Recently, we received a beautiful pair of headphones by Master & Dynamic and absolutely fell in love as soon as we unboxed them. Crafted from premium materials, the M&D MG20 Wireless Gaming Headphones are striking at first glance. They exude sophistication and give off an expensive feel. Priced at $449, they surely are pricey, though. Continue reading to find out if we thought the MG20 were worth their price tag.
Impressive Packaging
You can always count on M&D to provide you with a number of top-quality accessories. The MG20 come with a gorgeous carry pouch with an extra pocket for accessories and sufficient padding for safety. In terms of cables, the package includes a 3.5mm headphone and mic splitter, a low-latency USB-A flight adapter, a USB-C to 3.5mm cable for wired gaming and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable. There is also a detachable boom mic included. The mic is absolutely stunning as opposed to the big and boring mics you usually see on gaming headsets. There is also a pop filter included for the mic. All in all, the accessories are absolutely beautiful.
Unrivaled Aesthetic
Master & Dynamic always does the most in terms of aesthetic appeal. They make sure they make no compromises in terms of the material used. These breathtaking cans feature a highly unique canvas-coated headband. The band is textured for better grip but adds to the aesthetic of the product, too. It has fairly decent-looking magnesium ear cups with the company’s logo emblazoned. The ear cups are attached to the head band by metal forks. Despite using premium material and the inclusion of metal, the MG20 are impressively lightweight. Weighing only 312g, these headphones are made to be worn for extended gaming sessions.
Sufficiently Comfortable
The MG20 feature lambskin leather pads offering your ears just the amount of cushioning they need. However, the cups didn’t quite hug my ears the way I would’ve ideally liked them to. When I’d push my head back a little, they would start sliding down the back of my head. Usually, during gaming sessions, I opt for headsets that offer the snuggest fit. Similarly, I found the headband a little too thin for my liking. It is stuffed with a generous amount of padding and even features ridges for enhanced grip. However, I would’ve liked it to be wider so that its pressure was distributed over a larger surface area. Apart from the aforementioned gripes, the metal band offer great adjustability. The over-ear cups also provide a generous amount of cushioning and enough space for your ears to breathe freely.
Intuitive Controls
When I first saw the MG20’s control panel, I didn’t think it would be as intuitive as it was. Initially, I saw almost all the controls on one earcup and just a button and a volume rocker on the other. However, upon gaming on the cans for a while, I adjusted to the controls extremely well. The company has done a great job at distributing the controls on this product. The right earcup features just the master volume rocker and a multi-function button that controls play/pause, skip, rewind and voice assistance. Since these are the most commonly-used controls, it was a huge relief to have them not only on my right but also separate from other less important controls.
The left side hosts the volume rocker for microphone, a 7.1 surround sound button, the on/off button and the mic port paired with a battery indicator. I’m glad M&D decided to distribute the volume rockers on both the earcups or it would have been utterly confusing. The tactile mic volume rocker also doubles as a mic mute/unmute button when pressed. Overall, I found the controls strategic, simple and intuitive.
Average Gaming Experience
While my experience of listening to music on the MG20 was great, I’m not sure if I can say the same about gaming on these. My music heavily inclined towards being bass-heavy. The sound had that low-end thump to it. The treble was not as obvious as the bass. Overall, the sound was warm, heavy and thick. The 7.1 surround sound feature also didn’t do much. It made my music sound like it’s coming from a far-away source, but that is all. There was hardly any difference in directionality.
I tested the headphones with gaming right after and was half as content as I was with the MG20’s performance with music. Since it lacks directionality, and the 7.1 surround sound didn’t do much, it wasn’t the easiest to tell where exactly my enemy is positioned. Bomb sounds sounded pretty good and had an extra oomph in them. But I can’t say the same about gun sounds. The treble on those didn’t quite amuse me. All in all, the MG20 sounded way better when I was blasting pop music on them.
Is It Hardcore?
Kind of.
The MG20 are impressive in a number of ways. They are beautifully designed, have intuitive controls and sound pretty good. However, being gaming headphones, I expected them to have better directionality or gaming-focused features. Perhaps this has to do with M&D not being a gaming company. But, in that case, consumers shouldn’t have to pay $449 for such a product.
