Why You Can Trust CNET Beyerdynamic's First Wireless Gaming Headset Joins the Fray
The company expands its line of gaming headsets with its first wireless model.
Pro audio company Beyerdynamic jumps into the crowd going for gamers with its first wireless gaming headset. The MMX 200 wireless has all the specs you'd expect in a $249 headset, including low-latency wireless (which is usually 2.4GHz), Bluetooth and analog connections, memory foam and leatherette earpads, detachable boom mic and battery life rated for up to 35 hours. It's available now on the company's site in black or gray.
The specs will sound familiar if you've looked at other wireless gaming headsets, like the 40mm drivers and 20 Hz - 20,000Hz frequency response range -- it's all in the tuning. And in the brief time I had with my evaluation unit, it certainly seemed to have a wide soundstage and better than average lows. (It arrived too late for me to do a test or even play a game before the announcement -- a complete review is forthcoming.)
It's not incredibly light at 0.79 pound (258 g), but it's not bad. There's no active noise cancellation, but the snug fit and leatherette block out quite a bit of sound, and they have a transparency setting (Augmented mode) to let in ambient sound.
You switch between connections via the Bluetooth/logo button.
It's designed to last, as well. You can replace the earcups and the battery (though the latter isn't user replaceable).
It sounds like there are some downsides, though. You can't do simultaneous low-latency and Bluetooth wireless, only analog and Bluetooth, and there's no game/chat mix for it -- it's always 50/50. After only an hour wearing them, my ears were sweating in a perfectly temperate room. And the only software, other than the firmware updater, is on iOS and Android. Though the app has a hearing test, which I can't wait to take.