[HipHopScribe]

His comments were a little harsh, but he made some good points.

If the gel-filled protein leather earpads cost more than real leather and are actually higher quality than real leather, why wouldn’t they be used on their flagship model? Why wouldn’t they be used on all of their higher end models?

Who puts lower quality and less expensive earpads on their flagship but higher quality more expensive earpads on their entry level model?

You all are so quick to defend, but his logic here is spot on.

Sankar never said or implied that the gel-filled pads are higher quality or more expensive than the leather earpads for the higher ends models, his comment was about the choice between the gel-filled MM-100 pads and whatever leather pad options they had sourced for potential inclusion with the MM-100. Those would have been different (read: cheaper and lower quality) from earpads on higher end models to begin with, as I'm sure they wanted lower parts cost to hit the $399 price point.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Sankar never said or implied that the gel-filled pads are higher quality or more expensive than the leather earpads for the higher ends models, his comment was about the choice between the gel-filled MM-100 pads and whatever leather pad options they had sourced for potential inclusion with the MM-100, which would have been different from earpads on other models.

I can play this game, too. He also never said the leather pad choice for the 100 was any different than the leather they use on the higher end models.

But what I have on my side for my assumption, is that Audeze has never used two different types of leather earpads for any of their LCD line of headphones in the past from the LCD 2 - LCD 5. So I have a historical reason for my assumption. What supporting evidence do you have for yours?

 

[HipHopScribe]

I can play this game, too. He also never said the leather pad choice for the 100 was any different than the leather they use on the higher end models.

But what I have on my side for my assumption, is that Audeze has never used two different types of leather earpads for any of their LCD line of headphones in the past from the LCD 2 - LCD 5. So I have a historical reason for my assumption. What supporting evidence do you have for yours?

The LCD line mostly shares the same earpad design (LCD-5 is different I think), it makes sense from a production standpoint to just use the same pads. The MM-100 uses a different design. Also, unlike the LCD line, the parts for the MM-100 are sourced from cheap mass production in China. Also, they're $400.

I mean, you're free to make whatever interpretation of what he said, but I don't think it makes much sense.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

The LCD line mostly shares the same earpad design (LCD-5 is different I think), it makes sense from a production standpoint to just use the same pads. The MM-100 uses a different design. Also, unlike the LCD line, the parts for the MM-100 are sourced from cheap mass production in China. Also, they're $400.

I mean, you're free to make whatever interpretation of what he said, but I don't think it makes much sense.

Your take makes no sense from a cost to value perspective. It would cost more to switch to a completely different type of leather than to just reuse what you’ve already had for over a decade. I put more value in historical precedence. And until Audeze makes an official statement about this, @marekm is being perfectly logical with his take.

 

[HipHopScribe]

Your take makes no sense from a cost to value perspective. It would cost more to switch to a completely different type of leather than to just reuse what you’ve already had for over a decade. I put more value in historical precedence. And until Audeze makes an official statement about this, @marekm is being perfectly logical with his take.

You're not considering the savings of outsourcing production to China. Also, unless they also build the LCD pads in China (which is possible? but I didn't think that was the case), they literally can't use the same leather.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

You're not considering the savings of outsourcing production to China

Well it’s all speculation unless Audeze decides to make an official statement. I just feel like their comments in here sound more like Public Relations and less like transparency. In years past, my default would be to give them the benefit of the doubt. But this launch feels rushed, botched, and unpolished. So now they’re in damage control mode. But instead of being honest, they’re spinning.

 

[dbturbo2]

"Graciously". Oh wow he descended from the heavens to grace us with his presence, huh.

Yes it was gracious, but if you want to be sarcastic thats your choice. There aren’t many companies that you deal with in your life where the CEO, owner, or president of that company takes the time themselves to respond directly to customers like they do here. And when they do respond, they should be treated with respect whether you agree with their comments or not.

 

[bonnei100]

Audeze earpads on their newest models: The MM-500 has "extra-plush premium leather earpads", and the LCD-5 has "new sculpted earpads" made of "supple premium leather".

On the new MM-100 we just need great quality, comfortable and durable leather pads that sound as good as the stock fake leather pads - or better, and wont get sweatty in long demanding sessions. Nothing fancy and extra costly is needed for most of us, I don't think. We need a great tool and not an exhibition piece or status symbol.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Yes it was gracious, but if you want to be sarcastic thats your choice. There aren’t many companies that you deal with in your life where the CEO, owner, or president of that company takes the time themselves to respond directly to customers like they do here. And when they do respond, they should be treated with respect whether you agree with their comments or not.

