Beyerdynamic MMX300 Gaming Headset Review

Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Gaming Headset Review

09/18/09
By Notebookreview.com member: Vogelbung

(Credit: Beyerdynamic)​

Your fingers twitch faster than your left eye. Your keyboard’s W, A, S & D keys always wears out first. You’re responsible for more spectacular explosions in COD4 than the supergroup of erupting pimples on your forehead. You are, in fact, a Gaming God.

And having pimped your rig to the most you can, you’re left looking at the battered old headset on your head. You need to up your audio game, and in a serious way - that’s when the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 headset comes to your attention. A decidedly higher-end gaming headset, priced notably higher than most. Is it worthy of your attention? Find out here.

Specifications:
Headphone
Transducer type: Dynamic
Operating principle: Closed
Frequency response: 5 - 30,000 Hz
Nominal impedance: 32 Ω
Nominal SPL: 96 dB
Power handling capacity: 100 mW
Weight with microphone and cable: 380 g
Cable length: 2.5 m, straight cable
Connection: Mini stereo jack plug (3.5 mm)

Microphone
Transducer type: Condenser (back electret)
Operating principle: Pressure gradient
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Power supply: AB powering
Supply voltage: 1.5 - 9 V
Nominal impedance: approx. 1.5 kΩ
Frequency response: 30 - 18,000 Hz
Max. SPL: 120 dB
Microphone output: unbalanced
Length mic boom: approx. 150 mm
Connection: Mini stereo jack plug (3.5 mm) Ring and tip: AF, shaft: ground

USB converter
Connections PC/Mac: 1 x USB Type A (M); cable length 1.5 m
Audio: 2 x stereo jack sockets (3.5 mm)
Dimensions L x W x H: 76 x 30 x 16 mm
Weight with cable: 45 g


Overview:


On first unpacking the phones by opening the included carrying bag, the impression to the user will be of a substantial and above all, bulbous pair of earcups. Beyer were never style mavens, despite their forays into style-forward (or so *they* think) phones over the last few years. In fact, when you see most of their range on people’s heads, it is clear that dork-forward is more the reality.



The MMX 300 follows this trend and plonking this higher-end set on your head will not earn you cool points in a webcam session: Finger-pointing, laughing and ‘help me, Obi-Wan’ impressions will, in fact, be the order of the day in comparison to far more svelte sets such as those available from Logi, Plantronics, etc. But you’re better than that, right? You’re after results.



The MMX 300 is made in Germany, like most Beyers. The headphone construction is pretty much the same as the headphone that it is based on – the newer-design DT 770, and virtually all elements are identical apart from the bolt-on, swivelling mic on a gooseneck stalk. The design is generally a no-nonsense affair. You won’t find premium sheepskin, exotic metals or carbon fibre anywhere in the mix like some of their competitors – but a selection of robustly engineered plastics, stainless steel and rolled heavy-gauge aluminium. Build quality is high, and it’s fair to say that the headset at least is not going to fall apart anytime soon. The earpads are covered in velour, a material that has good skin-touch characteristics, but is quite prone to ‘bobbling’ with extended use. The colour of the earcups of the standard MMX 300 is referred to as a ‘carbon fiber look design’ in the sales documentation, and it is indeed that: Just a printed-on design. It’s not wholly unattractive, but a flat black would have worked just as well in my opinion.

The headset is also available under the MANUFAKTUR program direct from Beyerdynamic Germany. MANUFAKTUR is a factory customisation scheme, where you can choose the colour for almost every major component of the headset, engage in custom engraving as well as select alternative materials (vinyl, leather) for earpads as well as the headband cushion. If you’re into that, you can directly order from Beyer a headset you can literally call your own.



The MMX 300 ships with a USB ‘soundcard’, which incorporates an audio input and output as well as mute and volume controls. Connection is via a single USB cable, and no special drivers are needed . The volume controls affect the Windows main output volume control directly, while an LED light beside the mute button lights up when it is muted. The unit features a 1.5m USB cable, which means that along with the 2.5m headset cable length, the overall cable length of the package is 4m.



While I did say the build quality was high on the headset itself, the same doesn’t necessarily apply to the headset cable, terminated in a Y-split with thinner cables to a green headphone jack and a pink mic jack. Structurally, the headphone and mic connectors are the weakest part of the package from an everyday standpoint. They are exactly the same articles as you’ll see fitted to a cheap disposable headset and the cable is not modular, in effect not enabling the replacement of the cable should things fray. The 5-year warranty should take care of replacement for the useful life of the headset, but still – it is a potential problem.



