I wondered the same. Based on what @Resolve stated, it would seem they perform similarly in that department. I’ve been toying with moving from the LCD-X 2021 to the MM-500 simply based on weight and comfort improvements (I don’t mind clamp force and my head is of “normal” size), but I certainly wouldn’t make the change if I was losing bass presence, impact and overall performance.
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Yeah, ditto on everything you said. A lighter more comfortable LCD-X sounds finger licking good but maybe unrealistic?
I think Audeze knocked it out of the park re the bass qualities of the X. Could they duplicate all that goodness with a smaller diaphragm? I don’t know. I own an LCD-XC and even a headphone with the exact same diaphragm has lost the bass goodness of the LCD-X IMHO. I await other’s impressions.
Blessings,
-J
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I’d say certainly not ‘better’ in that regard, and if you really want bass impact I’d aim for one of the Focals, or a fostex. But not really worse either.
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I agree that the Utopia has better bass slam and agility than my LCD-X, but the LCD-X bass sounds BIGGER and has better decay, texture, and extension. So it depends on what you’re looking for probably.
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I’m finally getting all of my thoughts together for my full impression and review of the MM-500. It’s been a somewhat roller coaster ride with it.
I suppose if this says something: I am finally good in knowing that I got rid of my Arya SE in order to get this.
I’m glad I took my time with this one also as I’ve grown to really appreciate what Audeze is trying to accomplish with this HP. Sometimes companies will state their intention with a piece of gear that makes you scratch your head and wonder. That is definitely not the case with the MM-500, to me.
With that, I’m still trying not to get too involved in this discussion or any other impressions to taint my own thoughts! Hey, it’s my first Audeze. I think I chose well 
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That’s great news! When you’re ready, I’ll be happy to read your impressions. Happy listening!
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I’m also looking forward to your impressions. I’m torn as whether or not to trade in my LCD-X for the MM’s. It would have to rock my world for me to make the change as I’m so trained to my X’s.
Blessings,
-J
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Audeze MM-500 Live From CamJam 2022 with Sankar from Audeze!
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Sankar is a very nice guy. He will happily chat you up about Audeze headphone technology whenever you cross his path.
I don’t view the LCD-X and MM-500 as an either or. I view them as a complementary pair. I plan to get both. Both. Why not both? I don’t use EQ for critical listening so the only way for me to get both the classic Audeze sound and the Harman style midrange is to have two headphones each tuned differently.
I have a couple of different headphone amps. One is the Cavalli Liquid Fire. It pairs really really well with the classic Audeze tuning of the LCD-2/3/X. Just wonderful synergy with the classic Audeze house sound. I have no need or desire to EQ the LCD-2/3/X when using that amp. Then I recently got the Monolith Liquid Gold X amp. It drives the LCD-2 and LCD-X very nicely and has the Cavalli liquid sound. But leaves me desperately wanting to EQ the midrange to match the Harman midrange target. The LCD-X with no EQ just leaves me wanting when using that amp. So I need to find a planar headphone I like with that Harman midrange built in. The MM-500 looks like the perfect match for a planar to pair with the Liquid Gold X.
I don’t have the MM-500 yet. I plan to buy it soon. I will be keeping the LCD-X. As long as I have the Liquid Fire amp (and Liquid Platinum) I will always need to have an Audeze headphone that has that classic Audeze sound. For me when deciding between the MM-500 and LCD-X it’s both. I need both.
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I’m sorry @Hammy, I didn’t realize until now that you were replying to my post. Otherwise I would have responded sooner.
Your reasons for wanting to own and keep both headphones seem to meet your needs.
My needs are a bit different the first and foremost is money. Simply put, I can’t afford to own both right now. As much as I might want to. Needs must I guess.
Thanks for your input!
Blessings,
-J
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It’s most important to keep that mind through any of your possible purchases!
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Ok, so I finally have all my thoughts together for this headphone. I am finished with my video impression for my channel, but have more editing to do. So here are my thoughts on this one:
(once complete, I’ll post a link to my video review as well)
Build and Comfort:
To me this headphones build can be described as Elegant. It’s built like a tank imo, but also is something I enjoy to look at just sitting on the headphone stand. I’ve always felt this way about Audeze HP’s in general, and this is slightly different from the others in the lineup.
