Beyerdynamic MMX 100 Gaming Headset Review: The Best $99 You Can Spend?

Gaming headsets have to straddle a very fine line. They need to be comfortable for long use, durable for inevitable abuse, and sound good. Plus, the consumer for gaming headsets often skews younger with less disposable income. Which means they have to do all that without costing too much. Enter the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset. At $99, they don’t break the bank so they check that box. But what about the rest? Let’s take a closer look.

Beyerdynamic MMX 100 Specs

Beyerdynamic MMX 100 Gaming Headset Fit and Finish

The Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset comes in either black and orange or grey and orange finishes. There is no included carrying case and they don’t fold up in any way. These are clearly meant to be used at home with your PC or gaming console. There is an MMX 150 version that has the same drivers but uses and USB connection with an internal DAC. If you have a decent soundcard, you can save about $30 going with 100’s over the 150’s.

The Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset is very light at 10.5 ounces. They sport an over-ear design with a detachable microphone. The clamping pressure from the earcups is very minimal and I found these to be very comfortable even after hours of use. There are controls on the left earcup for volume (a dial) and mute (a button). I particularly liked the mute button as you could feel when it was engaged or not (the button would be flush or protrude after each push). Many mute buttons I’ve used on gaming headsets make you guess whether or not they are engaged. This tactile feedback was very welcome.

If do have one real complaint with the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset, it is that they are plastic. While they might be light and comfortable, my first impression on picking them up was that they felt cheap. Now, $99 isn’t expensive, but these felt so light and plastic-y that I was immediately turned off. Spoiler alert: I did warm up to them. But it took a little while.

MMX 100 Cables

The Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset is truly made for gamers. You can tell that from the moment you open the box. It comes with not one but two thick cables sheathed in a fabric braid. One has 3.5mm to 3.5mm ends and the second has 3.5mm to dual 3.5mm ends. That second one confused me until I took a close look at the dual ends. They were labeled.

The dual cable spits out the mic and headphone functionality for plugging into a PC more easily. This is a very smart solution that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. The cables differ slightly in length with the dual end PC cable at 2 meters and the single end cable shorter at 1.2 meters. The extra length for the PC cable makes total sense allowing you to sit farther away.

MMX 100 Sound and Mic Quality

I primarily used the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 DAC/Preamp with the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset during the review. With sweeps, I could detect a little bit of a bass boost, but overall they had a fairly even response. If I had a problem with the construction, you could clearly hear that they skimped there in order to eek the most out of how these sound. I had to keep reminding myself that these were only $99 headphones. Were they as good as some headphones I’ve reviewed? No. But those cost at least 4x’s what the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset costs.

While there was definitely a little extra bass, it was pleasant and inoffensive. The instruments were realistic and engaging. Dr. Chesky’s Ultimate Headphone Demo Disc showed that the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset could hang with just about any other headphone at this price point.

I tested the microphone by plugging it directly into my laptop. I recorded some audio along with a sample from my podcasting setup. Understand that my podcasting gear includes an Audio-Technica mic and external DAC. I didn’t expect these to be comparable. You can listen to the audio below.

As you can hear, the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset mic is just fine for voice chat. Would you want to stream or podcast with it? Not really. But it is more than acceptable for calling for a res from your friends. Again, these cost $99!

If I did have a microphone complaint it is that it doesn’t extend very far from the earcup. I literally could not get it in front of my mouth. The best I could do was off to the side. While this might be by design because of the performance of the mic, I found that I was constantly adjusting it because it never felt like it was in the right place.

My Take

For $99, the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 gaming headset hits it out of the park. When my kids ask about a gaming headset, this is the one I’d buy all day long. If they rage quit and break them? They aren’t so expensive that my kids can’t earn enough allowance to replace them. Plus, they are getting a functional mic and really decent sound. And that last thing? That’s the most important part to me. I want my kids to hear decent sound quality. So that when they experience something that is not up to my standards, they realize something is wrong.

For more information visit Beyerdynamic.com.