Car brands and tech go together like spaghetti and custard. Occasionally, you run into a good version of it. Time will tell whether Master & Dynamic and Mercedes-Benz getting together to release headphones is a good idea. Odds are, they’ll sound fine. But it’s a couple of the design choices we take exception to.
Mercedes and Master & Dynamic are launching five different sets of headphones, as well as a wireless charging pad. Of these, two are… shall we say, creatively badged. The MW65 over-ears and MW08 earbuds feature absolutely massive Merc logos. Like, visible across the street logos. Just so folks know you can afford them.
Sounds like a Mercedes?
If we’re being totally fair, though, the AMG-branded headphones in the lineup are a little more understated. There’s the MW75 overs, the MW08 Sport earbuds, and then a set of gaming headphones, the MG20s, to look forward to. But we’re only ribbing the design because there’s nothing else to really criticise.
The Merc-badged MW65s are just a custom version of Master & Dynamic’s existing headphones of the same name. They are, by most accounts, a decent set of cans that are only let down by their noise cancelling. Similarly, the MW08 buds are offered as a standard set by the audio company, without the garish Mercedes logo. You should start to see a pattern here. You could get each of these headphones from M&D without the logos and pay a little less. But there’s not really a point in doing that if you’re keen on showing off your shiny new Merc while on a Teams call.
There are a few nice touches. The MW75 headphones feature a chrome-plated AMG logo and what looks like carbon fiber. The MG20 gaming headphones feature magnesium, leather, and Alcantara (as well as a 22-hour battery life), plus 7.1 surround audio.
If you’re keen on them… well, you’ll have to wait. Master & Dynamic cans are a little rare in South Africa, but not impossible to find. Pricing will range from R5,650 to R11,100 at the upper end. And that’s just a direct conversion from overseas pricing. Expect tax and import markups when/if they land this side.
Source: TechRadar