MASTER & DYNAMIC MX08 SPORT MASTER & DYNAMIC MW08 SPORT
Sound’s a treat, setup is easy, they’re water- and shatterproof – and pricey
The sound quality doesn’t drastically diminish when you turn ANC off
Master & Dynamic’s true wireless buds are remarkably similar to Jabra’s. They also eschew hooks of any kind, relying instead on light weight and good design to ensure they stay in your ears, no matter how vigorous your physical jerks may be. To further assist with this, there are two sizes of memory foam tips for the buds, as well as no fewer than five sizes of silicone ones. The memory foam tips slightly expand within your ear canal, giving both greater stability and also improved noise isolation, although the latter is slightly moot since these buds feature electronic noise cancelling.
Setup is extremely easy, but while there are controls on the buds themselves for volume and play/pause/skip, you can only turn ANC on and off via the M&D Connect app on your phone. We would assume most users would set a preference and stick with it – ANC on for those who like to get fully in the zone; ‘ambient’ on for those who prefer to hear the world around them as they run or workout. It would be nice to be able to toggle between settings without getting your phone out, though. The on-ear buttons are absolutely tiny, which isn’t ideal when you’re in a full-on sweaty session mode, but they are preferable to touch controls.
Sound quality is very, very good. That’s especially true with ANC on but unlike older noise-cancelling headphones, the sound quality doesn’t drastically diminish when you turn ANC off. Compared to Jabra’s buds they sound less invigorating but perhaps more rounded and better suited to more subtle music.
That said, the fit of the MW08 Sport seems pretty much unshakeable. If you’re an avowed hookophobe, you’ll be more than happy with the secure and comfortable fit of Master & Dynamic’s buds.
These buds aren’t cheap. Yes, they’ve made them with a shatterproof crystal finish and IPX5 waterproofing rating, and the case from Kevlar, with an IPX4 rating. However, unless you are exceptionally clumsy this is more cool than useful. The absolutely killer battery life – 12 hours with ANC off, 10 with it on – is well worth shouting about, though. In fact, there is nothing to dislike about these buds at all – they’re excellent.