Born Tyler Blevins (born June 5, 1991), you probably know him by his screen alias: Ninja. While he has been gaming since his early days on Halo 3, he is better known as the most popular Twitch streamer and the game Fortnite and more recently Valorant.
As of December 2020, he has over 6.5M Twitter followers, 24M Youtube Subscribers, and is the most popular streamers on Twitch with live streams on his Twitch account with 16.5M followers.
But if you play Fortnite or Valorant and landed here you don’t need the introduction and we’re guessing you’re probably really here to see what headphones he wears, check out game settings and other gear that he uses.
Here’s the tweet where Ninja mentions changing from his previous “gaming headset” to the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro Studio Headphones. He said he already was loving the improved sound quality within 5 minutes of taking them out of the box! It’s a surprising move from one of the most followed gaming streamers on the planet to pick a headset with no mic!
At the end of this article, you’ll find the most current setup we’ve seen Ninja using while live streaming. We update this page regularly so this is the most current setup we could find and the ones we are using to play. Also, if you’re interested, scroll down to find out what current gear Ninja is using to play Fornite.
Continue reading below to see the mic and other accessories that he pairs with his headphones. Check out the other top Fortnite players and headsets they use here and be sure to check out the headphones that rival“Tfue” wears.
Contents
What Headphones / Headset Does Ninja Use?
As we mentioned at the start of the article, Ninja actually switched in 2017 from a gaming headset to studio quality, over-ear headphones by Beyerdynamic. Over the years we’ve reviewed tons of gaming headsets and most pro gamers are using headsets specifically marketed for gaming (like HyperX, SteelSeries, and Turtle Beach).
We’ve recommended gaming headsets like the SteelSeries Arctis 7 and a big reason why those headsets land at the top of our list is the quality of the microphone’s clarity and the fact that the mic is retractable – which is a cool feature if you are playing solo or just using it for listening (i.e. watching Ninja live) and then pull out the mic when you are playing multiplayer.
So for Ninja to move away from gaming sets and buy a studio-quality pair of headphones was unexpected.
The DT990 Pros are really known for having audiophile-level sound quality and are used by music and sound technicians for professional mixing & mastering, and editing.
Click here to check the current price of the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro on Amazon.
It makes total sense that he would be impressed by the sound quality compared to a dedicated gaming headset since the headphones by Beyerdynamic will beat out almost any gaming set on sound alone.
In that original tweet, Ninja also confirms that he also runs his 990s through this Sound Blaster X7 AMP/DAC by Creative.
You don’t have run out and spend a few hundred bucks on an amplifier, but if you’re going to invest in quality studio headphones like the DT990 at some point you’ll probably want to add an AMP to get the most out of your investment. When you play music or other sounds (gaming) through your PC it goes through a Digital-Analog Converter (DAC) and an amplifier. The built-in amplifiers on most PCs are pretty low-quality which is where an external one is needed, without one you won’t get the real benefit of the high-end headphones.
As of 2019, Ninja makes about $16,666 a DAY so he can afford to drop a few hundred on an AMP!
But for most of us, that’s a chunk of change to spend on top of the price of good headphones. While you may not want or need to invest that much, an amplifier and DAC can really boost the sound quality and let you hear more details when playing fortnight.
If you’re not familiar with headphone Amps start here, the article helps explain if you really need one for your model of headphones and also gives some cheaper solutions.
This article gives recommended DACs/Amps for Beyerdynamic headphones, including several affordable options on that list that would also be good picks for the 990s.
If you do consider buying the 990s, just FYI-there is also a Premium Edition of the DT 990 with the 250 Ohm and a high-impedance 600 Ohm version. Even better sound, but if you get these you definitely want to get an AMP.
However, these are NOT the headphones that Ninja currently wears in 2020.
You can tell from all the pictures (see below) that he wears the “standard” 990 Pros, not the premium.
(His headphones have the “DT 990 PRO” written on the horizontal dark grey band that goes across the middle of the outside of the cans.
The premium model does not have this band, the venting is all grey or black depending on which color you choose-without and branding or horizontal band, just the words “990 Pro” at the bottom)
If you are considering new gaming headphones click here to see the difference between the Beyerdynamic DT 990 vs. DT 880 vs DT 770.
Another key thing to consider with these and the reason why they are ignored by most gamers – they do NOT have a mic. So if you are looking at buying these- unless you want to be left out of the conversation- you’d have to buy a separate free-standing microphone (see mic below that Ninja uses)
If you want to play like Ninja, you can check out his settings. He’s also written a complete guide to gaming here:
Here’s a recent Instagram post by Ninja on wearing the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro headphones.
When Ninja travels he’s been seeing wearing Bose QuietComfort noise-canceling headphones.
Another shot of Ninja with Bose headphones.
