Advice: Audeze MM-100 resolving ability compared to Hifiman Edition XS, Arya, and Audeze LCD2-C?

[Phony_head]

Hi everyone, first post but some time lurker here. Also recent victim of a broken Sundara.

I've been going back and forth over several headphones as a replacement and currently trying out the Hifiman Edition XS. I will unfortunately be returning these due mostly to comfort issues, and am looking at either an Audeze LCD2-Classic (€799), MM-100 or a Hifiman Arya (€599) instead. I had the opportunity to try both the LCD2-C and the Arya (V2) at a store and I liked both for different reasons (as well as finding different problems), but I haven't had the chance to try the MM-100 (€450) to compare (as they were only on back-order).

Giving both the Arya and the LCD2-C a listen both before and after buying the XS (as well as past experiences with, for example, the HD600) taught me I will probably be EQ'ing most headphones and care more about their resolving capabilities (and, clearly, their ability to take some EQ without distortion) than purely their "stock sound".
With that in mind, how would the MM-100, purely looking at resolve, compare to both the Edition XS and the Arya/LCD2-C?

 

[Jimbob54]

Hi everyone, first post but some time lurker here. Also recent victim of a broken Sundara.

I've been going back and forth over several headphones as a replacement and currently trying out the Hifiman Edition XS. I will unfortunately be returning these due mostly to comfort issues, and am looking at either an Audeze LCD2-Classic (€799), MM-100 or a Hifiman Arya (€599) instead. I had the opportunity to try both the LCD2-C and the Arya (V2) at a store and I liked both for different reasons (as well as finding different problems), but I haven't had the chance to try the MM-100 (€450) to compare (as they were only on back-order).

Giving both the Arya and the LCD2-C a listen both before and after buying the XS (as well as past experiences with, for example, the HD600) taught me I will probably be EQ'ing most headphones and care more about their resolving capabilities (and, clearly, their ability to take some EQ without distortion) than purely their "stock sound".
With that in mind, how would the MM-100, purely looking at resolve, compare to both the Edition XS and the Arya/LCD2-C?

You'll likely need to define "resolve" as used in your post.

 

[Phony_head]

You'll likely need to define "resolve" as used in your post.

I believe what I mean by "resolve" is how accurate the headphone is at retrieving details. I'll admit most of the terms I've heard to describe it get a little confusing and interchangeable; "resolution" and "detail retrieval" sound closest to what I'm personally hearing while "clarity' to me sounds more like a perceived increase in detail due to a brighter treble response (correct me if I'm using these terms wrong). So on a well-mastered track, how accurately you can hear micro-details I suppose.

In context of previously mentioned headphones: if, theoretically, I managed to EQ each of these headphones to roughly the same frequency response (let's say the latest harman target), how would would each of these headphones still sound different? And how would you compare the MM-100 to the rest?

(does that help?)