Common readers will want no additional fanfare from me relating to Audeze, makers of the wonderful $1,300 Audeze Euclid planar magnetic in-ears, the fabulous $1,199 Audeze LCD-X and the best-in-class ‘reasonably priced’ Audeze LCD-1 – if $399 counts as reasonably priced in your e-book.
And that final set of headphones is probably most pertinent right here since, whereas wonderful, the LCD-1 was launched in 2019. However now Audeze has launched a brand new proposition that also boasts 90mm planar magnetic drivers and nonetheless prices simply $399 (which is round £320 or AU$599, however these costs are unofficial).
The identify? Audeze MM-100. Keep in mind you heard it right here first…
Will this mannequin show to be among the many greatest headphones of 2023? I imply, I am unable to say for certain, but when I have been a playing lady… the competitors is fierce at that degree, with the likes of the Bowers & Wilkins PX8, the Focal Bathys and naturally the Sony WH-1000XM5 in that class; however bear in mind, none of these are planar magnetic options.
As a fast recap: planar magnetic drivers are completely different to the extra typically-used dynamic drivers in headphones in that they use a flat diaphragm, moderately than the normal cone-shaped or dome-shaped membrane. That is then sandwiched between an array of magnets to create an evenly-suspended diaphragm in between everlasting magnetic fields. Why do you have to need that? Planar magnetic drivers make the headphones that use them extraordinarily resistant to varied sorts of audio and digital distortion – aka you get clearer, extra detailed, higher music.
All of this, for simply $399? I do know, I am intrigued too…
Opinion: for this cash, Audeze is taking a look at a sure-fire hit after which some with its MM-100 over-ear cans
Except for these drivers (9 centimeters, overlaying every ear in a circumaural, open-back design) the opposite ace up the MM-100’s sleeve is that these headphones have been made in collaboration with 17-time Grammy-winning engineer/producer Manny Marroquin.
The MM-100 encompasses a new light-weight chassis, boasting premium supplies however weighing simply 375g – for comparability, the wonderful however virtually solely plastic Sony WH-100XM4 weigh 254g, whereas the much-more-metal construct of the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wi-fi sees them weigh in at 380g.
Audeze tells us the MM-100 are literally primarily based on the corporate’s MM-500, and carry ahead the extremely regarded tuning from these 90mm planar magnetic drivers, which ought to make the MM-100 simple to drive from any console, interface, or laptop computer – no moveable DAC required (though I might nonetheless advocate one to have the cans singing at their greatest).
If it’s good to hear it, Audeze’s Uniforce diaphragms, Fazor waveguides and Fluxor Magnets are all right here too, and the headphones have been Business-tested and refined by high recording artists on the Larrabee Studios in Hollywood.
Audeze’s MM-100 over-ear headphones are assembled within the USA, with first shipments anticipated in Could. I can not wait to listen to them and maybe invite them to affix TechRadar’s roundup of the perfect over-ear headphones we have had the pleasure of sporting. And sure, I understand I’ll have to affix an extended line…