[Agnesss]

After making sure the strap was the correct, I wouldn’t say MM100 are MUCH brighter, just brighter in that it seems more present where lcd5 and mm500 are recessed a bit.

Lcd5 has the smoothest and most extended treble response. MM100 has super deep linear bass but it isn’t as detailed or punchy. You get more detail as you move up the $ in terms of imaging, width, punch etc.

I haven’t tried mastering a full record with mm100 but have no doubt I could. I bet these will fly off the shelves.

Thank you for your response, have you performed a sine sweep or if not, could you? To try and see if there are any noticeable peaks/dips in the treble of both the LCD-5 and MM-100. I'm interested in how the two perform in that regard.

 

[Achlys]

I took a few more measurements with different equipment.

The driver impedance is very flat. I've only ever measured typical moving coil drivers, so it's interesting to see how planar magnetic drivers behave. The impedances are within a 6% tolerance of nominal 18-ohm impedance, and within a 3% tolerance of each other. Not too shabby.



This next measurement is done with a CrySound 6151. I don't know how well it measures absolute curves. It's mainly for finding inconsistencies in driver performance in a production line setting. It's not like using the Audio Precision headphone test fixture that's lab-calibrated and a fairly consistent test setup that many people can use as a point of reference. Maybe the information is useful for some, though my frequency response plot using a measurement microphone from the last page of posts might be a more appropriate representation. That frequency response used 200 averages, where this graph is a single sweep without any averaging. The curves can change quite drastically based on position of the headphones relative to the artificial ears.

It's a bummer to see the absolute polarity is incorrect. Positive transients cause the drivers to deflect away from the ears. Maybe try a polarity flip on your audio output and see if one feels better to you while listening.




Ear cup outer diameter = 98.5 mm (it's a circle)
Ear cup depth without pad = 21 mm

Pad depth = 21 mm
Pad outer diameter = 100 mm (basically a circle)
Pad inner measurements = 46 mm x 64 mm (rounded rectangle)

Head band width = 25 mm
Head band thickness with padding = 8 mm

Height from bottom of ear cup to top of head band = ~200 mm
Width from L ear cup hinge to R ear cup hinge = ~195 mm

You are sure the polarity is incorrect and it is not your measurement equipment?

 

[Agnesss]

It's a bummer to see the absolute polarity is incorrect. Positive transients cause the drivers to deflect away from the ears. Maybe try a polarity flip on your audio output and see if one feels better to you while listening.

Hello @xsankar , thank you for participating in this thread with us, could you please comment on whether or not the MM-100 is intended to have incorrect absolute polarity? It seems like a curious choice for headphones targeted at a professional market, so if they do have incorrect polarity, could you explain why?

 

[holden4th]

OK, I've read enough to order these via an Australian supplier who are still at the preorder stage. My dealings with them have always been exemplary and with a supposed shipping date of late October I guess I only have a few weeks to wait. When I get them they will be up against my Ananda Stealth cans and I know I won't keep both.

 

[marekm]

When I get them they will be up against my Ananda Stealth cans and I know I won't keep both.

Looking forward to reading your opinion and decision.

 

[jmillar]

20% more I could live with, but 50% is a rip off.

Around 490€ in Thomann or Amazon (inc VAT).

 

[squibble]

You are sure the polarity is incorrect and it is not your measurement equipment?

Maybe I shouldn't have used the term "incorrect." The polarity may be that way for a reason, in which case it is just negative polarity instead of positive. Not that one is correct and one is incorrect.

I tried several other headphones on that same test rig, and they all passed the polarity test with absolute positive polarity. However, that initial pair of MM-100s was returned.
I have a new pair of MM-100s that I have not tested for absolute polarity yet, so I'll check those and report back sometime today.

 

[HipHopScribe]

I'd be more concerned if there was a polarity was mismatched between the drivers, having negative polarity may not actually make a difference in listening, but it would be interesting to know if the polarity is intentional and whether it was a unit issue rather than something that occurs in all units.

 

[Agnesss]

I'd be more concerned if there was a polarity was mismatched between the drivers, having negative polarity may not actually make a difference in listening, but it would be interesting to know if the polarity is intentional and whether it was a unit issue rather than something that occurs in all units.

Incorrect polarity is noticeable, also polarity is matched between the drivers

Diagram can be found here

 

[squibble]

Incorrect polarity is noticeable, also polarity is matched between the drivers

Diagram can be found here

Yeah, polarity is definitely matched between drivers at least. Here's another version of the polarity test that I did at home. You can see the MM100 is the only one that dips negative when the positive pulse track is recorded through the headphone via microphone. The monitor speaker and ATH M50X both swing positive first in response to the positive pulse.

I should note that I am driving the MM-100s via the included MM-100 cable. Just a 1/4" TRS to a 1/8" TRS into the left ear cup.

I don't really get that headphone wiring diagram. Can we have tips, rings, and sleeves labeled? What are the circles? The speaker input connectors?

 

[Agnesss]

Yeah, polarity is definitely matched between drivers at least. Here's another version of the polarity test that I did at home. You can see the MM100 is the only one that dips negative when the positive pulse track is recorded through the headphone via microphone. The monitor speaker and ATH M50X both swing positive first in response to the positive pulse.



I don't really get that headphone wiring diagram. Can we have tips, rings, and sleeves labeled? What are the circles? The speaker input connectors?

I've contacted support about receiving some clarification for the diagram, but it'd be nice if we could get an official explanation here.

 

[squibble]

I'd be more concerned if there was a polarity was mismatched between the drivers, having negative polarity may not actually make a difference in listening, but it would be interesting to know if the polarity is intentional and whether it was a unit issue rather than something that occurs in all units.

It's not a massive difference, but I passed a blind test 10/10 times when listening to a kick drum sample and randomly spamming the polarity invert button in my DAW. It's not noticeable on all signals though. Nor is it the kind of difference where I can no longer enjoy music because of the inversion, but I do have a preference on some sources.

 

[Agnesss]

It's not a massive difference, but I passed a blind test 10/10 times when listening to a kick drum sample and randomly spamming the polarity invert button in my DAW. It's not noticeable on all signals though. Nor is it the kind of difference where I can no longer enjoy music because of the inversion, but I do have a preference on some sources.

Definitely not acceptable on a product being marketed towards professionals though.

 

[HAydin]

Definitely not acceptable on a product being marketed towards professionals though.

There are many headphones with inverted polarity. Some Audeze Models (LCD-1, CRBN) also Stax headphones…

 

[squibble]

There are many headphones with inverted polarity. Some Audeze Models (LCD-1, CRBN) also Stax headphones…

Do you know why they are designed this way?