Beyerdynamic MMX 100 review

Beyerdynamic is renowned for its superbly-engineered and tuned headphones. Its headphones can be found almost anywhere in the world where audio mastering is done. Now the company has finally decided to take gaming seriously in the form of the new Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset.

The $99 MMX 100 isn’t the company’s first gaming headset—that honor belongs to the Tygr 300 R, which has been around for a while but has mostly gone unnoticed. The MMX 100 is a closed-back, over-ear, and wired gaming headset that will work with anything using a 3.5mm audio output. 

It comes in either Black or Gray—which is more like a beige—and both have bright orange accents around the connection ports and controls. The entire aesthetic is studio professional who games, which surprisingly works out to be one of the better-looking gaming headsets around.

Beyerdynamic uses lightweight materials with plenty of plush memory foam cushioning on both the headband and the massive circular earcups. The cushions are wrapped in synthetic leather that feels plush and soft against the skin. I wore these all day with nary a sign of fatigue and in case you don't like the stock pads, you can easily replace them thanks to a simple twist mechanic.

The hangers which attach the cups to the headband offer some tilt and height adjustment to better conform to different head shapes. The only controls are for volume and mic mute and they live on the left ear cup and can't be missed thanks to their vibrant orange color. 

There are also ports for the 3.5mm cable and removable boom mic. Beyerdynamic supplies you with two cables: a 1.2m for use with laptops or console controllers and a longer split 2m cable for use with PCs. The cables do transmit a fair bit of friction noise into the left ear cup but as long as you don't move around a lot, it shouldn't be a problem.

The overall build is quite exceptional except for one really annoying issue—the volume dial. On my unit, it had quite a bit of play where it could rock back or forth without changing the volume while causing static in the right ear cup when adjusting volume and oftentimes, completely cutting out the audio on the right side. This is mostly around the max volume position. Minute adjustments of volume would fix the audio but it's most disturbing for such a well-built headset that I'm honestly inclined to believe it was just my particular sample and not systemic.

What isn't problematic though is the audio performance. The custom-tuned 40mm dynamic drivers have an outstanding frequency response of 5–30,000Hz which in simple terms means they have excellent dynamic range across the spectrum. And unlike Beyerdynamic's more power-hungry headphones, the MMX 100's tiny 32 Ohms impedance allows them to work flawlessly without extra amplification.

They produce a rich sound stage that is surprisingly wide for a closed-back headset and it fills your head with clean, detailed audio. The bass is so finely tuned without any distortion or boominess that you typically get on most gaming headsets. The mids and highs are crystal sharp bringing out all the tiny details and audio cues like footsteps or reloads.

Image 1 of 6

In Shadow Warrior 3, I could easily make out Lo Wang's questionable humor in the midst of the craziest gunfights as well as every blood splatter and juicy flesh implosion. In the excellent Guardians of the Galaxy, my head bobbed to the nostalgic 80’s soundtrack while still allowing me to exactly pinpoint my fellow Guardians as they banter and tease each other around me.

I also really enjoyed listening to music with the MMX 100. Everything from ensemble orchestral and choral tunes to lofi beats for work to hip-hop, the headsets do the Beyerdynamic name proud. And because they are so comfortable, they are a joy to use all day long for work calls too.

The boom microphone also excels with the same crisp, clean vocal reproduction and natural-sounding tone. It lacks any sort of noise cancellation so it will pick up background noise like the passing train in my case. In the audio recording, I could hear moments where I swallowed saliva which is both gross and impressive. 

There’s simply no denying that Beyerdynamic has totally knocked it out of the park with the MMX 100. At $99, it’s an incredible bargain and I’d be hard-pressed to point out a more comfortable, better sounding one than this. The Steelseries Arctis Prime comes close in comfort but not for sound. Putting aside the volume dial issue on my particular unit, this is easily one of the best gaming headsets money can buy right now.

If you're in the market for a new headset, be sure to check out our best gaming headset guide.