Master & Dynamic MW50+ Wireless Bluetooth Headphones – Pretty On The Outside
Like its role models B&W and B&O, NYC-based M&W trots out elegantly-designed, premium-priced products which generally seemed more noteworthy for their style than for their sonic merits. However, philistine that I am, when Amazon discounted the nominally $399 MW50+ to as low as $129 I couldn’t resist.
The central gimmick of the MW50+ is interchangeable, magnetic on-ear/over-ear pads, which are extremely easy to swap out. As others have noted, however, the over-ear pads tend to come loose and, other than providing slightly better isolation, don’t sound as good as the on-ear pads, which enhance the bass presence and expand soundstage. (My impressions below are based on the on-ear setup).
The MW50+ are undeniably purty leather-and-metal things, with nary a scrap of plastic in sight. Fit is secure and long-term comfort pretty good, although they do have some clamping force and feel somewhat heavier than their specified 205g weight. Battery life of 16hrs. is well below the norm, but connectivity and range are solid. There’s no app or ANC, though I found these adequate for gym use. The dimunitive control buttons are extremely hard to find and use.
Soundwise, the MW50+ immediately register as a bass-boosted reverse-L, with a warm thick tonality, a very wide soundstage and good stereo imaging—it’s a surprisingly party-hearty, consumer tuning which makes no pretense of accuracy. Low end is voluminous if not super-deep and just barely avoids sounding boomy or bleeding into the full-sounding mids. High end rolls off fairly early but avoids stridency or coarsness –these miss some microdetail and drums sound slightly veiled. Timbre isn’t the most lifelike—everything sounds a little juiced up—but fairly analog, especially in wired mode.
The bass remains the Achilles heel of the MW50+–it’s actually pretty well sculpted, but there’s just too much of it, which gives an incoherence to the proceedings—these tend to sound more like a big sub w/small satellites than an integrated full range speaker. The MW50+ sound richer and better than the Apple or Bose 700 over-ears, but substantially trail the better-integrated $350 Sony XM4, which also has vastly better UI and tech.
Likewise, the AKG N60 (originally $249 but widely available for $60) are better-tuned and cleaner sounding, with more tonal accuracy and less intrusive low end, while my trusty Status Audio BT One (which feel like a cheap plastic knockoff compared to the elegant, lavishly built MW50+) sound less refined and resolving at the high end but otherwise hold up pretty well for $99. For all their flaws, at the $129 ticket I’m not unhappy with the MW50+–they have a certain toe-tapping quality and rock unapologetically.
However, I’m sure I’d be more dismissive if they didn’t look so luxurious or if I’d paid the list price. Not a purist set, but fashionistas will enjoy
Non-Disclaimer: bought them myself. Product page: Master & Dynamic
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