It’s solid aluminum throughout and a steel headband. Soft leather pads and comfortable leather headband. To me, it feels like this headphone was made to be passed along to others to listen while mixing/mastering music in a studio setting. Something that can (somewhat) take a beating. I also appreciate the Manny Marroquin name on the one cup placed in a tasteful but not over-exaggerated spot. Just classy.
Before I talk on the comfort, I have to give a solid nod to the included cable as well. This is a very nice braided and longer length of a SE cable. They really did put thought once again on the use case of the HP. To be able to listen and I can imagine wheel around in a chair as you are moving back and forth on your mixing screen. Or just able to throw on tracks and lean back on a chair with no worry of a short cable reach. The included case is also very solid and is lockable.
So comfort…yeah this is the elephant in the room to be addressed. I remember back when I first listened to the MM-500 at Chicago CanJam I never put it on thinking about clamp force. Now, this was a short listening session and it was my first CanJam. So it could just be I was distracted by everything around me going on that I didn’t think much on the comfort at the time. Or, it was stretched a bit by all the different heads this had been worn on. Still…I don’t remember at all thinking about the clamp.
So the clamp…its tight.
I jokingly told my wife when I put it on that the MM stood for Melon Masher.
Seriously though I even had her put them on because she has a much smaller head then me, and she agreed it was pretty clampy.
I also had my son try it out…(for reference he is 4 going on 5)
I actually emailed Audeze and asked about the clamp. I wondered if there were enough complaints that they would consider a difference in future iterations of this series. I must pay respects to their response in that they stand by the clamp. It is needed in order to get the seal to the head and correct FR from the sound of the HP. They also told me something else which I whole heartedly agree with: Sure there are complaints about the clamp, but as with many complaints voiced through social media or other platforms, that will be the thing you see the most. Though it may not be a shared opinion with all…so take that for what it is. I did. I have spent many many hours listening on the MM-500 and ya know, I’m ok with the clamp. I’ll finalize that thought in my conclusions.
One last thing on comfort though is I do appreciate that this headphone is 495g and not the whopping 612g of the LCD-X. I’ve got a few headphones in the upper 400+g range that do not bother me at all. If you do the headband system correctly, you can get comfort from heavier gear I believe. This is the case with the MM-500 to me. No issue with weight.
Alright - Sound.
The Bass response of the MM-500 is really reminiscent to other planars that do this well. It’s present, it’s full and articulate, but is not bloated or boomy. It hits when it needs to hit and quickly moves on. I would not describe this as a basshead’s dream by any means, but also not weak.
One thing I wanted to do was to listen to the Kendrick Lamar album Mr Morale and The Big Steppers. Those tracks were mixed and mastered using the MM-500! It’s not often I get to experience something like that so I had to. I wanted to hear what the producer heard and come closer to the intended sound of a track (I didn’t say artist intention mind you). Still, it was an interesting thing to test out and hear. Bass on this headphone does not get in the way of the mids or treble and just represents 1/3 of a mix very well to me.
So let’s get to those mids next. Midrange here is again, very accurate. I think vocalists are represented clearly here. I was just coming off of reviewing the Auteur Classic so I almost got the same type of vibe from the MM-500. The difference here is the Classic is definitely more mid-forward. I could see how someone would call the MM-500 a bit mid-forward but I believe this is also due to just the representation of the rest of the FR. Since nothing seems to stand out from either the low or high end, I can see how mids could take a front seat at times. I mean most of music does tend to live in that midrange. Still, do I think this is shouty? No. Can it be? It could if that artist or instrument is on a track. That’s kind of where I see this anyway. There is a track I listen to by Tom Waits called I Hope I Don’t Fall in Love With You. This track represents his vocals very clearly but at the same time, so is the guitar that plucks in your left ear. Just a unique experience on this HP.
Before moving on from mids, I do want to touch on dynamics as well. For both the bass and mids, I do get a sense of the punch/slam. Now, this is not a DD nor is it on the level of a Focal or a ZMF. However, I do think this is enough to satisfy that quality. I think that is important as well again if this is to be used to mix and master to listen for that quality in the music. To give a quick comparison, I think it is better for sure then something like the Aeon Noire. I do think it is close though, perhaps, slightly better then the Arya SE. I don’t have the Arya SE any longer to do an actual A/B, so this is based off of my own audio memory.
