How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a wired, planar-magnetic open-back built for production-grade accuracy and long mixing sessions, choose Audeze MM-100; if you need an open-back with a punchier, monitor-style tuning and an upgraded balanced cable in the box, choose Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva.
• Audeze MM-100 biggest strength: planar magnetic drivers tuned for reference-grade accuracy, wrapped in a magnesium, aluminum and steel chassis with gel-filled leather pads and a suspension strap.
• Audeze MM-100 biggest trade-off: it is a wired, open-back, no-frills monitoring tool. No noise control, no wireless, no app. You supply the source and the quiet room.
• Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva biggest strength: a 50mm dynamic driver voiced with a studio-monitor profile — fast, thumpy bass that stays out of the midrange — bundled with a 4.4mm balanced Tripowin Nova cable.
• Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva biggest trade-off: less published engineering detail than the Audeze. The story here is tuning and the cable, not a documented driver architecture.
• Who Audeze MM-100 is for: producers, mixers and engineers who need a neutral, detail-first open-back they can wear for hours and fold flat when travelling.
• Who Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva is for: listeners and home-studio users who want an engaging, monitor-flavoured open-back and a balanced cable without buying one separately.
The MM-100 is an open-back, over-ear planar magnetic headphone. That combination matters. Planar drivers are known for low distortion and fast transient response, and Audeze states the MM-100's newly designed planar magnetic drivers deliver pinpoint precision with ultra-low distortion. The published frequency range is 20Hz to 25kHz, and the driver measures 9cm across. Impedance is 18 ohm, which is low — Audeze describes the drivers as high efficiency, so they work with a wide variety of equipment rather than demanding a monster amplifier.
The tuning story is explicitly professional. Audeze designed the MM-100 in collaboration with Grammy award-winning engineer and producer Manny Marroquin, and the company frames it as a way to put a pair of trusted studio monitors around your head without the room colouring what you hear. The company also cites the same patented waveguide, magnet array and diaphragm technology family used across its flagship models. In my opinion, that pedigree is the single biggest reason to pick this one: you are buying a tool whose stated purpose is accuracy, not entertainment.
Build and comfort are where the MM-100 earns its keep for long sessions. The chassis uses aluminum yokes, magnesium grilles and a spring-steel headband, with gel-filled leather earpads and an adjustable suspension strap. Audeze describes the strap as feather-light for hours. The cable is single-sided and — this is the detail I like most — it can be connected to either the left or right earcup, so you can route it away from your instrument, keyboard or console. A 6.35mm to 3.5mm adapter is included for laptops, phones and smaller gear, and the whole thing folds flat into a soft gig bag. Each pair is hand-assembled and tested in Audeze's Southern California workshop, and it carries a one-year manufacturer warranty.
Who should buy it: anyone doing critical listening, mixing, editing or tracking who wants an open-back reference headphone with a durable metal build and a cable that stays out of the way. Who should skip it: anyone who wants wireless freedom, active noise cancelling or a bass-forward, fun-first signature. The MM-100 has no noise control at all, and as an open-back it leaks sound both ways — it belongs in a quiet room, not on a commute.
The Altruva takes a different route to the same destination. It is an over-ear headphone built around a 50mm dynamic driver, and Linsoul says it is tuned to a studio monitor-like sound profile. The company's description is specific about how that tuning behaves: the bass hits hard and fast for a thumpy kick that does not disturb the midrange, while the midrange stays natural and balanced, keeping instruments and vocals accurate in their fundamental ranges. Read that as a deliberately monitor-flavoured voicing — impactful low end, clean middle, no smearing of the vocal band.
The second half of the story is the cable. This variant ships as a bundle: the Altruva headphone plus a Tripowin Nova monitor headphone cable terminating in 4.4mm. That cable uses a 4-strand hybrid architecture combining silver foil (7x0.25mm) with OCC copper (10x0.08mm), which Linsoul says minimizes signal loss and widens frequency response for studio-grade clarity. Whatever you make of cable claims in general, the practical point stands: you get a balanced 4.4mm cable in the box, which matters if your DAC or amp has a balanced output and you would otherwise be shopping for a cable separately.
