Master & Dynamic MW65 Active Noise-Cancelling (Anc) Wireless Headphones – Bluetooth Over-Ear Headphones with Mic, Silver Metal/ Brown Leather

About me. I listen to headphones to enjoy music at a high level of quality. So I'm willing to pay a little more to find a fairly neutral sound signature with slightly emphasized bass, mids that are not too recessed, and detailed highs that aren't harsh. In my opinion, the Master & Dynamics MW65 are one of the best sounding headphones I have ever listened to. They are on par with my Drop HD6XX (Sennheiser collaboration), which based on audiophile reviews are considered a reference standard. These are in fact so good, that I have virtually stopped using my IEMs (which I preferred) and now use the MW65s indoors and outdoors.Bottom line, if you favor sound quality over noise canceling, these are an amazing set of headphones. But what really sets these apart is that with the active noise canceling turned on, the sound quality is only slightly lower. I've owned and tested Bose, Sony, Audio-Technica, and Sennheiser noise canceling headphones and none has as good of a sound quality as the Master & Dynamic MW65; especially when the noise canceling is turned on. Nor does the noise canceling create an overpowering or uncomfortable pressure on the ear. The Bose and Sony will provide better noise canceling, but not better audio quality.The sound quality is fairly neutral, with a slight sub-bass emphasis. The detail and imaging is very good, but slightly less than you would get with planars or a high-end set of headphones. But the musicality, tone, imaging, sound stage, and overall sound signature is near perfect. They are light, very comfortable, and look stunning. The build is solid using high quality materials. And did I say they look incredible?What else do I like? Fast USB-C charging, long battery life, comfortable ear pads, the option to listen to them wired without consuming battery charge, and easy to use button controls. The touch pad, gesture user interface on some of the newer products is a bit confusing. I'm sure I would have become used to them, but the tactile feel of a physical button makes them easy to locate and more comfortable to use.These are definitely on the higher end, unless you can pick up a "Like New" product, which I did. No problems whatsoever, and I saved $200. But the combination of excellent sound with very good noise canceling, the option to listen to them wired, USB-C charging, and a luxury look makes these a very good buy. Highly recommended!

After reading several online articles on the best wireless ANC headphones in the $300-400 range, I chose three to try out:- Sony WH-1000XM4- Master & Dynamic MW65- Bowers & Wilkins PX7The Sony pair arrived first and my initial thought was that although they had plenty of cool bells & whistles (touch sensitive volume control, automatic pause when removing them from your head) and the ANC was very effective, they sounded surprisingly flat. Even after trying various EQ settings within the Sony app and on my iPhone, the sound was decent but just not good enough for a $350 pair of headphones. And the most important thing to me with headphones is sound quality. I couldn't help but wonder why these headphones had such great reviews on sound quality when to my ears they just sound dull. All bass and mid, very little clarity of treble. To me, it seems the majority of the money for this pair went into the fancy features and not to the sound quality.Next came the Master & Dynamic MW65 -- a newer company based out of NYC I hadn't heard of until this week. Besides the absolutely stunning design (not the most important thing to me honestly) I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the full, rich sound and crystal clear quality of the audio -- especially on the high end. An absolutely beautiful, well balanced, natural sound -- unlike the Sony's. Bass and midrange are important of course, and these have plenty of low end punch, but if you're like me and you want a precise, clear, open treble (so you can really hear all those delicate cymbals and high hats), then these will delight you. To be fair, they do not have many of the fancy features of other headphones in this price range (and they don't come with an app, which is fine by me), and the ANC isn't quite as effective as the Sony's. But a more subtle ANC is also what keeps the music sounding so great. They're also the only pair of the three that didn't come with a hard case (the case is soft), so to protect these I'm going to spend another $25 on a case. They're worth it. I only wish these were super soft over-ear phones instead of on-ear phones. The earpad leather is very soft and they are definitely comfortable (even to a man with big ears like mine), but I feel after hours of usage an over-ear set would be more comfortable.Finally the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 arrived. I had high hopes for these because of their reviews, and the reputation of B&W for many years running. So I was as surprised as I could possibly be when I put them on and they sounded as flat and dull as the Sony's. In fact, after an A-B comparison they sounded nearly identical to the Sony's. Plus, the B&W app was buggy and terrible, and didn't even include EQ. (I used the iPhone settings to adjust EQ instead, but it still didn't help the B&Ws much.)Master & Dynamic was the clear winner of the three, no contest. It amazes me that the Sony and B&W headphones have plenty of glowing reviews from people who rave about the sound quality. All I can think of is everyone's preferences are different, but most likely the people who popped them on and enjoyed them didn't actually do A-B comparisons with other brands. It was when I compared the Master & Dynamics with the others that I really noticed what the other two pair were missing.