Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

2016 Update After 9 months of solid use, trying very very hard to love this device, I had adjusted an original 5 star score down to 4, and now down to 2. Here are the reasons why I went back to using Master & Dynamic's wired MH40. - Frequent cutting out, especially when crossing busy streets. This kills the immersion and is absolutely enraging coming out of such an expensive piece of equipment - When the cutting out gets really bad, the headphones make painfully loud CLANG CLUNK CLANG noises. This is completely unacceptable from a device commanding a $500+ price point - MW60 is less comfortable than MH40 when on the head/ears. I think the MH40's flat headband is more comfortable, and the slightly wider and more plush earcups feel better after extended use. - MW60 is MUCH less comfortable worn around the neck. One of my favorite features of the MH40 is how comfortably it can be worn around the neck, since the earcups swivel completely out of the way of your chin. The MW60's earcups can't swivel completely flat, so they it is quite uncomfortable to leave around your neck. - MW60, like the MH40, features earcups that are held in place on the headphones via magnets. The MW60's earcup magnets are much weaker, and the earcups fly off sometimes when taking off the headphones quickly. This never happens with the MH40, which uses stronger magnets - MW60's has inferior sound quality compared to MH40. MW60 sounds dull in comparison. Not by a terrible much, but it is certainly noticeable - To add salt to the wound, I emailed Master & Dynamic's customer service to initiate a warranty exchange, because I'm pretty sure that the CLANG CLUNK sounds may be due to malfunctions. I emailed them once a month for 3 months, and each email was ignored. As such, I recommend you stay away from the MW60. The MH40 is a fine product, but the MW60 is a swing and a miss. I apologize for my optimistic review; I must have tried too hard to like this product. ___________________________________________________________ OLD REVIEW BELOW - Intro - At first glance, the MW60 may look like it's just a MH40 copy with wireless functionality added; but once you take a closer look, it should be apparent that the MW60 is a completely different headphone. For one thing, the wireless MW60 is lighter than the MH40 (345g vs 360g)! If you are considering the MW60, you would be well advised to note the distinctions between the two and the noticeable downgrade in sound quality on the MW60 compared to MH40. - Basics - Because this is Master & Dynamic, it's a given that they get the basics right: - Flawless construction and workmanship - Top-shelf quality of materials used - you can tell that no expense was spared in selecting the best materials; these will never fail you (and the components that wear out can be replaced easily) - Comfort - beauty is never skin deep with Master & Dynamic; somehow, that beautiful form still follows function resulting in unrivaled comfort. Currently, my worn-in MH40 are much more comfortable but I'm waiting to see how the MW60 feel after being broken in more. (EDIT: After a couple months of use, I have concluded that the MW60 are still less comfortable than the MH40. This is mostly due to the thinness of the headband, as compared to the much wider headband on the MH40). One unfortunate thing in the comfort department, though, is that the MW60 is not comfortable to wear around the neck. The earcups swivel about 45° (not enough to fold flat), but that doesn't seem to be enough flexibility, because no matter how I position the earcups, they always dig in to my neck uncomfortably. This is too bad, because the MH40 were extremely comfortable to keep around your neck, because the earcups swiveled further to be completely flat. - Wireless - The MW60 gets several wireless-headphone features PERFECT on it's first try. It seems like they thought of everything. Gone are the days that Bluetooth headphones come with the caveat of unreliability. The connectivity with these headphones is rock solid. Pairing with my phone went smoothly on the first try. Other positive things to note: - On/off/pairing button is intuitive to use, feels substantial, and is well-placed for use with the headphones on your head - multibutton/vol-/vol+ buttons are also well placed and feel satisfying to press - vol-/vol+ buttons secondary functions (hold to skip/prev) work well - plugging in the 3.5mm cable for wired use automatically turns off the MW60 - EDIT: THIS FEATURE DOES NOT WORK AT ALL on the instructions, it's noted that the MW60 can be connected to two devices wirelessly simultaneously for ease of switching devices - No Active Noise Cancellation; this is a POSITIVE! The guys at M&D feel that messing with the sound for active noise cancellation degrades sound quality and instead opt for better passive noise cancellation with leather and memory foam earpads. I 100% agree with this approach. Active Noise Cancellation is a tech fad of a feature that takes away from the musicality of a headphone - Sound Quality - Perhaps this was my mistake, but my expectation of the MW60's sound quality was that it would be the same or better than the MH40. Unfortunately, this is where the MW60 falls short (to my ears, at least); after comparing the MH40 and MW60's wired performance, it's pretty obvious that the MH40 sounds better (anyone trying to describe how a headphone sounds immediately starts sounding like an idiot, but here goes: MW60's bass sounds more bloated, the highs are more lifeless; they sound more closed-in and less sophisticated). But they still sound ok, and I guess this is as good as it gets for wireless headphones for now. - Summary - MW60 is a masterpiece headphone with superb build quality and the best wireless functionality I've seen. However, the MW60 don't sound as good as MH40, but they still sound ok. Pros: - Superb wireless functionality - High quality materials - Perfect craftsmanship - Easy to set up and use Cons: - Doesn't sound as good as the MH40 - Can't use for phone calls w/o wireless connection (because the wired connection turns off the bluetooth mic) - Supposedly this device should be able to connect to multiple devices. This does not work at all for me; I have to factory reset the headphones each time I want to pair to a different device (I've tried to connect to a phone, tablet, and computer; I can only connect to one at a time) - Uncomfortable to wear around the neck I cannot yet confidently comment on: - Long term durability (so far so good) - Comfort (right now, MW60 feel less comfortable, but MW60 are fresh while MH40 have been worn-in for a year) - Bluetooth vs wired sound quality comparison (they sound the same to me) - Battery longevity UPDATE - Folks were asking about battery replacements. I couldn't find info online, so I emailed Master&Dynamic about how to replace the battery. Here's what I was told: "The battery is not user-replaceable, however, we do plan to have an out of warranty battery replacement program in place by the end of this year [2016]. This will be much like the Apple battery replacement program, where we will replace this for a nominal fee if your MW60 is out of warranty."