When I first connected the beyerdynamic MMX 100 to my Xbox Series X through the Series X controller, I was very disappointed. The sound was hollow, very quiet, and had plenty of static with slight distortion in the left earcup. Thinking it was the controller, I tried a different one and had the same effect. However, once I used my old Xbox One controller the issue went away. Turns out, when you go into the Accessories app on the Xbox with a Series X controller, click the three dots menu, select volume, and turn headset volume up to 90 or 100%, Bob’s your uncle and the headphones with their 40mm drivers sound as they should — which is absolutely fantastic. There is plenty of bass, and the sound stage is great across various games including Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty: Warzone, Cyberpunk 2077, and my personal favourite for testing headphones: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

There’s simply no denying that Beyerdynamic has totally knocked it out of the park with the MMX 100. At $99, it’s an incredible bargain and I’d be hard-pressed to point out a more comfortable, better sounding one than this. The Steelseries Arctis Prime(opens in new tab) comes close in comfort but not for sound. Putting aside the volume dial issue on my particular unit, this is easily one of the best gaming headsets money can buy right now.

I’ve listened to casual-use headphones that cost twice as much as the MMX 100 that don’t sound nearly as good, and I am borderline perplexed by the highly affordable $99 price tag. Beyond being used for just gaming, anyone who is in the market for quality and affordable over-ears should keep an ear out for these.

In use, the MMX 100 boasts a rich soundscape with a great-sounding bass and pleasant audio range. The soundscape is precise for FPS gaming, and pleasant on the ears for music and movies, too.

Beyerdynamic sticks to what it knows best in this great-sounding but technologically simple gaming headset.

However, I love the fact that I can plug the unit into my PlayStation controller and get quality sound comfortably. Is it worth $100? Yeah, but there might be better units out there. The MMX-150 is the unit that stayed on my PlayStation, but not in the way that the designers intended. Having a cable run across the center of my room is not optimal. Had they made all these features available while plugging it into the controller, this would have been a stellar unit. Either way, you’re going to get a decent headset. Is this the greatest bang for your buck? Probably not. But they do the job for their price point.

The Beyerdynamic MMX 100 is a simple, well-made gaming headset. It's a little on the boring side for the price, but reliability definitely counts for something here. Some listeners may not like the quiet bass output, but it shouldn't affect in-game sounds too much, and might even make it easier to hear other sounds like footsteps. If you need a nice straightforward option, take note.

If you value precise reproduction, you might find what you’re after with these headphones, and the microphone also made quite a good impression. The volume control, on the other hand, was the biggest shortcoming and did not convince in our test.