The mic’s stalk bends and swivels pretty much anywhere you need it to be, and the swinging design can put the mic out of the way above your head when you fancy some pure-headphone action.

Operating Comfort:
This is a highly subjective matter, but generally speaking all but the most titanic of heads should find a happy medium with these phones. The level of adjustment on offer is generally as good as any other premium headphone, and the ratcheted, rolled-aluminium earcup arms move around to provide a decent range of fit. The arms do supply enough tension to press the earcups down fairly hard to achieve their isolation and also to keep a fairly heavy headset anchored to your head, a fact mitigated by the soft velour earpads. Users should try and have the headband in contact with their head as lightly as possible: Too secure a fit will result in some headaches later on. Once you get a comfortable fit, it should be possible to wear these for extended periods without undue discomfort.

Isolation:
The isolation of the phone is usable, at around 15db. Certainly enough for users to concentrate on gaming sounds in the middle of a reasonably noisy LAN gathering (which I simulated by playing back the sounds of a conference on my monitor speakers while gaming).


Sound:
The DT 770 - the headphone that the MMX 300 is based on - is popular as an upgrade headphone for gamers who also listen to music, looking to move on from cheaper headphones and headsets. The elevated bass and the boosted treble results in a ‘bowl-like’ curve to the sound that is agreeable to many people used to mistaking ‘quality’ for ‘lots of bass and cranked-up treble’, as well as emphasising percussive instruments/explosions (and as a result of this characteristic, the DT 770 is also popular for drum monitoring).

The bass is fairly prominent as remarked and exhibits a fair amount of decay, which allows 'booms' to make their presence reasonably felt - but it doesn't hang around excessively, thus not smearing the sound too much. The trebles are perhaps even more prominent, made so especially by the comparative lack of midrange presence, and does get sibilant (S's turn into sharp etzsss) quite frequently. In a nutshell, it's an unsubtle tone.

But what does that actually mean in gaming? The emphasised bass lends credence to explosions and ordnance effects, while the sharp highs will accentuate every crunch of boot on grass.

All in all, accuracy in the general rendition of audio is as good as any at the $2 - $300 price range for a closed phone if you discount the sucked-out midrange, and generally the headphone avoids the ‘internal echo’ effects common to closed phones which do not control sound reflections properly within the earcup.

However I’m not totally convinced that it is the ideal phone for long periods of listening to lower-bitrate sounds, which is effectively what you’re doing when gaming or for the majority of those who listen on a computer: The aforementioned sharp trebles emphasises the aliasing (a warbling which accompanies the low-bitrate sounds being played) inherent in lower-bitrate sounds and results in more listening fatigue for the user.

The USB module outputs fairly clean and decent-quality sounds free of the squirkles, zzzts and pops of most motherboard-based audio and the input is also pretty decent, and is as such an improvement over what you might have already if you don’t own a higher-end soundcard. However to audiophiles the quality of the attenuation may be inadequate, being simply a control for the Windows / OS X master mixer and not a high-quality analog attenuation. If you don’t know what the differences between those are, it’s probably fair to say that you’ll be happy with the sound coming out of the module.

Positioning Accuracy:
The USB module shipped with the headset has no EAX or other positional assistance FX compatibility – so the illusion of 3D positioning is absent, unless it is provided by the game engine that you’re using. That said, when used with a variety of games ranging from Oblivion through CS:S and COD4, in a strictly left-right sense the phone is capable of helping you pinpoint sources of sounds, although visual cues are absolutely required to establish exact position.

Skype / Chat Performance:
The back-electret condenser mic (an economical technology for lower-cost mics: almost every mic built into tech gear is of this type) has generally excellent performance for this level of kit. Pickup quality is very good, and speech simulated with a fairly high level of background noise is definitely intelligible. The included windshield is however slightly inadequate with a susceptibility to ‘popping’, and a larger one may be desirable if you’re a heavy breather / loud talker and like the mic close to you.
EDIT later: Since this review was originally written, I've had the chance to stack it up directly amongst more headsets and headphone + Zalman ZM-MIC01 combo - and I can say that the mic pickup of the MMX 300 is by far and away the best I've yet come across on a consumer headset. It makes regular higher-end headsets such as the Sennheiser PC 350 sound tinny and 'radio-ey' in comparison, and the Zalman sound like a bad joke.