So for treble, I find this once again to be accurate. Big surprise right? I’m going to make a big claim, but please understand where I’m coming from here. This is the best treble response I have heard on a planar so far. I have not had the opportunity to listen to a very wide amount of planars as of yet. However, I place this ahead of the Noire, Arya SE and the short listening sessions I have had with others at CanJam. So, yes, its not as big of a claim as it would be to others! Please understand that.
Still, I find treble to be done tastefully. I can definitely get detail, instrument separation and a sense of what a sibilant track may be. This is not a sibilant headphone at all, but it will find those tracks for you which again is important. It’s almost as if this headphone is surgical in a way.
Stage/Image/Detail…
Stage is definitely on the intimate side here. The song Small Hours by John Martyn is one I like to test for stage. His performance done in an arena with simply his guitar and the ambiance, is one to sample for width. I could tell there was a limit to that airy arena with the MM-500, but I’m good with that. I don’t need every headphone I own to have huge stage. To me, it’s probably going to be appreciated by those who want to mix/master on this headphone to not have a very wide stage.
Imaging and Detail are both very well done and probably not something I need to elaborate on.
Timbre also I think is representative of what the instruments should sound like to my ears. When it comes to timbre though, I do feel more like an amateur in this field and continue to train my ears for such things.
Gaming is also a hobby of mine outside of this one. Yeah, I wouldn’t get something like the MM-500 for gaming. I know, it’s 1699.00 so why would you? I’m looking at you HD800S, so there is your answer.
Still, the intimate stage and just accurate FR make this not really a flavorful listen for something like gaming or movie listening.
Could you EQ that? Oh definitely! This was my first HP that I actually tried out some EQ with. It’s an Audeze and I felt I owed it to myself to try some EQ. I am in the camp of not wanting to EQ my gear, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate or understand those who do. What I did find is when you EQ the FR in a pleasing way for gaming, these suddenly sounded much better for it! I wasn’t really surprised by that, but wanted to experience it for myself. Still, even the EQ’d version is not something I would choose over other HP’s that I prefer for gaming. It can be done in a few adjustments though for my tastes. The same can be said for different genres of music here as well. I have very limited experience with EQ, but I have done enough research to understand use case and to not be over aggressive with it. Which brings me to…
Power Requirements:
Jotunheim2/Modius stack = check. iFi Go Bar = check.
Yes, this can be powered fairly easily though I do recommend an amp for sure. I wouldn’t expect anyone to spend this kind of money on a HP just to listen on a laptop or phone. Yes you can, sure. If you are traveling, why not. However, I’d prefer the Go Bar (or similar type piece of gear) for that experience. The xbass/xspace of the Go Bar is handled very well with the MM-500. It doesn’t just suddenly make these bass cannons, but it gives you some extra oomph. Again, a nod to how this handled EQ. Audeze claims a recommendation of 250mw of power and I understand why. Give it some juice and it will sing a little more clear for you.
My final thoughts of the MM-500 may sound like I am just praising this to the roof. No wrong can be done, right? Wrong…kinda. I very much appreciate what the MM-500 is. It is truly a reference and accurate HP that I would absolutely recommend to mix/master on. For me, however, it’s been a mixed bag. I would almost call this boring in a sense (albeit a good sense). I want to keep it in my collection because I think it is a fantastic way to A/B gear and music. I personally prefer other HP’s in my collection for daily listening though because I do appreciate different flavors. Yes, I could just go and EQ this…but I’m not someone who will typically do that. I’ll just instead find the HP that suits my needs there and go with that.
Still, I could see how someone would love this headphone and appreciate it’s accuracy.
Then there is the clamp force again. If that is something that bothers you, then you probably should stay away from this. I never have experienced a fatigue bad enough to warrant getting rid of them or stop using them. I never have had a headache from it either. It’s just something that is noticeable and probably more so for some others.
You can watch the video about bending the headband should you want to make them a bit less clampy. Should you? I don’t know, I’m just playing devils advocate here. Will you lose some of that seal and intended sound? Again, I don’t know but it is something to consider.
