Master & Dynamic MW60 Impressions Thread

[simonm]

I was very disappointed with the M&D MW60.
Design and build quality is top and the way they fit on my head and over my ears, was very comfortable,
but I could not get used to the bass heavy sound. Highs and mids is not where these cans are good in IMHO.
But.........every one has different ears, like one person sees better than the other, so I can imagine that there
are enough guys out there that love them. I returned mine and still enjoy, in this price category, my Aedle VK1.
Cool they are, but so are the ones from Aedle,

I did very much consider the VK1/2 as well, but they are on-ear cans and my ears are very sensitive to pain/fatigue caused by physical compression/clamping on the ear lobes. So it rules out every single on-ear (supra-aural) headphone for me, unfortunately. The MW60 is perhaps the slimmest and best looking circum-aural headphone I've ever seen. They're extremely comfortable and there's absolutely no issue with physical fatigue whatsoever (or brightness fatigue, obviously, because they have a dark sound signature, but that is also my preferred taste and it helps to protect my hearing).

By all accounts they're not perfect, but they're the best (every day) fit for my needs for now. I use them as they're designed to be used: portable and on the go. They're not so flashy that they look like a piece of jewellery; which is another concern I have with the Aëdles, but they still certainly look attractive, with a more understated elegance. In other words, I feel no embarrassment or extra attention while wearing them. That's important for portable headphones: I don't want headphones to make me feel embarrassed and I think the Aëdle's, in certain circumstances, would definitely do that.

 

[Dobrescu George]

There is a new Headphone from Master&Dynamic, named MW65, which is even better than MW60, in every possible way!!

 

[erich6]

There is a new Headphone from Master&Dynamic, named MW65, which is even better than MW60, in every possible way!!

Better battery life + ANC from what I see in the feature list. Do you know if the sound is an improvement? My sense from the reviews is there is not much difference there.

My main concern is M&D appears to have regressed by not supporting AAC Bluetooth with the MW65.... This is a major issue for anyone wanting to use this with Apple devices. The MW60's support AAC.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Better battery life + ANC from what I see in the feature list. Do you know if the sound is an improvement? My sense from the reviews is there is not much difference there.

My main concern is M&D appears to have regressed by not supporting AAC Bluetooth with the MW65.... This is a major issue for anyone wanting to use this with Apple devices. The MW60's support AAC.

\

I have android so sadly I can't confirm compatiblity with Apple.

BUT MAN, the sound is a total rehaul. Improvement in every way. This ain't the kinda wooly Master&Dynamic you know, it is now bright, vibrant, energetic, punchy

 

[erich6]

BUT MAN, the sound is a total rehaul. Improvement in every way. This ain't the kinda wooly Master&Dynamic you know, it is now bright, vibrant, energetic, punchy

Ah, good to know. Do they sound the same wired/wireless? How about ANC on/off?

 

[Dobrescu George]

Ah, good to know. Do they sound the same wired/wireless? How about ANC on/off?

ANC doesn't seem to affect the sound.

they sound pretty excellent both wired and wireless. I need more time to say for sure tho

I mainly tested them in Wired mode fed by a DX220 DAP so far

 

[2bits]

My main concern is M&D appears to have regressed by not supporting AAC Bluetooth with the MW65.... This is a major issue for anyone wanting to use this with Apple devices. The MW60's support AAC.

I’ve heard this repeated in many places because the website doesn’t list AAC support, but it doesn’t make sense that they would remove support for AAC (which is free) from their new flagship and most expensive headphones,

I asked M&D support, and the initial response was that is does support AAC in their experience. I’m not sure how they know it was doing AAC and not SBC. They are asking others for confirmation about why it was omitted from the MW65 webpage. I’ll reply here when I find out.

 

[erich6]

Well, I was intrigued enough so I picked up the MW65 at my local Best Buy store to test them out and compare them to my MW60. I don't have a Bluetooth scanner but from what I hear they sound like they are using AAC. The sound quality is good and I don't hear that roughness evident in SBC. So if you are interested in these headphones but are hesitant because they don't list AAC explicitly as a feature I would not worry about that.

