Master & Dynamic MW07 GO review: Top tier sound for less

• Dima Aryeh
• 5 years ago

The Master & Dynamic MW07 PLUS are the new kings of true wireless earphones. They feature incredible sound, exquisite materials, great fit, gorgeous looks, active noise cancelling, an ambient noise mode, 10 hours of battery life, and amazing connection strength. They do it all, and to me, they’re the best of the best when it comes to true wireless earphones.

But not everyone can justify dropping $299 on a set of earphones. That’s undoubtedly big money and despite being a luxury brand, Master & Dynamic knows that. So in come the MW07 GO, a version more suited for sport, set at a lower price point, and using the same high end drivers.

Overview

• Drivers: 10mm Beryllium
• Bluetooth version: 5.0 with aptX
• Distance: 100 feet
• Water resistance: IPX6
• Battery life: 10 hours, 22 hours total
• Size: Earphones: 21 x 18 x 25mm, case: 64 x 28 x 40mm
• Weight: 7.4g each, 76g case
• Price: $199 (Amazon)

The MW07 GO feature a fabric-wrapped case with three LEDs on the front. It’s a bit more compact than the PLUS case but not by much. Once you shut the lid, the LEDs show the battery status of the case and the two earphones individually. On the rear you’ll find a fast charging USB-C port. The inside of the lid has a soft coating to prevent scratches to the earphones.

The earphones themselves share an almost identical design to the PLUS models, though they’re 20% smaller and lighter. On the front you’ll find the TR90 shell. Up top is a multi-function button on the left earbud and volume buttons on the right earbud. On the back are the fit wings, the interchangeable ear tips, and the charging contacts.

Build quality

When you go from the PLUS to the GO, you take a hit in materials. But it’s still a Master & Dynamic product, so you know the build quality going to be fantastic. And in some ways, it makes the GO the better product for every day use.

The hand crafted acetate shell in the interesting finishes is traded for TR90 composite, which just feels like a premium plastic. It’s all one solid color and comes in Electric Blue, Flame Red, Stone Grey, and Jet Black. The colors are glossy and vivid, though they do scratch easily. The body of the headphones is still metal but the buttons have been downgraded to plastic. However the water resistance has been upped to IPX6.

The most obvious change is that the case is no longer mirror polished stainless steel. And unlike stainless steel, the fabric finish is durable. The MW07 case scratches so easily I keep it in the included pouch to maintain the stunning finish. With the GO, I throw the case in my pocket without a care and it’s holding up great. This has made me gravitate towards the GO over the PLUS at times.

The only serious downgrade is the hinge. Rather than being metal, it’s mylar reinforced fabric. It has some stretch and wiggle when open and feels a little fragile, but mylar is supposed to be durable stuff. Fortunately it feels solid when closed. The top logo is also a bit fragile and scuffs easily.

The USB-C to C cable included with the GO is the same as with the PLUS and is a favorite of mine. The rubber is thick, the ends are slim and metal on both sides, and the C to A adapter to use with legacy devices and chargers is all metal and really special.

Sound quality

They’re a hundred dollars cheaper than the PLUS models, so how do they sound? Well shockingly… just about the same. They feature the same 10mm beryllium drivers in a metal housing as the $299 PLUS models and they make the same use out of them. AKA they sound brilliant.

When the MW07 originally came out, they sounded like $299 earphones. In fact, they were one of the best sounding on the market period. While the MW07 PLUS sound brilliant and offer all of these awesome extra features, they still sound like $299 earphones. To get the same sound in the MW07 GO for $199 is astounding.

The overall sound is fairly neutral, though there is a focus on highs. The highs are sharp and sparkly, which gives the tone a lot of detail and emphasis on vocals. At full volume this can be a bit harsh to some (I prefer smoother highs), most people actually prefer this. The lows are warm and strong, but not particularly punchy. I do wish the bass was sharper but they do a good job with impact.

The overall sound is high end and it’s just a joy to sit back and listen to these earphones (giving them a wide range of uses from just enjoying music to running and hitting the gym). They handle everything from pop to heavy metal, a notoriously poorly mixed and difficult to handle genre, to classical with poise and elegance.

Comfort

The standard MW07 PLUS fit very well and are super comfortable for long term wear. The MW07 GO take this a step further by cutting about 20% of the size and weight. The lower weight makes the GO even more comfortable. They almost disappear in your ears.

Since they’re more sport oriented, it’s important that they stay in. With the five different sizes of ear tip and the awesome fit wings (and three different sizes of said fit wings included in the box), they’ll stay in even if you headbang.

The same great features that apply to the MW07 PLUS apply here too. The earphones are oriented in the case such that you can grab them and put them in your ears without fiddling with them or rotating them, and the buttons are very easy to press. Gripping the earphone between your pointer finger and thumb means you can press all the buttons without disturbing their fit in your ear.

Connection

Master & Dynamic is experienced in making some amazing antennas. Even with Bluetooth 4.x on older products, connection was substantially better than the competition. And with the upgrade to Bluetooth 5.0, the range is increased to 100 feet and the connection as stable as can be.

You can leave your phone and walk around your home a surprising distance without any hiccups, including through two walls. While the device is in my pocket I didn’t have any issues with audio cutting out either. The connection is fantastic.

One thing is that the Bluetooth connection only works with the right earbud, with a secondary connection going to the left. So you can only use the right earbud on its own, but not the left. This is a limitation the original MW07 had but not the new MW07 PLUS.

Battery life

Despite the smaller size, the MW07 GO have the same staggering 10 hour battery life as their bigger and more expensive brothers. That’s over a work day worth of sound on one charge. This smokes the competition like the AirPods and Galaxy Buds, which sit at 5 hours and 4 hours respectively. Even the new, more expensive AirPods Pro only eke out 5 hours.

The charging case is where the downgrade is, as instead of a whopping 40 hours, the smaller and lighter charging case of the GO models “only” manages 22 hours. hisT still bests the Galaxy Buds by 9 hours.

They support quick charging too. 15 minutes in the case gets you 5 hours of play time, while 40 minutes will get them a full charge. The case will charge up to 40% in 15 minutes and 100% in 40 minutes too via a USB-C cable. Sadly, there’s no wireless charging.

Conclusion