2.5m) 3.5mm to 6.3mm (1/4″) cord, and a 3.5mm to 1/4 inch adaptor. Lastly, there are warranty cards and a certificate of authenticity.

Build Quality

The build quality of the Audeze MM-100 is outstanding. The chassis of the headphones is a mix of magnesium and steel. This combo makes for very lightweight headphones that are strong where needed. The headphones feel substantial in the hand. Due to their alloy construction, they are light but do not feel flimsy.

The headband is a leather strap with three adjustment points. If you have a larger head than these allow, you can remove the strap entirely. This band has a good range of sizes. However, it’s a one-size-fits-all solution at each sizing point. Users who like to have precise sizing might not like this. I found the default position perfect for me, and I suspect that 99% of users will also find them good enough.

The leather-wrapped earcups are gel-filled, which gives the wearer a comfortable fit. The cups themselves look high-end. The Audeze MM-100s have an open-back design, and the exterior grill creates a subtle “A” that matches nicely with the company logo that adorns the headband. The 90mm planar magnetic drivers are inside the earcups, covered by black mesh. I dig the black and dark grey color scheme. It matches my home theater and I enjoy the lack of bright colors.

Lastly, each earcup has a 3.5mm input connection. The Audeze MM-100s only require a single 3.5mm input to be used for stereo output. This flexibility gives the wearer the choice of which side they want the connection to come from. If you did want to get fancy and get a dual 3.5mm to 1/4″ cord, you can. But there would no benefit (aside from looks) in doing so.

Comfort

As I said earlier, there are four total adjustment points for the Audeze MM-100s. The leather strap is comfortable and balances the earphones’ 475g (1.04lb) across my dome. I expected to start to feel that weight in longer sessions, but they remained comfortable for even two-hour listening sessions.

The clamping force on the Audeze MM-100 is Goldilocks – just right! I didn’t feel like my head was being squashed in a vice. Nor did I fear them flying off my head if I moved side-to-side quickly. The earcups stayed put throughout.

Speaking of earcups, they are comfortable. Whenever I see leather earcups, I always fear a sweaty experience. The earcups on the MM-100s are soft and pliable and breathe well enough that I didn’t have the dreaded swamp-ear.

How Does the Audeze MM-100 Sound?

The Audeze MM-100 is marketed as entry-level mixing and mastering headphones. And no, MM doesn’t stand for mixing and mastering. The Audeze MM-100 ($399) and MM-500 ($1699) were designed by Manny Marroquin, a Grammy-winning engineer and producer.

I am not a sound engineer, but I would suspect that any set of headphones used for mastering would seek an exceedingly neutral sound, and I was right. For folks that like an exaggerated smiley curve EQ (boosted treble and bass), these are not the cans for you.

That said, I love the sound signature of the Audeze MM-100s. My home theater speakers are Paradigm, a company known for its exceedingly neutral sound signature. To say that I was pleased with the sound is an understatement!

Frequency Response And Volume

My editor has beaten it into my head that the first test I run is a series of sweeps. These sweeps allow me to evaluate the claims from Audeze against a known frequency range.

As always, I head over to my old faithful, The Ultimate Headphones (and Earphones) Test, for my sweeps. The Audeze claims a range of 20Hz to 25kHz with the MM-100. This claim is accurate as I started to hear test tones around the 20Hz band and well into the 20kHz range.

I ran the Audeze MM-100 with my MacBook Air/Apple Music and no EQ applied or with my Onkyo AV receiver/Apple TV 4k. With these combos, I got a reasonable volume from the headphones. I don’t tend to run my home theater hot, so I wouldn’t with headphones. I believe that 120dB peaks are possible with these headphones, which is at the edge of what I would consider comfortable/safe.

Test Tracks

As always, I have a series of songs that I play when I am evaluating any new piece of gear. It’s important to have a solid understanding of the dynamics of the piece of music. This allows me to listen to it on any gear for differences in sound.

My Old Faithful tracks are a series of jazz, rock, alternative, classical, and hip-hop songs. These songs allow me to test for stereo panning, channel separation, dynamics, clarity, treble or bass crush, and listener fatigue.

