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The MM-100 is the latest Audeze over-ear, open-back headphone designed in collaboration with Grammy award-winning engineer/producer Manny Marroquin
The Audeze MM-100 is aimed directly at the Pro Audio market – specifically – recording engineers, producers, mixers and musicians. Crafted from trickle-down planar magnetic technology used in the MM-500 and Audeze Reference Series, the Audeze MM-100 really stands alone in their lineup as the “affordable” solution for personal headphone monitoring.
Similar in design aesthetics to the MM-500, the MM-100 has subtle differences in every component that makes for slightly less weight (475g vs 495g), a bit narrower frequency response and a tad less sensitivity than its big brother. There is nothing floppy or sloppy in its construction – the finely finished steel and magnesium components feel silky smooth to the touch and swivel joints for the cups and headband fit precisely with just the right amount of resistance. This is a finely crafted tool.
The foam filled cushiony ear cups, covered with urethane based faux leather, are supremely comfortable and large enough to encapsulate the largest of ears – I can say from personal experience. The cups rest against the sides of your head with a comfortable and secure pressure and can actually exert a slight suction effect. The faux leather cups feel to be of high quality and are affixed to the phones with pressure-sensitive adhesive for greater sonic performance, as opposed to clip on cups – or so they say at AUDEZE. I am told that warranty replacements are available, if needed, and will be available for purchase when out of warranty. My only quibble with the cups is that the “L” and “R” designators are, at first, difficult to find due to their size and location on the inside of the headband.
The MM-100 comes with a beautiful and functional glossy black signature Audeze braided cable that has a fixed stereo 1/4″ on one end. The mini stereo plug on the headphone end, which fits rather tightly, can be plugged into either the left or right “can” as you please. I appreciate not having the screw-on adapter that can come loose or be easily misplaced. A plug-in 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapter is included in the package for “non-professional” use. The MM-100 uses a 1/8″ stereo “can” plug rather than the 4-pin mini XLR used on higher priced Audeze phones. Another professional quality detail – making a tight and secure cable connection.
How do they sound?
In a word – tight. In two words – slightly bright. In another word – detailed.
In an attempt to be objective, I compared the MM-100s to all six “cans” in my stable, which includes many of the phones on prominent “top 10 most popular” lists and all at the same price or less than the MM-100s. All of the headphones sounded pleasing in their own right with varying degrees of midrange clarity, bass extension, high end extension and separation. Just different flavors. Where the MM-100 stands out is in its ability to hear into the mix. To hear “around” the edges of a vocal or guitar passage. This became most evident when listening to previous mixes – I was able to hear subtleties that perhaps should have been tweaked a bit differently.
I would compare the sonic signature of the MM-100 to that of certain JBLs. In particular, those speakers with an 066 dome tweeter or pure titanium tweeter or even a D-130 15″ speaker. Somewhat mid-forward with a tight crack on the snare drum. Bass (guitar and upright) and bass drums are tight and punchy with no bloat and cymbals sizzle without harshness. However, I feel like I want a +2db, or more, 100HZ shelf for casual listening.
Listening to “Come In” by Dianne Reeves is pure joy with these phones. Besides Dianne’s stellar vocal you’ve got Abraham Laboriel on bass, the late, greats Ricky Lawson on drums and George Duke on keys and production, and Ray Fuller on guitar. The MM-100s make a clean, tight and punchy mix really come alive.
Subjectively, I think the MM-100 headphones sound great and I look forward to enjoying them for mixing, and, for casual listening.
Comfort?
For extended listening there is a bit of top of the head pressure – especially with no hair to pad the headband – haha. The side of the head pressure feels about right and non-fatiguing. But the top of my head still hurts a little – I’ll get over it.
The headband is adjustable to get the cups at right height for your ears. All you need to do is pull the strap off of their attachment screws, then press it back in to the higher or lower set of holes in the strap. You do NOT remove the screws. If the higher/lower screws are not ideal, you can try one side higher/lower, and the other side in the middle holes, as a middle ground between settings.
What are the MM-100 headphones best used for?
Mixing would be my number one use. The MM-100 is a great surgical mixing tool for tailoring tones, especially in a home studio with neighbors and family in close proximity. My room is treated well enough for tracking vocals and acoustic guitar, but is not nearly balanced enough for mixing and mastering.
Don’t use the MM-100s for tracking vocals or acoustic instruments. The open back makes for too much bleed into an open mic – especially the click – found this out the hard way. Ideally have some good closed backs for tracking and near-field studio monitors and MM-100s for mixing. I typically will use several different headphones to get a consensus for a final mix.
A note about customer service
In the making of this review I contacted customer service online chat anonymously and my questions were completely answered within 24 hours. First I received an automated email confirming that customer service would get back to me followed by a sales oriented email with a link to buy the MM-100. The answer to my question and then a followup came quickly after that. The MM-100 ships with 2 plastic cards. One card is a certificate of authenticity with the serial number – which may be on the inside of the unit – while the other gives an address to the user guide and driver downloads. There was no user guide to be found at that address or elsewhere on audeze.com. Hence, the reason for my service call.
MM-100 vs MM-500
| Specifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| MM-100 | MM-500 | |
| Style | Over-ear, open-back | Over-ear, open-back |
| Transducer type | Planar Magnetic | Planar Magnetic |
| Magnetic structure | Fluxor™ magnet array | Fluxor™ magnet array |
| Phase management | Fazor™ | Fazor™ |
| Magnet type | Neodymium N50 | Neodymium N50 |
| Diaphragm type | Ultra-Thin Uniforce™ | Ultra-Thin Uniforce™ |
| Transducer size | 90 mm | 90 mm |
| Maximum SPL | >120dB | >130dB |
| Frequency response | 20Hz – 25kHz | 5Hz – 50kHz |
| THD | <0.1% @ 100 dB SPL, 1kHz | <0.1% @ 100 dB SPL, 1kHz |
| Sensitivity | 98 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) | 100 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) |
| Impedance | 18 ohms | 18 ohms |
| Max power handling | 5W RMS | 5W RMS |
| Min recommended power | >100mW | >100mW |
| Recommended power level | >250mW | >250mW |
| Cable | 2.5m (8.2ft) Single ended 3.5mm TRS to 1/4″ TRS | 2.5m (8.2ft) Single ended mini XLR to 1/4″ TRS |
| Weight | 475g | 495g |
| Warranty | 1 year | 3 years for the drivers and 1 year for the rest of the parts |
| Price | $399 | $1699 |
Conclusion
The MM-100 is a beautifully designed set of headphones that sound great on all types of music. Perfect tool to fine tune a mix. May be light in the low end for some users. Robust build quality. Responsive customer service. Is it worth the $399 price tag? Yes!
How was this review made?
I primarily used the Neumann MT48 for ease of side to side comparisons. The MT48 headphone amps are super clean and can go very loud. I also used the SSL 2+ which also has 2 headphone amps and the iFi Zen Can Studio headphone amp. The comparison headphones were a mix of various Sennheiser, Beyer Dynamic, Audio-Technica and AKG phones. Besides my own recordings of acoustic guitar, bass and vocals and old Magik Dayze recordings in Pro Tools, I listened to various HD and Super HD tracks on Amazon Music by – Chick Corea, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Daft Punk, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Kendrick Lamar and Dianne Reeves, among others.
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