Review: Louis Vuitton Horizon earbuds are the luxury headphones you can't afford

The Louis Vuitton Horizon true wireless earbuds may look familiar. That's because they are a branded, customized, and improved version of the recent Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus earbuds. When it comes to all-important audio quality, the MW07 Plus is going to perform the same. The main features of the headphones remain the same as well.

Everything else — from the packaging, to the charging case, to the exterior appearance — has all changed. Let's see what the Louis Vuitton brand brings to set these excellent headphones apart.

Premium is all about the experience

As a luxury brand, Louis Vuitton is all about the user's experience. From opening the box, to handling the product, to actually using the headphones themselves.

When the headphones arrive, it is the gold-standard of an unboxing experience — literally. The box is wrapped in a gold linen paper and closes magnetically with the Louis Vuitton logo emblazoned on the top.

Once opened, the headphones inside their carrying case reside to the left and a small blue pull-ribbon is on the right. Pulling the ribbon reveals two canvas Louis Vuitton bags. One bag holds all the replacement silicone ear tips and the other a USB-C cable and USB adapter.

The cable is a nylon-wrapped cable with the "LV" wordmark printed on each of the metal overmolds. It has an integrated leather cable wrap to keep it organized when not in use. The cable is a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a metal USB-C to USB-A adapter is included for anyone who has legacy ports still around and requires that Type-A connector.

Before getting to the headphones, also in the box is a getting started manual, and a linen envelope with a Louis Vuitton-branded polishing cloth.

Louis Vuitton Horizon

Then we have the headphones themselves. These headphones are just stunning. The earbuds are nestled inside a glass and steel case. That case is a polished space black color. The bottom is ceramic and has a Louis Vuitton logo and Mongram flower pattern on the underside. On top of the case is a clear sapphire glass window that highlights the headphones inside and has a ring of Monogram flowers around the edge.

It feels solid, looks gorgeous, and is a step up from the masses of plastic charging cases out there.

That case gets slipped into its own case, crafted from supple leather that is ever so soft on the inside as to not cause any abrasions to the stainless steel case. It has a contrasting leather pull for a zipper that seals it shut.

Each of the individual earbuds has a polished acetate body with "Vuitton" etched into the side with a stainless steel "LV" circle embedded.

Audio quality

As we mentioned, these are a modified version of the newest MW07 Plus true wireless headphones. That means they carry many of the same properties we highlighted in that standalone review.

The headphones have custom 10mm beryllium drivers, four embedded microphones, single-earpiece use with the left or right headphones, proximity sensors for auto-play and auto-pause, IPX5 water resistance, and Bluetooth 5 connectivity.

Here is an excerpt from our MW07 Plus review when it comes to audio quality.

"One of our favorite songs to test with is Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." It is such an eclectic song with guitar solos, heavy bass hits, high pitched operatic sections, and more. It does a great job pushing the headphones to the limits and shows their strengths.

A high point for the MW07 Plus is again right before the tempo increase during one of many guitar solos. The subsequent operatic section also was a pleasure to listen to. With so much going on, weaker headphones often bury the details in a busy song like this.

In some of my earlier testing songs, I started to feel a bit underwhelmed when it came to the bass output but that changes as I went into Joe Cocker's "Come Together." The bass was prominent, but still had the definition of expect out of higher-end headphones. Even some high-end headphones that tend to lean towards the bass-heavy side can often lose definition in the bass on this song as they just try to push more out."

How they differ from the MW07 Plus

Louis Vuitton upgraded several different components in bringing the cobranded model to market. First, it's designed their own acetate exteriors to highlight its brand and colors. It designed the additional leather carrying case to protect its custom steel battery case. And, most exciting, integrated wireless charging.

Master & Dynamic has its own steel carrying cases that look great, but it is hard to beat the ceramic, steel, and sapphire makeup of the Louis Vuitton model. That ceramic bottom is what enables the wireless charging as making the entire case steel would hamper the transmission of power.

Wireless charging has become the norm was other wireless earbuds including AirPods, AirPods Pro, and Galaxy Buds+. It is nice to see it come to the Horizon earbuds too.

The charing cable in the box is the same as what is included with the normal MW07 Plus headphones, though it does gain the Louis Vuitton branding and the leather cable management piece.

Otherwise, these are the same MW07 Plus headphones we've come to love. Great sound quality, excellent build, all propelled above and beyond with the premium Louis Vuitton touches.

Should you buy the Louis Vuitton Horizon earbuds?

We probably don't have to spell this out for you. On one hand, these are some of the absolute best wireless earbuds on the market. It takes the exceptional MW07 Plus, adds a better stainless steel and ceramic case, bakes in wireless charging, and has the additional leather case. On the other, they are clearly more of a luxury product and just because they are better doesn't all a sudden bring them within reach of your average consumer.

These headphones are a shining example of a luxury brand doing it right by not just slapping a logo on and instead, doing some serious upgrades to what was already one of our favorite sets of earbuds.

We can't — and won't — recommend you go out and pick up a set, but if you are in the market for a set of luxury headphones then we think you probably found the set you're looking for.

Pros

• Fantastic unboxing experience
• Incredible amount of detail in everything, including the accessories
• Sleek charging case with wireless charging
• Leather protective case
• Improvement over the amazing MW07 Plus

Cons

• The expected luxury price tag
• No real noise cancelling

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

This rating is based on presentation and performance alone. We're just not sure that the cost to benefit equation is there overall.

Where to buy

The luxurious Louis Vuitton Horizon headphones come in four different colorways — the black displayed here, as well as red, white, yellow, and pink.

Each will set you back $1,120 dollars direct from Louis Vuitton's website.

Those that may see it as a bit out of their price range but still want their own Master & Dynamic version can pick up the MW07+ for $299.

As a special offer for AppleInsider readers, we are also offering an exclusive 50% off the original MW07, bringing the price down to a crazy $99.50. Just use code APPLEINSIDER50 on the Master & Dynamic website to drop the price. Master & Dynamic is also including free delivery, and orders placed Monday-Friday by 1 p.m. Eastern are typically shipped the same day.