It’s been a fun experience listening and dissecting this headphone. I really am an Audeze fan now just by the appreciation of the build and science behind the fit of it all. I understand why the other Audeze’s are heavy and the design choices made as well.
Hopefully this has been helpful enough for others looking into this or just wanting to know more about it. I have no idea how my thoughts line up with others (however I am about to) so that will be interesting to see too! Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts if you made it this far
Cheers!
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A thumbs up from your kid…can’t beat that!
Great review as well!
Blessings,
-J
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I had forgot to update my post with the video portion of my impressions of the MM-500.
For those interested:
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Nice work.
bel lavoro.
buen trabajo.
(20 characters)
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I got a MM-500 delivered today. I haven’t listened enough to it yet to do a review of sound quality (other than to say I’m really really really happy on my new headphone day). My first comments are going to be about clamp force. My hat size is M/S. I don’t have a wide head. But with the LCD-2 Classic and LCD-X I’m at 2 to 3 clicks from maximum extension. And with the MM-500 I’m at 3 clicks from maximum extension. So while my head may not be overly wide I still use a reasonable adult head amount of clicks to get the headphones to fit my head.
And for me the MM-500 fits fine. The clamping force is comfortable. Not too tight. Not too loose. The clamping force is just right to create the necessary seal with these headphones. The clamping force is enough so the headphones are secure on my head if I do some moderate headbanging. Secure enough so that I can bend down and pick up something on the floor while the headphones are on my head and not have to worry that the headphones will fall off. Contrast that with my LCD-X (2021) and which are too loose on my head to allow me to bend down and pick up something on the floor without the headphones sliding off my head. I can’t do even moderate head banging with the LCD-X or they’ll fall off my head.
The clamp force and seal is also very important with these headphones. More important than the seal with my LCD-2 Classic and LCD-X (2021). With the MM-500 if there is even a slight loss of seal the bass goes away but also the midrange. It needs to be emphasized how much the midrange tuning depends on having a proper seal of the ear pads. If you lose the seal the midrange tuning goes away. You don’t just lose bass extension, you lose the entire midrange tuning. With the MM-500 the clamping force to create the necessary seal is so very important.
When I first got the MM-500 I had the ear cups positioned so that the top of my ears and back of my ears made contact or almost made contact with the pads. That’s how I wear my other Audeze headphones. But with the MM-500 positioned like that I had a slight seal leak at my jaw bone. Which caused the bass and midrange tuning to go away. So with the MM-500 I discovered that I needed to position the ear cups so that the bottom of my ear lobes made contact with the ear pads, which was one click up on the headband extension rod. And then the sound quality was perfect. The difference in one click of the headphone rod extension was enough to ruin the headphone.
The sound quality and frequency response of the MM-500 is really dependent on the clamp force and how well that clamp force creates a seal. The tight clamp force is for a reason. And with my somewhat narrow M/S head the clamping force is just enough to guarantee a seal. If the clamping force was any less I’d be listening to bad sound.
For me the clamping force is just right. Not too tight. Not too loose. It’s actually comfortable and just tight enough so I can bend down pick up something on the floor.
For me the clamp force and comfort are fine.
I’ll comment about the sound quality of the headphones later after I have some more listening time with more amps. But I’ll give a hint. I’m really really happy. This is the first time I’ve bought a headphone with no audition and been this happy about what I got. I’m so happy happy happy. My LCD-X (2021) still have a very important place in my system. I’m not going to get rid of them or stop listening to them. But the MM-500 is the perfect headphone to fill in where the LCD-X (2021) midrange is lacking. The MM-500 is my $1700 analog hardware EQ for the LCD-X (2021). And worth every bit of that $1700.
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I received pair of MM-500 this week. I was worried about “the clamp” based on the reviews. I have a M/L head and many hats don’t fit me. Turns out, I was not bothered by the clamp at all. I had expected to have to take the hps apart and stretch the steel spring. Not necessary.
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Good to hear about the clamp! I put mine on today after not wearing them for a while and I also was not bothered. I do have a larger head. It’s really just a tolerance thing and some people are just not going to be as tolerant of it.
You’ll have to let us know your impressions of the sound when you can!
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Is this what you settled on for EQing?
I just got a pair and I know they need a little burn in but would love to know your final EQ settings as oratory1990 hasn’t got his hands on a pair yet by the looks of it