In just a few years, wireless headphones have ceased to be a luxury accessory and have become a common accessory, which you can find even for cheaper than a pair of wired buttons. A lot has changed in the three years since Master & Dynamic launched its excellent Wireless headphones MW07. The company’s long-awaited follow-up, the new MW08, are simply the most compelling reason to splurge on wireless headphones.
I’ve analyzed many sets of wireless headsets in recent years, and it has become apparent that most companies trying to find the perfect balance of resources. But this approach means that there are always tradeoffs between sound quality, size, call quality, how active noise cancellation works, battery life and price. However, as soon as I placed the MW08 wireless headphones in my ears and hit play, it was immediately obvious that Master & Dynamic focused its efforts on making the whole experience as good as possible and delivering almost all the features the user could wish for. – assuming you are not on a tight budget.
Is it expensive $ 300 for a pair of wireless headphones? Yes, absolutely. They’re not the most obscene price buttons you can find – if you like to dazzle diamonds, for example, you can put thousands on a pair of buttons – but when compared to the $ 249 Apple AirPods Pro, the MW08s are genuinely offer a better $ 300 wireless headset experience.
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This experiment starts with a stainless steel charging case (I tested a version with a matte black finish) that looks substantial and heavy in the hand. It’s a little bigger than the AirPods Pro charging case, which is the gold standard for your pocket, but while Apple promises “more than 24 hours of listening time” and five hours with just the buttons, Master & Dynamic is promising incredible 42 hours of play time with the charging case and 12 hours with MW08 headphones only. 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 that indicate the charge level of the case itself and each button, a canvas carrying bag included because anything painted in matte black stands out in the collection of greasy fingerprints and charging via a USB -C port on the side. Unfortunately, however wonderful the use of stainless steel, metal and wireless charging do not mix, so you can’t put the MW08s in a wireless charger to complete them, which seems to be one of the most useful features that are missing from this update.
Until recently, I was never the biggest fan of the design of Master & Dynamics MW07s, which was transported to the new MW08s, but I admit that I started to like them in the last few weeks. The use of polished ceramics with minimal logo treatment is pleasant and smooth.
I also like that, instead of touch controls that require users to touch their headphones to access playback and other controls, the MW08s use physical buttons. Most of the time, I find that touching a headset serves to dislodge it from my ear, but with the MW08s you can use a push-to-press approach that keeps everything safe in place. It is also easier to distinguish what the buttons do because they have different sizes on each headset, preventing you from having to memorize a ring pattern. To recap: Good buttons, touching bad ones.
Headphones that deliver great sound always depend on large drivers and even bigger batteries, and this often poses a challenge for use. The added weight facilitates the occasional drop of the headphones, and long periods of use can cause discomfort. But even after a few weeks of use, I’m still surprised at how comfortable the MW08s are and how well they look in my ears. They 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 securely in place.
Despite being bigger, I find the MW08s as comfortable as the Apple AirPods Pro, and I had no problem keeping them in my ears, even during light exercises. Master & Dynamic has also surpassed the water resistance rating of these wireless headphones from IPX4 to IPX5, so they should be suitable for use in the rain or during a particularly sweaty workout, but are unlikely to survive a swim.
Before I get my hands on the Master & Dynamic MW08s, the Klipsch T5 II real wireless headphones they were my favorite friends when I really wanted to enjoy my music – but not anymore. It was a very difficult decision and, although I think the Klipsch T5 II True Wireless may beat a little stronger than the new MW08s, the overall sound quality of the last Master & Dynamics is unmatched, thanks to an increase in the size of its 10 to 11 mm beryllium drivers.
My favorite way to test wireless headphones has been the Tropic Remix of “ily” by Surf Mesa and when the beat drops around the 30 second mark, the bass performance of the MW08s is incredibly satisfying and is possibly even better than some wireless headphones I tested. But the bass doesn’t come with the cost of sharp, crisp treble, which is where many headphones and headphones with heavy basses perform poorly. The MW08s offers fantastic sound across the board, which is good because, although it works with a free Android and iOS app that comes with it, there is no adjustable equalizer to adjust the sound balance – but it’s doubtful that you want to do that. .
The Master & Dynamic MW08 wireless headsets also finally come with active noise cancellation and are probably one of the best ANC implementations available to consumers. By testing them against the AirPods Pro with simulated sounds from crowded subways and the interior of a passenger plane, using six microphones spread over both headphones, the ANC on the MW08s managed to eliminate a wider frequency range, though, as I indicated in the past, don’t expect them to throw you into a world of perfect silence. The ambient sound reinforcement was also stellar and crystal clear, with two modes, including ‘Ambience’ that raises all frequencies so you can better hear everything that is happening around you and “Voice” that focuses on increasing only frequencies medium to high. voices of people talking are clearer.
In addition to the lack of wireless charging, my only other complaint with the MW08s is the same one I have for almost every pair of non-Apple wireless headphones I tested. They still depend on Bluetooth, and occasionally I had strange connectivity issues with the MW08s, where the sound fell off one side or felt like it was dripping back and forth between each button. These were problems easily fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting the buttons, and problems that presumably can be improved through future firmware updates, but they were also connectivity problems that Apple practically eliminated with its W1 Bluetooth chip.
Are the new Master & Dynamic MW08s $ 50 better than AirPods Pro? Even with occasional Bluetooth hiccups, they are absolutely the best wireless headphones you can spend $ 300 on. They sound amazing, fit incredibly well, can work for up to 42 hours before the charging case needs to. be recharged and offer a noise cancellation experience as good as you might expect. If you’re going to splurge on wireless buttons, this is what you should be doing.