Audeze MM-100 Headphones Review

The Audeze MM-100 are sleek, modern-looking, over-ear, open-back headphones that share some cosmetic similarities with the Audeze Maxwell Wireless, like the adjustable ski-band design used for the headband. Their distinctive black grilles are embossed with the Audeze logo, accented by gunmetal gray earcups and yokes. They have a unique design whereby the detachable audio cable can be plugged into an input on either earcup, allowing for greater freedom of movement while puttering about the studio.

Despite their bulky look, they're comfortable headphones. Their planar magnetic drivers add weight to the frame, and they fit quite tightly on the head, but this is offset by the plush, thick ear cup padding that feels comfortable on the skin. Unfortunately, they only come with one set of earpads and don't have a swappable design like the Sennheiser HD 490 PRO. Although they have a ski-band-style headband, which helps distribute the weight more evenly around your head, the sheer weight of these headphones can still cause some discomfort on the top of your head, where the ski-band rests, during longer listening sessions. The headband is only adjustable via three sets of notches, so you can't get the best fit for your head beyond these settings.

These headphones have a bulky frame. While they don't take up as much space as the Audeze Maxwell Wireless, they're still too cumbersome to carry around on your person for on-the-go use. Fortunately, they fold flat, so you can more easily stow them in a bag or in the included carrying pouch.

These headphones come with a large carrying pouch. It's made of a good quality material that's felt-like on the outside and softer on the inside to better protect your headphones. The pouch is roomy enough to fit the headphones and cables and still have space to spare.

The Audeze MM-100's built quality is excellent. They feel durable and are made of premium materials like magnesium, steel, aluminum, and dense plastic, with a faux leather material used across the ear cups and headband. However, the braided cable doesn't feel quite as sturdy as the headphones and lacks a sleeve, making them more susceptible to wear and tear. The holes that attach the leather headband to the body will also likely degrade over time, especially if multiple people use the headphones and you're constantly readjusting the size. Overall, though, these headphones feel like they can withstand extended use in the studio.

These headphones aren't very stable. Their heavy frame makes it very easy for them to shift around on your head during movements despite the tight seal they form over your ears. Intense head movements, like headbanging along to your finished mix, will cause them to slip off your head entirely.

• Audeze MM-100
• 1/4" to 1/8" TRS cable (61.5" (2.32m))
• User guide and authenticity card
• Carrying pouch

The Audeze MM-100 have a fairly well-balanced sound profile that's comparable to other open-back headphones equipped with planar magnetic drivers, like the HiFiMan Sundara 2020. They have a recessed low bass, which is normal for open-back designs. The mid-range is detailed and accurate, resulting in a crisp and natural reproduction of vocals. However, their treble range has poor compliance with our target, which veils some of the high-end brilliance found in the upper harmonics of vocals and dulls the sizzle of sibilants, like open hi-hats. The underemphasis in this range can help reduce ear fatigue over longer listening sessions.

These headphones also have a low impendence and relatively high sensitivity that makes them suitable for driving a range of devices, like laptops and phones, while still pairing well with soundcards, amps, and other studio gear.

The frequency response consistency is very good. Their treble and bass delivery can vary depending on fit and positioning. If you wear glasses, you'll experience inconsistencies in the bass range as the arms of your glasses can prevent a proper seal from being created. Overall, though, if you take some time to adjust the fit, you'll achieve consistent audio delivery.

The bass compliance with our target is very good. Like most open-back designs, they're not abundant in low bass, and the range as a whole is slightly underemphasized compared to our target. However, the high bass is less underemphasized than the rest of the range and adds warmth to kicks and basslines.

The mid-range compliance is great. The response throughout this range is very flat and follows our target curve well, resulting in a clear and accurate reproduction of vocals and lead instruments. There's some slight roll-off at the top of the range that somewhat dulls the upper harmonics of higher-pitched vocals, though. On songs like Marvin Gaye's What's Happening Brother, the strings and rhythm guitar sound smooth and balanced, while the lead vocal sounds forward in the mix.

These headphones have poor compliance with our treble range target. The range as a whole is quite underemphasized, and there's a large dip between the low and mid-treble that dulls the upper harmonics of vocals and reduces the brilliance of sibilants, like cymbals.

They have good peaks and dips performance, meaning they control their sound profile well. A significant dip between the high-mid and low-treble range dulls plucky mid-range instruments like acoustic guitars. A sharp peak in the low-treble range emphasizes the upper harmonics of vocals. It's followed by a significant dip in the mid-treble, which weakens sibilants like crash cymbal hits. While there are some further deviations that continue into the high-treble, we lose sensitivity to this range over time.

The imaging performance is amazing. Imaging can be a good indicator of quality control and ergonomics. However, it's worth keeping in mind that planar magnetic drivers, like those used in these headphones, are more prone to L/R mismatches due to their complex design, compared to dynamic drivers. Our unit's drivers are well-matched in group delay, resulting in tight bass and transparent highs. The L/R drivers are also generally well-matched in frequency, amplitude, and phase response. While some slight bumps are visible in the phase response in the mid-mid and low-treble, these aren't noticeable with real-life content, and instruments are correctly placed in the stereo field.

The Audeze MM-100 have an impressive soundstage performance. Their open-back design allows for a good amount of interaction with your outer ear, and their soundstage feels wide and immersive as a result. Audio sounds like it's coming from speakers placed in the room around you rather than from inside your head.

These headphones have a good weighted harmonic distortion performance. While there's some slight distortion present at both moderate and elevated listening volumes in both drivers across the low to mid-treble, it's hard to hear with real-life content unless you have extremely well-attuned ears.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The noise isolation performance is very bad, which is normal for open-back headphones. They're not designed to block out any external sound, so you'll hear almost everything happening around you.

The leakage performance is bad. Their open-back design leaks a lot of audio, which is mostly concentrated in the mid and treble ranges. If you're sitting listening to music at high volume in a reasonably quiet environment, like an office, people around you will hear what you're listening to.

These headphones come with a long (91.5 inch) 1/4" TRS to 1/8" TRS cable that you can plug into either the left or right ear cup. This feature can come in very handy if you don't want the cable to interfere with moving your dominant hand. Latency is very low via this analog connection, and you'll experience no issues with video and audio falling out of sync.

You can easily connect these headphones to a PC via an analog connection for audio compatibility, but you'll need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to fit most PC headphone inputs. While there's no integrated mic, Audeze manufactures a cable with a built-in mic that you can use with these headphones.

You can connect these headphones to PlayStation family consoles via an analog connection for audio compatibility, but you'll need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to fit the jack on your controller. However, you'll need to purchase a cable with a built-in mic or a standalone mic to communicate with your teammates.

These headphones can connect to Xbox family consoles via an analog connection. However, you'll need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to fit the jack on your controller, and you'll only receive audio. While they don't have a built-in mic, you can purchase a cable from Audeze with a built-in mic that you can use with these headphones.