Master & Dynamic MW08 review: An expensive but excellent AirPods Pro rival
Our Verdict
Nicely designed, rich-sounding and packing constructive ANC, the MW08 is Chief & Dynamic'due south all-time pair of truthful wireless earbuds yet.
For
- Great audio
- Premium, comfortable blueprint
- Decent battery life with ANC
Against
- Very expensive
- Few advanced features
Tom's Guide Verdict
Nicely designed, rich-sounding and packing effective ANC, the MW08 is Master & Dynamic'southward best pair of truthful wireless earbuds all the same.
Pros
- +
Not bad sound
- +
Premium, comfortable design
- +
Decent battery life with ANC
Cons
- -
Very expensive
- -
Few advanced features
When the Principal & Dynamic MW08 first revealed itself, it was difficult not to get drawn in by the aesthetic. Even some of the best wireless earbuds are just good at hiding the fact that they're mostly plastic, merely here was a genuinely eye-catching alternative, clad in polished ceramic and crisp steel.
Primary & Dynamic MW08 specs
Colors: White, blackness, brown, blue
Bombardment life (rated): 10 hours with ANC, 12 hours without (plus 30 without ANC in charging case)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
Processor: Unspecified Qualcomm chip
Size: 0.8 10 0.8 x 1 inches (per bud); 2.5 x 1.ix 10 one inches (charging case)
Weight: 0.2 ounces (per bud); 2.nine ounces (charging case)
At present, having had the gamble to spend some fourth dimension with the MW08 in the flesh, I have more good news: information technology's not simply a looker. In fact, it'south a serious contender for the podium places in our best noise-cancelling earbuds rankings; go on reading this Master & Dynamic MW08 review to notice out why.
- More of the best noise-cancelling headphones
- The all-time Apple AirPods alternatives, tested
Master & Dynamic MW08 review: Price and contest
The MW08 is no set of budget buds: it costs $299, and is currently only available from Primary & Dynamic itself.
Nevertheless, yous practice have a few different colors to choose from, with the earbuds coming in white, blackness and brown and blue. The white and brownish models come with a shiny stainless steel case, while the blackness buds become a matching matte black case. The blue variant has a "polished graphite" case, though this is just a slightly darker take on the "stainless steel" version — they're all made from identical materials.
Primary & Dynamic MW08 review: Design
The previous MW07, MW07 Get and MW07 Plus earbuds all had skillful genes when it came to looks, and the MW08 is Principal & Dynamic's well-nigh overtly premium pattern yet. The only plastic on these buds is hidden behind the signature D-shape outer housing, which this time is built from a suitably expensive-feeling combination of polished ceramic, stainless steel and aluminum.
To my eyes, the white and bluish models wait best; the black version I received is more than understated, but for once this is a pair of headphones you lot'll want to bear witness off. That said, the black model's matching matte-cease charging case looks the best of the bunch. This case, which charges via USB-C and includes a trio of helpful status LEDs on the front, is prone to attracting fingerprints, but that's the simply bad thing I tin say nearly it.
At that place are more practical considerations, too. Just like the MW07 Plus, the MW08 is water-resistant to the IPX5 standard. While not full waterproofing, that'southward plenty for sweat-proofing and splash resistance, and makes the MW08 a trivial tougher than the AirPods Pro.
Chief & Dynamic MW08 review: Comfort and fit
In addition to existence one of the most handsome pairs of true wireless buds, the MW08 is among the most comfortable. With five pairs of silicone tip sizes to cull from, it'south easy to find ane that fits, and the inner housing's contours evenly distribute the weight in each ear, and then I could easily wear them for well over two hours without a hint of discomfort.
The catch is that while the fit is secure enough for elementary strolling, it is possible to shake the MW08 earbuds loose with strenuous move. As such, it's unlikely to problem the all-time running headphones every bit a fitness aid.
Master & Dynamic MW08 review: Controls and digital banana
Main & Dynamic's true wireless buds have been unusual in providing concrete buttons on each earpiece instead of relying on touch on controls. In the MW08's case, it uses the same control scheme as its firsthand predecessors, with a volume rocker on the left bud and a unmarried multifunction push on the right. The latter can pause or play music, or summon your phone'south digital assistant (Google Banana on Android, Siri on iOS).
I personally prefer the more tactile feel of a button printing, and the MW08's volume rocker in particular felt more than responsive than a lot of tap-based systems I've used – especially those that make you lot expect for the volume to raise or lower one level before yous tin can tap to adjust it farther. Yous do need to caryatid the underside of the earbud when pressing down on a push, lest you push button the whole thing loose, simply it'due south even so a one-handed gesture.
I didn't have any trouble with Google Assistant either. Holding downwards the multifunctional brought it up dutifully on my telephone, and the microphones accurately parsed my vocalisation commands.
Principal & Dynamic MW08 review: Sound quality
You lot can and should expect top-quality audio for $299, and the MW08 delivers. It'due south been freshly updated with 11mm beryllium drivers, bigger than the 10mm drivers of the MW07, and they comfortably deliver deep, punchy bass and a wide soundstage.
The MW08 also produces a high level of detail, virtually noticeably in complicated arrangements. The space-opera drama of Muse's "Knights of Cydonia," for instance, came through in full forcefulness, thank you to clean separation of the many instrumental and song tracks.
