Performance

The beyerdynamic MMX 300 headset is really interesting because it is beyerdynamic's first go at designing a gaming headset. The MMX 300s bear a close resemblance to the company's well performing DT770s which have been around for ages. It is clear that the MMX 300s are not a set of DT770s with a microphone attached. The MMX 300s are way easier to drive and have a slightly deemphasized low end compared to the stock DT770s thus giving them a more mid centric sound. Sound stage performance wise this headset is ahead of the pack. Compared to the Razer Carcharias and Megalodon the MMX 300s are just so much better in all aspects. Before we began critical listening, the headset had been burning in for over 200 hours.


Besides in-game tests done with a Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic this headset was also tested with the following DAPs: Cowon D2, HiFiMAN HM-801 (standard amplifier module) and via line out to FiiO E5, and last but not least on the iPhone 4. What surprised me was just how easy these headphones are to power. Out of the XtremeMusic you get an extremely pleasing sound quality, and the story is the same even when powered from an iPhone 4 which has a less powerful amplification stage.

Unlike many other higher end headsets from big manufacturers beyerdynamic are producing the MMX 300 in Germany along with their other headphones, and not getting them produced off site by some OEM vendor. The top notch build and assembly quality makes the MMX 300s almost unbreakable. Everything about the headset just feels so incredibly well made and there is no slack in any of the joints.

While the amount of bass is good for theatrics in games and music listening it does not serve a purpose when it comes to competitive gaming. I think there is something to be gained by turning down the bass for gaming with this headset in order to let the mids and highs be even more pronounced. This is easily done with the equalizer of any modern sound card. The MMX 300s are slightly warm sounding with a boost in the bass department and a focused midrange. For "fun" gaming where you are just playing against the computer the bass is great because it adds to the thrill. For online games where positional audio is important it can be a bit too much.

The midrange conveys details way better than any headset I have ever heard. This is great because 90% of the in-game positional clues exist in this frequency scoop. The high end is not bad either it is just less detailed. Detail wise it is good enough for gaming because you are clearly able to distinguish critical sounds from background noise.

The USB sound card sounds like that of any other mid end solution I have come across in the past year. The trouble with the USB sound cards in general is that you have to fit both a DAC and two amplifiers inside it. To add to the problem, the USB port can only supply 5V and 500-900 mA, which means the manufacturer have to use chips that are suboptimal due to these limitations. Another issue with USB attached audio devices is high amounts of jitter. Currently the MMX 300s are not available without the USB sound card which is a shame because it is barely usable and is most likely the most expensive part of the bundle.