Beyerdynamic MMX300 (2nd Gen) (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
Review Approach:
Beyerdynamic is a German-based audio specialist who primarily manufacture microphones, headphones, and conference technology. They were established 1924 in Berlin and today stand proud with with nearly 400 employees in their family. They live by their mission statement, which reads: "To design, engineer and manufacture superior quality professional audio products", and they certainly deliver in upholding those values.
- 32 ohms impedance.
- 96 dB nominal sound pressure level.
- 5 - 35,000 Hz frequency response.
- Polar pattern cardioid condenser microphone.
- Inline cable remote (2.5m and 1.2m cables included)
Immediately as you open the box you are greeted by both sets of cables, a 1/4 adapter and more importantly a travel case. I don't know too many headsets that come equipped with a complimentary travel case, and I appreciated this feature hugely as I quite often travel a couple of hours each way by train for various family and work related meetings or events.
Having produced music in the past I know that a decent set of headphones can be critical in allowing you to easily distinguish ranges of tones, underlying noises and any audible annoyances you may have inadvertently created. Sennheiser were always my go-to weapon of choice for sound deign, delivering loud crisp sound with virtually no interference and a pumping bass reflex for a relatively low price. In recent years I have become more a listener than a producer, and as such my demand for quality went out the window a little, with me being happy with something understated and not so bulky—after all, it was just for listening.
Putting on the MMX300 headset made me instantly re-appreciate the quality difference between £80-100 head sets and the £200+ upper eschelon; there is a huge range of tones and levels of sound that you just cannot achieve using cheaper speakers. Sure you get the gist of the song at hand, but you don't feel the subtleties and nuances in warmth and clarity that higher-end speakers would, and the MMX300 gen 2s certainly deliver in terms of warmth, richness and depth of sound that I had been ignorantly missing out on for a long time. Technically speaking a 5-35000khz (30ohms) range with 96dB pressure and 32 ohms impedance means you are guaranteed loud and expansive audio without losing any details at the upper or lower end of the spectrum, and with the incredible speakers used by Beyerdynamic you are in for an audible sensory treat. Everything is finely tuned and balanced to deliver a warmth that most headsets don't deliver, the majority of these sounding dulled down or cold in their tone, while this one is engineered to give warm and smooth-sounding audio. It was incredibly good to listen to sound tests and spacial effects to test it out, and I quite often found myself drifting away into the soundscapes and focusing on individual sounds to see if they would sound clipped out or crackly and to my surprise, not a single one failed to live up to my expectations—and for the princely £349 SRP, I had extremely high expectations regarding quality.
As mentioned before these are simply superb for a range of activities, including but not limited to gaming, music, and broadcast quality recording or streaming. The cardioid microphone is of special note here as it is a condenser microphone with higher sensitivity and lower noise than most other types of microphones, meaning that it is incredibly responsive in converting sound into electrical signal thanks to a wide frequency response and high transient response. Broadcasters could easily plug this in and start streaming without the need for bulky independent microphones, and even a studio at hand; this could be used on the go and still provide you with excellent quality regardless.
Using this headset for gaming, music, and movies, I found that my ears got very hot while encapsulated in their velour cups. Normally I find it takes a long time to have to adjust my headsets due to heat retention, but I found these very warm indeed. When considering the lack of inner or outer noise cancelling, the apparent lack of dampening or cooling for the ears feels like a missed opportunity. When it comes to comfort and seclusion, neither really hit the heights they could have.
One other small oddity I found was that the inline controller never truly 100% mutes the sound, it merely dwindles it down to say 1% of the volume. Fiddling around with the wheel I thought perhaps a satisfying click would signify muted volume or something, however this was not the case.
The Beyerdynamic MMX300 second generation gaming headset is a truly standout piece of kit for gamer, streamers and broadcasters. During the entire period I spent reviewing them I didn't experience any clicking, clipping, hissing or crackling, which I think truly reinforces the high build quality and technical finesse that Beyerdynamic have engineered into their products. Baring a couple of very minor things I would consider these as near perfect as I could imagine a headset needing to be. Beyerdynamic's website for the MMX300 series also features a section which allows for graphical customization of the cups, this means that if you are in a squad, team, clan, or gaming group and want to have your gaming handle and an image professionally inlaid into the headset's very material, you totally can!
Verdict
- Sturdy build quality, yet not too heavy which is good for extended periods of time
- Range of cables included for all possible needs
- Superior broadcast ready microphone and speaker quality
- Lack of noise cancelling or airflow