Conclusion:
The big question for most of you undoubtedly is, is it worth the ~$300 - ~$400 (depending on the vendor) you will pay for these? The answer depends on your priorities.

Those looking for high sound quality for mainly music listening in a closed phone and much less frequent VoIP / gaming chat requirements, a combination of the Denon AH-D5000 (~$450 web), some Spira Wrap and the clip-on ~$15 Zalman ZM-MIC1 would probably be a happier medium. For those watching their pennies wanting more sonic bang for the buck as a gamer/listener, well – a choice of the same mic and the lower-priced DT 770 wouldn’t exactly be a fatal compromise, or choosing instead the lower-end MMX 2 headset ($80 web), which have no isolation but a surprisingly decent sound quality as well as decent voice pickup, along with exactly the same USB interface.

Those frequently at LANs or (semi)professional gamers and also regular VoIP users will be more likely to notice immediately quantifiable benefits – the boom mic works significantly better with higher degrees of ambient noise than a clip-on, the phone’s audio performance as a gaming phone is among the top choices within a reasonable budget, isolation is use-optimised, and the carrying bag is convenient as well as signalling the seriousness of your intent when you’re wheeling your gear down the aisles.

Pros:

• Highly suitable sound for gaming, high quality sound in general, with a couple of reservations
• Clear mic for any voice-related use, among the best among headsets of this type, and the best that the author has used
• Suitable for extended wear
• Fairly bombproof build quality backed with a 5-year warranty
• Sets you apart from the Steelseries-toting kiddies

Cons:

• Relatively high price
• While a serious-looking headset for sure, not the most flattering on-head looks
• Overall tonality does not deliver much subtlety in music, and may be mentally fatiguing to listen to for extended periods

It will clearly not improve your framerates, and cheaper headphones may for most work just as fine in terms of gaming. For Skype chatting it’s probably overkill, while at the same time the mic isn’t quite broadcast-quality. But if you take your gaming / VoIP audio – both in terms of what you send and what you hear – seriously and aren’t willing to compromise with kludges, then the MMX 300 is an excellent all-in-one choice.


Pricing and Availability:
The MMX 300 has a list price of $440 but street prices can be in the $300 range, and is available from Amazon and B&H among many other vendors. MANUFAKTUR versions are available directly from Beyerdynamic, typical customised price ~€340 / $500: http://shop.beyerdynamic.de/gaming-multimedia/gaming-headset.html?lang=1

 

I like the DT770's but I wouldn't be able to spend that much on them. Interesting to see some real headphones gone headset though, I think it should happen more often.

 

I would love a pair of these. To bad there a wee bit out of my price range. Great Review btw!

 

Excellent review! The price is way above my budget but the headset looks very good.

 

This brand is well known and makes good stuff, but I feel that your paying more here just because its a "gaming headset" I have a feeling if they made the same headphones without the microphone boom it would be nearly half the price.

For that reason I would just get normal headphones and use a cheap external mic.

 

Well - seeing as you can get hold of one for around $300 if you shop around, and a typical selling price for the DT770 is ~$250, not exactly. You'd save a few dollars, but you'll still have a kludge that doesn't work as well. The MANUFAKTUR versions? Yeah - in that case, you're definitely paying over the odds for personalisation.

 

Wow, 250? Who ever pays that much is well... insane? Even for the 250 ohm versions you can find them for alot cheaper than that. I wouldn't pay much more than 150 for a set of DT770's.

 

Really?

http://www.headphonesolutions.com/beyerdynamic-dt770-premium-headphones-32-ohms.html

The Pro-80 is about $200.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/BEYERDYNAMIC-DT...in_0?hash=item3ef894c2fe&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Its ebay but its also a powerseller so I'd trust it, and you can couple that with however much savings bing is willing to give you.

 

Nice review, I like BeyerDynamic, they have alot of really good products. This looks like one of them. The headphone compartment/bag and their warranty is superior to that of rival brands such as sennheiser, whom do not actually give you anything for the warranty you pay for.

Thanks for spending the time,
German quality is still on top

K-TRON

 

I plan to look at a couple of others.

I bought my first MMX300 a while back, and the review was based on the second recently bought for another PC. I still have need for a couple more headsets for not as heavy a use, so rather than equipping them with a lower-priced 'known component' - initially I had in mind the MMX 2 - I decided to choose some others. The G35 is up next as soon as I can find a shop which actually has it in stock, and not just claims they have it on their website , and I'll figure out what else to get later.