In just a few short years, wireless headphones have gone from being a luxury accessory to a main one that you can even find. cheaper than a pair of wired buds. Much has changed in the three years since Master & Dynamic launched its excellent MW07 wireless headphones. The long-awaited pursuit of the company, we MW08, are simply the most compelling reason to leave your pockets wireless.
I have looked at many sets of wireless headphones in recent years and it has become obvious that most companies are trying to find the perfect balance of features. But this approach means that there are always trade-offs between sound quality, size, call quality, how well active noise cancellation works, battery life, and price. However, as soon as I put my MW08 wireless headphones in my ears and hit the game, it was immediately obvious that Master & Dynamic had instead focused its efforts on making the whole experience as good as possible and offers almost every feature the user might want – assuming they don’t have a tight budget.
Does it cost $ 300 for a pair of wireless headphones? Yes, absolutely. There are no buds with the most obscene price you can find – if you like the brilliance of diamonds, for example, you can throw thousands on a pair of buds – but compared to the $ 249 Apple AirPods Pro, MW08s really offer a better Wireless experience for wireless headphones.
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This experience starts with a stainless steel charging case (I tested a version with a matte black finish) that feels substantially and heavy in the hand. It’s slightly larger than the AirPods Pro case, which is the gold standard for the pocket, but while Apple promises “more than 24 hours of listening” and five hours with just buds, Master & Dynamic promises a staggering 42 hours of playing time with the charging case and 12 hours only with the MW08 headphones. This is more than enough justification for the larger case.
The MW08 charging case also has a very useful set of three LEDs on the outside, which indicate the charging level of the case itself and each bud, a carrying case included, because anything painted in matte black excels when collecting greasy fingerprints and charging via USB – Side-by-side port. Unfortunately, as wonderful as it feels to use stainless steel, wireless charging and metal don’t mix, so you can’t place MW08s on a wireless charger to complete them, which feels like one of the most useful features missing from this upgrade.
Until recently, I was never the biggest fan of design Master & Dynamics MW07s, which has been transferred to the new MW08, but I will admit that I have really grown to like them in the last two weeks. The use of polished ceramics with a minimal treatment with the logo is pleasant and reduced.
I also like that instead of touch commands that require users to touch the headphones to access playback and other commands, MW08 uses physical buttons. Most of the time, I find that touching a headset serves to get me out of my ear, but with MW08 you can use a push-button approach that keeps everything safe. It is also easier to distinguish what the buttons do, because they are different sizes on each headset, avoiding you from memorizing a pattern of touches. To recap: good buttons, bad touch.
Headphones that offer great sound are always based on large drivers and even larger batteries, and this is often a challenge for portability. The added weight facilitates the occasional fall of the headphones, and long periods of use can lead to discomfort. But even after a few weeks of use, I’m still surprised at how comfortable MW08 is and how good it fits in my ears. These include five sets of silicone ear tips to help you find the best fit, but the headphones are also designed to nestle in the folds of your ears to help them stay safe in place.
Despite the fact that they are bigger, it seems to me that the MW08 models are as comfortable as the Apple AirPods Pro and I had no problem holding them in my ears, even during light exercise. Master & Dynamic also hit the water resistance rating of these wireless headphones from IPX4 to IPX5, so they should be fine to use in the rain or during a particularly sweaty workout, but probably not. they will survive a dive.
Before I get my hands on Master & Dynamic MW08s, Klipsch T5 II True wireless headphones they were my buds when I really wanted to enjoy my music – but no more. It was a very close call and, although I think the Klipsch T5 II True Wireless can beat a little louder than the new MW08 does, the overall sound quality of the latest Master & Dynamics is unmatched, due to a size its beryllium drivers from 10 at 11 millimeters.
My follow-up for testing wireless headphones was late Tropic Remix of Surf Mesa’s “ily” and when the pace drops to around 30 seconds, the MW08’s bass performance is incredibly satisfying and even better than some of the wireless headphones we’ve tested. But the bass does not come with the price of clear and clear maxims, which is where many headphones and headphones with high bass content are underperforming. MW08 offers fantastic sound everywhere, which is good because, although it works with a free Android and iOS app, there’s no adjustable EQ to optimize sound balance – but it’s doubtful you’ll ever want to.
The Master & Dynamic MW08 wireless headphones also come with active noise cancellation and is probably one of the best ANC implementations available to consumers. Testing them against AirPods Pro with simulated sounds of crowded subway and inside a passenger plane, using six microphones spread on both headphones, the ANC on MW08 managed to eliminate a wider frequency range, although, as we have shown in the past, do not expect to leave you in a world of perfect silence. Ambient sound amplification was also stellar and clear in two ways, including “Ambient” which increases all frequencies so you can better hear everything around you, and “Voice”, which focuses instead. on increasing only the average range at higher frequencies, so that the voices of the people speaking come clearer.
Aside from the lack of wireless charging, my only complaint with MW08 is the same one I have for almost every pair of wireless headphones I’ve tested. I’m still addicted to Bluetooth, and occasionally I’ve encountered strange connectivity issues with MW08, where the sound would drop to one side or it would look like ping-pong back and forth between each bud. There were issues that could be easily fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting the buds, and issues that could probably be improved by future firmware updates, but there were also connectivity issues that Apple almost eliminated with its Bluetooth W1 chip.
Are the new Master & Dynamic MW08s $ 50 better than AirPods Pro? Even with the occasional Bluetooth hiccups, these are absolutely the best wireless headphones you can spend $ 300. It sounds amazing, fits incredibly well, can run up to 42 hours before the charging case needs recharging, and offers as good a noise cancellation experience as you could hope for. If you are going to brag about wireless buds, these are the things you should leave.