This isn’t true. Fang has responded to people directly in here many times in Hifiman threads. The creator of Modhouse responds nearly daily to inquiries. Zach of ZMF responds multiple times a day to his consumers. The creators of Abyss respond to their customers questions in their threads routinely. And Dan Clark responds frequently in his threads as well.

And those examples are just ones I thought of within the first 10 seconds of reading your comment.

So at least know what you’re talking about before making silly comments.

 

[dbturbo2]

This isn’t true. Fang has responded to people directly in here many times in Hifiman threads. The creator of Modhouse responds nearly daily to inquiries. Zach of ZMF responds multiple times a day to his consumers. The creators of Abyss respond to their customers questions in their threads routinely. And Dan Clark responds frequently in his threads as well.

And those examples are just ones I thought of within the first 10 seconds of reading your comment.

So at least know what you’re talking about before making silly comments.

Obviously there are companies in the headphone industry, and I did reference 3 of them in a prior post, sorry I wasn’t more specific about that. Please continue the scrutiny, clearly I’m not qualified to comment.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Obviously there are companies in the headphone industry, and I did reference 3 of them in a prior post, sorry I wasn’t more specific about that. Please continue the scrutiny, clearly I’m not qualified to comment.

I’m not scrutinizing anyone. Everything I said was factual. Audeze doesn’t get brownie points for finally doing what many other owners do in here all the time.

 

[marekm]

Let me just say, that it was never my intention to offend any member of the forum, irrespective whether amateur audiophile or sponsor / headphone manufacturer.

As a potential customer, I responded, very reluctantly and perhaps too strongly, to the statements made by Audeze CEO.

I am aware that Mr Sankar has many friends and followers on the forum, hence the heated discussions and even anger. I am also happy to note, that there a few members who share my point of view, or at least some part of it.

Lets hope, that soon MM-100 will be widely available and will be the star of all future discussions rather than business processes, delivery dates, etc. Fingers crossed

Last, but not least, if in spite of my declaration, anybody does feel offended, I apologize.

I come here for the fun. If I want crap, I go to the office.

 

[musicforants]

how does this headphone compares to he6se v2? and or focal clear og?

 

[squibble]

I had some time with the LCD-X and was able to do another quick measurement comparing to the MM-100. I am not using a model ear or anything like that, so the response curve cannot be compared to a standard test method, unfortunately. Copied and pasted from my measurement on page 75 of this thread.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-mm-100.967558/post-17738729

"Here is a quick and dirty measurement using a Sonarworks measurement mic. I played pink noise through each ear cup, one at a time, and I had the headphones suspended in free air away from any surfaces. I moved the microphone around each ear cup, varying X/Y position and depth. These curves are a result of 200 averages each. The curves would surely change if the earcups could be sealed. I would ignore the accuracy below about 20Hz. Even below 100Hz gets iffy, since there is definitely handling noise from moving the mic. I also adjusted the overall curve Y positions to be 0dB at 1kHz as a reference point."

This time I averaged L and R speakers of each set of headphones to get a single curve for both.
Interesting that they seem to have a really similar sound signature in terms of overall balance of highs, mids, and lows.

NOT TO BE TAKEN AS AN ABSOLUTE FREQUENCY RESPONSE MEASUREMENT - PLEASE READ MY DISCLAIMERS

 

[joninow83]

I had some time with the LCD-X and was able to do another quick measurement comparing to the MM-100. I am not using a model ear or anything like that, so the response curve cannot be compared to a standard test method, unfortunately. Copied and pasted from my measurement on page 75 of this thread.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-mm-100.967558/post-17738729

"Here is a quick and dirty measurement using a Sonarworks measurement mic. I played pink noise through each ear cup, one at a time, and I had the headphones suspended in free air away from any surfaces. I moved the microphone around each ear cup, varying X/Y position and depth. These curves are a result of 200 averages each. The curves would surely change if the earcups could be sealed. I would ignore the accuracy below about 20Hz. Even below 100Hz gets iffy, since there is definitely handling noise from moving the mic. I also adjusted the overall curve Y positions to be 0dB at 1kHz as a reference point."

This time I averaged L and R speakers of each set of headphones to get a single curve for both.
Interesting that they seem to have a really similar sound signature in terms of overall balance of highs, mids, and lows.

So that’s a good thing right ? Means they’re similar ? Cos someone was really coming down on the tuning he experienced a few pages back here.