Audeze MM-100

Audeze MM-100

About a year ago I picked up a pair of HE400se headphones, B-stock, from HiFiMan; at $79 they seemed like a good, inexpensive way to see if I liked the whole “planar magnetic” thing. Turns out I do. So I started looking around for what might be a good upgrade, and was recommended the HE6se v2. HiFiMan has some questionable history with their quality control, and I wasn’t wild about staying with ChiFi (“awesome products that are coming out of China for fair prices but good performance” - but also somewhat of a hassle with shipping, warranty service (if available at all), etc.). Too, the HE6se v2 is apparently discontinued, although as of this writing still available open box for $399.

Given all of that, I started casting a wider net. Started hearing about Audeze, whose flagship LCD line get great reviews but were generally way out of my price range. Audeze is an Orange County, California company, who was recently bought by Sony. And while the LCD range was out of reach, I learned about the MM-100, which folks are reviewing (including comparing against the HE6se v2) quite favorably:

• Ryan Ho reviews the MM-100 (“the new standard headphone ... tuned just the best, the most neutral or accurate headphone I’ve ever heard”) and compares it to the HE6se v2.
  
• GadgetryTech’s review of the MM-100.
• Headphone Zone compares the Audeze MM-100, HiFiMAN Sundara, and Sennheiser HD660S2
• A redditor’s first impressions.
  

So, okay, now I want to try these. $400, but, I found a “barely used” pair for a significant reduction from that... Ordered. 🤞And time to put the barely used HE400se headphones on AVexchange.