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Beyerdynamic has an illustrious history dating back to 1924 and a reputation for delivering studio-grade audio products. The German family-owned business may have been sold to a Chinese electronics company last year, but with change comes opportunity.
And Beyerdynamic’s new owners, Cosonic Intelligent Technologies, sense opportunity in the gaming space. The brand is expanding its range of gaming headsets to include two new models priced more accessibly than its previous offerings: the Beyerdynamic MMX 100 and Beyerdynamic MMX 130. The two headsets cater for quite different crowds, with the MMX 100 being closed-back and the MMX 130 open-back. Both are designed to be part of your gaming setup for years to come, with fully interchangeable parts and replaceable batteries.
I got to try both out at the Indie Arena Booth at Gamescom last month. The boisterous environment wasn’t ideal for putting the open-back model through its paces, but I heard enough to be encouraged about how they’ll perform in a quiet room at home. So, without further ado, let’s look at what both offer and get into my experience using them on the show floor.
Beyerdynamic MMX 100: The closed-back option
- Price: £89
- Weight: 275g
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi dongle and Bluetooth 6.0
- Battery life: Up to 85hrs
- Driver size: 40mm
- Inputs: USB-C and 3.5mm
At £89, the MMX 100 is the cheapest gaming headset Beyerdynamic has ever released, but intentionally doesn’t fall into the “budget” bracket. It’s instead aimed at core gamers looking to upgrade from a cheap entry-level model, or aspirational casual gamers picking up their first headset and wanting something that will last more than a year or so.
The first thing that struck me about it was the build quality. The headband is flexible and incredibly durable; I actually expressed concern when the Beyerdynamic representative contorted it to show how far it can be pushed, but it survived the assault unscathed. It’s a reasonably attractive headset, too. The use of aluminium makes it a little heavier than some rivals at 275g, but it avoids the cheap, plasticky look and feel of many sub-£100 options.
The arm mic is the same as the one on the more expensive MMX 150 and can be removed, letting you use the headset as Bluetooth headphones via Bluetooth 6.0. However, for the most part you’ll be dialled in via the low-latency USB-C dongle. This is neatly stored inside a hidden compartment in one of the earcups: a really nice touch. Dual connectivity isn’t currently supported, though I was told this should be available via a firmware update by the end of the year.
The allure of velour
Another lovely design touch is the velour earpads lining the earcups. These are trademark Beyerdynamic and supremely comfortable. My one concern is over how warm (and sweaty) they’ll get during longer sessions. Five minutes in Hall 10.2 of the Koelnmesse was not a problem, but I dread to think how much perspiration they’d have absorbed if I’d worn them at home for extended periods this summer. For those who share my concerns, Beyer will be releasing textile earpads early next year.
On the sonic front, the closed-back Beyerdynamic MMX 100 uses 40mm drivers. And I enjoyed what I heard while playing Mario Kart World on the Switch 2. The funky soundtrack was well articulated, and the racing sound effects were nice and clear. I didn’t get a great sense of how well the headset handled low frequencies, except for the slight purr of the engines, but the default sound profile was well-balanced.
I also saw a few options in the Beyerdynamic companion app, which lets you customise a multifunction button on the headset and has several EQ presets for specific game genres, including Racing and Shooter. A desktop app is in the works for PC.
Beyerdynamic MMX 130: The open-back option
- Price: £109
- Weight: 265g
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi dongle and Bluetooth 6.0
- Battery life: Up to 85hrs
- Driver size: Titanium-coated 40mm
- Inputs: USB-C and 3.5mm
The MMX 130 looks and feels similar to the MMX 100, but there are key differences. The first, and most obvious, is that this headset is open-backed. This means that the outside of the headset’s earcups is perforated to let air move freely over the speaker drivers. The result is a more spacious, natural sound and a wider soundstage. The driver size is the same (40mm), but Beyerdynamic has used titanium-coated units to optimise open-back sound quality.
The open-back design has one big disadvantage: it leaves you at the mercy of your environment. During my brief ears-on time with the MMX 130, I played a couple of races in Mario Kart World and found myself a little distracted by ambient noise. What I could process from the headset sounded great; treble reproduction was particularly crisp, but I had to push the volume to the max to get a proper sense of the soundtrack. This will be far less of an issue at home, where one can appreciate the advantages of open-back listening without the drawbacks.
Marginal gains?
The MMX 130 is fractionally lighter than its MMX 100 counterpart, but I didn’t notice the difference when using them. I didn’t have long enough to appreciate the difference in earpad material either. The MMX 130 uses dual-layer pads with a breathable layer and a memory foam layer for additional comfort, but I would need to wear the headset longer to judge this.
The MMX 130 will be released in October, while the MMX 100 is available to buy now. Given the choice of the two, I’d go for the closed-back model, as I like to shut out the world when gaming (isn’t that the point?!). It’s really comfortable to wear and cuts out unnecessary fluff like RGB lighting in favour of strong sound quality at a competitive price. I can’t make a conclusive call on audio performance, but concerning wearability and functionality, both the MMX 100 and MMX 130 impress.