Where the Altruva is thinner on paper is engineering documentation. There is no published impedance figure, no stated frequency range, no weight and no driver-material breakdown in the specs I have. That is not a flaw in the product — it is a limit on how much a buyer can verify before choosing. What you can verify is the driver size, the intended tuning and the included cable.
Who should buy it: listeners and home-studio users who want an open-back with a lively, punchy low end that still keeps vocals and instruments honest, and who will actually use a 4.4mm balanced connection. Who should skip it: anyone who needs the documented driver architecture, the metal chassis and the fold-flat travel design of a purpose-built studio monitor, or who wants a hard spec sheet to compare against.
• Best for mixing and critical reference work → Audeze MM-100. Planar magnetic drivers explicitly tuned for production-grade accuracy, with published specs you can check.
• Best for punchy, engaging low end → Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva. A 50mm dynamic driver voiced for a fast, thumpy kick that leaves the midrange alone.
• Best for long sessions → Audeze MM-100. Gel-filled leather pads, an adjustable suspension strap and a 1.1 lb (about 500g) premium chassis designed around comfort.
• Best for balanced cable users → Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva. The 4.4mm Tripowin Nova cable is part of the package, not an extra purchase.
• Best for travel and storage → Audeze MM-100. It folds flat and comes with a soft gig bag; the Altruva bundle has no stated travel design.
• Best for plug-and-play flexibility → Audeze MM-100. 18 ohm, high-efficiency drivers plus included 3.5mm and 6.35mm connectivity and an adapter.
• Best for a durable metal build → Audeze MM-100. Aluminum yokes, magnesium grilles and a spring-steel headband, hand-assembled and tested, with a one-year warranty.
• Best for buyers who want the simplest decision → Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva. One driver, one tuning goal, one cable, no spec-hunting required.
I would buy the Audeze MM-100. The reason is not that the Altruva is worse — it is that the MM-100 tells you exactly what it is and backs it up: planar magnetic drivers tuned for accuracy, a documented 20Hz–25kHz range, an 18 ohm load that plays nicely with modest gear, a metal chassis, and a cable that connects to either earcup. If your goal is to hear a mix honestly and work for hours without noticing the headphones, that combination is hard to argue with. If your priority is a fun, punchy open-back with a balanced cable included, the Altruva is the smarter pick for you.
how to open back headphones work
Open-back headphones use earcups with vents or grilles that let air move freely between the driver and the outside world. That reduces the build-up of pressure inside the cup, which is why they tend to sound more spacious and less boxed-in than closed-back designs. The trade-off is that they leak sound out and let room noise in, so both the MM-100 and the Altruva are best used somewhere quiet.
what is open back studio headphones
An open-back studio headphone is a wired, over-ear design built for monitoring and critical listening rather than commuting or noisy environments. The Audeze MM-100 fits that description directly, with planar magnetic drivers tuned for production-grade accuracy. The Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva is also voiced to a studio monitor-like profile, with a 50mm dynamic driver and a balanced 4.4mm cable in the bundle.
what are the best open back headphones
That depends entirely on what you need them for. In my opinion, the Audeze MM-100 is the stronger choice for accuracy-driven work, thanks to its planar magnetic drivers, published 20Hz–25kHz range and 18 ohm impedance. The Linsoul Kiwi Ears Altruva is the better fit if you want a punchier low end and a 4.4mm balanced cable included.
are open back headphones better
They are not better or worse in absolute terms — they are better at specific jobs. Open-back designs like the MM-100 and the Altruva tend to deliver a wider, more natural sense of space, which helps when judging a mix. Closed-back headphones isolate better and suit travel, offices and noisy rooms, which neither of these is designed for. Buy open-back for accuracy in a quiet space, not for isolation.
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