To celebrate the 5th anniversary, Master & Dynamic has re-released the MH40 over-ear headphones which were their very first product. As the name suggested, the most important feature of the new edition is Bluetooth 5.0 support. Let’s check out the MH40 Wireless again to see if they’re worth buying after 5 years.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
The MH40 was originally released in 2014 and that was an elegant product. During the last few years, most mid-range headphones look ugly and the Master & Dynamic headphones truly stood out of the crowd with high-quality materials and beautiful craftsmanship. This is an iconic product and the design is proved to be timeless; When I took the MH40 Wireless out of the box, I was still amazed at the gorgeous design as it looks and feels great. The anodized aluminum earcups and soft lambskin leather earpads make these premium headphones but what I love the most are the metal mesh with Master & Dynamic logo on the outside of the earcups.
The MH40 now comes with Bluetooth 5.0 but you still can use it as wired headphones. There is no 3.5mm audio port on the earcups but you can use the USB-C port and connect to your device via the included cable. The same port can also be used for charging. The battery life is quite good at around 18 hours and you can recharge very fast with the USB-C port.
The previous Master & Dynamic headphones have been well-known with the best-in-class Bluetooth range and the MH40 steps it up with Bluetooth 5.0. The Bluetooth range now can reaches 30m/100ft. I didn’t measure the distance precisely but I tried moving to different rooms in my house and the music is not interrupted even once.
Wearing the headphones is really comfortable as the earpads don’t have much pressure on my head. Besides, the MH40 Wireless is surprisingly lighter than the original MH40 and the weight difference is actually quite significant.
Audio Quality
In terms of audio quality, there is almost no difference between the wired and wireless edition because they both feature the same 40mm Neodymium custom drivers. They still produce a well-balanced sound with a warm tone. The sound is tuned to be more natural with a slight bass boost that doesn’t make the whole sound muddy.
To test the MH40 Wireless, I didn’t compare them to any other headphones to see if I really enjoy music with these cans. I’ve used them heavily as my primary over-ear headphones over the last month and surprisingly, I love them. I only use the MH40 wirelessly by connecting them to my iPhone, stream music from Spotify, and watch video content on Youtube and Netflix.
I play a variety of music genres and all notes are delivered beautifully without any defect. I also don’t hear any distortion when cranking up the volume. The only disadvantage of the headphones is probably the average soundstage, it is not spacious enough to immerse me in melodies. Besides, the vocals are a little aggressive and I sometimes feel they are too close to my ears. On the other hand, the bass and treble are well-presented to produce a rich and full sound.
Conclusion
Pros
- Timeless industrial design
- Stable Bluetooth connection
- Good earpad sealing to block ambient noise
- Good battery life with quick charging
- Impressive sound
Cons
- Expensive
- Average soundstage
What Master & Dynamic has done in the last 5 years was amazing. In a crowded market with giants like Sony, Sennheiser, or Bose, the startup still manages to get its own fan base and now I can see their products on shelves around the world. The MH40 Wireless is not their best sounding headphones but it is an iconic product with timeless design. It totally can have a place in my collection but I find the price difficult to justify.
Buy Master & Dynamic MH40 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones on Amazon
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harsh chaturvedi says
you have written very nice information about the MH40 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones, I was thinking to buy a wireless headphone after this review because my main concern was battery life, there is no gain of buying a wireless headphone if you are stuck in charging it, again and again, it is some time become so irritating. I hope its battery life is good as per your review. :)