Help Needed: Beyerdynamic MMX 150 Sound Quality Issues

[mazya]

Hi, fellow listeners!

I recently upgraded to the Beyerdynamic MMX 150 USB headphones and ran into an unexpected issue. For context, I was previously using the Marshall Major 3 headphones, which, despite being heavily worn, served me well. I also used an old, cheap Logitech webcam for my microphone needs.

Looking to improve both my audio and mic setup, I picked up the MMX 150. I connected them via USB to the I/O on my ASRock x870e Taichi motherboard. The microphone quality is a massive improvement over the webcam—no complaints there. However, the sound quality is a different story.

The audio feels off—whether I’m gaming or listening to music, it’s just not right. I’ve tried multiple configurations:

• USB connection with or without the attachable microphone (3.5mm jack port on the headphones).
• Switching between USB-A and the 3.5mm jack. Oddly, the jack connection sounds even worse, and the mic quality drops significantly.
• Both I/O and front panel ports, with and without a jack splitter.

No matter what I do, the sound quality doesn’t match what I expected. Honestly, I’m struggling to believe these headphones could sound worse than my old Marshalls.

Any advice or suggestions? I’d really appreciate some help troubleshooting this!

Thanks in advance!

 

[dunring]

The free approach is install APO equalizer and Peace front end. Use the Autoeq preset for it on the button there. It'll load Harman curve tuning and that will help. Those are for 44.1khz, set windows to that and 24 bit. I have both versions of the MMX300, just hadn't tried the 150 though.

 

[mazya]

The free approach is install APO equalizer and Peace front end. Use the Autoeq preset for it on the button there. It'll load Harman curve tuning and that will help. Those are for 44.1khz, set windows to that and 24 bit. I have both versions of the MMX300, just hadn't tried the 150 though.

Thank you, I'll try this for sure, makes sense.
Also, what is non-free approach for USD headphones? I now for jacks I could by an amplifier.
But is something like this exists for USB audio devices? Or it's about something else?
Thank you.