True wireless earphones are no longer the novelty they once were. Nowadays, you can find a great set at almost any budget, from cheap to premium, all coming with noise cancellation, excellent audio quality, and long battery life. However, choosing a premium pair is becoming increasingly difficult, and the new Master & Dynamic MW09 Active noise-canceling True Wireless Earphones don’t make it any easier.
Although the MW09 is not currently available in Australia, it will cost you US $400 or roughly $600 Aussie dollars. That’s a lot of money! For comparison, both the critically acclaimed Apple AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000 XM5 cost $399, which is $200 less than the MW09. That’s enough money to buy another pair of great earphones, such as the Padmate Pamu Slide 2.
Of course, Master & Dynamic is a premium brand, which factors into the cost. However, such a high price tag deserves a good, long evaluation to determine whether it’s worth importing it from America or sticking with something more readily available down under.
Master & Dynamic MW09 Review
The high price of the MW09 earphones can be attributed to their design and construction, which is among the best in the market. Made from premium materials such as anodized aluminium and polished sapphire glass on the outer face, they have a luxurious feel akin to high-end jewelry.
The earphones are available in six different colors, with four of them featuring a black Kevlar fiber case that looks great but doesn’t necessarily provide bulletproof protection. The Gold and White colored buds come with a matching aluminium case. I opted for the Jade Green color, which looks absolutely stunning, although I find the contrast with the Kevlar case somewhat jarring.
I really like the design of the MW09 earphones, which have a squared-off shape that curves at the back. They also have a distinctive rail around the buds, on which there are physical buttons. I find this feature very helpful since most other earbuds use touch-sensitive buttons that can be frustrating, especially for active people who might accidentally brush the buds.
The buttons on the MW09 are tactile, which means you must press them deliberately to activate them. I prefer this kind of button, and on the left earbud, the buttons control the volume, while those on the right earbud control pairing, media, and phone call functions.
Although the MW09 earphones look great, they may not fit everyone well. They have a stemless design, which means they need to fit snugly inside your outer ear for the best support. M&D provides 5 silicone tips and 2 memory foam tips, but even with these options, I could not find a good fit. None of the tips provided in medium or large sizes fit me, and I felt that an XL size tip might have been more suitable.
Connectivity and battery.
The MW09 earphones are Bluetooth-enabled and they use the latest 5.4 LE standard, which lets them connect to two devices simultaneously and switch between them easily. This feature works well, and I was able to use the MW09 earphones with my work MacBook while also receiving calls on my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
One caveat is that you can only pair the earphones to two devices; trying to add a third or fourth will fail. You will need to manually unpair the MW09 from within the MD Connect app before you can do so. I found this out the hard way when trying to pair the MW09 to a new phone and consistently failing even though the earphones were recognized.
As a premium set of earphones, you get all the codecs, including ACC, LC3, SBC, AptX Lossless, and AptX Adaptive up to 24-bit at 96KHz, which is perfect for Hi-res audio from Tidal or Apple Music. Gamers will definitely appreciate the support for AptX Adaptive low latency gaming mode, which provides lag-free audio cues.
Battery life is quite impressive too, lasting up to 16 hours on a single charge. That’s five hours more than my Beyerdynamic Freebyrds, which last 11 hours on a charge. Inside the Kevlar case, you get another two full charges for a total battery life of 48 hours.
The earphones support fast charging too, getting two hours from just 5 minutes in the case and 50% in 20 minutes. Keeping the case topped up is easy because it supports both wireless Qi and USB Type-C, which is really convenient.
Audio performance and noise-cancelling
Master & Dynamic is renowned for producing earphones with premium sound quality, and the new MW09 earphones are no exception. These earphones feature 11mm Beryllium drivers that deliver a perfectly balanced sound with crystal clear details and powerful bass. The sound signature is tuned warmer than the AirPods Pro 2, which makes for a more engaging and enthusiastic listening experience.
The quality of the seal you get plays a significant role in how any earphones sound. Unfortunately, I don’t have the best tip size for my ears, so I can only imagine how much better the sound quality would be if I had the right size. However, I enjoyed listening to my eclectic mix of film and game soundtracks, along with a healthy dose of lo-fi and up-fi beats. I’ve watched a ton of YouTube, listened to podcasts, and everything sounded rich and inviting without any tinniness. The soundstage is also large, making things sound larger than just inside your head.
You can adjust the sound profile of the MW09 earphones using an EQ inside the MD Connect app for iOS and Android. While there are some presets available, they may not make a significant difference. The app also allows you to enable voice prompts and side tone, which lets you hear yourself while talking to someone else on the phone or during game chat.
Although the MW09 earphones offer excellent sound performance, their active noise cancelling feature is not up to par. In general, earphones noise cancelling is not very effective, and I don’t expect much from it. The only earphones that have impressed me with their ANC feature so far are the Apple AirPods Pro 2, and I use them as a benchmark to compare other earbuds’ ANC.
Regrettably, the MW09 earphones do not meet the noise-cancelling benchmark. Although the ANC feature does reduce harsh sounds and frequencies, it doesn’t do enough to give you that quiet, listening experience. Having tested the earphones in various environments, including on a flight, while walking on main roads, and around the house, I found the noise-cancelling to be quite minimal. In comparison, the AirPods Pro 2 almost completely silenced my kitchen rangehood, vacuum cleaners, and similar sounds, while the MW09 lets through too much noise through.
The earphones do offer three modes of noise cancelling: Max, All day (presumably for battery saving), and Adaptive (adjusts to your environment). However, I could not tell the difference between them. What I could tell was the glaring 2-second delay when switching between modes and the loss of bass power when ANC is off.
But the MW09 also features an Ambient mode which does the opposite of noise cancelling and plays more of your environment through the earphones. This mode is useful when commuting to ensure you don’t miss your train or to hear the barista while you order your coffee without taking off the buds.
Regarding call quality, the MW09 is fine, although I often found that I had to speak much louder for my wife to hear me on calls. M&D have incorporated a 6-microphone array with some A.I. smarts to enhance your voice. I’m not entirely convinced of its effectiveness, and I never had a chance to test the wind reduction feature. Nevertheless, I could hear my callers clearly, and apart from my voice coming through a bit faint, there were no other complaints.
Verdict
After using the M&D True Wireless Earphones with the plate number MW09 ANC for several weeks, I have mixed feelings about them. The earphones have an attractive design, high-quality construction, and good controls. They also produce excellent sound quality. However, I had issues with the fit and found that the noise cancellation feature was not very effective.
The biggest concern, though, is the price. At $400 USD, the M&D earphones are almost twice as expensive as comparable models from Apple, Sony, and Bose, all of which have better noise-cancellation capabilities. There are also less expensive earphones that deliver great sound quality.
I believe that the MW09 falls into the category of products that people buy simply because they are brand-loyalists. Even though I love Master & Dynamic, I would think twice before spending so much money on a pair of earphones, no matter how good they look and sound.
Master & Dynamic kindly provided the MW09 to PowerUp for the purpose of this review
