Introduction

US-based Audeze has been covered multiple times on TPU already, be it for its in-ear monitors or electrostatic headphones. Audeze is more synonymous with its planar magnetic over-ear headphones though, with the current flagship LCD-5 heralding in a new design language focusing on weight and bulk reduction to help address one of the more prevailing complaints that users have had about previous Audeze headphones. I remarked in that review how the LCD-5 was no doubt going to influence newer Audeze products too, and today we look at one such offering.


A lot has happened since our last Audeze review. There have been at least three products released—more if you count the Sony Playstation Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore, among others. You see, Audeze was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment last year and this no doubt will see a push towards more gaming solutions to complement Audeze's professional and audiophile lineup. It's perhaps for the best then that Audeze had laid the foundations to appease those who feared otherwise even before this acquisition was announced, with the release of the MM-500. The MM here stands for 14-time Grammy Winner Manny Marroquin, a mixing engineer who has worked with some of the world's best music artists and has been responsible for many soundtracks and songs that have no doubt brought joy to many people. The MM-500 is not a new product necessarily, having been released over two years ago, but Audeze was only just able to send over a review sample to TechPowerUp after months of demand far exceeding supply. You already know the Audeze MM-500 is a popular product thus, so let's find out why in this review which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications