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If you’re thinking: “But they said Hyper X Quadcast is the ultimate for speech and everyday life!” – Yes, that’s true. Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple in the audio segment – because beyond the “everyday/productivity” land comes the deep valley of studio and audiophiles, and that’s where we’re now entering with this set from Beyerdynamic. The set consists of the Beyerdynamic Fox as a microphone and the DT990 Pro as headphones – Beyerdynamic offers these sets in different versions depending on the application.
Microphone: Beyerdynamic Fox
And so we start with the “Fox” – a massive USB microphone with cardioid characteristic (what happens in front of the microphone is recorded, what happens behind it is not), which was designed for speech, podcasts, vocals and instrument miking. The large-diaphragm condenser capsule with 24-bit/96 kHz recording is firmly established in the studio segment. The front panel features a latency-free headphone output, a mute button, a “mixer” between headphones and PC and a headphone volume control. And a gain switch for switching between vocals and instruments is located at the rear.
Otherwise, there are only the bare essentials in the box – a 2 metre long Beyerdynamic orange USB-C cable and a rudimentary but functional stand. There is a 3/8″ thread on the underside for the usual tripods and microphone arms – an adapter is recommended for 5/8″ threads. The controls are also kept simple: Headphone output volume, headphone/computer audio mix, that’s it.
What sounds relatively succinct now is actually everything – in contrast to other microphones that we have previously tested, the Fox is spartanly equipped and focusses on the recording – the quality. How good is it?
Well, let’s put it this way: you shouldn’t eat anything that makes your stomach bubble before a video conference. Alternatively, you can use Nvidia Broadcast or other tools with ambient noise filters to reduce the embarrassment to a tolerable level. So if you work in a noisy environment, you will also pass on the noise to the other side and have to turn it down or filter it.
What’s more, it has “specialised” in the basics – it is recognised by every computer, requires no special drivers and can be set up in Audition or similar with just one click. The supplied cable is also not vulnerable if you leave a mobile phone or similar next to it. The other technical specifications are listed in the box on the next page.
Another feature is the compact design – the Fox fits into a standard microphone spider and you are protected from vibrations. Especially if you like to type hard (either because you are a coarse motorist or because you type furiously with the two fingers reserved for this purpose), this is transmitted to the microphone as a muffled knocking and, given the sensitivity, you can wake up everyone in the meeting with a targeted clap on the table top, but you don’t always want that. Depending on the application, it may therefore be necessary to provide attenuation here.
Headphones: DT 990 PRO
The DT 990 Pro is an open headphone for studio use – and if you’re thinking: “This thing looks familiar”: Yes, we had a picture of it in the last issue in 3D Audio Part 1. But with the horde of headphones, why this one of all things? First of all: No RGB, no frills: A robust headband made of spring steel (and therefore without plastic creaking) with high wearing comfort thanks to soft head and ear pads (ear pads are available in “leather” or “velvet”. We tested velvet, of course, because anything else would damage our reputation even more).
The DT990 is available in different versions, from 32 ohms to 80 to 250 and 600 ohms – so you can choose the right device depending on your amplifier. There are also different “editions” – silver, black, black with a red band (“Manufaktur”) and others – but the sound is always the same, so we won’t go into that in detail here. The device is designed for studio use – the sound reproduction is clean, with a wide stereo image and an open design that makes it possible to perceive the surroundings – and in our personal opinion provides a better sense of space.
The lack of complete isolation from the environment, as is the case with earbuds and most gaming headphones, for example, means that the sound can be reproduced very precisely and accurately, which means that previously undetected sounds can be heard in your favourite songs. Another advantage is that you are not cut off from your surroundings and can hear what is happening. But the first week of testing was constantly accompanied by the question: “Did someone say something?”. The distinction between “happening inside the headphones” and “happening outside” takes some getting used to. But of course 3D audio also works particularly well in this way. However, if something like this is very irritating, you should probably choose the closed design – Beyerdynamic has options for this, and we just wanted to warn you.
Of course, your colleagues will hear what you hear – but let’s be honest: if they don’t have good taste in music, it’s their problem. Single-sided cable routing, a weight of 340 grams and the smooth-running ear cups ensure that the thing sits firmly and comfortably on your head all day (single-sided cable routing so that nothing flies around in front of your body on both sides) and because it’s wired, you don’t have to pair Bluetooth or charge anything. It’s now the only device on my desk that’s always available and never needs charging!
Pros
The sound of the headphones makes you realise what the difference is between “consumer”, “gaming” and “studio” – the first two weeks were like discovering the old classics all over again, because many things on inferior headphones – or, to be fair, on headphones intended for other purposes – simply disappeared. In the mic and headphone combo, it’s depressing how much you miss – and more than once, thanks to the pass-through and comfortable design, we just left the headphones on all day (Pluralis Majestatis – I did it. You don’t have to do it that way!), and if someone was talking, or there was any noise, the mic in the combo is good enough that it basically passes right through, and you can balance music and the outside world beautifully – as much of the outside world as you can stand.
If you want to get even more surround sound out of the whole thing, you can use Dolby Access(bit.ly/dolbyaccess), for example, to get even better surround sound, or try out “Windows Sonic for headphones” – this is integrated into Win11 free of charge. But be careful: this is where you enter the realm of audiophiles, and that’s where it gets expensive.
The build quality is impeccable – stable, nothing squeaks or creaks, all connections are clean, it doesn’t smell of plastic, and it’s durable enough to be used every day for years. Another advantage of studio headphones is the accessories – if the ear pads are sticky after a hot summer, a replacement pack directly from the manufacturer costs just over 20 euros, and if several people are to use them – for example as an “audio booth” in the studio – there are replaceable hygienic pads in a pack of five.
And the advantage that we liked most, apart from the sound quality, is that there are no bells and whistles, no goodies and no unnecessary features – plug it in and you’re done. You don’t need any software,
no updates, no drivers, nothing – it’s a USB microphone and jack headphones. Windows and Mac even recognise it by name, and on four (!) test computers there was never even a need to plug it in a second time – USB in and you’re done. We’ve never seen it like this before.
Cons
No success without criticism – the package is functional and fulfils its purpose exactly, and that very well. However, we would like the headphones to have a replaceable cable in case the cat wants to make itself heard and gnaws through the cable – different cable lengths would also be practical.
So if you’re worried about such cases, you should go for the DT 900 PRO X from Beyerdynamic – with a replaceable cable. Otherwise there are no other complaints, the part is perfect. One of the “cons” of the microphone is the “mute” button – as soon as you press it, it flashes orange – you can’t miss it, but if you want to mute for longer, it’s a bit annoying. Perhaps a different solution for the Fox 2? In everyday use, we simply covered it with a piece of adhesive tape.
And the Fox is also quite heavy – with a weight of almost a pound, it is too heavy for the cheap microphone arms – but we already have something for the next issue in the everyday test (keyword: Yellowtec). If you have a proper microphone arm, you won’t have a problem here either – we just want to say it.
Conclusion
So is the package and its components worth it? Yes, we think so – otherwise we wouldn’t present it as the “best solution” – you get equipment from the professional sector. This means stable, no frills and wonderfully predictable results – so if you don’t just want to sound good in video calls and webinars, but also want to do voice overs and music, the bundle is a good choice. However, you also need to know exactly how to control it – and given the build quality, there are few other technology components that come as close to “future-proof”. And simply put, the headphones are the best we’ve ever had on our ears.