He’s another pic of Ninja wearing a blue pair of Bose headphones (Offline=Bose, Streaming=Beyerdynamic)
Another pic wearing the 990s
Here’s a throwback of Ninja wearing his old gaming headset before he switched to the Beyerdynamic studio headphones.
This is actually Ninja’s very FIRST Instagram post! (Nov 2015)
What Microphone Does Ninja Use?
So, having just mentioned that Ninja switched from a gaming headset to a pair of headphones with no mic… your next question might be what mic he actually uses. In recent videos, we’ve seen him talking into this Audio Technica AT2035 Cardioid Condenser Microphone. While it’s true that if you by non-gaming headphones with no mic you’ll need to have something to talk into…you don’t necessarily need this high-end one.
Keep in mind that Ninja is a professional gamer and streamer and needs a top-quality mic but realistically most people out there are not going to be needed this kind of sound quality.
If you are just gaming for fun and need a separate mic to pair up with your headphones, you may want to check out the Samson Go which is a decent quality portable USB mic at a pretty affordable price.
But by all means, if you are a streamer with a following or just getting into streaming on youtube or Twitch you might want to make the investment in the Audio Technica mic that Ninja uses or one with similar quality to improve the sound quality of your game recordings or live commentary.
Gaming Chair Ninja Uses:
If you’ve watched Ninja on Youtube or Twitch before you’ve probably seen the black and blue gaming chair that he sits in.
That’s the DXRacer Racing Series. This line of chairs is really popular and you’ve probably seen other YouTubers and streamers on Twitch sitting in this same model chair or one of the others from the DX Racing line. They are most known for comfort and the ergonomic design with the high back and headrest.
The chair reclines to nearly 90° which makes it relaxing to lean back in and has adjustable armrest heights which are key to be able to adjust it to your desk height. These chairs don’t come cheap but are one of those things that might need to go on your wish list.
The installation on these is pretty simple. You don’t even need any tools except for the Allen wrench key that comes in the box.
As of 2020, Ninja is now sitting in a Maxnomic gaming chair. You can see him here sitting in it. Check out all Maxnomic Gaming Chairs on Amazon here or see the brands website here.
Mouse Ninja Uses:
2019 Update: Through a collaboration with FinalMouse and Ninja, the company has created a gaming mouse called the Air58. The mouse has “Ninja Air58″ across the font of the mouse and the scroll button has Japanese characters representing Haiku Scrolls. The Air58 comes in Mystic Blue and Cherry Blossom Red.
The last time I caught a glimpse of Ninja’s mouse on Youtube he was using a Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum mouse. You can also see the settings below in the second print screen where it shows how he sets the sensitivity to make sure you get the same kind of responsiveness he gets with his mouse.
The G502 is known as one of the best-selling gaming mouses out there, although it does come in at about $20 less.
The G502 uses the PMW3366 gaming sensor, considered Logitech’s most accurate and responsive optical sensor to date. The mouse is fully customizable with custom lighting, surface tuning and you can, of course, customize the buttons and scroll wheel response sensitivity.
The mouse is compatible with Windows 7 and above and for Apple users it works on Mac OS X 10.10 and later.
Monitor & Keyboard:
Monitor: Ninja plays using the Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor. This full HD monitor features an impressive 240Hz native refresh for a buttery smooth display.
Keyboard: At last check, he was using a Corsair K70 Rapidfire RGB Gaming Keyboard
The following print screens are from live streams by Ninja
Ninja Fortnite Screen Resolution Settings (Video/Screen)
Here you can see his screen resolution settings:
| Ninja’s Screen Settings | |
|---|---|
| Window Mode | Fullscreen |
| Display Resolution | 1920×1080 16:9 |
| Frame Rate Limit | 240 FPS |
| 3D Resolution | 1920×1080 |
| View Distance | Epic |
| Shadows | Off |
| Anti-Aliasing | Off |
| Textures | Epic |
| Effects | Epic |
| Post Processing | Low |
| Vsync | Off |
| Motion Blur | Off |
| Show FPS | On |
Ninja Fortnite Sensitivity Settings
This is one of the most searched for settings- the one specific to Sensitivity setup, here are the most recent settings we’ve seen while watching Ninja.
Ninja Fortnite Keybinding Settings (Input)
Here are a few screenshots of the Keybinding settings that Ninja is using in Fortnite, it’s a long list of settings and he scrolls through them very quickly so we had to break it up in a few different print screens.
Hopefully, this article answered your questions about Ninja’s set up and gear.
We’ll update this post as we find out more about what gear he uses. If he changes any setup or buys and new gaming gadgets.
If you have any questions, comments, or see something that we need to update, please leave us a comment below. Thanks!
Ninja uses the Air58 mouse by Finalmouse.
Thanks for catching that, we’ve updated the list.