As for the sound, I find the MW65 sound changes significantly between ANC mode and not ANC mode when using Bluetooth. The main difference is in the bass which pretty much disappears without ANC. It's so bad (to me) they sound anemic without ANC. The tone and quality with a wired connection is similar to that with wireless/ANC mode on which is a good thing.

Now, in comparison with the MW60 I'm torn. Here are my initial observations after a few hours of play:

• Volume: in wireless mode, the MW65 is about 20% lower volume than the MW60 on my iPhone XS and I'm concerned there may not be enough volume for quieter recordings.
• Bass: the MW60 has much more emphasis on bass/subbass (I can make the two headphones sound similar if I boost the MW65 by about 5-6 db with a low-shelf parametric EQ increase at 150 Hz; the MW65 responded very well to the boost without any apparent distortions).
• Mids: no significant differences though differences in the soundstage accentuate things a bit more in the MW65.
• Treble: The MW65 may initially seem to have more sparkle but that's an illusion because of the lower bass. At times I felt the MW65 may have some peaks in the treble which sometimes can create some harshness.
  
• Soundstage: The MW60 has a more closed-in but more holographic soundstage than the MW65 giving the illusion of slightly better instrument placement/separation. The MW65 soundstage is wider but flatter with vocals more centered and cohesive (the MW60 can sound a bit hollow at times specially in wireless mode).
• Overall sound: The MW60 sounds fuller, weightier, more luscious than the MW65.
  
• Ergonomics: the MW65 is significantly lighter than the MW60 which should make them more comfortable but I never found the weight of the MW60 to be a problem. On the negative side, the lighter feel of the MW65, combined with the finish, makes it feel less premium than the MW60. I also prefer the magnetic attachment mechanism for the earpads on the MW60 vs. the clip-on design with the MW65.
• Battery: the MW65 has much better battery life and charging speed than the MW60. USB-C is nice.
• Bluetooth connectivity: rock solid with both.
  
• ANC: I haven't been able to do meaningful tests of the MW65's ANC but it seemed adequate when I used it briefly on a car ride. The MW60 does not have this feature.

At this time I'm leaning towards the MW60. The price differential (especially with the MW60 on sale) does not seem worth it given the minor improvements and the many drawbacks--at least for my case as I already have the Sony 1000XM3 for ANC. If, however, you are looking for a well-rounded classy-looking headphone with wireless/wired connectivity and ANC you can't really go wrong with the MW65.

 

[simonm]

Thanks very much for those detailed observations @erich6. They make me happier about keeping my MW60s and not taking a punt on the MW65.

The two apparent changes you mentioned that concern me the most are if Bluetooth volume is any quieter, because I already thought it could use a notch or two above what the MW60 has, and was half expecting that in any update; and if they feel lighter, because comfort is not an issue at all so I don't see why they might've gone with any lighter materials that make them feel cheaper. I don't particularly need longer battery life either because it's very rare that I use wireless mode and especially not for long sessions.

I'm also one of the (seemingly) few here that actually likes a fuller/bass heavy sound for on-the-go headphones, so that's not a change that would have me rushing towards them either. I've been very happy with my MW60's sound so I think if you're happy with what you've got why change?

I notice M&D has a 20-25% off sale currently, which I presume extends to the MW65 if anyone's interested. Don't know what their return policies are however.

 

[erich6]

You're welcome.

The MW60 is on sale for $299 at Best Buy today--great deal. I just got a price match on my recent MW60 purchase. Definitely happy with it.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I have my vide about MW65 up now!

 

[Monsieur Sans Honte]

I just received a pair of MW60s.

A friend of mine bought a pair a couple of years ago, just as I was buying a few pairs of Aëdle's VK-1. They looked and sounded great, but the price difference was vast and I'm not someone that could be accused of being an audiophile. At least I'm not willing to part with £5000 for a turntable stylus as people I know have...

Anyway, I have a couple of pairs of Aëdle's VK-X--the headphones that unfortunately proved to be their undoing, due to an unscrupulous vendor in their supply chain. Owing to some manufacturing defects, I was forced to find an alternative pair for professional usage. I did see that Master & Dynamic had produced an iterative update to their flagship headphones with the release of the MW65, but here are the reasons I opted for the MW60:

Aesthetics
I honestly prefer the MW60's circular grooves to the mesh pattern used on the MW65, and the thick pad/thin speaker frame combination of the original over the reverse being featured on the successor (I assume the design change provided room for a larger battery).

