beyerdynamic MMX 150 review: A wired gaming headset with excellent audio

beyerdynamic is a high-end audio brand that you may or may not have heard of before. They’re pretty big in the audiophile scene and are also used by professionals. The company doesn’t just offer headphones for audiophiles, but they sell gaming headsets too. The MXX 150 USB Gaming Headset is one of the latest gaming headsets from beyerdynamic and is a great combination of the company’s signature sound and their love for gaming.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

The beyerdynamic MMX 150 wired gaming headset has many features including a control wheel that lets you mute/unmute yourself, an augmented mode, memory foam earpads, and 40mm drivers. Continue to read our full review below.

Specifications

Headphone type	Closed
Transmission type	Wired
Nominal impedance (headphones)	32 Ohms
Headphone frequency response	5 – 30,000Hz
Nominal sound pressure level	116 dB
Sound coupling to the ear	Circumaural (around the ear)
Polar pattern for microphone	Cardioid
Transducer type (microphone)	Electret condenser – Cardioid
Earpad material	Soft skin, memory foam filling
Remote	Clickable control wheel
Weight (w/o cable)	304g
Cable & Plug	1.2m analog cable for devices with a 4-pin jack connector and 2.4m USB cable for PC, pluggable.

What’s in the box

• beyerdynamic MMX 150 USB Gaming Headset
• USB-C to USB-A cable, 2.4m (7.9ft)
• USB-C to 4-pole 3.5mm jack (CTIA) cable, 1.2m (3.9ft)
• microphone pop shield

Design

beyerdynamic’s MMX 150 Gaming Headset follows suit when it comes to design aesthetics for a gaming headset. At the same time, it keeps the familiar look of some of their audiophile headphones, such as the DT 770 PRO or the DT 1990 PRO.

Beginning with the outside earcups, you’ll see a “Y” in nice large lettering with MMX 150 just below it. The MMX 150’s come in either off-white or black (our review unit was the white version), so the same lettering will be the opposite of the main earcup color. Regardless of the color you get, there will be an orange line in front of the MMX 150 lettering that blends in with the outside microphone hole.

There isn’t a whole lot going on with this headset. In other words, it’s nice not to have a bunch of buttons to feel around for. The left side has a control wheel towards the back with an LED ring around it. This is used for controlling the volume, muting and unmuting, and augmented mode. On the bottom is a Type-C port for connecting your headset via USB-A or 3.5mm port. Towards the front is where the microphone clicks in. The mic is set at a nice distance between being connected to the MMX 150 and your face.

The headset as a whole is held by an aluminum headband that is durable enough to protect against any drops, all while delivering a premium look. At the top of the band, beyerdynamic’s logo is etched into the plastic, while the bottom portion of the band has artificial leather and memory foam for added comfort during long gaming sessions. Towards the bottom of the headband, on the inside, there is an “L” and an “R” dictating which side of your head the headset will sit on. Below that are the earcups that have more artificial leather memory foam.

Lastly, beyerdynamic has included both USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to 3.5mm 4-pole cables to allow for connectivity to more devices. Both are individual cables but are braided to add extra durability over long periods of using beyerdynamic’s gaming headset.

The MMX 150 is a comfortable gaming headset. I didn’t feel too much pressure after wearing the headset for a couple of hours.

Ease of Use

For the most part, the MMX 150 are plug-and-play, so they are very easy to use. With the 1.2m analog to 4-pin jack connector and the 2.4m USB-A to USB-C for PC, it’s a matter of plugging one end to the headphones and the other end into a gaming controller, PC, or mobile device (if it still has a 3.5mm audio jack).

There are a couple of functions that are featured on the MMX 150 gaming headset. The first is the ability to mute yourself, which is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re looking to mute or unmute yourself while gaming, press the control wheel briefly until you hear a high-pitched tone. A red LED light will appear at the end of the microphone, letting you know you’re muted. You can unmute the headset in the same way. Press the control wheel again, and you’ll hear a lower-pitched tone. That red LED will disappear to let you know others can hear you again.

The second big feature of the MMX 150 is an augmented mode. This mode allows the headphones to work as if you can hear your surroundings. To use the augmented mode, press and hold the control wheel for two seconds. From there, you’ll be able to hear all your surroundings. To disable augmented mode press and hold the control wheel for another two seconds. When the augmented mode is enabled, a turquoise indicator light near the back of the headphones lights up. While others around you can see this, you can’t and there isn’t a tone that plays detailing which mode you’re in. You have to pay close attention, but should be able to tell if you can hear your surroundings. Or, at least that was the case for me.

The only explanation why I scored 90 out of 100 in this category is because of one small issue. No tone for the augmented mode feature. If beyerdynamic included this option, it would have been a perfect score. However, I do understand if they weren’t trying to mix different tones to distinguish between being on mute and augmented mode.

Software

Unfortunately, beyerdynamic doesn’t offer any sort of software that will allow you to enhance the sound quality or set personal preferences. Personally, it would have been nice to see beyerdynamic have some sort of software for PCs, but it is what it is.

Sound

beyerdynamic is known for its amazing sound quality in their consumer and professional headphones, so it’s only natural that the sound quality in the MMX 150s follows suit. I quite enjoyed how well the sound came through the 40mm drivers.

While using the headset for gaming, especially Esports/AAA titles such as Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, Halo, and Overwatch, I could easily hear footsteps, guns being fired, and so on. Just being able to hear things that you may not be able to with other headphones can give you a slight advantage when the moment comes to win a match or rack up your K/D score.

Of course, I didn’t only use the headset for gaming. I tested them with music and while editing some videos. When it came to music, the highs, mids, and lows were balanced enough despite there not being any software to change the sound quality. The bass wasn’t too enhanced or overwhelming. As with most headsets, I reviewed and listened to various music genres to get a feel of how they all sounded. Each genre was nice in its own way, but for those who prefer hard rock or hip-hop, you’ll get more bass out of it. Now, that’s not to say the treble was drowned out. You can still clearly hear every instrument and the vocals.

Editing some video footage was also pleasant. Granted, not much could be going on in a specific video clip, but just to be able to hear any little noise is beneficial at the end of the day.

Microphone

Microphone quality is something people will look into. And that includes if it’s a gaming headset. It’s a matter of “can people hear what I’m saying?” while in a match. Not being able to communicate is a huge issue in team matches.

It didn’t matter what game I was playing while using the beyerdynamic MX150 gaming headset. The quality was more than adequate, including when using Discord. People could hear me clearly and didn’t bring up any concerns about with not understanding what I was saying. Thanks to the polar pattern of the mic being cardioid, it allows sound to come in from the front, or in this case, from my mouth. Outside sounds were blocked out as much as possible, and that’s a great advantage so others don’t hear any background noise.

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Price

If you’re interested in purchasing a pair of the MMX 150s from beyerdynamic, they are priced at US$149. Of course, you don’t have to use these headphones as just a gaming headset if you’re mobile device has a 3.5mm headphone jack. Regardless, $150 is a common price point for a well-rounded pair of headphones.

Wrap Up

There are many different gaming headsets from different manufacturers, giving gamers plenty of choices. beyerdynamic has created a great gaming headset in the MMX 150. Everything about these headphones is high-quality, from the memory foam earcups to the sleek design to the length of the included cables. A couple of minor changes, like adding a tone indicator when toggling augmented mode and software to tweak the audio when used on a PC would only make these better.

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