Computer Shopper - July 2017

OVER-EAR HEADPHONES
MASTER & DYNAMIC MH40
★★★★★
£319 • From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
These stylish headphones don’t sound as
good as they look
HEADPHONES THAT BOTH look and
sound good are somewhat hard to come by
– a situation that Master & Dynamic is
attempting to rectify with the MH40. This set
of cans screams beauty, design and build
quality, but ultimately it’s the sound quality
that makes or breaks any audio product –
including this one.
At £319, the MH40 isn’t cheap, and with
more affordable competition from the £280
Bowers & Wilkins P7 (Shopper 348), the
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 at £200, the
Sony MDR-1A at £120 and even the likes of
the Creative Sound BlasterX H5 at £95, the
MH40 has its work cut out.
In the package, you’ll fi nd the headphones,
two sets of detachable cables (a 1.25m cable
with remote and mic, and a 2m standard
cable), a leather cable box, a soft carrying
pouch and a 6.3mm adaptor.
The remote on the 1.25m cable allows
you to adjust the volume on iOS devices,
but unfortunately, this particular function
doesn’t work on Android as well. That said,
you can still play/pause tracks, answer and
receive calls, and skip through tracks (by
double- or triple-tapping the middle
button) on both operating systems.
VEGAN UNFRIENDLY
These accessories, OS compatibility
aside, show an attention to detail
that we’re happy to say is replicated
on the MH40 itself, which has a
stunning look and distinctive design.
There are a few colours to choose
from; we received the silver
metal/brown leather model for
review, and it looks better in the
fl esh than it does on Master &
Dynamic’s website.
The MH40 has “heavy grain
premium cowhide” on the top
of the headband, with soft
lambskin on the earpads
and the inner part of the
headband. Grilles adorn
the exterior of each cup to
complete the retro ham
radio look, but it’s important
to note that these aren’t
open-back headphones in
the technical sense.
The earcups are in fact
closed, which is good news if
you’re planning on listening to
the MH40 in the office or on your
daily commute,
since you can do
so without fear
of annoying
your fellow
travellers.
The MH40
is practical in
other ways,
too. The
earcups pivot
fl at, allowing
you to store
them with
greater ease in
the included pouch.
The earpads attach
magnetically to the metal
housing of each earcup,
making it easy to replace them when they
wear out. The 3.5mm cable is removable,
with a jack on each earcup so you can
choose which side to hang the cable and,
unusually, there’s a mechanical mute button
on the right earcup as well.
However, it’s not the most comfortable set
of headphones we’ve ever worn. The
headband is adjustable, but there isn’t
much range to the adjustment – if you
have a large head, you might fi nd the
MH40 just doesn’t fi t. We also found
the narrow earpads a touch small for
our ears, and with the minimal amount
of padding on the headband, the total
weight of 360g was immediately
noticeable. We’re not sure we’d want to
wear these for long periods of listening.
FALLING FLAT
The MH40’s other technical
specifications are well up to scratch.
In each earcup is a large 45mm
neodymium driver, and the
overall impedance of the
headphones is 32 ohms.
This means they’ll need a
little more volume over your
regular 16-ohm headphones.
Sound quality, however, is
lower than we’d expect from
a set of headphones costing
over £300. First up, there’s
the bass, which we found to
lack presence to the extent
that the lowest of low notes
didn’t have much rumble to
them. For example, in Usher’s Yeah!,
at each chorus the
bass cuts off, leaving
you wanting more.
Its mid-bass slam
was a little
uncontrolled but
did at least have
plenty of oomph.
There are
also better
headphones for
listening to
classical music,
as there’s an
over-warm
presentation to the
sound that muddles
fi ne details in the
mid-range of the sound spectrum. Certainly,
compared with the excellent Sennheiser
Momentum 2.0, the MH40 just isn’t as
forward-sounding or as clear.
To top it all off, the highs aren’t that
impressive, either. For example, in The
Weeknd’s Starboy, the recurring electric sound
in the background isn’t delivered with quite
enough sparkle for our liking. Everything just
sounds a little soft and indistinct.
JUST A PRETTY FACE
As for soundstage, that’s not so bad. The
MH40 has an intriguing soundstage, with a
rather deep but narrow sound. Instrument
separation is acceptable, but again, we would
have liked a bit more refi nement, as when
testing with games the positioning of sounds
wasn’t terribly accurate.
The Master & Dynamic MH40 is one of the
most attractive, beautifully designed pairs of
headphones we’ve laid hands – and eyes – on.
Constructed entirely from aluminium and
leather, they feel like they’ve been built to last.
However, at £319, they simply miss the
mark in terms of comfort and, most
importantly, sound quality. You’d be better
off considering the Sennheiser Momentum
2.0 or the Creative Sound BlasterX H5, both
of which offer superior sound quality and
are considerably cheaper.
Christopher Minasians
SPECIFICATIONS
HEADPHONES SUBTYPE Over-ear • PLUG TYPE Dual
3.5mm • WEIGHT 360g • CABLELENGTH 1.25m with
remote and mic, 2m standard cable • WARRANTY Two
years repair and replace • DETAILS www.masterdynamic.eu
• PART CODE MH40S2
50 JULY 2017 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 353