Audeze & Manny Marroquin Celebrate The Launch Of The MM-500 Headphones
On Tuesday 17th August, various members of the media were invited by Audeze and mix engineer Manny Marroquin to an event at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. The occasion was to celebrate the launch of the new MM-500 headphones, a collaboration between the two parties, which Marroquin had apparently used to mix Kendrick Lamar’s 2022 album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
After being ushered into Studio 6, several listening stations had been set up in the live room to audition the headphones in question, powered by iPads, a laptop, and a salad of high-end converters and headphone amplifiers. Trying to critically judge audio equipment amongst the ambient noise of other attendees being peppered with free alcohol and hors d’oeuvres is never going to be ideal, but I didn’t leave with an unfavourable impression. Indeed, I’ve long been impressed by Audeze’s products, and on initial inspection the MM-500s seemed like an enhanced version of the company’s renowned LCD-X model whilst being consciously lighter in weight. Certainly, they were comfortable, exhibiting the same level of quality and build one would expect.
A better aural opportunity was afforded in the control room, where there was an opportunity to listen to the headphones monitoring a mix from the album in question via a 72-channel SSL Duality SE console and talk to the man himself. As a mix engineer, Marroquin explained why he thought having a quality pair of headphones for serious work is a necessity these days, comparing a product like the MM-500s as equivalent to an additional, alternative pair of nearfield monitors. And he was clearly enthusiastic about the headphones, highlighting both the lighter ergonomics and the clarity with which minor channel-strip EQ adjustments on the desk translated into what could be heard using the MM-500s.
Again, such an experience, while pleasant, couldn’t be described as critical listening, and I wouldn’t want to draw any conclusions from a such an informal exposure. Having said which, I had a nagging suspicion that the MM-500s were a bit more musically generous in the mid-range compared to the more neutral sound I was accustomed to with other models. And it’s getting harder to be disappointed with high-end headphones these days, which I guess says something in and of itself.
The evening ended a few doors down at Verse, a restaurant and bar co-owned by Marroquin with an unsurprising penchant for live music and a novel approach to audio for such a venue. After dinner, in true engineer fashion, Marroquin showed off the room’s Meyer Sound Constellation system that comprised 58 speakers and an unspecified number of microphones. If you haven’t experienced such a space before, it’s kind of like the acoustic equivalent of Star Trek’s Holodeck. With a few taps, we experienced five immersive presets from practically dead to a medium-sized church. A neat party trick, to be sure, and certainly the first restaurant I’ve dined at with such an installation. The results can even be mixed back at Larrabee thanks to a fiber connection feeding an SSL Live L300 desk. I must find out on which nights music from the renaissance period is celebrated…
For more information:
Audeze MM-500 Headphones, $1699.
www.audeze.com/products/mm-500
And if you’re in LA, check out Verse at:
www.verse.la
4212 Lankershim Blvd., Toluca Lake, CA 91602.