Listening Impressions

I truly enjoyed the Audeze MM-100s. The accuracy and neutral tone of these cans stand out above all else. There are no exaggerated highs or lows which means that I didn’t get bloated bass or crushed treble. Every song that I played was silky smooth and if I am being honest, handily beat my stereo speakers for sound quality.

Stereo Panning/Separation/Soundstand

The stereo panning, separation, and soundstage are outstanding. The two primary tracks I use are Radiohead’s Everything In Its Right Place and Nils Lofgren’s Keith Don’t Go (Live). Everything In Its Right Place is often referred to as audio chaos, and it pans from left to right and has quiet parts that swell to loud passages. It did not disappoint with the Audeze MM-100s. Transitions were smooth and fast and there was not a hint of distortion.

Keith Don’t Go (Live) is one of those tracks that, when played on the right system, puts you in the crowd. Well, I was there! It’s hard to be descriptive in a review because it seems derivative and overly flowery, but these headphones work very well with live performances. This is not surprising as they are targeted as studio headphones.

Jazz/Classical

Jazz is bliss on these headphones. I typically listen to a mix of instrumental and vocal jazz. Think a lot of high-hat and snare drums mixed with raspy vocals. The clarity on the MM-100 was astonishing. I am fairly confident this is due to the planar magnetic drivers. My all-time favorite jazz song is Take Five by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. It is a mix of drum, piano and sax that can easily sound like mush on a poor speaker.

I found that the bass response was outstanding on this track. The typical kick drum is mixed in the 35-55Hz range, well within the range of these headphones. There is an extended drum solo in the middle of the track and it was as crisp and authoritative as any headphone I have tested.

The treble was great as well. I could hear the light details of the high hat and snare, mixed with the piano and sax. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it was probably the best I have ever heard that song sound.

Classical music was amazing on the Audeze MM-100s. My Paradigms struggle with classical music at higher volumes, with treble breaking apart and sounding shrill. The MM-100s had no issues with either the highs or lows of classical music.

Rock/Hip-Hop

Here is where folks who like the smiley face curve will have an issue with the Audeze MM-100s. These headphones are not bass monsters. You will not get that deep thump expected from most hip-hop tracks. That is not a slight against the MM-100s.

They were never designed to be bass-heavy, and it shows. What they are is accurate. Bass, especially kick drums, sounds like it should. If you want a set of headphones for only hip-hop and want that exaggerated bass, look elsewhere.

’70s and ’80s rock on the Audeze MM-100s, well, rock! Guitar solos, crazy vocals, and drum solos are head-bobbingly good! I admit to playing some air guitar to some of my favorite rock songs, and I found the headphones held up well with these older tracks.

For The Uninitiated

One of my favorite things to do with new gear is to give it to non-enthusiasts and watch their expressions. I did that with the Audeze MM-100’s by having some friends test them out. My favorite quote was “Supreme clarity. Balanced treble and bass. It was like sitting at a concert!” I think that’s a fair statement.

I allowed them to use their favorite songs to test them and the smiles I saw told me all I needed to know. My editor has always said that headphones are the best way to take the “room” out of the equation and the Audeze MM-100s did just that. These cans are amazing, plain and simple.

Plus, all these folks have headphones. Without naming names, they have some of the more popular brands on the market. Their headphones cost close to what the Audeze MM-100s cost and now they are questioning their decisions! There is something that rings true with quality gear – buy once, cry once. Or, get the good thing so you don’t have to spend double upgrading later.

Our Take

Does the Audeze MM-100 provide audiophile performance at Mid-Fi prices? Absolutely. At $399 these are one of the best bang-for-your-buck headphones on the market. To put this in perspective, some ANC wireless headphones cost almost as much as these with 1/10th the quality, both in sound and fit/finish.

The Audeze MM-100 will appeal to someone who wants a high-quality, mastering-level quality, set of headphones at a price that seems low for the performance. Of all the headphones I have owned or tested, the Audeze MM-100s have become the standard from which all others will be compared.