Notice how I have not mentioned pricing in either the pros or cons list here. At $1700, the MM-500 is hard to justify for anyone, so it's certainly not going to be listed as a great value offering for the vast majority of people reading this review—or simply in general. However, I know Audeze has been selling a lot of these headphones since launch and thus clearly the MM-500 is a successful product in that regard. No doubt some of this comes down to the initials in the product name with Manny Marroquin being a household name for the target audience of the MM-500. Having such a reputed music professional not only collaborate on the design but also feel strongly enough to have it be the debut entry to a whole new headphones lineup from Audeze is a strong selling point. Those who earn their keep doing music mixing and mastering, especially anyone who also uses headphones to ensure the mix done on speakers sounds great on headphones too—after all, most music is listened to on headphones and earphones these days—will be able to uniquely justify purchasing the MM-500 as a working tool and amortize the cost over years of use that will no doubt pay for itself.

So if you are one of those who makes money by monitoring/mixing/mastering music, then I can certainly see the Audeze MM-500 being worthwhile. It offers a lot of what makes the flagship LCD-5 so good at this use case for a lot lower too. You still get a highly resolving set of headphones which is built like a tank, easy enough to drive, tuned better—in my opinion—than older Audeze LCD headphones, including the famed LCD-X, and certainly sounds more accurate than its predecessors. Let's also not forget that it's lighter and smaller at the same time, and there's enough going on here to also attract the rich audiophile crowd. In fact, I dare say the materials and aesthetics of the Audeze MM-500 are more pleasing to the general populace than even the LCD-5 is, so that is likely another market segment having contributed to the demand exceeding supply for months following the launch of the MM-500.

At the same time, there are several factors which keep this from being an absolute winner for the money. The biggest issue for me is Audeze not having changed anything for the MM-500's headband and associated clamp force despite seeing the complaints from the LCD-5 owners. The latter did get a slightly revised headband (you can't bend carbon fiber easily after it is formed) to help, yet we are left to bend the steel headband ourselves here which isn't an easy or reliable task. Those with even average-sized heads will likely end up doing so given the excessive clamp force here that pushes past any benefits of a strong seal around the ears. Thankfully, it's a one-time fix that ends up making a world of difference to the usability of the MM-500 and I highly recommend people try out the set first to see how much of a dealbreaker this could be for them, if at all. Then there's the part where the tuning is not going to be for everyone, especially given the mids being so forward compared to the treble. Some vocals and instruments have an unpleasant glare to them, whereas the relatively darker highs results in some resonant frequencies/harmonics coming off subdued. You do get a smoother treble output as a result here—especially for open-back planar magnetic headphones—and I dare say the timbre is generally pleasing too. If you prefer a more ethereal sound with a wider soundstage, perhaps the MM-500 is not the set for you. So there are clearly strengths and weaknesses here, or at least characteristics of the MM-500's sound presentation that work better for some than others. I am happy to recommend it to the pro audience who will find the MM-500 to help their workflow for sure, and conditionally also to those whose music preferences will benefit from what is a good example of the recent Audeze tuning execution. Just do your homework and test out other options in the market, some of which can be less expensive too.