Bayer Dynamic is renowned for its well-designed and tuned headphones. Its headphones can be found almost anywhere in the world where audio mastering takes place. Now, Bayer Dynamic has introduced the MMX 100 gaming headset.

The $99 MMX 100 is not the company's first gaming headset; that honor belongs to the Tygr 300 R. The MMX 100 is a closed-back, over-the-ear, wired gaming headset that works with anything that uses a 3.5mm audio output.

It comes in two colors, black and an almost beige gray, both with bright orange accents around the connection ports and controls. The overall aesthetic is professional for the gaming studio and, surprisingly, is one of the better looking gaming headsets around.

Beyerdynamic uses lightweight materials for both the headband and the massive circular ear cups, with plenty of shape-memory foam cushioning. The cushions are wrapped in synthetic leather, which is plush and soft to the touch. You can wear them all day without feeling tired. If the factory pads are not to your liking, they can be easily replaced with a simple twist mechanism.

The hanger that attaches the cups to the headband is adjustable in tilt and height to better fit different head shapes. The only controls are volume and microphone mute, which are located on the left ear cup and cannot be missed thanks to their bright orange color.

There is also a 3.5mm cable and a port for a detachable boom microphone. beyerdynamic offers a 1.2m cable for use with a laptop or console controller and a longer 2m cable for use with a PC. The cable does transmit a fair amount of friction noise to the left ear cup, but as long as you don't move around, it shouldn't be a problem.

The overall build quality is very good, but there is one really annoying issue. On my unit, there was quite a bit of static on the right ear cup when adjusting the volume, often causing the audio on the right side to cut out completely, while there was also quite a bit of play that would rock back and forth without changing the volume. This was mainly when the volume was turned to maximum. A slight adjustment of the volume would fix the audio, but it was most unpleasant for such a well-made headset, and I honestly would like to believe that it was just my particular sample and not something systemic.

What is not in question, however, is the audio performance. The custom-tuned 40mm dynamic drivers have an excellent frequency response from 5-30,000Hz, which simply put, means they have excellent dynamic range across the spectrum. And unlike power-hungry headphones with Bayer Dynamic, the MMX 100's tiny 32 ohm impedance allows it to operate flawlessly without extra amplification

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They produce a rich soundstage that is surprisingly wide for sealed headphones, filling your head with clean, detailed audio. Bass is very finely tuned, without the distortion and boomy quality that is common in most gaming headsets. The mids and highs are very sharp, bringing out all the little details and audio cues like footsteps and reloading sounds.

In Shadow Warrior 3, I could easily hear Lo Wang's dubious humor in the middle of a gunfight as well as the sounds of blood splatter and gravy splatter. In the wonderful Guardians of the Galaxy, I could accurately capture my fellow Guardians bantering and teasing around me while bobbing my head to the nostalgic 80s soundtrack.

I also really enjoyed listening to music on the MMX 100. From orchestral and choral ensembles to work lo-fi beats to hip-hop, this headset lives up to the Bayer Dynamic name. It is also very comfortable and I can use it all day long on work calls.

The boom mic is similarly excellent with crisp, clean vocal reproduction and natural tone. Because of the lack of noise canceling capability, I pick up background noise, such as the sound of a passing train. On audio recordings, I could hear the moment I swallowed my saliva.

There is no denying that Bayer Dynamic has completely knocked it out of the park with the MMX 100. $99 is an incredible bargain, and it would be hard to name anything more comfortable and better sounding. Steelseries' Arctis Prime comes close in comfort but the sound is not as good. Volume dial issues aside, this is one of the best gaming headsets money can buy right now.

If you're looking for a new headset, be sure to check out our Best Gaming Headsets Guide.