Master & Dynamic’s latest noise-cancelling true wireless earphones enter a market that has far more competition than the MW07 Plus had back in 2019. At $299, the MW08 earphones are priced to contend with the $250 Apple AirPods Pro and the $280 Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, tough acts to follow. Sonically, the earphones deliver a fairly accurate sound signature for people who want some bass, but mostly favor clarity and balance. As for active noise cancellation (ANC), they deliver high-quality performance for low frequencies, and do pretty well against mids and highs, too. They may not outduel the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, but accurate audio performance helps make a case for the MW08 as true wireless ANC earphones for audiophiles.
A Classy Design
Available in black with a black case, or blue, brown, or silver with silver cases, the MW08 earpieces have D-shaped outer panels and a lightweight, secure in-ear fit. They ship with five pairs of differently sized silicone eartips, but there are no additional sleeves or fins for extra stabilization.
The MW08’s on-ear controls are different depending on the earpiece. The left earpiece has a rocker-style volume control on its top panel, while the right earpiece has a multifunction button up top. We like this approach, as it’s hard to misfire with dedicated volume buttons, especially when they’re out of the way and not touch-sensitive panels that are easily triggered when adjusting the in-ear fit, which is a common issue with many true wireless in-ears. The multifunction button on the right handles playback, track navigation, call management, and summons your phone’s voice assistant. It also answers and ends calls. Generally speaking, the buttons are easy to memorize and operate.
An IPX5 rating means the earpieces can withstand light splashes from any direction, but you should avoid submerging them or cleaning them under a faucet. And keep in mind the case isn’t water resistant, so be sure any docked earpieces are fully dry.
Status LEDs on the front panel of the charging case tell you how much battery is left in the case and each earpiece, and a USB-C port on the side panel connects to the included charging cable. Master & Dynamic includes a USB-C-to-USB-A cable adapter for those without USB-C charging port access.
Internally, 11mm Beryllium-coated drivers deliver the audio. The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2, and support AAC, AptX, and SBC Bluetooth codecs. This is an improvement over the MW07 Plus, which have no AAC support.
The M&D Connect app for Android and iOS was technically still in beta when we tested it, but it offers a relatively seamless user experience. Unfortunately, there’s no EQ to fine-tune the audio, which is a missed opportunity. But the app does offer ANC and ambient listening controls—we’ll discuss those in the next section. There are some other basic settings, as well, letting you enable or disable in-ear detection, as well as the auto-off timer. The app also has a quick start guide and product support.
Master & Dynamic estimates battery life to be roughly 12 hours, with another 30 hours in the case. These are both excellent numbers for true wireless in-ears, but they will likely change based on ANC usage as well as volume levels.
Quality Noise Cancellation and Accurate Audio
In the app, you can choose between ANC On or Off, and Ambient Listening On or Off. Then, within these modes, you can choose between All Day or Max ANC levels (the former is suggested for less noisy environments, and the latter for airplanes and trains), and Voice or Awareness Ambient modes (the former is ideal for conversations, while the latter provides “improved awareness of your surroundings, with or without music playing”). We found these descriptions and suggestions to be generally spot-on.
As for the actual performance of each mode, All Day ANC provides a subtle level of ANC—we wouldn’t expect it to wipe out deep lows, but to dial things back to a degree, and that’s what it does. Max ANC delivers solid results against loud, deep low frequencies (think airplane and train rumble). It also does quite well against varied mids and highs like you’d hear in a loud restaurant—it dials back the mids to a degree, and highs are somewhat tamped down. Compared with the AirPods Pro, the MW08 earphones have similar success against the mids and highs, and are slightly better at dialing back the deep low frequencies. Compared with QuietComfort Earbuds, however, Bose is notably more effective against deep lows, and still somewhat better against mids and highs.
The ANC has no obvious impact on music playback, which is a good thing, but not always a given. Both ambient modes work quite well, with the Awareness mode probably being the most useful when you’re trying to hear your surroundings.
See How We Test Noise-Cancelling HeadphonesSee How We Test Noise-Cancelling Headphones
For audio performance, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver powerful, accurate low-frequency response. At top, unwise listening levels, they don’t distort, and at moderate levels, the lows still pack a punch, but they aren’t dialed up in an obvious way like they are with much of the competition. Things never sound thin through the MW08’s drivers, but they aren’t trying to add an extra layer of boosted subwoofer lows to every track.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the MW08’s general sound signature. The drums on this track can sound overly thunderous on bass-forward in-ears, but through the MW08 we hear them as intended—round, full, and natural, but not quaking like Godzilla’s foot stomps. There is a smidge of added bass depth in the mix here, but it’s a rich depth that lends itself naturally to the drums and to Callahan’s baritone vocals. Perhaps the track would benefit from a little bit more high-mid presence—the drivers deliver a clear and defined sound signature, but there’s room for a little more crispness in the mix. This comes down to taste, though, and generally speaking, this is a balanced, accurate delivery.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence to retain its punchy attack, but we seem to hear more of the vinyl crackle and hiss that’s typically relegated to background status—so there’s boosting and sculpting in the highs, but it’s subtle and varied. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with a restraint that won’t likely appeal to lovers of booming bass; we hear the ominous lows, but they aren’t pushed forward in the mix as the most powerful element, as is often the case with bass-forward in-ears we test. The vocals on this track are delivered cleanly and clearly, without any added sibilance. This is a balanced, accurate sound signature that avoids the scooped-out mids approach that is so common with the competition.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, are delivered with ideal balance. The lower-register instrumentation has a lovely richness to it, and plays a solid anchoring role for the brighter, more prominent high-register brass, strings, and vocals.
The mic offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, we could understand every word we recorded. The mic signal was slightly faint, which is a common issue with true wireless mics, but the audio was clear and mostly free from any Bluetooth audio artifacts. Callers shouldn’t have any trouble understanding you on a clear mobile signal.
Audiophile-Friendly True Wireless Noise Cancellation
The aforementioned AirPods Pro and QuietComfort Earbuds are the MW08’s most obvious competition. If you’re looking for the best noise cancellation in this price tier, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds will knock out the most racket in any situation. If it’s the best audio experience you’re after, Master & Dynamic’s MW08 will do the trick. iPhone users, meanwhile, will get the most seamless overall experience with the AirPods. Finally, if you can do without the ANC, the Sennheiser CX 400BT earphones deliver arguably better audio quality than any of these other pairs, and they do so for $100 less than the MW08.
