TL;DR Version: Did you find this article from a search and are interested in what headset does Ninja use? The answer is the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO Studio Headphones (250 Ohm version) coupled with a Creative Sound Blaster X7 USB DAC/Amp. If you want to mimic Ninja's gaming headset setup, but don't have a DAC/AMP, you can get the 80 Ohm version.
With the wildly successful rise of Fortnite, Epic Games increased their company's net worth by several multiples as well as increased the fame and fortune of popular gamers or streamers like Ninja. The popularity of the title has expanded the world of eSports into the mainstream and among the youth who idolize popular Fortnite streamers and pro gamers in the gaming community.
Who is Richard Tyler Belvins aka Ninja?
Richard Tyler Blevins aka Ninja is a 27-year-old American Twitch streamer and influencer who lives in Chicago, IL. Ninja has been in the competitive gaming scene for over a decade now with his start being a professional Halo player then moving to games like H1Z1, PUBG, and most recently, Fortnite.
While Ninja was relatively successful in his gaming and streaming endeavors, his life changed dramatically with the success of Fortnite and its mainstream popularity.
Part of this success and stardom came when Ninja was invited to play on stream with the rap and music mogul Drake of which 600,000 people tuned in to watch.
Since the meteoric rise, Ninja has held the title for the most subscribers on Twitch at any given time and received sponsorships from companies like UberEats, RedBull, and NZXT.
When Microsoft attempted to compete with Twitch by launching their Mixer game streaming service (now shut down), Ninja was the first streamer and gaming influencer to get an exclusive contract worth a ton of money to switch from his usual streaming platform.
What Model is Ninja's Gaming Headset?
So what headset does Ninja use when streaming? His preference is actually a pair of professional headphones over any of the gaming headsets on the market (unlike Tyler1). There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing gaming headphones over gaming headsets which we will get into more in the next section. However, the sound quality is stellar coming from Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO headphones which are Ninja's headphones of choice.
- Open over-ear headphones, ideal for professional mixing, mastering and...
- Perfect for studio applications thanks to their transparent, spacious,...
- The soft, circumaural and replaceable velour ear pads ensure high wearing...
- Hard-wearing, durable and robust workmanship - Made in Germany
Ninja uses the 250 Ohm headphone model in the grey color variant, but this won't work unless you have a DAC or amp to properly power these headphones. Ninja powers his headphones using the Creative Sound Blaster X7 USB DAC/AMP which is pricey but it gets the job done without much complication and allows it to offer high fidelity sound.
- 24-BIT 192KHZ HIGH-RES AUDIO FOR GREAT SOUND QUALITY – Hear more details...
- KICKASS 100W STEREO AMPLIFIER – Highly efficient amplifier lets you enjoy...
- KNOCK-OUT QUALITY DAC WITH DOLBY DIGITAL DECODING – The Burr-Brown...
- CLASS-LEADING HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER – top-of-the-range TPA6120A2 headphone...
What Are The Technical Specifications Of Ninja’s Headphones?
The DT990 PRO from Beyerdynamic is a pair of over-ear studio headphones meant for professional music mixing, mastering, editing, and listening. This model features an open-back design meaning you'll get the best soundstage reproduction. However, you'll experience enough sound leaks that others may be able to hear your gaming noise in the same room.
In terms of construction, this model is made in Germany and offers a durable design with soft, circumaural velour ear pads on each headphone that are replaceable. There is a single-sided 3m coiled cable with a 3.5mm native connection and 3.5mm to 1/4″ adapter included with purchase. These are wired headphones, and you won't find wireless or Bluetooth support like in some newer gaming headsets.
Ninja uses the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO headphones over a traditional gaming headset as it offers the superior sound quality, but be warned it does suffer from hardware limitations and a lack of an integrated mic. This will require you to have a separate dedicated microphone in order to communicate while playing an online multiplayer PC game like Fortnite or Warzone.
The most important thing to understand is that the 250 Ohm headphones Ninja uses cannot be powered properly by most PC computers' native soundcard. This complicated things as you'll need a DAC (aka digital to analog converter) or amplifier to produce enough power to drive these headphones to proper audio levels to achieve the noise and sound quality that they were designed to offer.
If you wish to avoid this dilemma and still be as close to rocking Ninja's headset then you can purchase the 80 ohm version which has as high of sound capabilities but has lower power requirements thus allowing you to directly plug in these headphones to your computer without any DAC or amp required.
- Open over-ear headphones for Professional mixing, mastering, editing, and...
- Perfect for studio applications thanks to their transparent, spacious,...
- The soft, and replaceable velour ear pads ensure high wearing comfort
- Hard-wearing, durable and robust workmanship - made in Germany
