Understanding powder catchment at the melt pool in laser Directed Energy Deposition (DED-LB) is a critical issue for process stability and more efficient material utilization. Monitoring the melt pool by optical and thermal imaging techniques provides valuable insights into the process dynamics, whereas the potential of acoustic emission (AE) data as an alternative for real-time assessment of powder flow and catchment at the melt pool is still unclear. Therefore, this study explores the feasibility of using side-by-side structure-borne and airborne acoustic emission sensors to detect powder-laser interactions in DED-LB. Tests were conducted with a Yaskawa Motoman robotic system integrated with a 10 kW IPG fiber laser, varying laser power (400-1400 W), scanning speed (5-15 mm/s), and powder mass flow rate (4-10 g/min). Xarion Eta250 Ultra acoustic sensor and Cavitar C300 camera captured data from the flow of Stainless Steel 316L powder (45-106 µm) to evaluate the process. Results have shown that airborne AE data are not assertive to distinguish characteristics of the powder flow dynamics within the range of parameters investigated. On the other hand, structure-borne signals have presented higher sensitivity to the different mass flow rates evaluated. By evaluating the relationship between structure-borne AE signals and deposition quality, this study also contributes to identifying potential data for real-time process monitoring of powder flow. The effectiveness of this sensing methodology for DED-LB requires further investigation when regarding different materials and setups.