The Audeze MM-500 is 18Ω at 100.0 dB/mW; the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X is 38Ω at 99.0 dB/mW. This page is only about what they ask of an amplifier — not how they sound, which no specification on either sheet can tell you.
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50X needs 1.0 dB more than the Audeze MM-500 to reach the same loudness — 1.3 mW against 1.0 mW.
| Specification | Audeze MM-500 | Audio-Technica ATH-M50X |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 18 Ω | 38 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 100.0 dB/mW | 99.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 117.4 dB/V | 113.2 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 1.0 mW | 1.3 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.13 V | 0.22 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 7.5 mA | 5.8 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.25 Ω | 4.75 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.
1 source is low enough in output impedance for the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X under the one-eighth rule but not for the Audeze MM-500 (Shanling H5).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both. That count is about power only — the output-impedance and hiss lines above are separate questions, and a source can pass this one and fail those.
Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: Audeze MM-500 and Audio-Technica ATH-M50X. Every figure on this page comes from what Audeze and Audio-Technica published, or is derived from it — what Audeze publishes and what Audio-Technica publishes, both counted.