Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus review

When the original Master & Dynamic MW07 came out, we loved it for its design and sound quality but there were a few things keeping it from being a top pick. Battery life was just average and they were expensive for what you got. However, it was a great first attempt at a truly wireless headphone from Master & Dynamic.

Fast forward a year later and we have what appears to be a refreshed version called the MW07 Plus. After spending a month with the headphones, it was clear that the MW07 wasn’t an incremental update, but a huge leap forward for the brand. 

The MW07 Plus features the same design we loved but improves on the listening experience in every way. The biggest update is the headphone’s 10-hour-per-charge battery life, up from last year’s middling 3.5 hours. The MW07 Plus also bring feed-forward active noise cancellation (ANC) and an even bigger charging case battery that can recharge the headphones from flat an additional three times for a total of 40 hours of listening.

Price and release date

The MW07 Plus come in at $299 (£279, about AU$528) and are available to buy from October 2019 onward. 

If you must have the best sound quality possible, the slightly cheaper Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless are your choice, but you’ll have to sacrifice battery life, comfort, and an annoying battery drain when the headphones are in the charging case.

Design

While design is subjective, we think that the Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus are one of the best looking true wireless headphones on the market today. The headphones come in four unique colors and our test unit was clad in Black Quartz, which was designed in partnership with Kevin Durant and Studio 35. 

The headphones feature the same design where the left headphone houses the volume rocker and the right headphone houses the multifunction button. 

The controls on the MW07 Plus are intuitive and we love the fact that they’re physical and located on the rim of the earbud. This means you get a satisfyingly tactile press and don’t have to shove the headphones deeper into your ears like you do with other true wireless headphones. 

New to the headphones is ANC, which can be toggled on and off with a long press of the volume down button. A long press of the volume up button triggers the ambient listening mode, which uses the headphone’s external mics to pump in outside sound to help increase situational awareness. 

While it would have been nice to have an app to tailor the sound or customize the MW07 Plus’ controls, it’s also nice not to have another app to manage on our phone. All the controls are accessible by the physical buttons instead of being buried in a bunch of menus in an app (looking at you, Amazon Echo Buds).  

The charging case is still a stainless steel pebble that scratches easily, but it’s beautiful. The case is built like a tank, features USB-C fast charging (50% charge takes only 15 minutes), and comes with a protective cloth pouch. It also matches the stainless steel band of the silver iPhone 11 Pro perfectly.  

Performance

Master & Dynamic prides itself on great sound quality and the MW07 Plus deliver: the sound is rich, detailed, and spacious. 

Bass doesn’t have the most impact but it is tight and goes deep. Mids are well represented and the headphones have a nice mid and mid-bass emphasis, giving the MW07 Plus an overall warm sound. Highs are detailed and never sound harsh. 

While we think the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless are still the best sounding true wireless headphones you can buy, the MW07 Plus get close enough and best the Sennheiser in every other way.  

The introduction of ANC is exciting but the feature turns out to be just average. Master & Dynamic opted for a feedforward implementation of ANC, which uses external mics to sample and create an inverse noise wave. Some competitors opt to use both external and internal mics to ensure as much noise is cancelled out as possible. As a result, the MW07 Plus’ ANC is just OK. Outside noise is reduced a dull roar, but don’t expect the isolation chamber effect of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphone 700 or the Sony WH-1000XM3. 

Battery life is incredible and we were able to nearly match Master & Dynamic’s 10 hour claim (we saw 9.2 hours on a charge) even with ANC turned on all the time. It’s actually quite difficult to drain the MW07 Plus because the headphones last for so long and the charging case tops the headphones up so quickly. And since the charging case features fast charging, it’s unlikely you’ll be scrambling for an outlet most of the time. 

One last thing to note is that the microphones on the MW07 Plus are excellent and the friends and family we called reported clear audio with little external noise picked up.

Verdict

While its $299 (£279, about AU$528) price may seem high, we think it’s fair when compared to the likes of the Apple AirPods Pro, which are just $50 cheaper. The additional $50 gets you much better battery life, sound, and build quality. Sure, the AirPods provide a seamless user experience but they simply can’t touch the Master & Dynamic when it comes to sound, build quality, and battery life. But, if you want to save a bit of cash, the Sony WF-1000XM3 are another excellent choice at $229 (£220, AU$400).  

• Expect to see these on our list of the best true wireless earbuds