Drivers
I understand that Beryllium is superior to Neodymium when manufacturing speaker drivers, but it's also highly toxic. Also, in the majority of reviews, the MW60's 45mm drivers performed pretty much evenly with the MW65's 40mm in testing; the focus being on maintaining M&D's sound design rather than improving on it, although I saw that the bass response is more even on the newer product.

Price
From reading posts and threads on this site, I doubt cost is a deciding factor for most people here, but I paid pretty much the same as the MW65 asking price when I bought each pair of VK-X headphones, and although I love them, as I mentioned, the problems I and others encountered meant they cannot be relied upon for anything other than recreational use. But that's not really relevant to this discussion other to make it clear I will spend what I consider to be reasonable for a quality product. The point is, I paid £209 for a brand new pair of MW60 headphones, direct from Master & Dynamic; in the end it was too good a deal to walk away from.

Granted, I lose out on USB-C charging, ANC, a 20-hour battery life and Google Assistant, but I can live without those:-
I rarely, if ever, use anything other than Alexa with my Sonos One speakers ("Alexa, will it rain today?" "Alexa, turn off the lights" etc). Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy to open a browser tab or pull out my phone.
16 hours is long enough for my needs--the MW60 was not bought for recreational use, and I'm (hopefully) past the days of working 16 hour shifts.
ANC has always been a nice to have for me, and besides, the noise-cancelling on the MW65 has been reported to be somewhat disappointing.

All that said, I'm not one for folding headphones, so I would actually have preferred the rigid frame of the MW65, and I would have liked USB-C connectivity, but that's more to do with the march of time and technology than anything else.

The MW60s are extremely comfortable. And while I think the sound of the VK-X is more balanced, I'm encouraged by what people have said about burn-in.

Time will tell.

 

[Quuz]

So I just revived my pair a few days ago and unfortunately they are making this audible white noise/whirring sound over bluetooth. It's especially audible when listening to audio books/podcasts or music at low volume. If I pause what ever I'm listening to the noise is present for another 15 seconds before it goes completely quite. Tried it with 3 different sending devices as well as in my basement, which is made of concrete lol so it shouldnt be interference or device dependent. Furthermore the noise is only coming from the right earpiece. Noise is not present when using the supplied 3.5mm cable.

Anyone else has this issue?

Oh and the volume up and down buttons arent working with either my pixel 3a, surface pro laptop or my samsung tv...

 

[trellus]

So I just revived my pair a few days ago and unfortunately they are making this audible white noise/whirring sound over bluetooth. It's especially audible when listening to audio books/podcasts or music at low volume. If I pause what ever I'm listening to the noise is present for another 15 seconds before it goes completely quite. Tried it with 3 different sending devices as well as in my basement, which is made of concrete lol so it shouldnt be interference or device dependent. Furthermore the noise is only coming from the right earpiece. Noise is not present when using the supplied 3.5mm cable.

Anyone else has this issue?

Oh and the volume up and down buttons arent working with either my pixel 3a, surface pro laptop or my samsung tv...

Sounds like a defective unit - I’ve not heard of that problem from others and have not had that happen on my MW60. Can you return them / exchange them?

 

[Monsieur Sans Honte]

So I just revived my pair a few days ago and unfortunately they are making this audible white noise/whirring sound over bluetooth. It's especially audible when listening to audio books/podcasts or music at low volume. If I pause what ever I'm listening to the noise is present for another 15 seconds before it goes completely quite. Tried it with 3 different sending devices as well as in my basement, which is made of concrete lol so it shouldnt be interference or device dependent. Furthermore the noise is only coming from the right earpiece. Noise is not present when using the supplied 3.5mm cable.

Anyone else has this issue?

Oh and the volume up and down buttons arent working with either my pixel 3a, surface pro laptop or my samsung tv...

Definitely sounds like a faulty pair. I'd arrange a return/replacement as soon a possible.