The powerful depression-end never threatens to overpower the rest of the mix, either. Kero Kero Bonito'southward "Flamingo," which combines prominent bass synth with soft, relaxed vocals, floated along beautifully — the two elements were never at odds.
The MW08's sound quality is hands a lucifer for that of the AirPods Pro, and fifty-fifty rivals the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2, some other high-stop pair of true wireless buds. If anything, the MW08 sounds even better: the more prevalent bottom-end gives stone and electronic music a bigger kick, while jazz and classical recordings accept more of a soulful warmth.
It can become boomy at maximum volume, but if you intendance most your hearing you wouldn't leave it at such a high level anyway.
Master & Dynamic MW08 review: Active noise cancellation
ANC on the MW08 comes in 2 levels: Max ANC and All Solar day ANC. Max ANC is the more intensive, at the toll of sucking upwards more of the battery life.
To utilise the standard ANC earbud yardstick, the MW08's noise cancellation — even in Max ANC mode — is non every bit effective as that of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. It still works well enough, though. The milder All Day ANC fabricated a spirited effort at quieting the audio of nearby traffic, and with some music playing I couldn't hear my washing machine spinning only a few anxiety from my desk. Max ANC silences low-frequency droning sounds fifty-fifty more finer, though the difference is but noticeable in very loud areas.
By contrast, the two Ambience mode variants – Vocalization and Sensation – sound very distinct. The Phonation contour is, unsurprisingly, mainly geared towards letting speech through the headphones while leaving other kinds of background dissonance unaffected. Awareness way is more of an all-round Ambient mode, so is much amend for listening out for approaching cars, and information technology really seems better at picking up speech from further abroad too.
When shopping, I definitely preferred the general-purpose arroyo of Awareness mode. Unlike the pass-through implementation on some cheaper ANC headphones, the microphones also refrain from amplifying outside racket more than than they need to, so walking through the fresh food aisles at the supermarket didn't deafen me with fridge sounds.
Main & Dynamic MW08 review: App and special features
The MW08's launch is accompanied by the new K&D Connect app. It's missing EQ adjustment, which is a shame, but I was always happy with how the buds audio as-is.
The app also makes switching betwixt ANC and Ambient modes like shooting fish in a barrel, and I similar how information technology lets y'all set how long the buds should wait earlier entering slumber mode due to inactivity. You can likewise toggle in-ear detection on or off, though since it worked reliably enough – pausing music when I took out an earbud and resuming when it was dorsum in – I left it on.
There's naught like Apple's spatial audio or Samsung 360 Sound here, which like the lack of EQ aligning will disappoint those who similar their headphones to come with some actress toys.
Master & Dynamic MW08 review: Battery life
Officially, the MW08 lasts for up to ten hours with ANC or 12 hours without. If that sounds as well good to be true, you're correct: with All Day ANC switched on and volume set to 50%, my pair lasted for almost expressionless-on 7 hours.
Still, that'south not half bad by ANC earbud standards. The AirPods Pro lasts a paltry four.5 hours with noise cancellation enabled, and the Momentum True Wireless 2 manages even less than that. You should be able to comfortably go several days of normal use out of the MW08.
The charging case as well provides a little under three full recharges' worth of juice, and so depending on volume you could get well-nigh 24 hours of ANC uptime in total. The AirPods Pro charging instance helps Apple's buds close the gap hither, though the MW08 again hammers the Sennheiser buds on total battery life.
The simply real downside here is that the buds' remaining charge reporting seems wildly off. I on occasion I'd been listening for about 2.v hours, nearly of that with Max ANC on, and both Android and M&D Connect reported I had 92% charge remaining. That would take been nice, simply was clearly an error.
Primary & Dynamic MW08 review: Phone call quality and connectivity
The MW08 connects over Bluetooth v.2, and improves on previous Main & Dynamic earbuds by offering support for both the aptX and AAC codecs. Our freelance headphones skillful Alex Bracetti reported that his pair suffered poor connectivity when more than 15 anxiety away from the source device, merely my pair performed fine at several times this distance — even with several walls in the fashion.
Call quality is good too. My friend reported some nearby machine engines bleeding through when I spoke to him outside, and I patently sounded quieter than when I used my Google Pixel 4a microphone, but I was still clear and comprehensible both indoors and out.
Chief & Dynamic MW08 review: Verdict
Come up for the looks, stay for the sound. The Master & Dynamic MW08 excels at the fundamentals: this is a pair of wireless earbuds that'due south not just stylish and comfortable, but powerful and refined in its audio output. Battery life and call quality are expert equally well, and its noise counterfoil is constructive and flexible fifty-fifty if information technology'southward non the absolute best in the business organization.
Information technology might be fair to debate that for $299, you should be getting even more; one reason the MW08 doesn't entirely surpass the cheaper AirPods Pro is the latter's much wider array of features, like spatial audio and adaptive EQ. Insufficiently the MW08 is curt on tricks, beyond ANC and the minor tweaks offered in the app.
Withal, it tin can exist worth paying more than just for simply superior sound, and that'south something the MW08 delivers with style.
- More: The all-time headphones with a mic for voice and video calls
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/master-and-dynamic-mw08
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