Andrew O'Hara
Master & Dynamic has introduced its successor to the popular MW07 true wireless earbuds — the MW08 — bringing active noise cancellation and impressive battery life to the AirPods competitor.
The Master & Dynamic MW08 true wireless earbuds are smaller than their predecessor while boasting custom 11mm beryllium drivers. They retain their iconic "D" shape on the outside but the acetate has been replaced by high-end ceramic.
This updated model includes Bluetooth 5.2, aptX, AAC, and SBC audio formats with a 100-foot/33-meter range.
"Our MW08 True Wireless Earphones continue our obsession with design, materials and technical sophistication," says Master & Dynamic CEO Jonathan Levine. "We were able to integrate significant improvements in this product, including 11mm custom drivers and six microphones, while reducing the overall size of both the earphones and case. The combination of ceramic, stainless steel and anodized aluminum provide a sleek yet tactile form factor, packing a punch both visually and acoustically."
The MW08 has a six-microphone array for hybrid active noise cancelation. Using the all-new M&D Connect app you can change between noise cancelation and ambient listening modes.
To round out the feature list, the new MW08 comes equipped with long-lasting battery life. On a single charge, the MW08 can last 12 hours with an additional 30 hours housed in the case for a cumulative 42 hours of battery life. It can be charged over USB-C.
The new MW08 true wireless earbuds are available to order now for $299 and come in black ceramic with a matte black stainless steel case, white ceramic with a polished stainless steel case, brown ceramic with a polished steel case, and blue ceramic with a graphite grey stainless steel case. They begin shipping March 30.
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9 Comments
Define 'True Wireless', is it simply 'no wires' or perhaps 'not BlueTooth?' If they had no humanly perceptible latency that really would be something but then, why not say so, so I doubt it.
As much as I love AirPods, I've started to sour on the whole genre of true wireless earbuds because of limited battery service life expectancy. I'm thinking that these all have a service life of about 24 months, at which point they will either not charge or will require recharging at annoyingly short intervals. If that's the nature of the beast, then I guess they are essentially a subscription product whose price is the initial acquisition cost divided by the life expectancy, which means the AirPods Pro is about a $10 USD per month subscription.
Seeing the usage of these things as a subscription isn't a bad thing per se, but the quality of service does diminish over time as the recharging intervals increase. The whole ownership experience of these products is so different than traditional headphones that it makes little sense to sell them under the same premise from the start. I can buy wired headphones/earbuds and they easily last for many years if taken care of. Anything with a non user replaceable battery is basically a lease. It might actually be nicer and more true to form for some folks if Apple came up with a subscription based bundling model that included AirPods Pro (or Max) and Apple Music, with a scheduled refresh/replacement of the hardware every so many months.
Anyway, these Master & Dynamic buds look very nice, have impressive specs, and I'm sure a lot of other folks will enjoy them.